A Bi-Monthly Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 2, March 2003
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Wordplay
By Kevin Cox
This column presents adventures in etymology, or the study of the
origins of words and phrases.
So, you call yourself a technical writer! But do you know where those two words, "technical" and "writer," come from? The word technical originated in the early 17th century, and was first used as an adjective, meaning "to do with art." It has its roots in Latin, "technicus," and "tekhnikos," in Greek.
The verb "to write" has its origins in German, reissen, meaning "to sketch, or drag." The Old English verb writan meant "score, form [letters] by carving, write." Later the word writ referred to any written matter.
Bedraggled is pretty high on my list of funny sounding words! It is a combination of the prefix "be-" (as in bewitched) and -- draggled? -- apparently a frequentative form of "drag." Bedraggled dates from the early 18th century, and referred to a woman who had literally dragged her skirts in the water or mud. Today we use the word to refer to anyone who looks disheveled or unkempt.
Have you ever heard of a mondegreen? If not, you probably have heard one: A mondegreen is a misheard lyric. It supposedly originated with Sylvia Wright's mishearing of the "Oh, they have slain the Earl of Morray and laid him on the green" from the Scottish folk song, The Bonny Earl Of Morray as "Oh, they have slain the Earl of Morray and Lady Mondegreen".
Following are some examples of mondegreens; you probably have some of your own!
"There's a bathroom on the right" -- misheard version of "there's a bad moon on the rise," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
"The girl with colitis goes by" -- misheard version of "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes," by The Beatles.
Perhaps the king of all mondegreens are the lyrics of "Louie Louie" by Portland's own The Kingsmen.
Sources: The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories; http://www.takeourword.com; http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/meanings/index.html
Kevin Cox is Assistant Editor for The Willamette Galley. He can be
reached
knccomm@hotmail.com.
