Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
K
Keiva Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
K
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
During my birthday visit to the conservatory I came across the odd-looking boojum tree, native to isolated areas of Baja California. For most of the year it is leafless and looks like a giant upturned turnip. Pictures can be found at
http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/desertecology/boojum.htm

But our interest is linguistic, not botanic. The tree's name was coined when "plant explorer Godfrey Sykes, who found it in 1922 and said 'It must be a boojum!'. In saying this, he was referring of the strange and mythical creature that the author Lewis Carroll called a boojum in his children's book, The Hunting of the Snark.

That raises the question: what other words were "stolen" from literature for a use completely different from what the literary author had in mind? I have one more such word in mind, far more commonly know, and am holding it back as a challenge. Doubtless there are far more.



Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Those with access to a decent library might care to look up English Today No.24 (October 1990), which has a fascinating article called E Pluribus Boojum by the physicist N. David Mermin on his struggle to get boojum accepted as the standard term for a phenomenon occurring in spherical drops of superfluid helium-3.

Bingley


Bingley
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
A
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
A
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
No other words stolen from literature?
Not one????
A challenge to y'all!


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Stolen?


Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
A
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
A
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
Fair enough, faldage. Clarifying the question, by repeating it as Keiva posted it:

What other words were "stolen" from literature for a use completely different from what the literary author had in mind? I have one more such word in mind, far more commonly know, and am holding it back as a challenge. Doubtless there are far more.


Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
G
old hand
Offline
old hand
G
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
Doubtless there are far more.

What about Yahoo? Was Jonathan Swift enough to be the first user?



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5