www.alphadictionary.com

i think about this word every morning when i do my eyes. mascara. obviously it sounds like mask but I did a little online research and found this:

"Actually, mascara `eyelash darkener,' which entered English in around 1890 in the form mascaro, comes from Spanish mascara `soot, stain, mask,' from the same source as Italian maschera `mask.' English mask comes from maschera, as well. The source of the Italian form is, ultimately, Arabic maskhara `buffoon,' from sakhira `to ridicule.'"

what intrigued me was the relation to the arabic maskhara, meaning buffoon. That seems odd, what's up with that?

- christine

A buffoon can be a type of clown and most clowns (or jesters) use some kind of make-up (or mask). I think that is probably the connection.

Semantic drift

Apo

hrm. that could work. interesting evolution, none the less.