E T Y M O L O G Y

(What's in a word?)

As I've studied other languages first Portuguese and then French, I've become more and more appreciative of the uniqueness of words. Sometimes the sense of words becomes part of discussion, thus some of the popular stories regarding word origins have come to me by word of mouth. As I've tried to check the stories on some words, I have found out that there are sometimes numerous versions. You can follow some of the links I've included on this page to get the story on words that interest you.

Sabotage- I heard that a disgruntled worker one time threw his sabot (a wooden shoe) into the machinery to stop the production line. Research I've done also makes reference to a similar explanation of the word.

Barbeque- The story I was told on this word bears some similarities to information found in my links, yet this oral version has some unique traits. It is said to relate to the tradition of roasting a goat on the wooden structure over an open fire. The goat was roasted "from beard to tail" (de la barbe à la queue).