Origin of the Word Sky

The word sky is derived from the Old Norse word for cloud. Does this means that when Vikings arrived in Britain it was cloudy all the time? This would make sense, since it is cloudy a lot of the anyway.

Old Norse is an historic language that was spoken, across a vast swathe of Europe, between the 9th and 14th centuries. Certainly the Vikings took their language with them as they travelled to parts of modern-day Russia, Turkey, France and Spain, Britain, Ireland, and even America.

The Vikings probably looked a lot nicer than this.

Since Vikings conquered a fair bit of territory in the British Isles, there are many traces of Old Norse in Modern English. Certainly many place names, especially in Yorkshire, attest to a Viking past.

Old Norse evolved into the many North Germanic languages (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Faroese and Icelandic). A quick search reveals that the Danish word for 'cloud' is indeed still 'sky'.

English Words Explained: 3) klutz

It would be good to explain more words that relate to the moon, but since last week's Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon has waned (變小了) so much that I think it would be best to save those 'moon words' until the next full moon comes around.

This time I'd like to explain the word 'klutz', which means 'a clumsy or stupid person'. If you are always tripping over and dropping things then you are a klutz.

I have a feeling she's a klutz

Origin

Like so many words in English, 'klutz' is derived from German, though in this case the word entered the English lexicon via Yiddish. In Yiddish, the word 'klots' means 'wooden beam'. You can see how someone with a head made of wood might be foolish or clumsy.

In fact, in English we also say 'blockhead' to mean 'stupid person'. If your head is just a block of wood, you're probably not able to read this sentence.

Charlie Brown's sister thinks he's a blockhead. My sisters feel the same about me.

Examples

• "I am the world's biggest klutz. I trip over my own feet!"
• The school klutz was always the centre of attention.

 

In Popular Culture

Let's take a look at a comic book character from the 60s, Captain Klutz. He first appeared in Mad, which is a satirical magazine that pokes fun at various political and social targets.

Unlike Superman or Batman, Captain Klutz is a figure of fun. He's not heroic in the slightest. Instead of solving crimes or beating up bad guys, he lives on the streets, misses clues and gets into trouble.

Finally, I wanted to show you a clip from a silent movie by Charlie Chaplin, or perhaps something from the Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy, since all of these performers acted like klutzes at different times.

The Three Stooges were definitely klutzes.

However, while searching for a good video, I stumbled across this short film by Tommy Lee Raw. It illustrates the word klutz very well and deserves to be seen by more people. If you like it, perhaps you should check out more of Tommy's videos, which you can find on Youtube, or on his Facebook page. Enjoy!

English Words Explained: 2) mooncalf

A mooncalf is 'a foolish person' who spends their time dreaming. This word is not at all common these days, but was popular in the past. I first heard it in Shakespeare's The Tempest, so I always associate with that play.

Caliban the 'mooncalf' from a 2010 production of Shakespeare's The Tempest

History

Originally, a mooncalf was a stillborn (殰) calf. A calf is, of course, a baby cow.

Isn't he cute?

People called the abortive fetus of a cow a mooncalf because they held superstitious beliefs about the moon having a sinister effect on unborn calves.

The term later came to be used to refer to monsters and other grotesque things. When characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest call Caliban a mooncalf, they are saying that he is deformed. The word also appears in a H.G. Wells story and some of the Harry Potter books.

These days, however, the word is rarely used and really only retains the meaning of 'born fool'.

Shakespeare

Below is a clip is from The Tempest: You might notice that Caliban, the so-called mooncalf, says "this island is mine". He is the sole indigeneous person in the play, whereas all of the other characters are newcomers. It is interesting to reflect that Shakespeare was writing at a time of exploration, when Europeans were ecnountering people from all over the world. The Tempest reflects and comments upon many of the prejudices that Europeans then had against the native population of the New World. In this context, calling Caliban a mooncalf seems extraordinary.

English Words Explained: 1) honeymoon

In this series, I will explain some interesting and unusual English words. When we know more about the origin of words, we're able to better understand language as a whole.

After Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on a full moon, it feels appropriate to begin this series by discussing words that relate to the moon.
 
First up is honeymoon.

Forget the honeymoon, I'd be quite happy to go there by myself.

History 

Originally, 'honeymoon' referred to the time after a couple got married. Nowadays, however, just like in Chinese, a honeymoon (蜜月) is a holiday newly-weds (新婚) take after getting married.  Since this is usually a time of bliss, if someone starts a new job we might also refer to this as the 'honeymoon period' since they are at the beginning of something and are, presumably, happy.

Etymology  (詞源)

Bear in mind, though, that honeymoons do end. I mention this because the sense of good things coming to an end is implicit in the word itself.

Honeymoon comes from the Old English 'hony moone'. While 'hony' was the word for honey, here it refers to the "tenderness and pleasure experienced by newly-weds". 'Moone', meanwhile, refers to the fleeting amount of time that such tenderness and pleasure lasts.  These days, honeymoons are positive but the term was originally used to warn newly-weds about waning love. The message is that love, just like the moon, can wax and wane (消長).

This sense of impermanence (無常 or 白衣蒼狗) is nicely summed up by the 17th century writer Samuel Johnson, who wrote: “The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure; originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full that it begins to wane”.

"It will never last!" - Dr Johnson

Another side to the story relates to mead (蜂蜜酒), which used to be very popular and which some people claim is the ancestor of all fermented drinks. After a wedding, the just-married couple were given a month’s supply of mead. People believed that drinking mead during that first month of marriage would help the woman to get pregnant. As it happens, clinical studies have shown raw honey to be a powerful fertility aid. 

Next time: 2) mooncalf