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An accident was originally simply ‘an event or mishap’.It came into English in the Middle Ages via Old French from Latin, ultimately derivind from the Latin caders, meaning ‘to fall’, which also gave us words such as cadaver, chance, decay, incident and occasion. The idea of an event ‘falling’ remains in the English word, befall. Later the meaning of accident evolved into ‘something that happens by chance’, as in the phrase ‘a happy accident’, and by the 17th century the modern meaning had … [Read more...] about accident

An accident was originally simply ‘an event or mishap’.It came into English in the Middle Ages via Old French from Latin, ultimately derivind from the Latin caders, meaning ‘to fall’, which also gave us words such as cadaver, chance, decay, incident and occasion. The idea of an event ‘falling’ remains in the English word, befall. Later the meaning of accident evolved into ‘something that happens by chance’, as in the phrase ‘a happy accident’, and by the 17th century the modern meaning had … [Read more...] about accident

The word acid originally meant ‘sour-tasting’, and came from Latin acidus. The term seems to have been introduced by the 17th-century scientist Francis Bacon, who in 1626, for example, described sorrel as a ‘cold and acid herb’. The chemical sense came along at the end of that century because most common acids taste sour.The acid test was originally a method of testing for gold using nitric acid. An object made of gold will show no signs of corrosion if imersed in nitric acid, unlike one made of … [Read more...] about acid

The word ache is a good example of the way that English spelling and pronunciation have developedand in many case have diverged from eacj other.This noun comes from Old English and used to be pronounced ‘aitch’ (like the letter H), whereas the verb was originally spelled ake and pronounced the way ache is today. Around 1700, though, people started pronouncing thenoun like the verb. It is the spelling of the noun that has survived, but the verb is said in the way the verb (ake) used to be. The … [Read more...] about ache

An ace was originally the side of a dice marked with one spot. The word comes from Latin as, meaning ‘unit’. Since an ace is the card with the highest value in many card games, the word often suggests a sense of excellence.An ace was also a wartime fighter pilot who brought down many aircraft, and is now anyone who excels at something. In tennis an ace is a service that your opponent is unable to reach, and in golf it is a hole in one. If you have an ace up your sleeve (or in American English – … [Read more...] about ace

The French Provençal word acolada is the source of accolade. This literally meant an embrace or clasping aorund the neck, and described the gesture of a friendly hug that was sometimes made when knighting someone, as an early alternative to the more familiar stroke on the shoulder with the flat of a sword. The ultimate root of the Provençal word is Latin collum ‘neck’ from which we also get collar.A knighthood is garnted at the sole discretion of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom. As noted … [Read more...] about accolade