Etymology is the study of the history of words. It also happens to be a passion of mine.
In fact, a few summers ago, Compass Classroom and I created a rather ridiculous etymology show called Word up.
When you look up a word in a dictionary, you get its definition. But if you explore its history, you uncover its story, making the word easier to remember.
Several online resources help with this.
Vocabulary.com provides simple definitions along with a quick history of the word.
For a deeper dive, etymonline.com offers extensive details on word origins.
For example, one of my favorite foods is biscotti. A chocolate biscotti with coffee… Oh, man.
One day, I got curious. What does the word biscotti mean? Turns out, biscotti, a kind of long cookie containing nuts, is the plural of the Italian word biscotto. Naturally, this means I should eat more than one.
Biscotto comes from the Latin phrase panis (bread) bis (twice) coctus (cooked).
From panis, English gets words like pan, pantry, company, companion, and Panera.
From bis, English gets words like bicycle, biped, bicep, and bilingual.
And, coctus gives us the English words concoct, terra cotta, biscuit, and of course, biscotti!
So, there you have it. Look up the definition of the word that’s got you stumped. And, if you want to have even more fun, look up the history.
Coming to Birmingham, Alabama
Though this has nothing to do with language classes, if you live in the Birmingham area, and if you are a Lego fan, be sure to like this page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560222463454. Bricks and MiniFigs is coming to Birmingham. We are hoping to open at the end of September.
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Almost every Saturday, I send out a Tip of the Week. The tip of the week is usually something I have picked up along the way that may make your life a little easier.
If you would like to hear from me (almost) every Saturday, just go to the home page of my site and plug in your name and email. You will also get a free digital copy of my book on learning Latin (and almost anything else). Just go here: https://dwanethomas.com/ and enter your name and email.
If you want to buy the digital book instead (because you just feel like buying me a cup of coffee) go here: https://dwanethomas.gumroad.com/l/fzixlh
If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7. I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful. To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
If you want a more professionally filmed Latin learning experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.
Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word Up! Warning. Word Up! is a bit wacky. You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.
I teach other languages on my site, too. The current schedule is here: https://dwanethomas.com/schedule/
By the way, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Not trying to pull a fast one on you. I only promote what I believe in. Not only that, but commissions from affiliate links allow me to continue offering training and books at low prices and sometimes free.
