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'.

Synonym Etymologies L

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter L and light.

Clearly there are two senses for the word - opposite of 'dark' and also of 'heavy'. In the illumination sense it is a noun which has not changed in meaning since the days of Proto-Indo-European some five thousand plus years ago where leuk also meant 'brightness' as well as 'light'. As an adjective, the term is also from Proto-Indo-European but this time the root is legwh meaning 'not heavy', or 'having little weight'. Note when the term first came to Old English it was used in the sense of 'not heavy' but also as 'easy to do, trifling, quick, agile'. Sticking with synonyms of the noun first, we come to ....

Bright is another from Proto-Indo-European where bhereg also meant 'shine, white'. Note the use of 'bright' in the sense of 'intelligent, quick-witted' is unrecorded prior to 1741.

Shine is likely from the Proto-Indo-European root skai meaning both 'shine' and ....

Gleam is another of Proto-Indo-European origin where ghel was used in the sense of 'shine' (and also the origin of the word for the shiniest of metals 'gold'). It is not as confusing as it seems but does take a little thinking about - simply two words with the same meaning, which have evolved into synonyms. Sadly we have no idea why that ancient language had two words for the same thing as earlier languages are unknown.

Glow shares a Proto-Indo-European root with 'gleam' in ghel. While the above came to English through the Saxons,'glow' reached our shores through the Norsemen.

Lustre came to English from Old French, to there through the Latin family of languages and ultimately Proto-Indo-European leuk 'brightness'.

Radiant shares an origin with, of all things, 'radiation', itself sharing a root with 'radius'. This Latin word radius would be difficult to beat when it comes to versatility, for it was used to mean 'staff, stake, rod, spoke of a wheel, ray of light, beam of light, radius of a circle'. Unsurprisingly the origins of this word are a mystery. Note, not until 1610 was this used to describe the bones of the forearms.

Glare is from the verb and, once again, can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European root ghel.

Brilliance, a form of 'brilliant', came to English from French and prioer to that Latin. For those who stress the word by adding an additional syllable at the beginning - ber-rilliant - they may be interested to know that berillare was the original Latin form and was used to mean 'to shine like beryl' and from the Latin name of the precious stone beryllus.

Wispy is one of the very few synonyms for the adjective, itself indicative of the comparatively recent use of the word in this light (pun intended). Derived from 'wisp', this connected to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wispel meaning 'a measure of grain'.

Thin has come to English through the Germanic languages and is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ten 'to stretch'.

What may also be of interest is the first known usage of terms using 'light' as one elemt. 'To make light of' first recorded in 1520; 'see the light' was in use by 1680s; 'out like a light' as recent as 1934; 'nightlight' is from 1851; 'lightbulb' comes from the 1920s (and jokes about lightbulbs have been told since 1971); 'light show' (as in a rock concert) first appears in 1966; 'lightfingered' is first seen in the 1540s; and 'blacklight' first used in 1927. One phrase, first recorded in the 1590s, has fallen out of usage and that is 'light-skirts', sais to describe a 'woman of easy virtue'.

Guam 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 Guam's settlements.

Dededo is by far the largest settlement with a population of almost 45,000. The origin of the name is unclear but often said to mean 'two inches' and from the Chamorro word dededo. Other words from the same language are offered, such as dedeggo 'heel of the foot' and deggo 'tiptoes'. If any of these explanations are the true origin then the reference is a mystery.

Yigo is another which is by no means certain but most often said to come from either the Spanish yugo meaning 'yoke', as in that used to hitch an animal to the plough. However there is also an alternative name for the area, this Asyigo said to represent 'the home of a man called Yigo'.

Tamuning is a Carolinian word given after they settled here around the middle of the 19th century and thought to be after the chieftain of this people.

Mongmong-Toto-Maite are actually three villages and one principality. Once again the origin is uncertain but this has not prevented an intricate tale of how these names came about. It seems the Chamorro version of creation involved the god Puntan and his sister Fu'una. On his death Fu'una used the god's body to form the world and the sky, with his eyes producing the moon and stars and his flesh the earth. Hence the Chamorro words momongmong is a description of a heartbeat, toto meant 'to recline', and Maite is from ma'ette or 'the touch of another'.

Mangilao is undoubtedly from the Chamorro word ilao meaning 'to search'. This refers to this being a hunter's paradise where, in the past, many would come seeking deer, boar, fish and crabs.

Barrigada is from the local word for 'flank', here a possible reference to hunters coming here and the target when hunting deer. However this idea likely came from the Chamorro creation myth, for barrigada 'flank' and tuyan 'stomach' would refer to the two central hills of Guam, each formed by parts of the body of Fu'unta.

Chalan-Pago-Ordot uses the Chamorro Chalan Pago or 'the pago road', a reference to this being the route from Hagatna to Pago and is covered with Pago trees. Ordot is a second village name, this from otdot meaning 'ant'.

Yona is from iyo na, this Chamorro and meaning 'to possess something'. This has given rise to the tale of how visitors to the region, admiring the extensive coconut plantation, enquired who owned this area and heard the response Iyo na or 'we do'.

Santa Rita is clearly of Spanish origin, this from the patron saint of St Rita of Cascia.

Agat is thought to either come from the cry of the Marianas Crow which flies here calling out aga, this was then adopted by the Agat people who came to settle here and thereafter the place, or from the Chamorro haga meaning 'blood'.

Talofofo gets its name from entalo' i fe fo' meaning 'between the cliffs' and an apt description of the location. Note some argue this could also be from fo' fo' or 'bubbling spring' and thus 'between the bubbling springs'.

Sinajana is possibly from the local word china-jan, this referring to the local cookware designed specifically to cook the yams which, owing to their proliferation, would have been the staple food.

Inarajan is a Spanish pronunciation of the original Chamorro name of Inalahan

Asan is from hassan meaning 'scarce, rare', although just what this refers to is uncertain.

Merizo was earlier known as Malesso this from the Chamorro word lesso and the name given to the immature stage of the rabbit fish which run these bays at certain times of the year and prove a great delicacy for the locals.

Piti is thought to come from the Chamorro word puti meaning 'to hurt, ache' but the reference is unclear.

Hagatna is from the Chamorro haga' na, literally translating as 'his (or her) blood'.

Umatac is believed to come from the name of the Chamorro equivalent of March, this being Umatalaf, if so this may refer to the annual celebration held to the north of the village before and after the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century.

Ma'ina comes from Chamorro ina or 'shine, illuminate'. Here the reference is disputed, some point to those who hunted at night and used torches to light their way, others speak of the sunrise marking the arrival of a new birth, and a third explanation speaks of the moon illuminating the valley in which the settlement lies.

Unlike many nations of the Americas once under Spanish rule, few of the place names have come from this language but have retained their indigenous names. Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.