Category: Word Trivia

tribe

low man – On an actual totem pole, it is really the most important man in the tribe. More…

tribe – From Latin tribus, it may refer to the three divisions of early Romans, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. More…

tribunal – Originally referred to a seat or raised platform for judges, from Latin tribunus, “head of a tribe.” More…

cannibal – When Columbus was trying to find the Spice Islands, he was told of a tribe of man-eating natives in Cuba and Haiti called Caribs (from which we get Caribbean) or Caniba (Columbus’ rendition of the name); the word canib, meaning “brave and fierce,” became cannibal, meaning “anthropophagite,” a person who eats human flesh. More…

objective

limited war – A war whose objective is of smaller scope than total defeat of the enemy. More…

institution – First a noun of action or process that became a general and abstract noun describing something objective and systematic. More…

purposely, purposefully – Purposely means “intentionally, on purpose,” while purposefully means “with a specific purpose or objective in mind.” More…

safe, secure – Safe and secure, now nearly synonymous, used to be more different; secure was subjective—man’s own sense of the absence of danger—while safe was objective, the fact of such absence of danger. More…

sails

crab-skuit – A small, open fishing boat with sails. More…

haul – Originally had the nautical meaning of “to trim the sails to sail closer to the wind.” More…

sail – Once meant specifically “to travel on a ship with sails,” and, later, “to travel on any ship”; figuratively, it means “to go through effortlessly,” as in, “to sail through the exam.” More…

three sheets to the wind – Pertains to chains that regulate the angle of sails; if the sheets were loose, the boat would become unstable and tipsy. More…

inquiry

query, inquiry, enquiry – A query is a single question; an inquiry (or enquiry) may be a single question or extensive investigation (i.e. a series of questions). More…

inquirendo, percontation – An inquirendo or percontation is an investigation or inquiry. More…

prosecute – First meant “to follow up or pursue an inquiry or studies” or “to pursue to the end.” More…

zetetic – As an adjective, it means “inquiring, investigating” and “proceeding by inquiry or investigation,” or, as a noun, “inquirer.” More…

melody

grace note – An extra note for embellishment, not necessary for the harmony or melody. More…

absolute music, abstract music, pure music – Absolute music (abstract music, pure music) is music for its own sake—concerned only with structure, melody, harmony, and rhythm. More…

air – An expressive succession of musical sounds—a melody or tune. More…

melody – From Greek melos, “song,” its early sense was “sweet music.” More…