Category: Word Trivia

opera

opera – Actually the Latin plural of opus, “labor, work.” More…

prima donna – Meaning “principal female singer in an opera,” it is from the same Italian phrase meaning “first lady”; the meaning “temperamental person” was first recorded in 1834. More…

primo vomo – The principal male singer in an opera. More…

soap opera – Goes back (1939) to the early days of radio suspense serials, which were mainly sponsored by soap-makers; the “opera” part is an echo of the earlier “horse opera”—a Western (1927). More…

rights

charter – Confers powers and rights from the state or an organization to people, local chapters, or corporations. More…

devolution – A passing down from stage to stage or the passing of property, rights, or authority from one person to another; it implies moving backward. More…

perk – A special privilege or right, it is an abbreviation of perquisite. More…

prejudice – Originally meant harm or injury caused to a person resulting from a disregard for their rights; it is from Latin, meaning “to judge beforehand.” More…

prone

bellicose, belligerent – Bellicose orients “prone to fighting” toward an individual, while belligerent refers to an organized body, a national or political entity—a person is bellicose, a nation is belligerent. More…

grovel, groveling – Grovel is a back-formation from groveling—which first meant “face downward in a prone or prostrate position.” More…

prone, prostrate, supine – Prone is lying on your face—facing downwards—which is also true for prostrate, but only in expressing adoration or begging for protection; supine is lying on your back. More…

kratogen – The dormant area of land lying next to one that is prone to earthquakes. More…

swine

gruntle – Can be used for swine, meaning “to make a little grunt.” More…

pig – Originally meant just “young pig” until the 16th century—the word in Old and Middle English for the animal was swine. More…

swine – The collective (and ancestral) term for domesticated pigs and hogs; a hog is 120 pounds and ready for market, while a pig is immature and weighs less. More…

chat – To call a swine. More…

pillar

gnomon, gnomonics – A gnomon is the pillar or rod that casts a shadow on a sundial; gnomonics is the art or science of dialing or of constructing dials to show the hour of the day by the shadow of a gnomon. More…

pilaster – First referred to a square or rectangular column or pillar. More…

pillar – From Latin pila, “pillar,” the source of compile, pilaster, and pile. More…

column – Its underlying notion is of “height, command, extremity,” and it comes from Latin columna, “pillar,” which probably came from columen/culmen, “top, summit.” More…