Weekly Wonderful Words

English is a truly impressive language, with a vast array of words that are interesting and quirky. Or, as I like to say, wonderful.

Words have fascinated me for a long time. They are the natural tools of the most magical occupation ever created – writing. I find it a huge privilege to spend all of my time creating artwork that both informs and entertains people.

Here are some of my favourites. Unlike most other articles, I’ve gone into more than the basic definitions of the words, including what I have been able to find out about the history of the word and how it has developed over time. Language is never static while it is living, and I would argue that there has seldom been a language quite as ‘alive’ as English.

Autumn

I’m fairly sure that I don’t need to include the definition for this word. But just in case, it is the ‘season after summer and before winter’.

It possibly comes from an Etruscan word, autumnus which entered Latin and was possibly influenced by auctus, which meant ‘increase’. It entered English from the Old French autumpne or automne, which were used in the 13th century, although it didn’t start to replace the word harvest as the name for the season until the 16th century.

Concern

There are a few definitions of the word concern. ‘A matter of interest to someone’, ‘the placement of interest or worry on a subject’, ‘a worry; a sense that something may be wrong: an identification of a possible problem’, ‘the expression of solicitude, anxiety, or compassion towards a thing or person’, or finally ‘a business, firm or enterprise: a company’.

It seems to have come into English from the Old French concerner at some point in the 15th century, with the meaning ‘to refer or relate to’. It came from Late Latin concernere, which meant ‘to sift, mix as in a sieve’.

That is an odd Latin word to come to take on even its Old French use, but it seems to have been a shift around the root krei- which could mean to ‘discriminate’. This in turn shifted to mean ‘to be important to’, and from there ‘to worry, disturb, make uneasy or anxious’.

Inform

Inform means ‘to instruct, train’, or ‘to communicate knowledge to’, or ‘to give form or character to; to inspire (with a given quantity), to affect, influence (with a pervading principle)’, or ‘to direct, guide’.

It comes into English from the Old French informer, or enformer, which meant to ‘instruct, teach’. That came into Old French directly from the Latin informare ‘to shape, give form to, delineate’. The spelling enform persisted until around 1600.

It gained the more familiar meaning of ‘report facts or news, communicate information to’ at some point in the late 14th century.

Draconian

Draconion means ‘very severe’ or ‘of great severity’.

Given that the word apparently comes from the name of an ancient Greek statesman, Drakon, the word draconian entered the language very late. It came into English around 1759, although there are implied uses of draconic with the same meaning in the 1640s.

Drakon’s name was Latinised to Draco. He was the archon of Athens in around 621 BCE, and he laid down a range of laws for Athens which mandated death as a punishment even for minor crimes.

Hunker

Hunker means ‘to squat, crouch’.

This word comes into English from Scottish in around 1720. It is possible that it originally comes from the Old Norse huka, which meant ‘to crouch’, or hoka, or hokra, which meant ‘to crawl’.

In the southern USA, the phrase hunker down came into use around 1902, and became popular around 1965. It is possible that this use of the word came from the northern British hunker, meaning ‘haunch’.

Irregardless

This word came up in my random search for words. And, as it is a word that is often used, I felt it worth including. It is one of those words that cause such controversy that it provides clear proof of exactly how alive English truly is.

It is explained by the OED as a North American colloquialism.

As far as I can tell, it is a blending of the words irrespective and regardless. Because it contains the prefix ir, which means ‘not’, and the suffix -less, meaning ‘without’, the word contains a double negative, which could give it the meaning ‘in regard to’. Instead, it is often used instead of regardless, which itself means ‘indifferent; not heeding or looking’.

The earliest use I can find is from the 1870s and then it is exclusively an American usage, although it has since entered the wider English speaking world.

Sabotage

Sabotage means ‘malicious mischief’, or ‘deliberate subversive action to undermine activities’.

The word came from the French word sabot, which was a form of wooden shoe. Unfortunately, the pleasing story of the word coming from disgruntled French workers throwing their shoes into machinery to break it during the Industrial Revolution seems to be an urban myth. However pleasant that myth might be.

Instead, its modern use seems to have come from the verb saboter, which meant ‘to clatter like wooden shoes’, and so came to mean ‘to botch, screw up (a piece of music)’.

As best I can tell, its use came into English in the early 1900s.