The Stories Behind Words and Phrases

Weng Jin Phillip Elliott

【Abstract】The study of the origin of words and their meanings is called ‘etymology. Teachers of English to both native and non-native speakers have， for many years， considered the benefits of etymology for language learning （Bellomo 1999； Pierson 1989）. Often， the focus is on the teaching， learning and memorizing of roots and affixes to assist in vocabulary development. The authors of this paper recognize the importance of this approach， but have chosen to offer， instead， a glance into the narratives behind words and phrases. Through this form of etymological storytelling， the authors believe learners of English will gain not only knowledge about the meanings of words and phrases but also the cultural knowledge hidden inside them. In this paper， the authors focus on a selection of well-known words and phrases in English and their individual stories.

【Key words】etymology； vocabulary development； the teaching of culture

【作者簡介】Weng Jin， Foreign Languages Institute， Liaoning University of International Business and Economics； Phillip Elliott， School of Advanced Translation and Interpretation， Dalian University of Foreign Languages.

INTRODUCTION

The English verb ‘get is among the most versatile words in the English language： ‘Get started， ‘get excited， ‘get along with， ‘get it right， and the often-used texting phrase ‘got it. The verb has been in the English language since around the year 1200 AD， and even at that time it had a handful of meanings： to obtain， reach； to be able to； to learn； to be pleased with （www.etymonline.com）. In the Oxford English Dictionary， the verb ‘get has multiple columns dedicated to its meanings and uses. Readers may or may not have noticed that this monosyllabic verb also appears as part of other verbs， as in ‘forget and ‘beget. A glance at the history of ‘get reveals that it was a polysemous verb almost from its very beginning. The study of the origin of words and their meanings is called ‘etymology. Teachers of English to both native and non-native speakers have， for quite some time， considered the benefits of etymology for language learning （Bellomo 1999； Pierson 1989）. Often， the focus is on teaching， learning and memorizing the origins of roots and affixes to assist in vocabulary development （Hashemi and Aziznezhad 2011； Zolfagharkhani and Moghadam 2011）. The authors of this paper recognize the importance of this pedagogical approach to the use of etymology， but have chosen to offer， instead， narratives behind the meanings of words and phrases. Through etymological storytelling， the authors believe learners of English will gain not only knowledge about the meanings of words and phrases but also the cultural knowledge and history hidden inside them， which will enable learners to better understand and remember them.

ETYMOLOGICAL STORIES

Life-long learners of the English language ought to be curious about the origins of its words and phrases. Researching the stories behind words and phrases is a way of drawing closer to the culture and history of the language and its people. It will also assist when one has to translate and interpret English， since the meanings of many set phrases， such as idioms， are often opaque. There are a variety of ways in which one could categorize the etymological stories presented in this paper. The authors have chosen to present them in a general chronological order， and within that they are alphabetized. Readers will note that in some instances the categorizing of a word or phrase in a particular time period is somewhat arbitrary， due to original meanings occurring early and meaning extensions arising later in time. Nevertheless， the chronological order as presented in the paper does give readers a good indication of the historical period—or periods， which are most important to the terms under discussion.

1200s-1400s AD

Keep at bay

When one of the authors was growing up， there was a popular song by the singer Otis Redding， a beautiful piece of soul music called On the Dock of the Bay. The ‘bay in the song is the same one in the expression ‘San Francisco Bay， the one that most people understand. But what is the meaning of ‘bay in the phrase ‘Keep somebody or something at bay， and what does the phrase mean？ In England， at least as early as the fourteenth century AD， hound dogs were used to hunt animals， often for sport. When the dogs had cornered a wild animal so that it could no longer escape， they would ‘bay， or ‘bark. This barking or baying would， of course， scare the wild animal but also alert the hunters to come. In this original sense， ‘to be kept at bay meant ‘to be unable to escape. The meaning was extended to mean to keep somebody or something from attacking or approaching. Obviously， a cornered animal cannot approach or attack， so there is logic to the meaning extension. The phrase can be used to say things like： “The police kept the robbers at bay.” Anything can be kept at bay nowadays， not just wild animals or people. When someone wants to keep loneliness at bay he or she might go watch a movie or visit a friend. So， from dogs to humans to emotions， people can keep almost anything at bay. In all instances， there is a situation which presents some difficulty which a person is trying to contain and control.

1500s-1700s AD

Earmark

People mark their ears， that is， they pierce them for jewelry. The phrase the authors present next， however， is not about peoples ears but about animals ears. As early as the sixteenth century in England， farmers and owners of animals would mark the ears of their animals in a particular way， usually by some form of cutting， and this ‘design or ‘mark showed that the animals belonged to them. But by the late nineteenth century， the term ‘ear-mark came to acquire the additional meaning of ‘set aside for a particular purpose. For example， “That money is earmarked for student scholarships.” This means that the money is designated for a particular use （student scholarships， in this case）， which is similar in fashion to the way animals were originally designated （marked） for a particular owner. To earmark something is to save it and set it aside for a particular use. It is often used to describe the use of money， but can also refer to places and institutions， often with a negative reference： “That factory has been earmarked for closure next year.”

Kowtow

Readers are probably aware that most words and phrases in English originated from Old English， some related Germanic language， French， Latin or Greek. But due to diplomacy， immigration， commerce， and exploration， phrases and words from the East have also made their way into the English language， including words and phrases from China. In the eighteenth century AD， British diplomats were sent to China and observed the Chinese custom of kneeling， bowing and touching the ground with ones head， as a way of showing obedience or submission to authorities. These diplomats transliterated the Chinese phrase ‘Ke1 Tou2 into English ‘Kowtow （pronounced ‘ka?-ta?）. While in China it was most likely a sincere sign of respect， by the eighteenth century in England the expression had gained a negative connotation. If one were said to be kowtowing the implied meaning was that one was too eager to obey or be polite to people in power in order to gain favor. In other words， the outward show of respect was seen as insincere， with ulterior motives. This connotation remains with us today. Here is an example sentence from the Collins Dictionary from online （www.collinsdictionary.com）： “See how stupidly they kowtow to persons higher in the hierarchy.” The word may sometimes be found to be hyphenated （kow-tow）.

1800s-mid 1900s AD

Across the board

One of the authors is from Kentucky， from a city called Lexington. In this hometown， there are several racetracks. In America， at racetracks， you are sometimes allowed to bet on which horse will win， which will come in second place， and which will come in third place. These first， second， and third place finishes are called ‘win， place and show in the lingo of horserace betting. The people in charge of keeping bets used to be called bookmakers. In the early days of the twentieth century， the bookmakers would display betting information on boards， like a chalkboard， showing the odds in a race for each particular horse. When someone placed an equal amount of money on a horse to win， to place and to show， they were said to be betting ‘a(chǎn)cross the board. The term soon came to mean ‘to include all categories， ‘a(chǎn)ll inclusive. Its usage has been expanded beyond the racetrack environment. For instance， one might say， “My boss promised across-the-board pay raises for all employees，” meaning that everyone （all categories of employees） would receive an increase in salary. So， from bookies and horses to company bosses and beyond， the term ‘a(chǎn)cross the board has come to mean ‘a(chǎn)ll-inclusive： “President Trump promises across-the-board tax cuts if he is re-elected.”

Stumped

When a teacher passes a test out to a student， and the student reads a question that confuses the poor pupil so much so that he or she does not know how to respond， in that situation one can say that the student has been ‘stumped. Synonyms of ‘stumped include ‘baffled， and ‘confused. The meaning is clear， but why use the word ‘stump？ A tree stump is what is left of the tree after its trunk falls or it is cut down. In America， in the early pioneer days， when land was being cleared for building houses， towns and roads， trees had to be cut down. Sometimes， it was impossible with the simple tools of the day for individuals to dig out and remove a stubborn tree stump， even with the help of horses pulling at it. Therefore， by the early nineteenth century people in America could be heard saying， “Im stumped，” meaning they could not clear away all of the tree stumps. Thus， the stump left behind became an obstacle. This usage was extended to mean ‘to be confronted with an obstacle which you cannot overcome， like a difficult question on a test. Since some stumps were never removed from a town， the smart townspeople came up with the idea to use the stump as a type of pedestal to stand on in order to speak to a crowd. Soon， politicians took up the idea as well， so by the 1820s in America one already had ‘stump speeches， which were speeches given by politicians standing on a stump to explain why people should vote for them and what they stood for. Barack Obama and Donald Trump have given ‘stump speeches （but not on tree stumps， the authors suspect）. Later， the term ‘stumping was used to describe a politician who kept giving the same old speech over and over again： “Dont listen to him； hes just stumping.” ‘Stump as a verb is also used as a synonym for ‘campaign. Thus， ‘stump has taken on several additional meanings since the early pioneer days of America， but these newer meanings can still be traced back to the original sense of the word.

Mid 1900s-Present Day

Optics

Optics is a technical term， referring to the study of vision， light and sight. However， at least since 2009 in America it has also been used by the news media to mean ‘a(chǎn)ppearance； perception. For example， “President Trumps ignoring reporters inquiries about his son-in-law was bad optics.” In other words， Trumps action was viewed by the public （or at least by the news media） in a negative fashion. The term has also made its way into modern fiction as the title of a novel： Bad Optics （by Joseph Heywood， Lyons Press， 2018）. When the term is used in the media， it tends to have a negative connotation.

CONCLUSION

The authors hope the readers have found enlightening this brief incursion into the etymological storytelling of selected words and phrases in the English language. Furthermore， the authors desire that readers will become more gung-ho about studying word origins in the future as a way of improving their knowledge of the English language and culture. Readers are directed to the following websites which offer a wealth of etymological information： www.etymonline.com； www.phrases.org.uk； and www.voanews.com. In addition， scholarly works such as the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology （Onions， 1966） may be consulted to better prepare ones word stories for sharing with students or simply to enjoy by oneself.

References：

[1]Bellomo，T.Etymology and vocabulary development for the L2 college student. ERIC Document，1999，432909.

[2]Hashemi， M.& Aziznezhad，M.Etymology：A word attack strategy for learning the English vocabulary[J].Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences，2011，28：102-106.

[3]Onions，C.T.（Ed.）.Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology[M].Oxford，OX：Oxford University Press，1966.

[4]Pierson，H.Using etymology in the classroom[J].ELT Journal， 1989，43/1：58-62.

[5]Zolfagharkhani，M.&Moghadam;，R.G.The effect of etymology instruction on vocabulary learning of upper-intermediate EFL Iranian learners[J].Canadian Social Science，2001，7（6）：1-9.