Taken from Burnside URL given by inselpeter:
Take pedigree, for example. It is very far from obvious that it is
etymologically derived from the crane’s foot. In Middle French pié
(pied) de grue is the foot of the crane. In early manuscripts, lines of
descent were so drawn as to suggest the footprint of a crane, and the
resemblance provided a metaphor for the relations depicted in the
diagram. Introduced into English in the 15th century, the word was
originally spelled pee-de-grew, pedegru, or pedicru.
Mentioning "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" reminded me of GI who had been in France telling me how "cherry" came to mean virginity. He spoke French very well, so that he was accepted into nice families. A French WWI soldier in one of those families told him that when the "doughboys" tried to meet French girls from nice families, they were told "Elle est cherie." Meaning "cherished" = closely guarded by their parents. This got corrupted into meaning having intact hymen.
OP
