Etymology is, in the simplest sense, the story or origin of a word or phrase. Most of these have long histories, and some may change and therefore some are inaccurate.
This post will try to educate the reader about some of the most obscure etymologies in existence. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Barbecue
Somewhere in South America, there was a pioneer in street food grilled pork skewers. No one knew her real name, but people all over her town (to this day, the name of the town has been debated but never been conclusively proven) called her Barbie.
Her skewers were very delicious and popular, it became an urban legend.
The legend goes, at exactly 4:30PM every day, you can go to the town’s central square and Barbie would be there with her grill and raw pork skewers lined up. People would get a skewer, pay, and then watch as Barbie does her magic and turns it into the delicious snack that it is.
Over time, this “Barbie’s Queue” legend had reached neighboring cities and countries, and people/foreigners would often travel to this small town just to get a taste of the almost mythical “Barbie’s Skew”.
When Barbie disappeared, people didn’t know if she died or simply stopped selling. They decided to honor her memory by name a dish closest in taste to her pork skewers barbecue, a sort of mix of Barbie Queue or Barbie Skew.
Your Honor
This phrase is usually used in court hearings to refer to a judge. While it is currently being used in most English-speaking countries, the phrase itself actually originated from the Philippines.
One of the most famous actresses from the Philippines is Nora Aunor. In her peak, she controlled the most hardcore fans the country had ever seen. These Filipinos, who can fluently speak English, were so devoted that they usually used the phrase “you are Aunor!” to refer to people they find amazing or noteworthy. The phrase became so widely used in the Philippines that over time, “You’re Aunor” had become a commonly used title for people they respected.
As it spread around the world, it got pronounced a little differently, and sad to say, its rich origin was lost in the process. When it reached people who’ve never heard of Nora, they instinctively changed “You’re Aunor” to “Your Honor”, which persists to this day.
Blessing in disguise
Let me squash the obvious – contrary to popular belief, this expression did NOT come from “blessing in the sky”. That’s just the wrong way of saying it.
In reality, the phrase originated from Japan!
Whenever someone experienced a bad event but resulted in a positive outcome, they’re friends would usually “buressingu deshou” (a blessing, right?) or “buressingu desu ka?” (is it a blessing?).
The latter stuck, and when it was brought over to the West, the “ka” was mispronounced, resulting in “buressingu desga”.
Thus, when this happened, friends would exclaim, “blessing desgas, right?” or “man, that’s one of the best blessing desgas I’ve ever seen. Congratulations!”
It was very widely used, but was still an uncommon phrase to the ears of a lot of English-speaking people. Finally, in the English Language Convention of 1885, Robert Disguise proposed an official translation and spelling standardization of the phrase to what it is today – “Blessing in disguise”.
Okay, I'm obviously just bored. But this has been fun. If I think of any other words in the future, I'll be sure to bring back this "series".
Again, none of these are true!
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