Etymology

Some words have their roots in other languages, but others have their roots in a good story that captured the public imagination. The history of “mesmerize,” my language-curious friends, is a case of the latter.

Let me set the stage:

Imagine eighteenth-century Vienna— its grand gardens and palaces, the elegance, grace, and symmetry of Mozart and Beethoven, and the imperial menagerie that would become today’s oldest continually operating zoo in the world. This Vienna was one of the most important political, artistic, and commercial capitals of the era.

In this setting, enter Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer, a physician who proposed a theory of how human and animal bodies react to the gravitational pull of the planets. More

There aren’t many expressions that have their origins in board games, but “to turn the tables” on someone—meaning to change someone’s fortunes—comes from exactly that source.

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Some etymology stories might be the product of fiction, but sometimes, they are so good, you have to hope that they’re true. This is the case of the tale concerning why we call long johns, “long johns.”

Merriam Webster tells us that the term “long johns” has been used to describe this long underwear since 1941, but when you dig a little deeper, you can come across the same story again and again:

In the late 1800s, an Irish-American boxer named John Lawrence Sullivan rose to fame because not only was he unbeatable, not only did he win the last bare-knuckle world heavyweight title bout in the 75^th round after recovering from vomiting in the 44^th, not only did his trainer have to drag him away from bars the full duration of his training. but he was also recorded saying that, he could “lick anyone, anytime,” and would regularly jump into the ring or any other challenge in his long underwear tucked into his socks, ready to go. He did this so commonly, fans began calling the long underwear by his name.

Is this the real origin of the term “long johns”? Maybe. It’s the consistent reference though it’s not 100% confirmed. But whether it is or isn’t, can we all at least appreciate that there was a boxer so confident and so proud that this is truly how he stepped into the ring? Nightmares about stepping on stage in your underwear have nothing on this guy.

That’s something to keep you warm on a cold winter day.

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Just when you think people’s casual uses of “awesome” are too far from this word’s origin linked with “awe” of the miraculous, let me turn you to another word that’s wandered even further from its starting point.

When you think that something’s “terrific,” that something doesn’t terrify you, does it? It doesn’t put you into a state of terror, right?

Well, your answers to these questions would be different if you lived only a few centuries ago. Each of these words–terrific, terrify, and terror–comes from the same Latin root, terrēre, meaning to frighten. And we can’t forget “terrible,” which also should be included in this bunch. When they entered the English language in the late 1600s, each spoke of fear so great it made you tremble.More

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