Black Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘brown’ and now look at ‘black’.

Black coffee is first described as such in 1796.

Black, when referring to something terrible or wicked has been known since the late 14th century.

Black has been the colour of sin since the early 14th century.

Black arts and black magic emerged in the 1580s.

Black drop is a liquid preparation of opium, first seen in 1823.

Black flies have been around since the early 17th century.

Blackbirds have been recorded as such since the 16th century, although it had been a surname for around 150 years. Note the blackbirds in America are not the same as the European variety – the latter misnamed as only the males are black, the females are a drab brown (and slightly more numerous).

Black Prince was the name of Edward III’s eldest son, first named such in 1560.

Black flag, a sign that no mercy will be shown by pirates, has been known since 1590.

Black dog, a phrase meaning ‘melancholy’, is seen since 1826. Joke? Sorry, you’re getting it: a man crossed a watery fruit with a sheepdog, he didn’t know what it was but it looked melon-collie.

Black belt in the judo sense is first recorded in 1913.

Black Friday began in the USA as the day after Thanksgiving (always on a Thursday) when the Christmas shopping season traditionally opens and the best bargains are to be had. In the gold UK, we Brits have also adopted Black Friday and make it last ten days – must be decimalization.

Black eyes are first seen (pun intended) in the early 17th century.

Black-eyed Susan, a generic name for a number of ornamental species, is first recorded in 1881.

Black letter is an early description of heavy Gothic-style typeface.

Black swan – is undoubtedly my favourite here (and not just because it’s a pub name). Until Captain James Cook discovered black swans in Australia around 1770, the very definition of a swan was to be white. But the pub name and the image of the Black Swan had existed well before the black swan was discovered. Indeed, the Roman poet Virgil wrote about the black swan 2,000 years ago – describing it as a rara avis or ‘rare bird’. And that was exactly what was being said when using the black swan in heraldry (or as a pub name), the message is that this is unique.

Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago places.

Chaguanas was named for the Chaguanes tribe who are indigenous to this region.

Port of Spain's origins are clearly a reference to the colonial era. It was founded near the indigenous people's settlement of Cumucurapo or 'place of the silk cotton trees'.

Princes Town was named to mark the visit, in 1880, by two of Queen Victoria's grandsons - Prince Albert and Prince George (the latter the future George V).

Diego Martin was named to honour the Spanish explorer Don Diego Martin.

Valencia is a transferred name, the Spanish version is hardly relevant here but comes from the Latin name and means 'strength, valour'.

Scarborough is another transferred name, the English version derived from 'Skarthi's fortified place'.

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

Romania 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 Romanian cities.

Bucharest is traditionally associated with Bucur, said to be a prince, fisherman, shepherd or a hunter - depending upon who you listen to. His name is more likely from bucurie, a Dacian word telling of 'the city of joy'.

Cluj-Napoca is thought to combine the Greek napos 'timbered valley' with Slavic kluc 'mountain pass'.

Timisoara is a Romanian version of the earlier Hungarian name of Temesvar, itself from var or 'castle on the River Timis', the river name possibly meaning 'winding'.

Iasi has several theories as to the origin of the name, including the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges, or the Alanic Jassi tribe, or even jassic market.

Constanta is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania, it is named to honour the Constantia, half-sister of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (274-337).

Craiova has two equally plausible origins, either Old Slavonic kral 'king' or krajina 'border, edge'.

Brasov is said to come from the Latin corona or 'crown' in a 13th century work, supposedly a reference to St Catherine's Monastery. Other sources point to the city's coat of arms and the German name for the place Kronstadt meaning 'crown city'.

Galati comes from the Cuman word galat and ultimately from Persian kalat, both meaning 'fortress'.

Bacau, appearing earlier as Bako, Bakova and Bakovia, is likely derived from a personal name. Just which individual named Bako the place refers to is a mystery, it being a very common name. However we can speculate as to the origin of the personal name which may also be an alternative origin for the place name. Proto-Slavic byk meant 'ox' or 'bull' and could refer to this being an area known for rearing cattle.

Targu Mures translates as 'the market on the river Maros'.

Botosani is likely named after a family named Botas, they first recorded in the 15th century along with Prince Stephen the Great.

Satu Mare is another from a personal name and speaks of 'Zotmar's fort'.

Drobeta-Turnu Severin takes the last two elements from Old Church Slavonic severno turnu 'the north tower and added to the Roman name of the city, itself of uncertain origin.

Suceava is a Romania rendering of the Hungarian Szucsvar, where szucs and var 'castle of the furrier'.

Piatra Neamt takes its first element from the Romanian for 'rock' and adds the name of the county in which it is found. The place has also been known as Patria lui Craciun or 'Christmas rock', and Targu Piatra 'market rock'.

Targoviste is from the Old Bulgarian and refers to itself as 'the marketplace'.

Bistrita is from the name of the river, itself from the Slavic bystrica 'fast-moving water'.

Resita probably comes from the Latin recitia or 'cold spring'.

Slatina is of Slavic origin and refers to 'the marsh, swamp'.

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

Pakistan 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 Pakistan's cities.

Karachi is reputed as being founded in 1729 as Kolachi and said to have honoured Mai Kolachi, she a fisherwoman who settled here. When her husband was lost in a storm she, despite warnings to the contrary, went to search for him and proved successful. Interestingly her surname is said to come from the Baloch tribe originating from Kulanch, while Mai is a word still used to mean 'respected lady'.

Lahore has a number of suggested origins, most often cited as coming from Ravawar (R to L is common in languages derived from Sanskrit), itself a simplified version of the name Iravatyawar, from the Ravi River or Iravati, she the daughter of Kadru and Kasyapa in Indian mythology. Hindu legend suggests the name comes from Lavpur or Lavpuri meaning 'city of Lava'. This is not molten rock but named after its founder, Prince Lava, the son of Sita and Rama.

Faisalabad means 'the city of Faisal' and named after King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, a great benefactor to Pakistan. Earlier, during the time of the British Raj, the place was named after the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, Sir James Broadwood Lyall, where the addition of Sanskrit pur or 'city' gave us the name Lyallpur.

Gujranwala means 'abode of the Gujjars' in Punjabi, this tribe of nomads and grazers living in northern Punjab. Some consider their tribal name to be derived from the area around the Caspian Sea, for their ancestry came from this area and the sea's alternative name of Bahr-e-Khizar produced tribal names of Khizar, Guzar, Gujur, Gurjara, and Gujjar.

Peshawar likely comes from the Sanskrit Purushapura, either 'the city of men' or 'city of Purusha', the latter an ancient king, although likely a fictional one as no evidence has been found.

Multan is possibly from the Old Persian word mulastana 'frontier land' or the Sanskrit word mulasthana a Hindu deity worshipped at the Multan Sun Temple.

Hyderabad was named in honour of Ali, the fourth caliph and a cousin of the prophet Muhammad. It translates as 'Lion City' from haydar 'lion' and abad 'settlement'.

Islamabad is derived from two words abad 'settlement', preceded by the religion meaning 'submission to God'.

Quetta is a variation of the Pashto word Kot meaning 'fortress'.

Sukkur is thought to come from the Arabic word shakkar 'sugar' as sugarcane fields were once abundant here.

Sheikhupura was earlier known as Virk Garh or 'Virk fort', this the name of the tribe resident here. Later it became Jehangirabad, named after the Mughal Emperor Jehangir, with the modern name derived from Jehangir's nickname of Shekhu, coined by his mother.

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

Nigeria 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 Nigeria's cities.

Lagos is a name given to the place by the Portuguese, it means simply 'lakes'.

Kano was originally known as Dala, after Dalla Hill, and remained such until the end of the 15th century. Later it took its current name, itself borrowed from the name of the hereditary rulers named Kano.

Ibadan comes from the phrase eba odan, 'between the forest and the plains'.

Benin came from the Portuguese pronunciation of the original name of Ubinu, itself from Ile-Ibinu 'the land of vexation' as coined by Prince Oranmiyan, he frustrated in his attempts at governing this area.

Port Harcourt, built in 1912, was named to honour Lewis Vernon Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Jos is recorded as originally being known as Gwosh, a former village named for its position n the hills.

Enugu is derived from two Igbo words, where Enu Ugwu means 'hill top'.

Zaria was named after Queen Zaria.

Bauchi was named after a hunter called Baushe or encouraged Yaqub, of the Sokoto Empire, to build this city.

Sokoto is a modern version of the earlier Arabic name, itself from suk meaning 'market'.

Yola comes from the Fulfulde meaning 'great plain'.

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