December’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink. So far we’ve looked at mulled wine, mince pies, eggnog, and Brussels sprouts. Our final festive drink of the month is sherry. Sherry is a dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain. It is usually drunk as an aperitif. The word dates to around 1600 when it was used as a mistaken singular form of the word 'sherris' (which dates to the 1530s). 'Sherris' comes from the Spanish ‘vino de Xeres’ meaning ‘wine from Xeres’. Today, this Andalusian town where sherry is made is known as Jerez. You can lea...
December’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink. So far we’ve looked at mulled wine, mince pies, and eggnog. Today’s festive food is the Brussels sprout. This Christmas dinner vegetable is often debated – some people love Brussels sprouts, others can’t stand them. A Brussels sprout is a small green cabbage-like bud that grows on a stalk. The word dates to 1740, though the first written description of this type of vegetable dates to the 1580s. Brussels sprouts have long been associated with Flanders, specifically Brussels, in Belgium. The name Brussels is of Germanic origin and comes from ‘brocca&r...
December’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink. So far we’ve looked at mulled wine and mince pies. The festive drink we have chosen to look at today is eggnog. Traditionally served in North America during the Christmas season, eggnog is a punch made of an alcoholic liquor mixed with egg and sweetened milk or cream. Sometimes it is flavoured with spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg. Other historic names of this drink include ‘egg milk punch’ and ‘milk punch’. Eggnog has been used in American English since around 1775. The word ‘egg’ dates to the mid-fourteenth century and comes from Old Norse. The word ...
Merry Christmas to all our course subscribers and blog readers! Whatever you are doing, we hope you are having a lovely day. Here is a list of the Christmassy Words for Wednesday we’ve shared over the years: December 'Decem' is Latin for 'ten', so why is it the twelfth month of the year that’s called December? Advent Is advent a period of anticipation or a period of reflection? Pudding Christmas puddings may be delicious, but the origins of this word are less appealing... Reindeer How long have these creatures been a part of Christmas mythology? Trim Trim is a Janus word, which me...
Here at Spellzone, it’s looking even more like Christmas and we’re finding ourselves using certain words that only come out at this time of year! Last week we looked at 5 Christmas-themed words and their origins – here are 5 more: Eggnog Eggnog is a drink made from alcohol (usually rum or brandy) mixed with beaten egg, milk, and sugar. The word ‘nog’ refers to strong ale. It dates to the 1690s when it described an ‘old, strong type of beer brewed in Norfolk’. Merry Like the word ‘tidings’ in last week’s article, the word ‘merry’ pops ups in Christmas songs but seems to hide away for the rest of th...
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