window: [Old Norse vindr wind, auga eye]
Similar to the seemingly prosaic word "west,” this etymology seems very poetic; to keep an eye on the wind. A window is not just an opening in a wall…it is a place to contemplate, to really see with your eyes the wind outside your sheltering home.
wingding: [origin unknown] a wild, lavish party.
I find words with ‘origin unknown’ to be intriguing. I have started a list of these words in the introduction.
wispish: resembling a wisp (insubstantial, frail, slight)
An onomatopoeic word…
Speaking of onomatopoeia [Greek onomato, onoma name, poiein to make or create, poietes maker, which is also the etymology of the work poet] /on no man to pee’ ah/ the naming of the action or thing that resembles the sound that it makes (buzz, hiss)
poet see above, a creator, poietes
wisteria: [named after Carl Wistar, 1818]
a colorful flowering plant
Carl Wistar (1761-1818) was a physician and famous anatomist who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (He did the definitive exposition on the ethmoid bone…) He was a friend of Thomas Jefferson. He would open his home every week during the Winter to friends, scholars and students and have lively intellectual discussions which were called "Wistar Parties." This flower was named after him (and misspelled).
No comments:
Post a Comment