WordsWatcher
@wordswatcher.bsky.social
Speech Pathologist, Linguist, Etymologist, and beer lover. Regular musings on word origins, language change, and anything else that fits into 300 words. Creator of the Tweetionary, thousands of mini etymologies since 2009. https://tweetionary.wordpress.com
Originally, a tariff (TARR-iff) was a mulitplication table o ready-reckoner to help make calculations. It quickly became a written list of taxes intended to be placed on imports or exports. From Italian “tariffa”=a book of rates < Arabic “ta ‘rif”=notification < “arafa”=to make known.
February 2, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Originally, a tariff (TARR-iff) was a mulitplication table o ready-reckoner to help make calculations. It quickly became a written list of taxes intended to be placed on imports or exports. From Italian “tariffa”=a book of rates < Arabic “ta ‘rif”=notification < “arafa”=to make known.
A gentleman should have a favorite glass, so here's mine. Heavy and clear so I can enjoy, in this case, and splendid Venezuelan rum.
November 28, 2024 at 12:42 AM
A gentleman should have a favorite glass, so here's mine. Heavy and clear so I can enjoy, in this case, and splendid Venezuelan rum.
Ready for those awkward Thanksgiving conversations? "Awkward" (AW-kwuhrd) originally meant "in the wrong direction," from Old Norse "afug"=turned the wrong way. Simple way to avoid the arguments? Eat slowly and chew each bite 23 times.
November 27, 2024 at 6:28 PM
Ready for those awkward Thanksgiving conversations? "Awkward" (AW-kwuhrd) originally meant "in the wrong direction," from Old Norse "afug"=turned the wrong way. Simple way to avoid the arguments? Eat slowly and chew each bite 23 times.
Not a filter, but the sky a seen from my office window has taken on a weird orange- yellow cast. It's deliciously odd.
November 20, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Not a filter, but the sky a seen from my office window has taken on a weird orange- yellow cast. It's deliciously odd.