The Annual Longbourn Tradition of Etymologies of Christmas Words

Pine – from the Latin pinus = tree sap

1. Evergreens with needles and cones

or from the Greek poine = payment or punishment

2. Suffer intense longing or yearning

3. To wither through longing or grief

Besides the classical metaphor using the evergreen as an image for eternal life, I think of the richness behind pine in the season of advent, when we are told several of the characters in the nativity story (particularly in Luke’s account) were waiting expectantly for the coming of Immanuel.

Clove – from the Latin clou = nail

1. An East Indian evergreen tree

2. Spice made from dried flower buds of that tree

3. Small section of separable bulb, as garlic

4. Past tense of cleave, as in to split

5. Past tense of cleave, as in to cling

The tree buds are close together, as yet unfurled, when harvested and dried to make the spice, which tends to be ground, separated into tiny pieces to flavor our holiday feasts.  It reminds me of the Body of Christ, which is the people of God gathered together in one, but bought by the brokenness of Christ’s physical body.  Also, for this reason a man shall cleave from his mother and father and cleave to his wife.  And finally, the Israelites were not allowed to eat animals whose hooves were not cloven (which means split).  It is also good to know the third definition when reading recipes; making a soup with a whole bulb of garlic rather than a whole clove is quite a difference.

Nutmeg – from Latin nuce muscata = musky nut

1. Evergreen from the East Indies

2. The hard, aromatic seed of the tree

3. Spice made from the ground seed of the tree

Mace – from Greek makir = the Indian spice

1. spice made from the covering of the kernel of a nutmeg

or from the Latin mateola = rod, club

2. heavy medieval war club with spiked head used to crush armor

3. a ceremonial staff borne as a symbol of authority of a legislative body

Though the etymologies are completely different, the spice called mace shares a name with the rod or club.  And the Messiah was prophesied to be a ruler, represented by a rod, whose government would be just and bring peace.

Cinnamon – from the Hebrew quinnamown = name for the tree

1. Tree from tropical Asia with fragrant bark

2. A spice made from grinding the tree’s bark

So many of these spices are made from crushing the coverings, either of the living tree or of the seed.  When Jesus was crushed, it brought us life.  He, the seed of Eve and of Abraham and of David, is our covering, our atonement for sin, and when God looks at His people He sees the fragrant righteousness of Christ.

Eggnog – from egg a derivative of the Indo-European root awi- = bird, and nog- (in the sense of ale) origin unknown

1. Drink consisting of milk and beaten eggs, often mixed with rum, brandy, or wine

I absolutely love finding a word whose origin we still cannot determine.

Ale – from Indo-European root alu- = related to sorcery, magic, possession, and intoxication

1. Fermented alcoholic drink made from hops and malt, and heavier than beer

Given the Bible’s take on sorcery and on intoxication, I found this a fascinating root for a drink almost the equivalent of beer.  (The root is also found, for example, in the word hallucination.)

Gander – from Indo-European root ghans- = goose

1. Male goose

2. Half-wit, simpleton

3. Quick look (from the idea of craning one’s neck)

Partridge – from Indo-European root perd- = to fart (from the sound made when a partridge is flushed…  see video)

1. Old-world plump game bird, similar to grouse or bob-white

That bird sitting atop the pear tree, his name has an interesting root.  And there’s just no good way to explain…

Twelve – from Indo-European roots twa- = two, and leikw- = leave or lend (“left over from ten”)

1. The number represented by 12 or Roman  numerals XII

For a mathematical system somewhat based on 12, isn’t it interesting that the word is just an earlier and, compared to the counting ten-based system reflected in the teens and further numbers, more mathematical word for ten and two?  I don’t know how you learned math, but I definitely learned about “borrowing” from the tens’ column in subtraction.

All definitions, etymologies, and roots summarized from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New College Edition © 1976 unless otherwise linked.

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

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Window on My Life

 

 I recently acquired two lap harps. So far I have gotten them relatively tuned, with the help of my more musical brother. One I tuned while driving home from work today. The only thing I can play, besides Hugh Hewitt’s theme music, is that exciting sound effect in strange low-budget movies: dlu-n-h-n-hg! Like that.

My room is clean and my house is getting that way. Even my office got a taste of my motivation to clean today.

There are bright happy plants growing in my garden, but I don’t think I sowed them. Except I don’t know what the things I did plant are supposed to look like, so I’m catching onto Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares. Except I know what wheat looks like. In fact, I hope to witness a bit of wheat harvest this year. Anyone know a farmer?

In the world of sports, I am rather discouraged at the shoving matches that purport to be basketball finals. I don’t like the Lakers, and I don’t like the Nuggets even though I live in Colorado. For as long as I can remember, my friends have joked that any of us are “so good we could play for the Nuggets.” And now that isn’t true, so I don’t know what to say when watching amateur basketball antics. I don’t know anything about the Cleveland and Orlando basketball teams except that the games have been close and the buzzer shot in over time tonight did not go in to win the game. Colorado Rockies continue to lose. I heard something about being second worst in the league.

The snippets of information I have heard about the nomination to the Supreme Court have me concerned. She’s young. I don’t understand what makes her qualified. Since when does it become a point in your favor that you were not raised well? (I am not sure anyone was saying she wasn’t, but I did hear this mentioned lately, and decided to raise the question: poverty, divorced parents, an indifferent education are a lot better for Cinderella than world leaders.) Speaking of being raised well, what is up with the government deciding that it knows more about a child’s welfare and healthcare than its parents? And even if it did know better, who is going to pay for this mandated treatment? And what if the treatment actually makes the boy worse? What if something else would work better? It isn’t as though an adult with legal custody of a dependent were depriving the sick person of food and water, as was done with the complicity of the Florida courts several years ago.

Complicity is a word that makes me think of Ann Coulter, who is harsh, but oh so witty. And she is a real political conservative. Why do we let people call themselves liberal – a happy, generous title and moderate (as though most are not intolerant whiners) while we get called conservative, a misnomer if I ever heard one. If we’re supposed to be conserving something, we are certainly failing.

Words make me happy. I have lately acquired the following list:

Aver – to positively declare
See very, veritas, etc.

Asseverate – to declare earnestly or solemnly
See severe

Triumvirate – a government of three officers or magistrates functioning jointly; a coalition of three magistrates or rulers for joint administration; any association of three in office or authority

extirpate – to pluck up by the stem, pull out the roots, completely exterminate

fungible – something that is exchangeable or substitutable

embarrass – to cause confusion or shame

 

polemic – apologetics focused more on offense (attacking another position or belief) than defense

 

trow – to know, trust, or believe

serial comma – (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma) is the comma used immediately before a grammatical conjunction (nearly always and or or; sometimes nor) that precedes the last item in a list of three or more items.

I am still trying to sort out whether trothplighting refers to engagement or marriage. I am particularly interested in the use Tolkien made of the word in Return of the King. For much of my life I thought it synonymous with marriage vows. Then I heard that it was the official betrothal ceremony (in the old days weddings were apparently three step processes). And just the other night, in between episodes of Monster Quest on the history channel, I heard “plight my troth” in wedding vows on a movie.

A few weeks ago I picked up a Rich Mullins album at the thrift store, and have been delighting to rouse myself with his songs, including The Color Green, which has this line: “the wrens have returned, and they’re nesting…”  I have been curious about wrens for a long time, and ptarmigans, partridges, grouse, and pheasants.  My other favorite birds are chickadees, eagles, and definitely at the top of the list: Mourning Doves. 

Look what I made:

 

And I simply cannot call it quits before 1 AM.  Silly me. 

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

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