Monthly Gleanings (September 2008)
Anatoly answers questions.
Shibboleths and Traitors, or,
Death and Expulsion as Categories of Historical Phonetics
Anatoly Liberman recounts the times when phonetics were used to determine the death, expulsion or release of a group of people, and takes a closer at the development of homonyms.
Shame and Guilt: Part 2 – Guilt
Anatoly Liberman looks at guilt and shame.
Guilt Societies and Shame Societies
or, Shame and Guilt from an Etymological Point of View,
With Some Observations on Sham and Scam Thrown in for Good Measure (Part 1: Shame)
Bimonthly Gleanings (July – August 2008)
Anatoly Liberman answers questions.
Bare or Bear, or, the Story of Berserk
Anatoly Liberman looks at the word “Berserk”.
Big Problems with the Little Finger, or, A Story of Pinkie
Anatoly looks at the word “pinkie”.
The Haberdasher Displays His Wares and Escapes
Anatoly looks at the word “haberdasher”.
American Nicknames Part 2: Hoosier
Anatoly looks at the nickname “Hoosier”.
Advice to the Etymologist: Never Lose Heart, or, The Origin of the Word Galoot
Several times a year I speak on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), a guest of Kerri Miller’s program “Midmorning News.” We usually advertise some general topic in advance, but, while I am in the studio, listeners are requested to ask any questions they like about word origins, regardless of the overarching theme. Sometimes I […]
American Nicknames Part 1: Softies and Buckeye
Anatoly looks at the word “Buckeye”.
William John Thoms, The Man Who Invented The Word Folklore
Anatoly celebrates a word pioneer.
Who’s Mindful of Who’s Apostrophes’?
Anatoly looks at apostrophes.
Monthly Gleanings
Anatoly answers questions.
Lite Beer and Donuts, or, Does Spelling Reform Have a Chance?
Anatoly finds the appropriate sustenance for spelling reformers.
Germanic Hermaphrodites
Hermaphrodites are born rarely, and it is far from clear why their mythology achieved such prominence in Antiquity. Reference to cross-dressing during certain marriage rites does not go far, but the cult of Hermaphroditus is a fact, and Ovid’s tale of the union in one body of the son of Hermes and Aphrodite is well-known.