WORDS
OF UNKNOWN OR OTHER ORIGIN
Combined
words (e.g., blackball = black + ball) and descriptive terms
(e.g., brass-collar) are often creative inventions of English
speakers that don't have a specific etymology. While the words
"black" and "ball" certainly do have ancestral
tongues, the combined word is an 18th century creation, likely
of British or American English origin.
Then again, there are some words we simply can't pinpoint
with any certainty, like haver.
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WORDS
OF UNKNOWN OR OTHER ORIGIN
Key: The word's language of origin appears directly below it, and to the right of that is an example sentence and an etymology, along with any related themes.
Word |
Phonetic Pronunciation |
Part of Speech |
Definition |
blackball
Other |
BLAK-bawl |
|
1. to vote against; esp. to exclude from membership by casting
a negative vote
2. to exclude socially; ostracize
3. (as a noun) a negative vote |
Ex.
Etym. |
Calvin and Hobbes routinely blackball girls in their frequent treetop G.R.O.S.S. meetings.
Attested to an old practice of voting to condemn a criminal by placing black pebbles in an urn.
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boondoggle
Other |
BOON-daw-gul |
|
1. a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a hatband or ornament
2. a wasteful or impractical project often involving graft
3. verb : to do useless, wasteful, or trivial work
4. verb : to deceive or attempt to deceive |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Enron's CEO was jailed for boondoggling investors.
Unknown, though attributed to American scoutmaster R.H. Link as a name for the braided cord described in definition 1.
Sounds Silly
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brass-collar
Other |
BRASS CAUL-er |
|
1. having unwavering loyalty to a political party
2. having the character-istic of always voting along party
lines |
Ex.
Etym. |
Grandpa is a diehard, brass-collar Democrat, having never voted for a Republican in his life.
Likely from the image of a faithful dog, bound
by a collar and leash.
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chilblain
Other |
CHIL-blayne |
|
an inflammatory swelling produced by exposure to cold, affecting the hands and feet, accompanied with heat, itching, and occasionally ulceration |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
After hours of camping in a damp chill, his hands were covered in gruesome chilblains.
From chill + blain (a blain is an inflammatory swelling or sore)
Likely Literary
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haver
Unknown |
HAY-ver |
verb |
to talk nonsense (regional: Scotland & N. England) |
Ex.
Note: |
Don’t ask him, he’ll just haver at you about how good things used to be.
Havers! = Nonsense!
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toothsome
Other |
TOOTH-sum |
adjective |
1. pleasing to the taste; delicious
2. sexually attractive |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Rel. Themes: |
That Chinese restaurant across the way has been
serving up toothsome dishes for
years.
Every eye was on the toothsome young blonde as she entered the room in a swirl of white linen and lace.
High-Falutin' Praises
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