Five Misleading Names

Five Misleading Names Five Misleading Names Five Misleading Names By Maeve Maddox For most people, the word greyhound probably triggers the idea of a skinny gray dog, while the word nightmare conjures up the image of a horse galloping through the night. Here are five words whose names suggest meanings that arent there. catgut: The dried and twisted intestines of sheep, also of the horse and ass; used for the strings of musical instruments; also as bands in lathes, clocks, etc. The word in English probably originated as kitgut, from kit, small fiddle used by dancing teachers. This kit probably derives from OE cythere, from Latin cithara, from Greek kithara. The OED notes that the Dutch word kattedarm does mean guts or intestines of the cat, but adds that theres no evidence that catgut was ever used for the purpose of stringing a musical instrument. greyhound: A variety of dog used in the chase, characterized by its long slender body, and long legs, by the keenness of its sight, and by its great speed in running. Old English had the word grighund. Hund, of course, meant dog. The grig part comes from an Old Norse word for bitch. nightmare: Now usually: a bad dream producing feelings of distress. Originally (usu. with the): a feeling of suffocation or great distress experienced during sleep. A nightmare was a female spirit or monster supposed to settle on and produce a feeling of suffocation in a sleeping person or animal. This kind of mare has cognates in several languages. Its the mar in French cauchemar (nightmare), and is related to Irish morrigain, queen of the elves. It is not related to the mare that means female horse. mustard gas: A colorless oily liquid whose vapor is a powerful irritant and vesicant acting directly on the skin, used in chemical warfare, originally at Ypres during the First World War (1914-18). Mustard gas isnt made from mustard, and its not a gas. It was yellow and those unfortunate enough to get a whiff of it thought it resembled the smell of mustard, garlic, or horseradish. Its an atomized liquid. heartburn: An uneasy burning sensation in the lower part of the chest, due to putrefactive fermentation of the food in the stomach Greek kardia could mean both heart and stomach. Greek kardiakos meant pertaining to the heart. Latin cardiacus could mean pertaining to the stomach. The term heartburn arose from confusion between the areas of heart and stomach. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersUse a Dash for Number RangesDealing With A Character's Internal Thoughts