The way we measure the space between two straight lines came into English in the 14th century from a French word. Its origin is in the Latin word angulus, which means corner.

Angle meaning to fish comes from the Old English word angil, angul, a fish-hook. At the time angle came into English as a word used for a measurement, the word for a fish-hook was angel. There was no confusion with heavenly beings, because one of those was called an engel, the Old English word from a Latin word angelus.

Meanwhile, the Angles were one of the tribes that invaded Britain in the 5th century. Their name forms part of Anglo-Saxon, denoting the people whose language gave rise to English. It is also found in the part of England still called East Anglia. They came from an area of the country we now call Germany. The Romans called them Anglus because the land from which they came was said to be shaped like a fish-hook. Sailing in small boats round the Danish peninsula, from west to east, negotiating the overall shape as well as the twists and turns, could give this impression.

The spherical object used in games gets its name from an Old Norse word, bollr. It came into English around the 13th century and was known as a balle.

In Middle English, ballen meant to dance. It came from an Old French word, baller. Its use as a noun to describe an organised dance started in the 17th century. The word ballet came into English at about the same time but was adapted from the Italian balletto, meaning a little dance.   Back to list of words

Meaning the edge of a river or a raised area of ground, bank came into English in the 12th century. It was adapted from Scandinavian words like Swedish backe and Danish banke. In Middle English, bank meant a mound or a shore. Bonk meant mound of earth. One of the best loved references to this type of bank is in Oberon's song in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream:

The word for a financial institution came into English in the 15th century, adapted from such words as Italian bance and French banque.   Back to list of words

The name of the little animal came into English as bakke around the 14th century from Scandinavian words such as Old Norse ledhrblaka, ‘leather-flapper’ and Swedish natbakka, ‘night-bat’.

In Middle English at that time, bat was already used for boat, from Old Norse batr, which has survived in modern Icelandic as bátur. Bats have the unusual distinction of being mentioned only three times in the Bible: Leviticus 11:19, Deuteronomy 14:18 and Isaiah 2:20.

Batty, meaning crazy or dotty, did not come into use until the 16th century, as an allusion to the erratic movements of bats.

In Old English, batt meant mean wooden club. It might have come from an Irish (Celtic) word, bat and thus be one of the few Celtic words that have survived in English.   Back to list of words

The furry animals were well-known to the folk of England. Their word was bera. Old English was a Germanic language. The modern German word is very similar to ours, Bär.

The verb meaning to carry was beran in Old English so it has also been in the language for a very long time. In fact, it occurs in the classic saga Beowulf, written in about 725 AD, e.g:

Hi hyne þa ætbæron to brimes faroðe [ætæron = bore away]

His companions bore him away to the edge of the sea.

let the sea bear [him away]

...Gewitaþ forð beran

Go forth bearing

weapons and weeds [clothes, armour]

Beren was an adjective meaning made of bear-skin. Even in Old English, the word with two meanings looks similar. In Middle English they both became bere. The difference was in the way each version was pronounced. The word for the animal had a longer ‘ee’ sound.   Back to list of words

The word for the meat came into English in the 13th century as boef, bef, from Old French boef. The modern French word for cow is very similar. It has its source in the Latin bos, bovis. So that's where we get our word bovine! The earlier Old English words for the meat were related to cu, cow.

Dictionaries tell us that the use of the same word for to complain or grumble comes from USA farming slang in the 19th century. However, a different story is told by an 18th century of English slang, where to beef was to shout, to yell, particularly at an actor on stage.   Back to list of words

The footwear word came into English in the 14th century from Old French bote. Its earlier history is not known for certain, but it might be related to butt, meaning something blunt and stumpy.

It use for the luggage compartment of a car derives from the word used from the 16th century for an open area on a coach where attendants would sit or stand. It was also used for the space beneath a seat where luggage could be stored. The origin of this usage seems to be lost in the mists of time. Perhaps it related to the idea that a boot was a sort of container.

But how is it that we boot up a computer? Well, footwear comes into this one, too. In the 19th century, a bootstrap was attached to a boot to help in pulling it on. To bootstrap was to go through the first part of the procedure of putting on one's boots. In the early 1960s, the term was adopted to denote the process of getting a computer ready for work.

Boot used to have another meaning related to ‘advantage’ or to something given as extra to what was already there. An example of this usage could be in a statement such as, ‘This food is rich and tasty, and colourful to boot’. In this case, boot comes from Old English bot, benefit, compensation. Middle English had bote, meaning remedy, repair. They are related to Old High German buoza, improvement. This use of boot appears as early as about 725 AD in the saga Beowulf, chapter 14:

It was but recently that I was in great misery [depair of ever] receiving a remedy...

It appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, e.g., ‘The Squire's Tale’:

She shall soon know, and whom it will cure   Back to list of words

In Old English, bolla meant bowl, from earlier Anglo-Saxon bollo.. In later Middle English, bolle meant globe or bowl. Our word ball comes from the later 13th century Old Norse böllr, which comes from Latin bulla, a knob.

Bowl meaning to throw a ball did not come into English until the 15th century, from French boule, but the word boule was already used in Middle English for a bowl in the sense of dish.   Back to list of words

The word for the container comes straight from Old English. It comes from the Latin name of the box tree, buxus, which is related to the name given to a container for medicine, pyxis.

To box someone by hitting them comes from the 14th century, perhaps from Dutch boken, to push into position.   Back to list of words

Cape meaning an item of clothing comes from 16th century French capa, from the Latin cappa, hood, from which we also get the word cap. The Latin word for cape was chlamyx, which survives in English only in technical words related to biological and medical matters.

Cape meaning a headland comes from 14th century cap, which comes from Latin caput, head. The Latin for cape in this sense was promunturium, from which we get promontory.   Back to list of words

In this case, both words come from the same source, Middle English daschen, which could mean both to strike and to rush. The earliest meaning was to strike something violently.

Dashboard originally meant a wooden flap at the front of a carriage to prevent mud from splashing up. This meaning is related to a dash of something thrown into something else.   Back to list of words

Both come from the same source. The word came in the 15th century from Dutch dec, a covering. It referred to the planks of wood used as a covering in a boat which eventually became the part of the boat we walk on. It used for a pack of cards came in the 16th century, and probably relates to the similarity in appearance of a stack of planks and a pack of cards, as uniform flat items.

To deck somebody out with clothes also relates to Dutch dekken through Old English theccan from which we also get our word thatch.    Back to list of words

The Old English adjective fæst meant fast, firm, strong. The adverb fæste meant fast, firmly, vigorously. They are related to Old High German festi, firm. Modern German for firm, solid, is fest.

To fast by abstaining from food, in Old English, was fæstnian, related to Old High German fasten, to fast, and the same word is used in modern German.   Back to list of words

The word for folder has an interesting history. It came into English in the 16th century from the French verb filer, to string on a thread. This relates to storing documents by tying them together with string. It comes from the Latin filum, meaning thread, from which we also get our word filament. In Middle English, fildor meant thread of gold. A file was a list, as in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3, where list of special qualities is compared to a general catalogue:

The hand-tool used for smoothing rough surfaces gets its name from Old English fil and feol, related to Old High German fihala and has its roots in the Greek pikros, bitter, sharp.

In Middle English, file could also mean a worthless person. This meaning came from Old English fylan and ful, from which we also get our words foul and defile. However, from the late 16th century, file also referred to a row of people, hence the phrase ‘rank and file’ and filing as queuing.    Back to list of words

Both uses of this word come from the same source. A gross meaning 144 originated from the French grosse douzaine, large dozen, where gross means large. The word came into English in the 14th century from French gros, large. In about the 16th century, the idea of ‘overfed, bulky’ also came to imply ‘repulsive’.   Back to list of words

The word comes from Old English cnotta, related to Middle High German knotze, meaning knob. Modern German is Knoten. In German, the K in such words is pronounced, as it was in Old English, but we no longer sound it in modern English. Its original meaning related to the intertwining of rope. In the 17th century, knots tied in a long piece of rope or string were used as a measure of speed along a particular course.

The same word was used to knobs or knotty parts of timber or plants from the 15th or 16th century.   Back to list of words

Related to water lapping against a boat or on a shore, or to the way an animal drinks, the word comes from Old English lapian, related to Old High German laffan, from Latin lambo, to lick, to touch, to wash (as of the water of a river lapping against the banks),.

As a circuit of a race, the word came into use during the 19th century. It derives from other uses of lap in relation to measurement and overlap. These come largely from Middle English lappe, lap, border, which comes from Old English læppa, flap.

Lap in the meaning of border also gave rise to that part of our body which disappears when we stand up, our lap. It originates in relation to the borders of the clothing which covered the area in question.

Lap was also used to denote a large fold or pocket in one's clothing, as in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

His knapsack before him in large pocket.

And carry it in a coffer or in a lap    Back to list of words

In Old English, lædan meant to lead, show the way, or even carry away. It is related to Old High German lidan, to go. In modern German, leite is to lead, to guide, Leitung is direction or guidance.

The heavy metal was called lead in Old English, though the pronunciation was not the same as we used today. It is related to similar words in other old European languages, e.g., Old Frisian lad, Old Dutch lood, Middle High German lot.    Back to list of words

Old English and Middle English hlæne meant thin or poor. They are thought to have a Germanic origin, perhaps from Lithuanian and Latvian words implying fragment and weak, respectively. The usage in relation to meat came in about the 15th century.

Lean in the sense of inclining towards something comes from Old English hleonian, to lean, to rest. This is related to Old High German hlinen. The Latin sources are words related to clinatus, inclined.   Back to list of words

Both come from Old English leoht, could meant both light in the sense of the opposite of dark, bright, and also light in the sense of not heavy. Leocht was also used in relation to weight. At the same time, lyt meant little and liht meant light in weight, easy. The situation seems confusing, but Skeat's etymological dictionary might have the clue. He suggests that the meaning related to illumination links with Anglo-Saxon leoht, and the meaning to do with weight to Anglo-Saxon lecht.

In Middle English, leoht kept its meaning in relation to illumination but liht related to weight.

In modern German, the first is now Licht, the second leicht.

Somewhere along the 1,500 year history of these words, there is a period when the two shades of meaning diverged. Could it be that light, in the sense of illumination, is an ever-present factor in life but is intangible and cannot be weighed?

There is a third meaning. In Middle English, lihte meant lung, giving rise to modern English usage of lights for the lungs of animals. Lights in modern German are Lunge.   Back to list of words

In the sense of measurement, long comes from Old English lang, long.

In the sense of yearning, it derives from a related Old English word, langian. Longe was also used to mean a long time. The meanings are linked, one to space and the other to time.   Back to list of words

In Old English, geloma meant tool. By the time of Middle English, it had been modified to lome, meaning a loom for weaving as well as a tool or implement.

The origin of the word in relation to come into view, perhaps ominously, is not as clear. It came into English during the 16th century, perhaps from East Frisian lomen, to move slowly. However, in Old English we find leoma ray of light, and in Middle English leome, gleam, and leomen, to give light, to shine.    Back to list of words

In the sense of miserly, from Old English gemæne, common, and Middle English mæne, common. The meaning of niggardly did not come until the 18th century, from the 17th century meaning of unkind. These developed from the meaning of ordinary, poor in quality.

In the sense of average, it comes from 14th century French moien, relating to the middle. In modern French, this has become moyen.

In the sense of to imply or communicate a meaning, it comes from Old English mænan, to relate, speak of. In Old English and Middle English it could denote complain and moan as well as communicate and signify. Moan and mean are related. From the 15th to the 18th century, mean could be used in the sense of making a complaint of stating a grievance. Could there be shades of this meaning in the colloquial phrase still used today, when people say in a critical or whinging manner, ‘I mean,’ as a response to something they disapprove of?   Back to list of words

Might as power comes from Old English miht, meaht, might, strength. power, with the same words in Middle English. Old English also had mægen, might, power, virtue, host.

Might as a verb is a tense of the verb ‘may’ which comes from Old English mæg, which became mæi in Middle English., Until the 15th century, may implied to have to power to as well as to be able to.   Back to list of words

From Old English gemynd, memory, recollection, the mind. To mind in the sense of to take care of arose in the 17th century from the earlier sense of to think about, to apply oneself, to care for.   Back to list of words

The unit of currency arises from the weight, which comes from Old English pund, the value of a pound weight of silver (so much for devaluation!).

The lost dogs home meaning comes from the meaning of an enclosure from the 14th century prefix pund-. In Middle English, punfeald or pinfold meant an enclosure field.

To pound someone or something with a striking blow comes from Old English punian, related to Dutch puin, break down into rubble.

The pound the streets, to walk with heavy footsteps, or to pound at a keyboard, is a 20th century colloquial use.   Back to list of words

The first meaning comes from 16th century French from Italian razza. Its history before that is uncertain.

The running type of race comes from Old English ræsan, rush, hasten, related to 13th century Old Norse ras, running. In Middle English, ræs meant race, rush or course.    Back to list of words

This is an interesting example of how words change in meaning. In Old English ranc meant straight, leading to erect, proud, haughty. In Middle English denoted strong, brave, proud. In its original meaning, it could imply growing vigorously, as in plants, to the point where it was too prolific. This took on the negative meaning of being ‘too much’. This seems to have led to the meaning of festering. By the 16th century, rank implied having an offensive smell.

Middle English also acquired rancle, a festering sore, from which we get rankle. This came from Old French rancler.

In the 17th century, the word rancid also came into English, from Latin rancidus, meaning rank, disgusting.

Meanwhile, the word rank as a position within an organisation came into English in the 16th century from Old French ranc, row, rank, related to Old High German hring, circle. In modern French, rang means row, line, rank, and in modern German Rang means rank, station, position.   Back to list of words

In its first meaning, the word came in the 14th century as roche from Old French roche, roke, rocque. Roche which has the same meaning in modern French, and Italian rocca. For the earlier history, some dictionaries say ‘origin unknown’, but it might be related to an Old English suffix -roc.

Hard sticks of peppermint flavoured confectionery, popular in English seaside resorts, were given the name rock in the middle of the 18th century.

To rock meaning to sway from side to side comes from Old English roccian, related to Old High German rucchen or rocken. The early words related to move or push, and the first use of the word seems to relate to rocking a cradle.    Back to list of words

In Old English, raw, ræw, and in Middle English rawe, rowe, meant line, series, row. They are related to Old High German riga, line, and words in other European languages. Modern German Reihe means row, rank, line.

Old English rowan meant to row a boat. In Middle English, it became rowen. Related to Middle High German rüejen, it became rudern in modern German.

Row as a noisy quarrel came into use in the 18th century. Most dictionaries indicate ‘uncertain origin’ but one or two relate it to the word rouse, in the sense of a drunken uproar.   Back to list of words

Middle English sesoun from 13th century seson from Latin serere, to sow relate to seseli, plant. The seasons of the year were related to seedtime and harvest, sowing and reaping. To season, as in adding herbs to food, comes from a directly related source: 16th century French saisonner.

Modern French for season, as a time of the year, is saison, for to season food is assaisonner.

There has been very little change in these two related words in their short life in English.   Back to list of words

Old English scell, sciell related to Middle Low German schelle, pod, shell. In Middle English, schelle could mean shell, drinking vessel or anything hollow. In the 17th century, the same meaning was adapted for a metal or board container for chemicals making up a firework or other explosive. About the same time, it came to be used for the actual explosive device, a bomb fired from a cannon or large gun.   Back to list of words

Sole as part of the foot came into English in Old English or Middle English period, depending on which dictionary you consult, via an Old French word from Latin solea, a sandal or shoe, which is related to solum, ground, floor, bottom.

The fish was given the same name in Middle English, i.e., later, because of its shape.

Sole meaning the only one was adapted in the 14th century from Old French soule, from Latin solus, alone. During the 15th century, it could also mean unmarried or celibate.    Back to list of words

Relating to noise, the word came from 13th century Old French soner, to make a sound, which comes from Latin sonus, a sound. Middle English son meant sound.

Middle English sund referred to the sound of the sea and also meant strait. It comes from Old English sund, meaning the sea, a channel or water, and also swimming. From this, we get the use of sound as a channel between the mainland and an island.

Sound in the sense of free of fault of damage comes from Old Saxon gisund and Old English gesund, safe and sound, unharmed, also favourable. In Middle English, gesund meant sound and healthy.   Back to list of words

Old English stæf meant staff and also letter. Stafas meant letters, writing, literature. In its early usage stæf could mean literally a wooden staff to help a walker, and figuratively a source of support. In the second meaning, it could denote the military personnel who supported a commanding officer. In the 19th century it was applied to salaried employees of non-military organisations such as schools. The two different meanings thus arise from literal and figurative use of the same word.

The meaning of stæf as a letter, or even a verse in Middle English, and stæfcræft meaning grammar, have almost died out. The only remaining use is in a stave, from the plural stafas, in music, which comes from the plural of staff.   Back to list of words

Stalk, for a plant, comes from Old English stalu, an upright piece of wood, which became stale, stalk of a plant, rung of a ladder, in Middle English with the diminutive form stalke, stalk or reed.

Bestealcian in Old English meant to walk stealthily, probably related to bestalan, to depart stealthily. Stalcung was stalking. Middle English stalkin, from Danish stalke, was to go softly.    Back to list of words

Old English steall was a place for standing, a position or a state of affairs. In Middle English, stal meant a place or station. Both modern English meanings come from the same origins. A market stall is a place for standing — to stall a car is to bring it to standing position.   Back to list of words

13th century stat from Old French estat, meaning estate, state, from Latin status, posture, attitude, position. The same meaning was related to the condition and circumstances of an individual and to organisation of a nation. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the meaning developed of setting out conditions, of expressing clearly.    Back to list of words

Old English stefn, stemn meant the stem of a tree or ship, a trunk, or a root. Related to Old Norse stafn, the stem, the upright timber structure at the bow, of a ship. Also Old High German stam, from which comes modern German Stamm, stalk.

15th century stemmen meant to stop. It is related to Old Norse stamr, blocked, and Old High German stemmen, to prop. Modern German Stemmen can mean to dam up, to stem the flow, and also to prop, to stand firm against.   Back to list of words

Our thin piece of wood gets its name from Old English sticca, stick, peg or spoon, and Middle English sticke, stick or fragment. Related to Old High German stecca. Modern German Stück means piece, bit, fragment and Stock is stick, staff, rod.

To stick in the sense of to remain fixed or attached comes from Old English stician, to pierce. This became stikien in Middle English, meaning stick, stab, or prick. The original idea of making something stick was by pushing its pointed end into something. The meaning of using pins or an adhesive substance, to make another object stick firmly, came a little later.   Back to list of words

Tæppa in Old English came from Old Norse tappi, meaning a stopper to plug a hole in a barrel or cask. It is related to Old High German zapfo, zapho. In Middle English, it became tappe, which was also the Middle English version of Old English tæepe, tape. A tappestere was a tapster, a bar-maid. Tappen meant to draw water. 13th century tappen was also added to English from the Old Middle German word for to tap, to beat. You can see that similar or identical words with different meanings have a long history!

In modern German, Zapfen is a plug, Zapfhahn a tap.   Back to list of words

The insect gets its name from Old English ticca, ticia, which became tike in Middle English. Tick as a metallic clicking noise came into English in the 13th century from Low German tikk, meaning a light touch. It was not used for the noise such as that made by a clock until late in the 17th century. In the 19th century, as a quick touch of the pen, it came to denote a tick on paper.    Back to list of words

Old English tid meant time, hour or time, in the sense of a season, such as in Christmastide. It came to be used in about the 15th century for the daily tides of the sea, which was related to time by the movement of the moon.

Our word tidy comes from the same source. In Middle English, tidi meant seasonable, honest.   Back to list of words

In Old English, tilian meant to try, to attempt, and also to gain one's living. The underlying meaning was ‘endeavour’. Tilling the soil was, of course, a major way of making one's living.

As a drawer for cash, the use of the word started in the 15th century but its ultimate source is uncertain. In Middle English, tillen meant to reach, extend or draw, from Old English fortylan, to draw out.    Back to list of words

As a point or apex, typpa came into English in the 15th century from Old Norse typpa, according to one major dictionary. However, A Middle-English Dictionary states that it is related to Middle High German zipf, tip, extremity, from which modern German for tip is Zipfel. Barnhart's Dictionary of Etymology traces it back to the 12th century, related to various historical German and Dutch terms, including zipf.

The use of tip meaning to topple or fall over is from the 14th century, with uncertain origins. The Middle English dictionary links tippen, to overthrow, with Swedish tippa, overthrow.

A tip as a payment for services is from early in the 18th century, perhaps from tap, a light blow. In underground slang, to tip was to give or to lend. A light blow might have encouraged an unwilling giver to succumb.   Back to list of words

Old English toll or toln meant a tax, tollere a tax-collector. Middle English tollen was to pay or to take a toll. They come ultimately from Greek telos, tax.

Toll in the sense of the pealing of a bell came in the 15th century, probably from Middle English tollen, to draw, entice, as the bell was used to draw people to church. In this way, it might be related to fortylan, to draw out (see Till).   Back to list of words

As the highest point, the word comes straight from Old English top, topp. It is related to Old High German zopf, meaning top, head or tuft of hair. Now, in modern German, Zopf means a plait of hair.

As a wooden toy, the same word has its origin in Old English. Dictionaries report that its origins and related words are uncertain. One dictionary links it with Middle High German topf, which may or may not be related to modern German Topf, pot or jar, on account of its shape. Another links it with tip, as the top, or point, is the point on which it spins.   Back to list of words

As folding or tucking cloth, the word originated in Old English tucian, which meant, rather surprisingly, to torment, to chastise. However, it is linked to tucken in other European languages, in the sense of to tug, to pull sharply. These meanings of physical manipulation seem to have given rise to it as a way of handling a piece of material or a sheet when we are tucking it in, pushing and pulling almost as punishment.

Tuck as food has a more difficult history to trace. Partridge's Dictionary of Historical Slang offers a possible origin, in the 18th century schoolboy and slang use of ‘tuck up’ and 19th century ‘tuck in’ as to over-eat, to push too much food into one's mouth. Morriss's Dictionary of Australian Words, first published in 1898 as Austral English, confirms the schoolboy slang of tuck for food, especially pastry, in relation to the Australian slang tucker, food.

Friar Tuck, the famous friend of Robin Hood, had no particular liking for food. According to one source, his name was actually Tooke. But there is a more likely story in Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. A renowned friar in Yorkshire is said to have challenged Robin Hood to a sword fight. Robin won the fight but invited the friar to join his band, naming him Friar Tuck. This could arise from the fact that a tuck in olden times was a rapier, a type of slender sword.   Back to list of words

Old English had wind and also windig for windy. It also had windan for to win, to twist and in words related to rolling and flying. Old High German does not help us very much, with equally similar wint.

The first meaning comes from the Latin ventus, wind (as in current of air). The second, in its original meaning, implied to move quickly and, later, to haul up.

Middle English had wind, for the current of air, wind-milne, windmill, wind-oge, window (literally meaning wind-eye). There was also winden, wind, turn, twist, windi, windy, and windwen, winnow.   Back to list of words

The measurement developed from Old English gerd, gierd, a rod or a twig, from Old Saxon gerdia, switch (a flexible twig). This was applied to gerde, a stick approximately three feet long, used for measurement. Chaucer uses yerde to denote a spear.

Old English geard was a yard, piece of land, garden or dwelling place. It is related to Old High German gart, which is reflected in garth, a yard, now seen only in the almost obsolete bishopsgarth, bishop's dwelling place.    Back to list of words