Search found 131 matches

by tkowal
Thu Mar 28, 2024 8:19 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Incipient
Replies: 2
Views: 2665

Re: Incipient

I was wondering whether the English verb to have and the Latin habere (meaning to have; Spanish haber and Portuguese haver ) descend from the same PIE root. I was too lazy to search for an answer, so I asked Google's Gemini. Here is the answer: No, the English verb "to have" and the Latin ...
by tkowal
Tue Mar 26, 2024 7:52 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Dalliance
Replies: 0
Views: 31

Dalliance

No relation to alliance. :D
by tkowal
Tue Mar 05, 2024 4:34 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Gargantuan
Replies: 3
Views: 187

Re: Gargantuan

Among all those language references you missed the Portuguese garganta (throat) which seems to be the closest to the GW.


... the same in Spanish :D
by tkowal
Mon Feb 26, 2024 3:58 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Egoist
Replies: 2
Views: 197

Re: Egoist

There are also egocentric and egomaniac.
by tkowal
Thu Jan 04, 2024 2:00 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Nitid
Replies: 3
Views: 7357

Re: Nitid

Knit is another good candidate. :D
by tkowal
Thu Jan 04, 2024 8:52 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Nitid
Replies: 3
Views: 7357

Nitid

Bright, lustrous, shining. Derived from Latin nitidus, but I didn't find anything earlier. It doesn't appear in Etymoline.
by tkowal
Fri Nov 10, 2023 8:03 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Divan
Replies: 2
Views: 3771

Divan

This Middle Eastern word seems to have originated in Persian which is an IE language but went through Arabic, Turkish and French before appearing in English.
by tkowal
Wed Nov 01, 2023 10:25 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Aporophobia
Replies: 1
Views: 3187

Aporophobia

Obviously of Greek origin, but apparently came via Spanish. Negative attitudes towards poor people. :cry:
by tkowal
Wed Nov 01, 2023 10:20 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Ghoul
Replies: 5
Views: 4513

Re: Ghoul

Oh, thank you for pointing out Algol. This should amuse any programmer who happens to be listening in.
You're right: Algol stands for Algorithmic Language!
Gives a whole new meaning to "ghost in the machine".
Slava, you always have the last word! :D
by tkowal
Tue Oct 31, 2023 12:32 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Ghoul
Replies: 5
Views: 4513

Re: Ghoul

Oh, thank you for pointing out Algol. This should amuse any programmer who happens to be listening in.
You're right: Algol stands for Algorithmic Language!
by tkowal
Wed Oct 11, 2023 4:37 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Conjugal
Replies: 3
Views: 2445

Re: Conjugal

Let us not forget our word-related relation here: conjugate.
... and (verb) conjugation.
by tkowal
Fri Sep 08, 2023 6:56 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Decollate
Replies: 6
Views: 2860

Re: Decollate

Apparently, French décoller and Portuguese decolar, both meaning "to take off" (like an airplane), have the same PIE origin.
by tkowal
Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:32 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Adjacent
Replies: 5
Views: 2281

Re: Adjacent

Actually there are two different Latin verbs iacere, one (with a short first E) meaning 'to throw', ...
As a matter of fact, the words jet and jetty are derived from this form of the verb via French jeter. See https://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/jetty.
by tkowal
Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:22 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Jitterbug
Replies: 5
Views: 2132

Re: Jitterbug

Afterthought: Hopak can't possibly be Russian -- there isn't any "h" in Russian; it would have been "gopak". According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopak) , hopak is a Ukrainian folk dance, and its name is spelled "гопак". Unlike in Russian, the Cyrilli...
by tkowal
Fri Jun 30, 2023 8:06 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Adjacent
Replies: 5
Views: 2281

Re: Adjacent

The Latin verb iacere still survives in Romance languages: Spanish yacer and Portuguese jazer, meaning "to lie", "to rest", "to be buried".

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