Tag: etymology

Also I hate “Argument from etymology”

I’ve seen people be like “the word vagina is misogynist because it comes from a word for scabbard so it’s all about VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN”

and I’m like “you don’t stab your scabbard, goofus, you’d break your sword, you put it in slow and gentle and keep it there so it’s safe and doesn’t get nicked or dented… which implies a vagina is a safe place to keep your penis when you’re not using it, which I mean doesn’t make much sense but it’s certainly not violent”

Also words do not carry their origins around forever.  Comicbook doesn’t secretly mean that superhero comics are secretly all works of comedy even though the form originated with collected newspaper funnies.

Okay so word origins are not always hiding in the modern meaning and usage of the word

Like the origin of the word “wife” is ugly and misogynistic, but that doesn’t mean the current word holds the same meaning.

Here’s why, take the word “comicbook” when you see that, what comes to mind?  Superheroes, right?  Not comedy?  Even though right there in the word is the word “comic” as in “stand up comic” and originally comic books were mostly collections of comedy strips.

Current usage does not always imply the origin.  Nice used to mean ignorant, but no longer does.

Seriously. lady comes from 

hlæfdige which means loafmaid or “one who kneads bread” and lord comes from

hlaford

which means loaf guardian.

LOAF GUARDIAN