Money Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'ball' last time and this time it's 'money'.

Your money or your life, is apparently how every highwayman in history confronted his (or her) victims. Yet it is not until 1774 that the first written evidence of the phrase is used.

In the money, describing someone as rich, originally referred to any competitor who finished a race or competition in a place where they won a prize and is first recorded in 1902.

Nobody put their money where their mouth was until 1942.

Money burned a hole in one's pocket as early as 1520, albeit correctly the phrase then included 'purse' instead of 'pocket'.

Money lenders were first recorded in 1765.

Money orders have been available since 1802.

Money maker is first seen in the 13th century when it really did refer to one who made (or minted) coin. By 1864 it had become used to refer to one who accumulates wealth, and the modern sense of 'to yield a profit' is first seen in 1899.

Money pit, something which swallows up cash as fast as it is thrown at it, is not recorded as a phrase until 1986 - the same year as a film of that name was released. The term had been used before, but in 1930 it was simply a pit found where a notorious pirate was held to have hidden his ill-gotten gains.

Smart money, cash used by those with prior information on a deal or bet, is first seen in 1926. However, the phrase is seen much earlier, for in 1760 it referred to money paid to buy the freedom of a recruit; and earlier still in 1690 it described cash paid to a sailor, soldier or other worker who had been disabled while employed.

Hush money, a bribe paid to get someone to keep their mouth closed on a subject, is first seen in 1709.

Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: Y

Many words have two meanings, sometimes more, which are often very different. Such words have identical spelling and pronunciation, they are known as homonyms. Here I continue an A to Z list of such words and look at how that word came to have two different meanings.

Y is for y ..... well, once again it isn't for anything as there isn't a single homonym beginning with that letter. But I won’t let that stop me getting to the end of the alphabet and we’ll have some fun with etymologies of words beginning with Y and we will begin with....

Yellow is first seen in Old English geolu from Proto-Germanic gelwaz, both meaning 'yellow' and from Proto-Indo-European ghel 'to shine'. And I have it on good authority that all those squares above contain yellow in one of its many shades.

Yacht came to English from Dutch, where jacht meant 'fast pirate ship'. All these come from Proto-Germanic yago and Proto-Indo-European yek 'to chase, hunt'.

Yes comes from Old English gese 'so be it'; itself from Proto-Germanic sijai and Proto-Indo-European es 'to be'.

Nicaragua Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Nicaraguan cities.

Managua has two equally plausible origins. The local Nahuatl language being one and where mana-ahuac translates as '(place) by the water' or perhaps '(place) surrounded by water'. Alternatively this may represent the Mangue tongue, where managua means 'place of the big man', effectively 'chief'.

Leon was founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de Leon in 1524, courtesy of Franciso Hernandez de Cordoba. The original located some 20 miles east of the present city. Named after the Spanish city which, in turn, is dervived from the city's Latin name coined during the Roman occupation of Castra Legionis or 'the camp of the legion'.

Monimbo comes from the Nahuatl and means 'close to the water', that water is Lake Masaya, itself perhaps meaning 'joyful, happy' or similar.

Matagalpa, like Managua, has two suggested origins. This may come from the local tongue meaning 'leading town' for maika is 'head' and calpul 'town'. Alternatively this is from the Sumo language and translates as 'let's go where the rocks are'. Other explanations are 'here next to the water' and 'among the mountains'.

Chinandega's origins are uncertain, although most often explained as from the Nahuatl chinamitl-tacalt 'the place surrounded by reeds'.

Granada was a thriving community when the Spanish arrived and renamed it Granada in 1524. The Spaniards took the name of the city of Granada in Spain, itself derived from its earlier Arabic name of Garnatah thought to translate as 'hill of the strangers'.

Tipitapa is another with two possible origins. This could either be from a Mexican relpe-petiat-pan, literally 'stone, bedroll, place' and understood as 'place of stone backpacks'; or perhaps this is tpitzin apan 'small place' and understood as meaning 'the place of a small river'.

Juigalpa either means 'land abundant of jicaro' (otherwise known as the calabash tree) or, and I do so hope this can be shown to be the true origin, in 'place of the black snails'.

Boaco is composed of two words, boaj 'enchanters' with the suffix o 'place, town'. It seems this is probably from some long-forgotten piece of folklore, maybe related to the name of the nearby peak of El Cerro de la Vieja 'the old woman's hill'.

Bluefields was named after the Dutch pirate Abraham Blauvelt, he using this bay as a hiding place in the 17th century. The Bluefields River, an oxymoron if ever I heard one, comes from the same source.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Hong Kong Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Hong Kong places.

Victoria City is predictably a reminder of British rule and named after Queen Victoria, indeed it had originally been known as Queenstown.

Kowloon means 'nine dragons', named for the eight mountains and the emperor.

Tseung Kwan O means 'general's bay' but who that general was and why he had a bay named in his honour is a mystery.

Aberdeen is named to honour the memory of George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen and former British prime minister.

Cheung Chau means 'the long state' and aptly known as such owing to its shape, also the reason it is nicknamed 'dumbbell island'.

Kennedy Town is named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, 7th Governor of Hong Kong (1872-77).

Jardine's Lookout is named after William Jardine, founder of Jardine Matheson, one of the original Hong Kong trading houses. It was here the company would keep an eye out for the white sails and rush out in a fast whaleboat to collect the mail and get the first news of stocks and shares on the world market.

Kwun Tong means 'Mandarin Pond' and a reference to the salt yards.

Sai Kung was where ships came to bring gifts to the Ming Dynasty, hence its name meaning 'tributes from the west'.

Shek O translates as 'rocky bay'.

Stanley was where the British and Canadian troops made a last stand during the Battle of Hong Kong, at Stanley's Fort. The local name is Chek Chue or 'bandit's post', from the legend this was the hideout of the notorious pirate Cheung Po Tsa.

Tai O means 'large inlet', a reference to the access to the river for this traditional fishing village.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Honduras Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Honduras cities.

Tegucigalpa comes from the native Nahuatl tongue, but the interpretation is unclear and has been defined any number of ways. Most often said to be from taguz galpa meaning 'hills of silver', yet doubters point out the locals had no notion there were deposits of this precious metal hereabouts. A second explanation suggests a meaning of 'painted rocks' from a different local tongue; or Topogalpa the name of a small gree parrot found locally; or a similar Mexican name of Tecuztilcallipan 'place of the residence of the noble'; or Tecuhtzincalpan 'place of the home of the beloved master'; or Nahuatl for 'in the homes of the sharp stones'. From my experience with place name derivations, perhaps the first two have similar meanings in referring to light-colouring of the rocks and thus not referring to the precious metal.

San Pedro Sula is Spanish and literally translates as 'his/her Saint Peter'.

La Ceiba is named after the a ceiba tree near the old dock, this dock crumbled into the sea in 2007. These trees play an important role in the mythologies of Mesoamerican cultures.

Choluteca first mentioned by the Spanish in 1541, when known as Villa de Xerez de la Frontera de Choluteca, and officially named simply Choluteca on October 1st 1845 under the presidency of Coronado Chavez. This is from the Chorotega, the name of the indigenous peoples here when the Spanish arrived, and means either 'path of the warriors' or 'vorn on either side', depending upon who you ask.

El Progreso is Spanish for 'progress' and telling of modern development. It stands in the shadow of the mountain range known as Mico Quemado or 'blue monkey'.

La Lima means, assuming it shares an origin with the Peruvian capital, 'talker, speaker' in the Quechua language.

Puerto Cortes this 'port of Cortes' takes the name of Hernan Cortes, the 1st Governor of New Spain. Quite appropriate as cortes is Spanish for 'parliament'.

Atlantida Department is named for the ocean, the Atlantic named after Atlas, the titan in Greek mythology who held up the world and may be from the adjective durus 'hard, enduring'.

Santa Rosa is Spanish for 'holy rose'.

Tela is a contraction of the Nahua word Tetela 'land of the hills and craggy mountains'.

Olanchito takes its name from the Olancho Valley and similarly named river near where it is situated, sadly its origin in unknown.

Nacaome is named from the new town here, for naca ome does mean 'union of two races' and describes the new town this union produced.

La Esperanza is Spanish for 'the hope'.

Puerto Lempira or 'port Lempira' shares its origin with the currency of Honduras in coming from the 16thcentury ruler of the Lenca people. He is a national hero, leading the resistance against the Spanish conquistadors, albeit ultimately unsuccessfully.

Cofradia is the Spanish for 'brotherhood'.

La Entrada is Spanish for 'the entrance'.

Yuscaran has a very uncertain origin but, if related to a dialect found nearer Mexico, may well mean 'the place of the house of flowers'.

La Paz is Spanish for 'the peace'.

Coxen Hole named after the deep water bay or 'hole' and its association with John Coxen. Coxen, or Coxon, was a late 17th-century buccaneer who terrorised the Spanish main and one of five thousand pirates who lived here.

Gracias does indeed mean 'thanks' in Spanish, and perhaps the story that it was after a long and arduous trek through mountainous terrain that Spanish explorers were grateful to find flat land at last is true.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Crime

Research often sees me ploughing through week after week of old newspapers, inevitably found on microfilm. Looking for criminal activities of yesteryear, I found the now obsolete crime of 'uttering' (passing forged money) and wondered how on earth a word meaning 'to speak' could also be a crime, etymologically speaking of course, for it is easy to see how certain individuals even thinking of opening their mouths could be considered criminal.

Arson - came to English from Old French arsion and Latin arsionem both meaning 'a burning'. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European as 'to burn, glow', this has also given us the word 'ash' as in the residue of a fire.

Barratry - I actually thought this a misprint until I discovered this referred to marine law and 'the wrongful conduct by any on board resulting in a loss to the owners'. The word came to English from Old French baraterie 'deceit, guile, trickery' and a name also given to a bay off the coast of Louisiana and named as it was difficult to navigate through the entry.

Battery - is fairly easy to see as meaning 'to beat, thrash'; the word also giving us the sense of 'bombardment' and also the electrical storage cell. All come from Proto-Indo-European bhau 'to strike'.

Bigamy - is easier to understand if we separate the two elements, the prefix 'bi' meaning 'double' and followed by the Greek gamos 'to marry' and Proto-Indo-European gem 'to marry'. This early root is also the source of 'gamete', and Greek words referring to 'son-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law', Sanskrit fir 'brother, sister, daughter-in-law', and the seventh month of the ancient Attic calendar known as Gamelion, roughly corresponding to late January and early February this translates as 'the month of marriages'.

Blackmail - again two elements, the former 'black', first used as an adjective and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bhleg 'to burn, shine, flash' and thus coming to the colour black as being used in the sense 'to blacken' for the original meaning was quite the opposite; with the suffix 'mail' ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mod 'meet, assemble'.

Bribery - came to English from Old French bribe 'bit, piece, hunk, morsel of bread given to beggars' and also Old French bribeor 'vagrant, beggar'.

Burglary - first please note ITV newsreaders the word is not pronounced as 'burgle-ree', although it does come from the Latin burgator 'burglar' and burgare 'to break open'.

Embezzlement - is from Old French em 'in' and besillier torment, destroy, gouge'. Earlier forms are unknown.

Embracery - is an alternative description of 'bribery' and comes from the Middle French embrasser 'to clasp in arms, enclose, covet, handle'.

Extortion - directly from Latin extorquere 'to wrench out, wrest away, obtain by force' and ultimately Proto-Indo-European terkw 'to twist'.

Forgery - quite obviously having the same root as 'forge' in the metalwork sense which can be shown to share a common root with 'fabric' in Proto-Indo-European dhabh 'to fit together'.

Hijacking - puts together a shortened form of 'high' used to mean 'to lift' with 'jack' a slang term for 'to steal'. It is a comparatively recent term.

Incitement - from Old French and ultimately Proto-Indo-European en 'in' and the root of 'cite', Proto-Indo-European keie 'to set in motion'.

Kidnapping - a compound of 'kid' and a variant of 'nab', this originally referred to stealing children to provide servants and labourers in the American colonies, thus 'kid' is quite correct.

Larceny - coming to English from the French and Latin route, this originates in Proto-Indo-European le 'to get'.

Libel - comes from Latin libellus 'a little book, pamphlet', it also the origin of 'library'.

Looting - in English meant, as recently as the 19th century, 'goods taken from an enemy' rather than simply any stolen goods. This came from the Hindi lut and Sanskrit lotram, and all with the root in Proto-Indo-European roup-tro 'to snatch'.

Malversation - is another I'd never heard and thus had no idea it was 'professional or official corruption'. Coming to English through French and Latin, it can be traced to Proto-Indo-European wer 'to turn, bend' and preceded by 'mal' from Proto-Indo-European mol-o 'wrong, evil'.

Manslaughter - the important part here is the 'slaughter', itself from 'slay' which is virtually unchanged through a chain of Germanic terms and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European slak 'to strike'.

Murder - is another with a Germanic history and one traceable to Proto-Indo-European where mer was used to mean 'rub away, harm, die'.

Perjury - here Old French per 'entirely' and the root of 'jury', this Latin iurare 'to swear'.

Piracy - is from 'pirate', itself seen as ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-ya 'trial, an attempt, attack'.

Rape - comes from the Latin rapere 'seize' and Proto-Indo-European rep 'to snatch'.

Robbery - is obvioulsy from 'rob' and this can be traced back to the same Proto-Indo-European root as the previous crime, where rep means 'to snatch'.

Sacrilege - here 'sacred', from the Proto-Indo-European root sak 'to sanctify' unites with the Proto-Indo-European root leg 'to collect, gather'; to suggest something taken away from a holy idea or object.

Shoplifting - 'lift' here is used in the sense of 'to take', this following a word with a Germanic root meaning 'shed, barn, building without walls'.

Smuggling - 'smuggle' has similar words in several Germanic tongues all suggesting 'to creep', 'to slip', and similar.

Theft - a Germanic word and derived from 'thief', itself of uncertain origin but common to just about every Germanic language.

Treason - seen as the worst of crimes, as it affects more than any other crime, it comes from the French and Latin where the latter traditionem 'delivery, surrender' and from two elements trans 'over' and do 'to give' and for obvious reasons.

Uttering - was what started it all and derived from the Middle English verb outen 'to disclose' and Old English utan 'to put out'. These can be traced to Proto-Germanic ut 'out' and this from Proto-Indo-European ud 'up, out, away'. Thus the link between 'to speak' and passing forged money is in the sense 'to give out'.

Car Manufacturers

A look at the origins of the names of a selection of the world's car manufacturers, past and present. Note, when anyone says 'a selection' they mean 'all those I know' - I simply admit it.

Alfa Romeo - taking the second part first, this remembers August 1915 when the company came under the control of entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, he turning the factory over to making military hardware. Note the name change did not happen until 1920, prior to that the company was still known as A.L.F.A. - Anomina Lombarda Fabbrica Automobil 'the Anonymous Lombard Automobile Factory'. It began in 1906 as Societa Anomina Italiana Darracq (S.A.I.D), not until 1910 when Giuseppe Merosi took over as designer did A.L.F.A exist.

Aston Martin - as with so many it was named after the founders, in this case Lionel Walker Birch Maritn and Robert Bamford. Martin began as a first name, itself derived from the Roman Mars, the god of fertility and war (seemingly a conflict of career options); while Bamford is an English place name (of which I know a little bit) meaning 'the ford crossed by beams', the beam being a large enough piece of tree to be used as a bridge.

Audi - is also named after the founder, one August Horch. The German horch means 'listen' and, when translated to Latin, means 'listen'.

Austin - another named after its founder, this time Herbert Austin. While this is thought of as a British company, there were two others: the Austin Automobile Company and the American Austin Car Company. Both were US concerns - the Austin Automobile Company founded by James E. Austin and his son Walter Austin existed from 1901 to 1921; the American Austin Car Company was founded in 1929 and ceased trading in 1956, and named after the British company or, more correctly, their Austin 7 for which they had rights to manufacture and sell a modified version suitable for the USA. As a surname it is a diminutive of the Latin 'Augustus' meaning 'majestic, dignified'.

Bentley - founded and named in 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley. Another English place name, and one meaning 'the woodland clearing where bent grass grows. If you want to know why grass grows this way, you'll have to buy a book!

Bertone - an Italian company founded and named after designer Giovanni Bertone. His surname means 'son of Roberto'.

Bitter - a German, and later Austrian, car manufacturer and named after former racing driver Erich Bitter. His surname means 'harsh, sour, embittered'.

Bugatti - named after founder Ettore Bugatti. Origins of this surname are unclear, but it would be nice to think the suggestion this comes from the same origin as Bogat and Buratto meaning 'bolting'.

Buick - also named after its founder, David Dunbar Buick. This is an alternative spelling of the English name Bewick, itself an English place name and likely means 'the farmstead specialising in barley'.

Cadillac - again named after the founder, one Antoine Laumet de la Mothe sieur de Cadillac, the surname originating in the Breton area of France describes a 'a small one but a strong fighter'.

Chevrolet - named after the founder Louis Chevrolet. This name is a diminutive of the French chevre meaning 'goat'.

Chrysler - again the founder, named after Walter Percy Chrysler. This is a Swiss surname and means 'maker of earthernware utensils' - ostensibly a potter.

Citroen - founder here was Andre-Gustave Citroen. The surname was adopted by his father Levie Citroen, after grandfather had taken the name Limoenman 'lime man' as he was a greengrocer who sold tropical fruit. Son Levie preferred citroen, the Dutch for 'lemon'.

Cowley - named after the place in Oxfordshire where the cars were made, the English place name means 'the woodland clearing where cows are reared'.

Daimler - after Gottlieb Daimler, this is an old southern German word meaning 'cheat, swindler'.

Dodge - named after founders John Francis Dodge and Horace Elgin Dodge, brothers whose surname is thought to be a pet form of 'Roger', itself from the Saxon Hrothgar or 'fame spear'.

Ferrari - named after founder Enzo Ferrari, a former motor racing driver whose surname originates in his ancestors' trade - they were blacksmiths.

Fiat - named after Mr Fiat, no I lie - many will already be aware this acronym stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobil Torino or 'Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin'.

Ford - after founder Henry Ford, whose surname is as synonymous with cars as the origin is to a river crossing. This comes from Proto-Indo-European prtu meaning 'a going, a passage'.

Hillman - founder William Hillman, not only an English place name but also an occupational name meaning 'a manservant' and a personal name 'a man named Hild'.

Honda - founder Soichiro Honda, whose surname comes from the Japanese hon ta quite literally meaning 'the origin of the field'.

Humber - founded by Thomas Humber, an English place name or correctly a river name meaning ''the dark river'.

Hyundai - not from the founder but a Korean word meaning 'modernity'.

Isuzu - takes the name of the Isuzu River which, when translated into English means 'fifty bells'.

Jaguar - began as the name of a model of a 3.1/2-litre two-seater sports model produced by S.S.Cars Limited, themselves formerly known as the Swallow Sidecar Company. In 1945 shareholders decided that S.S was not the most sensible name for a company and so they adopted the name of Jaguar instead. It was the powerful image of the leaping big cat which adorned the model of that name, later adopted as the image of Jaguar Cars. The cat's name came to Europe as the Portuguese jaguar, itself their rendering of the Tupi jaguara and used to refer to any large predator.

Lada - having any number of references - including settlements in Romania, Poland, and Spain, a rifle, an asteroid, a highland region on the planet Venus, two Russian sports teams, a class of submarine, and even a sewing machine - these should have a single source, almost certainly the Slavic goddess of harmony, merriment, youth, love and beauty whose name comes from the Proto-Slavic meaning 'pretty, nice' or 'order'.

Lagonda - is named after the Shawnee name for what is now known as Buck Creek in modern-day Springfield, Ohio the birthplace of forder Wilbur Gunn. It is thought lagonda should be loosely translated to 'ultimate luxury'.

Lamborghini - from its founder Ferrucio Lamborghini which is one of many variations on the surname Lambo or 'son of Lambert', which comes from landa 'realm,estate' and berhta 'famous, illustrious'.

Lancia - named after its founder Vincenzo Lanzia, whose surname comes from his ancestors being armourers or, more specifically, a soldier who carried a lance from the Latinlancea.

Leyland - is an English place name meaning 'untilled land'.

Lincoln - named by founders Henry Leland and his son Wilfred Leland after Abraham Lincoln who, aside from his more famous roles in laying railways, chasing vampires and guest appearances in the majority of science fiction television programmes of the sixties, also found time to become president of the United States of America. His surname comes from the English place name meaning 'the Roman colony by the pool'.

Lotus - is a brand name, one also used for a board game, a bakery, a watch, rice, software, a chain of supermarkets, and a brand of toilet paper. Many were likely suggested by Greek mythology, although there are so many plants known as the 'lotus' (and bearing little resemblance to one another) it is difficult to know just what the name describes the plant as. The plant genus lotus comes from lota, the name of a sphrical water vessel used in southern regions of Asia.

Maserati - founded by brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo and Ettore Maserati (it seems they couldn't think of one beginning with 'D'), their surname origins are unclear. However one suggested translated likens it to the English 'macerate', a word I have no recollection of hearing and thus looked in the good old Oxford English Dictionary to find it has two possible meanings: 'to waste away by fasting' (fast = speed, I can see that); and 'to become soft by soaking' (I shall refrain from commenting).

Mazda - for years my first thought when hearing 'Mazda' was a light bulb, but you do have to be of a certain age to recall that name. The car company state their name comes from Ahura Mazda, with ahura the word for 'god' and mazda meaning 'light' - so the light bulb was right.

Mercedes - founded by Austrian diplomat Emil Jellinek, he named the company after his daughter Mercedes Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek, who lived a rather sorry life. Her name comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Maria de las Mercedes, or 'Mary of the Mercies'.

Morgan - named after the company's founder Henry Frank Stanley Morgan, his surname a first name with an uncertain etymology. What is known is the Welsh for water sprites is 'morgans'.

Morris - named after founder and former bicyle manufacturer William Morris, a surname from the first name Maurice, itself from the Roman Mauritius a derivative of Maurus meaning 'a Moor'.

Nissan - is an abbreviation of the Nihon Sanhyo holding company, it means 'Japan Industries'.

Oldmobile - have always thought this the worst possible name for a car manufacturer, even though it is named after the founder Ransom Eli Olds whose surname comes from the Old English eald meaning 'old'.

Opel - named after founder Adam Opel, the origin of his surname is unknown.

Packard - named after founding brothers James Ward Packard and William Doud Packard, their surname comes from a French derogatory term for a 'peddler'.

Peugeot - founded by Armand Peugeot, sadly the origins of the surname is unknown.

Pontiac - takes the name of the Michigan city named after the war chief of the Ottawa people and whose name comes from the Algonquian Obwandiag thought to have three possible meanings 'stopping it/him' or 'a stick planted in the ground' and even 'spit roasted, boiled'.

Porsche - the surname has Slavic origins and means 'famous fighter'.

Reliant - is an odd name for a car because while it was clearly chosen for being 'reliable' the word actually means 'dependent upon' and not 'depend on'. Originating from Old French the word first came to English to mean 'binding' from the Latin religare and shares a common root with 'ligament'.

Renault - founders Louis Renault, Marcel Renault, and Fernand Renault share a name derived from Germanic sources and meaning 'counsel, rule'.

Rolls Royce - taking the names of founders Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, their respective surnames respectively come from: Germanic name Hrolf meaning 'wolf'; and ultimately a variant of 'rose' which, because of its thorns, means 'wicked'.

Rover - clearly suggesting something that 'roves, travels', the real meaning is 'to wander with no fixed destination' and used in its earliest sense to refer to arrows shot willy-nilly without a target. Furthermore the first use of 'rover' is as a Dutch word meaning 'plunderer', robber, predator' and even 'pirate'. Interestingly the names for 'bicycle' in Polish and Belarusian are derived from the company name, the company did once produce bicycles.

Saab - is an abbreviation of Svenska Aeroplan AB, where 'Sweish Areoplane' is followed by (much as Limited is abbreaviated to Ltd) AB or Aktiebolag meaning 'limited company' or 'corporation'.

Studebaker - a German name, the family arriving in the New World at Port Philadelphia on 1 September 1736 included Peter, Clement, Henry, Anna and Anna Studebecker. They set up business in Pennsylvania producing waggons but having tweaked their name to Studebaker - both meaning 'baker of fine white bread'.

Suzuki - named after founder Michio Suzuki, whose surname means 'bell wood', 'bell tree' or 'bud tree'.

Talbot - named after Charles Chetwyn Talbot who, after a successful business operating hansom cabs (and cabs with the first noiseless tyres seen in either London or Paris!), went on to produce motor cars. His surname is thought to be of Germanic origin, where tal 'destroy' and bod 'message' talk of him as a 'messenger of destruction'.

Toyota - named after founder Kilchiro Toyoda whose surname means 'fruitful rice paddy'.

Vauxhall - named from the English place name meaning 'hall of a man called Falkes' the perosnal name meaning 'falcon'.

Volkswagen - is, as virtually everyone knows, the German for 'people's car'.

Volvo - is the Latin for 'I roll', a refers to the (then) unique ball bearings used in manufacturing. The idea it is derived from a part of the female anatomy is about as credible as it being named after the character Volvo in the episode of Fireball XL5 entitled Planet of Platonia.

Hence car buyers may well be correct when describing their purchase as a 'lemon, cow, goat' or describing the seller as a 'daimler' I mean 'cheat'. The piece is written in English hence the English spellings.

Lice, Cucumbers, Sex and Ninjas.

A new year, well new-ish, and this week I discovered the 27th January will be marked in the USA by Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, the purpose of which is not to protect valuable fragile items but to pop the bubbles to your heart’s content. (No, neither do I.) This did make me wonder what delightful National Awareness Days we in the United Kingdom have to look forward to. The following have been noted in my diary.

January 14th is STIQ Day – when we are to ask ourselves if we are acting responsibly when it comes to sexually transmitted infections. While I understand the IQ added to STI, perhaps an acronym standing for Sexually Transmitted Intelligence Quotient is likely to be misunderstood.

January 31st is National Bug Busting Day. It seems this day, to be repeated on June 15th and October 31st, will see all-out war against head lice when ‘all will be found and zapped in one fell swoop’. I can’t stop scratching my head when typing it, hence I shall be ignoring it completely at the end of the month.

February 14th is National Think About Sex Day. Apparently men do so 13 times each day in comparison to 5 times a day for women. I’m assuming the idea on Valentine’s Day is to get one of the 13 to correspond with one of the 5?

March 28th is National Skipping Day. This is the skipping with the rope and to encourage those who are presumed too young to participate in the February event to see how exercise can also be fun. My first thought was of the ‘skipping down the street’ once seen in many children’s stories – something I have not seen for decades.

April 5th is International Pillow Fight Day. The whole point of this really escapes me, the only point to catch my attention was the warning not to swing the pillow too hard as it might hurt. So why do it?

May 12th is National Cucumber Day and celebrated by CueFest. It might make more sense if it was later in the year when people could have grown their own.

May 18th is Random Huggers Day and whilst I’m not averse to a hug from time to time, it must be remembered I am British and there is nothing random about hugging.

May 25th is Towel Day and at last an event that makes perfect sense. I shall, of course, be carrying my towel and hoping I am rewarded by a lift.

June 1st is Butterfly Education and Awareness Day. Clearly it is easier to absorb information while still young and thus in a class full of very mature students results are never going to be too thrilling.

July 11th is World Population Day, which I think might involve some sort of ritual cull.

August 13th is Left Handers Day and only included because I was relieved to find it had nothing to do with the events of February 14th and May 18th.

September 19th is International Talk like a Pirate Day, which should be renamed Robert Newton’s Only Claim to Fame Day.

October 5th is National Badger Day, which would have troubled our ancestors as the word ‘badger’ was once solely used for those trying to sell something. Perhaps I should be expecting even more calls about PPI and Personal Injury than normal.

November 30th is Buy Nothing Day, which I actually learned from as it appears there are people out there who spend money on purchases every single day of their lives.

December 5th is the Day of the Ninja. Encouraging people to wear a ninja mask to work seems an odd idea anywhere, but especially so for those who install CCTV cameras.

Incidentally the USA have a wondrous day on Tuesday 14th, no help is required for National Dress Your Pet Up Day (American aquarists might want to post pictures).

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.