ETYMOLOGY 101
This week’s spotlight word is rather obscure and hard
to use, but it can make one sound intelligent if properly
utilized, and has an interesting etymological history.
The word psephology comes from the
Greek psephos* (stone, pebble) and
-logy (study of), and thus means
literally “study of pebbles.” Why the relationship
between stones and elections? The answer: in mid-16th century
Italy, little smooth pebbles were cast and used as counters
in secret votes, so the identity of the voters could not be
known. Those who counted the votes were therefore counting
pebbles.
It is also attested that similar, colored stones were used
to pass judgment on criminals—black stones for condemnation
and white stones for acquittal—it is from this ancient
practice we get the word blackball.
The word ballot also derives from
this old practice of casting stones—it comes from the
Italian word pallotte, which is
a diminutive of palla, or “ball.”
The Italians considered the stones similar to little balls;
hence, ballot
comes from the Italian word meaning literally “little
ball.”
* Pronounced SAY-fos.
PLAIN
ENGLISH
WHAT
THE HECK IS A DIMINUTIVE?
A diminutive is a form of a word
used to express smallness. In English, this is usually
accomplished by adding –let
or –y or –ies.
Hence, ringlet is the diminutive
form of ring, and piglet
is a little pig. Diminutives are often given to things for
which we hold great affection; for example, mommy,
doggy, and jammies.
In Spanish, diminutives are more varied, often in the form
–ita or –illa.
Hence, casita is the diminutive
form of casa, and rosita
is a little rosa, or rose. The term
guerilla, often associated with
a type of warfare, literally means “little war”
in Spanish, and in practice this is often the case: guerillas
are infamous for their small, surprise attacks and for their
aversion to large and drawn out confrontations.
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the business of seizing and catching criminals—that
is, copping. Policemen were originally (and still are) called
coppers for this very reason.
The word cop is thus an abbreviation
for copper, and was first used to
describe a policeman in 1859. It was originally considered
very disrespectful to address a policeman as a cop; only in
recent times have those in blue begun calling themselves by
this word.
An alternate theory holds that the term comes from the large
copper buttons worn by the first modern police force in London,
established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. London police are
still called peelers and bobbies
after their founder, who was affectionately known as “Bobby”
Peel.
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Source: George Stimpson, A Book About A Thousand
Things, pg. 413.
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Sir Robert Peel
(1788-1850)
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One
popularly circulated explanation is that cop is short for
“Constable on Patrol” or “Constabulary of
Police.” This theory is, however, unsupported by any
evidence.
The term cop is derived from an
18th-century English usage, and means “to seize,”
“to catch,” or “to get hold of.” This
usage was common in Britain, and is likely derived from the
Latin verb capere (to take). The
term was applied to policemen because they were engaged in |
