Unit 1 Activity 1.7

Task - Part 1: Now look up the following words below, and for each, post to your blog:

• What part of speech it is.
• What the plural is.
• The definition.
• The etymology.

Potato

• Noun
• Potatoes
• A starchy plant tuber which is one of the most important food crops, cooked and eaten as a vegetable
• Mid 16th century: from Spanish patata.

Luddite

• Noun
• Luddites
• A member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woollen mills, which they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).
• Perhaps named after Ned Lud, a participant in the destruction of machinery.

Habit

• Noun
• Habits
• A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
• Middle English.

Gypsy

•  Noun
• Gypies
• A member of a travelling people with dark skin and hair, traditionally living by itinerant trade and fortune telling. Gypsies speak a language (Romany) that is related to Hindi and are believed to have originated in South Asia.
• Mid 16th century.

Gang

•  Noun
• Gangs
• An organized group of criminals.
• Old English.

Thug

•  Noun
• Thugs
•  Violent person, especially a criminal.
• Early 19th century.

Autobiography

• Noun
• Autobiographies
• An account of a person’s life written by that person.
• Old English.

Horse

• Noun
• Horses
• A solid-hoofed plant-eating domesticated mammal with a flowing mane and tail, used for riding, racing, and to carry and pull loads.
• Old English hors.

Dog

• Noun
• Dogs
• A domesticated carnivorous mammal that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, non-retractile claws, and a barking, howling, or whining voice.
• Old English.

Paper

• Noun
• Papers
• Material manufactured in thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, used for writing, drawing, or printing on, or as wrapping material.
• Middle English.

Wood

• Noun
• Woods
• The hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub, used for fuel or timber.
• Old English wudu.

Pencil 

• Noun
• Pencils
• An instrument for writing or drawing, consisting of a thin stick of graphite or a similar substance enclosed in a long thin piece of wood or fixed in a cylindrical case.
• Middle English.

Task - Part 2: When you looked up 'Luddite', you will have noticed that some words become part of the English Language due to historical events and people. Now look up the words balaclava, wellingtons, and sandwich. Where are they from? Do you know any others? Post the answers to your blog.

Balaclava

• Noun
• Balaclavas
• A close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck except for parts of the face, typically made of wool.
• Late 19th century.

Wellingtons

• Noun
• Wellingtons
• The capital of New Zealand, situated at the southern tip of the North Island; population 179,463 (2006). It became the capital in 1865, when the seat of government was moved from Auckland.
• Capital of New Zealand

Sandwich

• Noun
• Sandwiches
• An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with a filling between them, eaten as a light meal.
• Mid 18th century.

Task - Part 3: Look up and then post the definitions of the words 'prefix', 'suffix' and 'root'.

Prefix: Grammar . an affix placed before a word, base, or another prefix to modify a term's meaning, as by making the term negative, as un- in unkind, by signaling repetition, as re- in reinvent, or by indicating support, as pro- in proabolition. Compatible prefixes can work together, as un- and re- in unrefundable.

Suffix: Grammar . an affix that follows the element to which it is added, as -ly in kindly.

Root: a part of the body of a plant that develops, typically, from the radicle and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture.

Task - Part 4: Autobiography' is a useful word to examine when trying to understand words' prefixes, suffixes and roots. It shows how some words are developed by using 'blocks' (morphemes) of existing words. What does the prefix 'auto' mean? And 'bio'? Lastly, what is the definition of 'graphy'? Post the answers to your blog.

Auto: Self

Bio: Life

Graphy: descriptive science

Task - Part 5: New inventions and technology always give rise to new words being created. Investigate the origin of the word 'car', and see if you can also find out why they were also named 'automobiles'. Similarly, use an etymological dictionary to explain how the word 'television' was created. Post the answers to your blog.

Car: late Middle English.

Cars were also called automobiles because it originates from the word carriage, as in horse and carriage.

Television: early 20th century: from tele-'at a distance' + vision.

Task - Part 6: Trade, travel, exploration, new technology and media communication have all been responsible for influencing the growth and diversity of the English Language. Look at the list of words below; use an etymological dictionary to find out where they originated, then try to explain how they entered English

Boomerang Juggernaut Malady Calypso Candy Anorak Pyjamas

Boomerang: This word i from the 1880s. 1827, adapted from an extinct Aboriginal languages of New South Wales, Australia. Another variant, perhaps, was wo-mur-rang. This word most likely entered the English language from the Aboriginals, who lived in Canada. 

Juggernaut: 1630s, "huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna," especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. This word most likely entered the English language from the Europeans. 

Malady: late 13c., from Old French maladie "sickness, illness, disease" (13c.), from malade "ill" (12c.), from Latin male habitus "doing poorly, feeling sick," literally "ill-conditioned," frommale "badly". This word may have entered the English language through the French, from their word 'maladie'. 

Calypso: sea nymph in the "Odyssey," literally "hidden, hider" (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Greek kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save," root of English Hell. This word most likely entered the English language through the Greek.

Candy: late 13c., "crystalized sugar," from Old French çucre candi "sugar candy". Candy most likely entered the English through the French, from their word "cucre candi". 

Anorak: Eskimo's waterproof, hooded jacket, 1924, from Greenland Eskimo anoraq. Applied to Western imitations of this garment from 1930s. In British slang, "socially inept person" (Partridge associates it with a fondness for left-wing politics and pirate radio) by 1983, on the notion that that sort of person typically wears this sort of coat. Anorak most likely entered the English language through the Eskimos, whom the English interacted with. 

Pyjamas: 1800, pai jamahs "loose trousers tied at the waist," worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear, from Hindi pajama, probably from Persianpaejamah, literally "leg clothing," from pae "leg" (from PIE *ped- "foot," see foot (n.)) + jamah "clothing." Modern spelling (U.S.) is from 1845. British spelling tends towardpyjamas. Pyjamas most likely entered the English language through the Muslims whenever the Muslim culture was accepted by the Europeans.