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You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org » Forums » (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) » Words with unusual etymologies » From Caroline's Corner Register User    Forum List        Calendar     Active Topics     Search     FAQ

Topic Options #86255 - 11/08/02 02:58 PM From Caroline's Corner wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 "The Latin word for insect is insectum, but the Romans did not "invent" this arthropodan term. The Greeks did. Insectum is actually the Latin translation of Greek entomon, which is from Greek [en- ("in") + tomos ("cutting")]. So, both the Latin and the Greek words for insect mean "cut into parts." Now you know why entomologists are people who study insects. You might recognize the Latin root sect in other "cutting" words like section, dissect, and vivisection. You might also recognize the Greek root tom- in words like atom ("un-cut-able"), tome (a word for a big book, which came from the fact that Greek books were made out of sections of papyrus), or appendecTOMy. (An appendectomy is an operation to cut out the appendix. There are lots of surgical operations with tom- as part of their names.) You might not realize it, but even the word tmesis, a grammatical term, has the root tom- hidden behind it. To find out how, check out the entries for tmesis and tome in Webster's Third. " Top #86256 - 11/10/02 02:51 AM Caroline's Corner : ??? emanuela enthusiast Registered: 03/16/00 Posts: 315 Loc: Italy - Perugia is a town with... Please, who's Caroline, and which is the relationship with "insectum"? Top #86257 - 11/13/02 08:57 AM Re: Caroline's Corner : ??? AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 6511 Loc: lower upstate New York I'd also like to know. Top #86258 - 11/13/02 09:41 AM Re: Caroline's Corner : ??? wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 http://www.spellingbee.com/cctoc.shtml Top #86259 - 11/13/02 07:47 PM Re: From Caroline's Corner Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/30/01 Posts: 6296 Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... In reply to: You might recognize the Latin root sect in other "cutting" words like section, dissect, and vivisection. You might also recognize the Greek root tom- in words like atom ("un-cut-able"), ... Any connection to "tomahawk"? Top #86260 - 11/13/02 09:15 PM Re: From Caroline's Corner wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 Careful, WW. You'll have tsuwm telling you the Indians didn't speak Greek and AS will be doing her horizontal dervish delirium endangering her fundament. Top #86261 - 11/13/02 09:22 PM Re: From Caroline's Corner Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/30/01 Posts: 6296 Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Hey, I was just askin'! For all I know, tomahawk was never an actual term of the natives. But I would like to see the ASp do a dervish here! Top #86262 - 11/14/02 06:37 AM Re: Tomahawk Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13653 Virginia Algonquian, tamahaac, tamohake: Proto-Algonquian temah- (unattested), to cut off by tool + -aakan, (unattested), noun suffix. As per AHD Top Previous Topic Index Next Topic Preview Hop to: General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Moderator:  Jackie  Print Topic Switch to Threaded Mode View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts Forum Stats 8423 Members 16 Forums 13686 Topics 209740 Posts Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM Newest Members teepee, smoothcriminal86, janbra, junebug, Stephen A 8423 Registered Users Who's Online 0 registered (), 40 Guests and 3 Spiders online. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters (30 Days) LukeJavan8 86 jenny jenny 68 wofahulicodoc 52 endymion6 45 BranShea 35 Rhubarb Commando 29 Buffalo Shrdlu 19 zmjezhd 16 Jackie 16 Faldage 14 May Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

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