The Writer's Thesaurus
By Dr Oliver Tearle
Anyone who has eaten an avocado has, at least etymologically speaking, eaten a testicle. How is this so? Let’s delve into the curious origins of the word for the fruit, avocado and see how they got bound up with the world of the legal profession and with male genitalia. Continue reading “The Curious Origin of the Word ‘Avocado’”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
The word ‘naked’ is so well-known, so familiar to us, that it’s easy to overlook its strangeness. It rhymes with no other word in English, and looks like a weird hybrid or cross between a verb and an adjective. How did the word naked come about, and what are its origins?
Let’s strip the word ‘naked’ naked, and explore its curious history. Continue reading “The Curious Origin of the Word ‘Naked’”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
Here’s a question for you. When the word ‘virus’ was first used in English, what did it mean? Let’s make it a little easier by making the quiz multiple-choice. Did ‘virus’ originally mean:
a) venom or poison
b) violent animosity
c) semen
d) an infectious agent? Continue reading “The Curious Origin of the Word ‘Virus’”