WordPlay

by Kevin Cox

This column presents adventures in etymology, or the study of the origins of words and phrases.

“Sumer” is not only “i-cumin in”, it has arrived! This column presents some summer themed words for your seasonal enjoyment.

Barbecue

Barbecue has its roots in the mid-17th Century Spanish word barbacoa, and also perhaps from the West Indian Arawak word barbacoa, which was a “wooden frame on posts.”

Down East

One of the favorite summer vacation spots for New Englanders is “Down East,” which is the area between Boston and the tip of Maine. The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual stipulates that it only be used in reference to Maine: "the terms Down East and Down Easter are not to be used for anything or anyone not from Maine as they imply a certain traditionalism and local color." A few theories about this term’s origin are floating around, but the most plausible (and the one favored by Mainer John Gould, one of my favorite authors) is this one, which appears in a display of Down East schooners at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine: "Down East [is] a nautical term which can be traced to the 1880s. Coastal schooners sailed from Boston to Maine setting their course northeast. They sailed with the prevailing southwest wind or downwind; hence, the term Down East. A Down-Easter [is a] person or vessel hailing from that region."

Picnic

This word has its origins from the 18th Century French term pique-nique, which was a popular social occasion to which each participant brought a dish.

Vacation

Vacation comes from the Old French word spelled the same way, and the Latin vacare “freedom from an occupation.” The roots of vacate are from the mid-17th Century vacate, which was originally a legal term meaning “to make void, annul” (as in vacating all rights). Somehow over time, the connotation of vacation came to mean even a temporary “freedom from an occupation.”

Sources

The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories;

http://www.m-w.com/lighter/cool/cooljuneB.htm#down east

Kevin Cox has been a technical communicator for four years, and received a Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing from Portland Community College in 2002. Prior to becoming a technical writer, he was a desktop publisher for six years. In addition to his technical writing pursuits, he has a B.A. in Music from California State University and is a part-time composer, singer and percussionist. Kevin can be reached at knccomm@hotmail.com.