ArcaMax

Today, renowned paleontologist U. Stew Mean enters his laboratory to examine linguistic fossils -- words whose archaic meanings still survive in modern terms and phrases. Let's watch as he examines his first specimen...

Hmmm. Tennis players call a serve that clips the net tape but still lands in the service box a "let ball." Is this because the ball has been "let" (allowed) across the net?

Nice try. An archaic meaning of "let" is "to prevent, hinder." Thus, a let ball is one that's been impeded by the net.

Hmmm. Here's a prayer that uses "prevent" in a surprising way: "Lord, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us." Is the Lord trying to stop us from doing something?

Good guess. "Prevent" once had another meaning: "to go before, precede." It derives from the Latin verb "venire" (to come). So the prayer is asking that the Lord's grace will both precede us and follow us.

Hmmm. I wonder why we call the sensitive flesh under our fingernails the "quick"? Is this because we shake our fingers so speedily to dry our nail polish?

Really? "Quick" once meant "alive, living." The flesh beneath the fingernails is healthy and sensate, unlike the lifeless fingernail. That's why the bible speaks of "the quick and the dead," meaning "the living and the dead."

Hmmm. Here's an old route across the South called the "Natchez Trace." Is it so named because there's only a trace of this route left?

Off track. An archaic meaning of "trace" is "path or course." It's related to the similar words "tract" and "track."

Hmmm. The prevailing winds that blow from east to west in the Atlantic are called "trade winds." Is this because these winds propel sailing ships engaged in trading?

Off course. "Trade" once meant "a course, way or track." So the trade winds are so called because they blow on a predictable trade or route.

Hmmm. Here's the spiny underwater creature known as a "sea urchin." Is it so named because it behaves like a mischievous, impoverished scamp?

Sorry. In fact, an obsolete meaning of "urchin" is "hedgehog." Many sea urchins, with their bristling, globular appearance, resemble curled-up hedgehogs.

Hmmm. Why do we call the people who serve us in restaurants "waiters"? Is it because they stand there awaiting our commands?

We wish! Before "wait" assumed its current meaning of "to remain or stay," it meant "to watch, keep a vigil." So the waiters are watching to see what we need -- well, at least, most of the time.

========

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate Inc.