Word Origin

First of all, let me greet you, the readers of my blog LeDragonRouge!

I want to say that my blog is dedicated to my researches for the origin of the words, their meaning transformations, evolution and using in the everyday life. I have always been interested in linguistic and foreign languages. With the lapse of time I started to collect (chiefly on my mind) different curious moment describing the appearance and vanishing of these or those words in the languages in global. The research is going through the prisms of the spheres we live in such as politics, economics, national traditions, cultures etc. It’s impossible to imagine our life without too common for us civilization and social society.

Unfortunately my hobby didn’t become my occupation, so I’m an amateur. On the one hand it’s an advantage because these people mind a special new way on the situation when the professionals believe old and mostly unoriginal facts. Any field if science is a not plough-land so there are a lot of undone discoveries. On the other hand each of us is (or was) an amateur in the beginning of the way. But experience comes with time. I hope one day I’ll have enough material to fix some dark stains in history.

Today I’d like to philosophize about the origin of the base of my research – the Word. My blog’s title is a quote from The Holy Bible. It opens St. John’s Gospel and fully sounds as: «In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God». Some people use to think that Word here is the same as the word in our speech. It’s wrong and it’s a well-know fact proved by the scientists. Under the Word we should understand the Supreme Idea, the Highest will of the God who brought us life. The Word is an embodiment of wisdom forming through centuries. The Word is a bringer of public conscience of a definite epoch. It can express anything, we just need to find the best Word from the amount of the Words we know. Possibly it’s the smallest piece of language but it organizes all our feelings, aspirations, attitudes.

The word «word» takes its roots in Latin language where sounded as «verbum». Pay attention to those expressions: «to say a word» – «to say verbally». They mean the same. The word «verb» came from it too. Verb indicates the performance of the action. But the word «proverb» means «adage», «byword». Latin prefix pro- reflects support and help. So «proverb» can be translated as «good saying».

Please, compare two words: «word» and «order». Order reminds me the subject our topic: (w)order. Do you think it’s a simple coincidence? My answer is: «No». Look at the Swedish dictionary and find a Swedish equivalent for «word», you’ll find «ord». This ord is a parent element which was kindly kept for us by our Scandinavian friends (tack så mycket, guys). Feel the dependence? The word «order» actually means «by the word» or «by the rules». If you follow instructions, laws and so on you’ll get an order and everything will be fine. If you ignore them then you’ll get a chaos. As a word regulates the speech the order regulates our life helping us to have time for our deeds. I just want to add here that the second meaning of the word «order» is «lodge», «sect». and again we got an evidence for the word base. Each lodge is characterized by its own regulations every member must know and follow. Order is an affirmed order of rites and ceremonies. Easy, isn’t it?

Now let’s look at the word «ordinary» meaning «simple», «customary». I disagree with a strict dictionary definition. «Ordinary» is an adjective so it shows a quality of a noun. To my mind it means «something that has already been portrayed with the words» or «w-ordinary» (synonym – verbally) if you want so. Do you see the logic? The thing became ordinary because it was described and got clear for people, it got simple to use. Unordinary is a new thing, invention, people haven’t found a profound definition to. But when they get the right words, it will become ordinary or described.

There are some set expressions in English that indirectly give me some confidence in my reasoning. For example, expression «give the word» means «say a password». Password isn’t the most complicated word to cipher. It means the word someone must say to pass through the block. In French an equal word for «password» is «parole» (it also exists in English but not wide-spread). If you know French even a little you’ll see two words there: «par» (means prepositions «with» and «by» to form the Passive Voice and «for») and «rôle» (English «role»). And now use your brains to make up a conclusion. Role can mean the position of a man in society. «Par rôle» is a type information (words) trusted to someone who has an ordered right to know. I want to tell that somebody got data for his competence, in a word – «for the ordered one».

In the end I’d like to say that I can make conclusions using the languages I know – Russian, English, little French and German and slightly Swedish. So if you have any commentaries and additions I’ll be very glad to heat them. I’m sure I have much to learn. I hope you enjoyed the article. See you. Have a nice day and be happy. Bye.