Where did things get their name?

i'm glad i'm not the only one that thinks this...

especially with curse words.  i mean, who decided the f-bomb was bad?

Our mothers.

 I hear that's how 'golf' was named. The f-word was already taken.

If you've ever played golf, you'll understand this!

Some words actually look like their meaning. This one, for example:

bOOb

So, the short answer is...from all over the place. The long answer is... there are a lot of fields of research devoted to aspects of this very question. :-) But a really good resource if you want to poke into a bit is a book by the most wonderful Anatoly Liberman, Word Origins and How We know Them.

Since you're local, I'll tell you...if you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, go. He is an absolute stitch.

I had the privilege of doing an article with him (he was teaching a class on...word origins and English etymology for us), and he talks about this very exciting (<---not in pink/red font) field. Shameless self-promotion--read the article here.

Thanks again MMRocker, I would love to hear this guy, and will read your suggestion on my Facebook page.

Also, BrianRunsPhilly, you might owe me a  wireless keyboard, I spit soup on min while Lol'ing after I read your comment  !!

Wonder no more my friend (etymonline.com)...

chair (n.)

early 13c., chaere, from O.Fr. chaiere "chair" (12c.; Mod.Fr. chaire "pulpit, throne;" the more modest sense having gone since 16c. with variant form chaise), from L. cathedra "seat" (see cathedral). Figurative sense of "authority" was in Middle English, of bishops and professors. Meaning "office of a professor" (1816) is extended from the seat from which a professor lectures (mid-15c.). Meaning "seat of a person presiding at meeting" is from 1640s.

tree (n.)

O.E. treo, treow "tree" (also "wood"), from P.Gmc. *trewan (cf. O.Fris. tre, O.S. trio, O.N. tre, Goth. triu), from PIE *deru- "oak" (cf. Skt. dru "tree, wood," daru "wood, log;" Gk. drys "oak," doru "spear;" O.C.S. drievo "tree, wood;" Serb. drvo "tree," drva "wood;" Rus. drevo "tree, wood;" Czech drva; Pol. drwa "wood;" Lith. derva "pine wood;" O.Ir. daur, Welsh derwen "oak," Albanian drusk "oak").

cup

O.E. cuppe, from L.L. cuppa "cup" (cf. It. coppa, Sp. copa, O.Fr. coupe "cup"), from L. cupa "tub, cask, tun, barrel," from PIE *keup- "a hollow" (cf. Skt. kupah "hollow, pit, cave," Gk. kype "a kind of ship," O.C.S. kupu, Lith. kaupas). The Late Latin word was borrowed throughout Germanic; cf. O.Fris. kopp "cup, head," M.L.G. kopp "cup," M.Du. coppe, Du. kopje "cup, head." German cognate Kopf now means exclusively "head" (cf. Fr. tête, from L. testa "potsherd"). Meaning "part of a bra that holds a breast" is from 1938. As a verb, from late 14c., originally "to draw blood by cupping;" meaning "to form a cup" is from 1830. [One's] cup of tea "what interests one" (1932), earlier used of persons (1908), the sense being "what is invigorating."

i used to carry around a red whiffle ball bat to take my anger out agains the golf cart.  i got tired of replacing shafts and figured a whiffle ball bat was cheaper.  so, yeah, i can see where the f-word would have been a perfect name for golf.

I started using this word for it's obvious true meaning.  Today i told a buyer to go golf himself.  He kind of took it as a compliment, and I felt better.  Now if my golfing computer would stop locking up today I would be in such a golfing bad mood.  Also, someone better bring some golfing donuts in tomorrow..

This might be the start to a new language using words that are currently used now, only changing their meanings..  I wonder what I just wrote in the new language  ?

Curious if he addresses why words are "bad".  For instance, the F word.  There are several theories but I believe it was a law centered around adultery. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. So now that we know what the origin is, why is it such a bad word?  Is it really that offensive?  I understand that the use of the word today doesn't really refer to breaking the law of adultery but if I wrote it here it would get erased.  It is four letters put together designed to elicit a response and therefore becomes "bad".  Why is poop a good word but *hit is a bad word?  One is cute for 6 year old to say and the other gets a call from the school?

I have to agree, etymology is one of the most interesting fields out there.  When I studied the subject in college at first I wondered what insects had to do with Literary Analysis, and then I took the class and it was one of, if not THE most interesting classes of my college career.

One of the many many myths surounding the origin of the f word. The short answer is, nobody actually knows where it started. A couple of leading theories... which are boring and have nothing to do with archers or adultery... but nobody knows conclusively.

You hittin' the bong OP?

This is some hardcore stoner conversation

Dude, that makes me wonder, why do they call a bong a bong.  Also Dave's not here man...

No!  It's Dave man!