Not the Normal Paranormal

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Not the Normal Paranormal.

Here the hour or so sees how I was introduced to the subject and began to write about same, how I research the stories, and my own experiences. A snippet or two from each of my paranormal books ends with the tale of the oddest of telephone calls (which I still don't understand) and then questions from the audience.

Perhaps one of my favourite stories comes from Birmingham and the Old Crown at Deritend. It is claimed to be the oldest pub in Birmingham, it has not always been a pub but is the licensed premises occupying the oldest building in the Second City. There are numerous ghostly reports from this place, but one stands out.

Today the pub offers a room for the night, but owing to building restrictions there are a couple of things which the Old Crown was unable to provide at the time. First there are no en suites in any of the rooms; next the shutters on the windows do not exclude all the light from the busy High Street outside; and finally there are no locks on the doors but a peg is inserted in the latch when inside the room. I mention these three key points as they are all relevant to the story.

A couple of thirty-somethings – we’ll call the Dick and Jane - opted for a weekend in Birmingham to liven up their marriage. After a meal and few drinks in the city centre, they returned to the Old Crown for drinks and an early night. Upstairs in their room, with shutters drawn and peg inserted in the latch, they did what comes naturally to couples in love. (That’s sex, if you don’t know or can’t remember.)

In the early hours of the morning Dick awoke and found he had to answer a call of nature. He tried to ignore it, having no en suite, but eventually had fold back the quilt, slide out of bed, slip on his trousers and, having removed the peg, managed to slip out of the room and pad quietly along the corridor to the visit the facilities.

Minutes later, suitably relieved, he padded back to the room but stopped when reaching the door which he had left ajar. Standing outside he could not believe his ears. From inside the room came noises, sounds he was very familiar with, and sounds he had heard earlier in the evening from Jane. Indeed, they were very recognizably from Jane.

Dick jumped to the conclusion that someone had taken his place in the bed. But for reasons I have never understood, decided to wait outside until the intruder emerged (the door being his only avenue of escape) instead of rushing in and coming to Jane’s rescue. But this plan fell through when, despite the ‘action’ inside the room clearly having reaching a conclusion, nobody emerged.

In rushed Dick (perhaps I should have chosen a different name) to gallantly defend Jane’s honour, only to find she was lying in bed exactly as he had left her and the bedclothes just as he had left them. Perplexed, Dick removed his trousers, slid into bed and, just as he pulled the quilt across, Jane turned over, three an arm and a leg over him and announced “That was the best EVER!”

Dick later told me he has never had the nerve to tell her he wasn’t in the room at the time.

Having related this story when giving this talk, I have been asked several times the room number and I can reveal this to be …… well you will have to read the book or book me for the talk to find out.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Synonym Etymologies J

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter J and jump. The etymology of 'jump' is difficult to see, although it seems most often to be said to be related to a Gallo-Roman dialect word jumba 'to rock' or yumpa with the same meaning. This is largely based on the assumption the word was brought back to England following the Hundred Years War. Swedish gumpa 'to spring' and German gampen 'to hop' have been shown to be unrelated. Interesting to note that 'jump' as a euphemism for sexual intercourse dates from as early as 1630.

Leap is a very Germanic word and can be traced, and through nearly all Germanic languages, to the Proto-Germanic hlaupan. It is easy to see how other Germanic tongues have used this root to refer to 'running', Dutch lopen, Old Norse hlaupa, Old Frisian hlapa, Old Saxon hlopan being just a few examples. This is clearly the origin of the English word 'lope', a running gait with long strides. Note that 'leap' has been connected to 'bound' since at least 1720 and a fact which leads nicely on to the next word.

Bound came to English from Old French bondir, which was originally used to mean 'rebound' but more in the sense of 'echo' or even simply making a noise like the blare of a trumpet. Note that 'bomb' is from a similar root.

Hop is another of Germanic roots, words in Old Norse, Dutch, German, and Old English all ultimately from Proto-Germanic hupnojan with the same meaning. Note we were never 'hopping mad' before 1838, and research also revealed a stew of bacon, rice and peas known as Hopping-John from 1838.

Spring is also from a Proto-Germanic root, where sprengan has the same meaning. In fact all Germanic languages use 'spring' to refer to leaping upwards, and is the reason why the early growing season is known by the same word.

Bounce has been used in the modern sense since 1510, but also existed prior to that to mean 'thump, hit', which is almost what a ball does when it bounces.

Prance originated as a word describing horses in high mettle, and only used to refer to a strutting or bouncing gait from the late 18th century.

Synonym Etymologies H

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter H and hot. As ever a simple mono-syllabic word is very old and often difficult to trace very far. We do know it is Germanic and has never changed its meaning in all that time. It does seem to have been used to refer to objects which have are overly warm, rather than air temperature or any comment on the weather. Perhaps of greater interest is the Middle English pronunciation with a long vowel, thus rhyming with such as 'boat' or 'wrote'.

Warm began as the adjective, another of Germanic origins, and also one where the early roots are unclear as use of the word has never changes.

Balmy is from 'balm' and did originally refer to something 'soothing, relaxing'. The term has the same root as the balsam tree, both referring to the therapeutic properties.

Boiling, from 'boil', is derived from the Proto-Indo-European roos beu 'to swell'. The reference to heat needs no explanation.

Searing is from 'sear', and originally began meaning 'dry'. Again the heat reference is self-explanatory.

Roasting, from 'roast', refers to meat cooked on a grill or grate, and not used as a term for food cooked in an oven (which should be 'bake') until around the start of the 14th century. As with other simplistic words, the meaning has never changed.

Scorching is from 'scorch', itself used in many early Germanic languages to mean 'shrink, dry up'. Note there is also an Old English word scorchen meaning 'strip the skin from', which has the same origins.

Spicy today is used to refer to something a little piquant, and yet the root is in Latin where it was used in the sense of 'kind, sort' and is related to the word 'species'.

Piquant is clearly of French derivation, and is from the Old French piquer 'to prick, sting, nettle', and has the same root as 'pike' (as in the weapon).

Strong only became used in the flavour sense in recent times, earlier 'strong' was used in the sense of 'severe, firm, bold, resolute' and is derived from Proto-Indo-European strenk meaning 'tigh, narrow'.

Pungent has the same origins as 'piquant' above, although it came across to English much earlier.

Aromatic, from 'aroma', is from the Latin aroma meaning 'sweet odour' and/or the Greek aroma meaning 'spice, herb'.

Ardent is the first of the hot synonyms where it describes someone as 'attractive'. It was once used to describe the effect of alcoholic spirits, and is derived from Proto-Indo-European as 'to burn, glow'.

Sexy is clearly from 'sex' which, in the gender sense, is only seen from 1520s. Earlier, 'sex' was used to mean 'to sever', thus the division between male and female genders was recognised by the Romans with the Latin sexus and sectio.

Desirable, from 'desire', comes from the Old French verb desirrer, itself from the Latin desiderare which meant 'long for, wish' as the modern 'desire' but could also seen as the phrase de sidere 'from the stars' and thus 'awaiting what the stars will bring'.

Sultry comes from an obsolete verb sulter which meant the same as 'swelter', the use of which is clear.

Alluring, from 'allure', began in English from the Old French alurer. This was not only used to mean 'attract, captivate' but also 'to train' when used in the context of hunting with falcons. If this sounds rather odd, then compare the lure used to train falcons.

Seductive is from 'seduce' which came to English from Latin seducere 'to lead astray' and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European deuk 'to lead'.

Dishy, unknown until 1961, clearly describes someone as resembling a dish, but just why anyone would wish to be compared to a plate (for that is what a tisc was) is a complete mystery to me.

Current is the first of the synonyms meaning 'in vogue' or perhaps 'popular'. It is not used in the sense in English until the middle of the 15th century, it comes from Old French corant meaning 'lively, running, eager' and it is this positive sense which has endured.

Contemporary is one of those oddities which I never saw as representing Latin con 'together' and a form of 'temporal' until I began studying it. The modern sense is only two centuries old, and until around the same time, the word was 'cotemporary' and meant 'together in time'.

Recent is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ken meaning 'fresh, new, young'. Note the present meaning is only known since the 1620s, while for much of the following four centuries you were as likely to see 'recency' as 'recent'.

The word we began with, 'hot', reminded me of something I heard whilst waiting in the queue at the bank - that I was queuing in the bank dates it. The bank clerk/teller asked the customer, who was bringing back unused foreign currency, how did she find her time abroad. "Oh yer know", replies the customer. "'O'!" One word, one syllable. three letters, and she managed to get rid of two letters. This meant employing both an unaspiration and a glottal stop in a three-letter word. I still wince when I think of it.

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, I thought I would take a look at the many terms of endearment found in English. Of course, I will look at these through the eyes of the etymologist. I've only used single words, phrases and most compound terms are ignored - and, most importantly, I've quite obviously stuck with those which may convey a slightly different meaning.

Babe is actually an earlier word than 'baby', itself the diminutive of 'babe'. The word is first seen as baban in the early thirteenth century, which almost certainly began as being imitative of baby talk (just as the word 'babble' is).

Honey is an old word, originates in Proto-Germanic hunang with the same meaning. The root is Proto-Indo-European, although it is not clear what that root is. One suggestion is kenekos meaning 'golden, yellow' or even 'brownish', all of which could describe the colour of honey. Such simplicity is common in early forms of language, for example many animal names are derived from their colour: bear 'brown' and hare 'grey'.

Sweetie is a diminutive of 'sweet', itself from Old English swete which, rather than describing a taste, referred to a person's disposition as 'pleasant'. Hence, what is seen as the modern use of 'sweet' is actually the original.

Love has not changed in meaning since its earliest known form of Proto-Indo-European leubh, used to mean 'care, desire, love'.

Sunshine is related to an Old English word sunscin which meant 'mirror'. It is worth noting how in the times when Old English was spoken, a mirror was a valuable item.

Dear is, like the word 'love', unchanged in all its meanings throughout its use.

Darling is a diminutive of 'dear' above.

Cupcake is not known as a compliment until the 1930s. It seems improbable that it could ever have been intended to refer to someone as 'sweet and desirable' - always assuming you like cake, or course.

Muffin is a word which is common to Western European languages, be they in the Latin group (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) or the Germanic arm (English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish), for both refer to a soft cake or bread roll.

Buttercup is a word unrecorded before 1777. Earlier the flower was known by two names, either a goldcup or a butterflower. Clearly all three names refer to the colour and shape of the flower, although why and when it was first used as a term of endearment is unclear.

Sugar is sweet, which is why it was used as a term of endearment, but the etymology of 'sugar' is not quite so complimentary, for we find words in Arabic, Persian, Latin, and Sanskrit all meaning 'grit, gravel' coming from the Greek for 'pebble'. Sugar originated in India (hence the Sanskrit link) and spread around the old world courtesy of the empire of Alexander the Great, who marvelled at this 'honey without bees'.

Beautiful is from 'beauty', itself traceable back to Proto-Indo-European dw-en-elo meaning 'to do, perform, show favour, revere' depending upon context.

Peach is from the soft fruit, itself named as it was referred to as 'the Persian apple'.

Gorgeous comes from 'gorge', a French word used rather differently to the English version in staing 'something adorning the throat', and derived from the Proto-Indo-European gwora 'food, devour'.

Doll is a pet form of the name Dorothy, although today it is most often used to describe the child's toy (as it has since 1700). Earlier, from 1610, it was used to mean 'mistress, paramour', by 1640 the term was a synonym for 'slattern', and from 1778 is also seen as meaning 'silly woman'.

Tiger goes back to Old Persian tigra meaning 'sharp, pointed'. Fitting for the large cat, but perhaps not for a man.

Handsome is a compound, where the two words first united in the late 14th century to describe something as 'appropriate', and not seen in the modern sense until 1580.

Stud can be traced to Proto-Indo-European sta when it meant 'to stand, make firm', which should be seen as a permanent settlement where horses were bred.

Casanova clearly comes from the man renowned for his promiscuity, the 19th century Giacomo Girolamo Casanova. To understand this more, perhaps we should Anglicise the rogue's name - in which case we would be referring to Jacob Jerome Newhouse. Try describing that ladies man as a 'Newhouse' and see where it gets you.

Dreamboat comes from a song released in 1936 entitled When My Dream Boat Comes Home, although some sources credit it to the book entitled Dream Boat, published in 1929.

Sexy is clearly derived from 'sex, the latter coming from Latin sexus 'male or female'. Earlier roots are unclear, although there is some thought of it being dervied from the same root as 'section' and thus meaning 'divide'.

Munchkin is first seen in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz published in 1900. The author never explained how he came up with the word.

Precious is related to 'price', itself from Proto-Indo-European pret-yo meaning 'to sell'.

Poppet is an early form of 'puppet', and became a term of endearment in the later 18th century, about the same time as it came to be used as an expression of contempt.

Hen, a slang term for a woman initially but one which also came to be used as a term of fondness, comes from a root which meant 'to sing'. Now I have often heard hens clucking, and would never refer to it as singing - although the 'hen' here is used to refer to the female of all birds.

Pet clearly comes from the use of the word as a favourite domesticated animal, the verb 'to pet' derived from that. But the word isn't seen until the late 15th century, prior to that it has the same origin as 'petty', from the French petit 'small'.

Mate has all manner of meanings throughout history - friends as much as much as mating - and all derived from ga-matjon which meant 'one having food together'.

Duck, as a term of endearment, comes from around 1580, when it would have referred to a person who walked with a waddle - as pregnant women are apt to with their balance affected by the excess weight carried. The word for the bird describes its tendency to dip below the water.

The A to Z of Sex (again)

A few years ago I looked at slang for sex and thought it was about time we delved again in the seedier side of the English language and look at some of the other terms coined thoughout history to describe the sexual act and things related to same. Enjoy! (And when I say "enjoy" I mean this and not that, if you see what I mean.)

A is for ALMANACH, a late 19th and early 20th century term for what the dictionary refers to as 'the female pudend' (and for balance).....

B is for BALD-HEADED HERMIT, the male member.

C is for CHAFER, the act of copulation.

D is for DEMIREP, a woman whose chastity is called into question, and a term first seen in print in Fielding's Tom Jones published in 1749.

E is for EARLY DOORS which, while soccer pundits might use it to mean 'early on', originated as rhyming slang for 'whores'. Hence we'll all titter when hearing Joe Manager speaking of how "The lads did good early doors".

F is for FIRE-PLUG, a young man with veneral disease.

G is for GETTER, a male with great capacity for fertilization.

H is for HANDFUL OF SPRATS, best way to describe this is 'groping'.

I is for IMPALE used to mean to possess (as in being with) a woman.

J is for JIGGLE, the sexual act.

K is for KEEPING-CULLY, a man who thinks he is keeping a mistress in a home for his own personal use, when in fact he's keeping her for anyone she chooses to be with.

L is for LAP-CLAP, conception.

M is for MEDICINE, the sex act (as in take one's medicine).

N is for NUTMEGS, testicles.

O is for OLD ADAM or the male member.

P is for PARSLEY-BED, again the dictionary refers to this as 'the female pudend'.

Q is for QUEER ROOST, maybe 'living over the brush', 'living in sin', co-habiting?

R is for RAMBLER, a woman of ill repute.

S is for SEALS, testicles again.

T is for THRUM, the sexual act.

U is for UPPER WORKS, the female breast.

V is for VIRGINS BUS, the last bus from Piccadilly Corner which, contrary to the name, was largely populated by prostitutes.

W is for WAP, the sexual act.

X, Y and Z had me beaten once again!

A Writer's A-Z of Sex

Last week's look at slang terms for drink and drunks meant I had to thumb through my Penguin Dictionary of Historical Slang in order to fill in the gaps. In doing so I noticed one subject appeared again and again, often many times on each page. Whilst I could have guessed the most common reference was to sex, even I was amazed by the quantity (but certainly not the quality) of the terms.

At first I intended to look at female references in one post with male to follow. However in this politically correct world half of the terms would have offended somebody and the other half likely everybody. Hence I opted for the following, written from the etymological viewpoint and not just for a cheap laugh (well mostly).

A is for ankle sprain, derived from the French avoir mal aux genous, it describes successful seduction.

B is for brim meaning to copulate and once the correct terminology in describing the mounting of the sow by the boar.

C is for cleave, used to mean 'to be wanton'.

D is for dark cully, a man who visits his mistress only under cover of darkness.

E is for ewe-mutton which is defined as 'an amateur prostitute', (an oxymoron if ever I heard one).

F is for firkytoodle, a delightful word originating in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries and which is probably best defined here as foreplay.

G is for gay which, in the late nineteenth century, was actually used to describe heterosexual activity.

H is for hoddypeak, another word for a cuckold

I is for itch-buttocks, not what it seems but used from the sixteenth century for what is sometimes referred to as 'the missionary position'.

J is for Judische-compliment, a strange early nineteenth expression for it describes a well-endowed man with no money.

K is for keep-down-the-census, which is easy enough to understand when we know if refers to pleasuring oneself.

L is for leather-stretching, the act of intercourse.

M is for machine, a reference to the male organ and derived from the French machin, or 'thing'.

N is for Nebuchadnezzar, a late nineteenth century reference to the male organ and related to "take Nebuchadnezzar out to grass", a rather wordy alternative to the three-letter word 'sex'.

O is for orchestra, thyming slang 'orchestra stalls' being 'testicles'.

P is for pestle, the male organ (no prizes for guessing what a 'mortar' was)

Q is for quicumque, a very young woman of questionable morals.

R is for rigsby, another young woman of questionable morals.

S is for scolopendra, yet another woman of questionable morals and apparently named for the sting in the tail of a centipede.

T is for table-end, describing a couple whose desires are so great they are unable to wait until they have 'climbed the stairs'.

U is for under-petticoating, quite simply is soliciting but applied to either sex.

V is for vrow-case, a brothel and probably derived from the Dutch vrouw 'a woman'.

W is for whipperginnie, a woman of ill repute

X, Y and Z had me beaten