Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. As Saturday August 5th marks National Mustard Day – a celebration of all things mustard that started in Wisconsin in 1991 – we couldn’t resist choosing the spicy condiment for our first word of the week. Mustard is a pungent yellow or brown paste made from ground mustard seeds. It has a strong hot taste and is often eaten with meat. Though mustard was likely eaten by ancient civilisations, the word firs...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for January is colours. The word colour entered English via Old French and comes from the Latin ‘color’, from the Old Latin ‘colos’ meaning ‘a covering’, from the PIE root ‘kel-’ meaning ‘to conceal’. The word has been used in reference to skin colour since the early-thirteenth century and in reference to pigments and dye since the fourteenth century. The spelling colour became the common English spelling from the fourteenth century, but a classical correction made color an alternative from the fifteenth century. Color&nbs...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for November is vegetables. A vegetable is a plant or part of a plant that is used for food. The word dates to the mid-fifteenth century when it meant 'non-animal life’ and was used to describe any type of plant. It has been used in reference to plants specifically grown for food since 1767. So far we’ve looked at the vegetables cabbage, potato, and courgette. Today’s word is tomato. The first thing to note about the tomato is that it’s not technically a vegetable—it’s a fruit. As we explained at the start of this post a vegetable is a plant or part of a plant used for food. A fruit is...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for November is vegetables. A vegetable is a plant or part of a plant that is used for food. The word dates to the mid-fifteenth century when it meant 'non-animal life’ and was used to describe any type of plant. It has been used in reference to plants specifically grown for food since 1767. So far we’ve looked at the words cabbage and potato. This week we’ve chosen two words that are used to refer to the same vegetable—courgette and zucchini. Both words describe a dark green cucumber-shaped squash that is typically eaten when small. The same vegetable left to mature is often called a marrow. Cour...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for November is vegetables. A vegetable is a plant or part of a plant that is used for food. The word dates to the mid-fifteenth century when it meant 'non-animal life’ and was used to describe any type of plant. It has been used in reference to plants specifically grown for food since 1767. Last week we looked at the word cabbage and this week’s word is potato. A potato is a root vegetable native to South America with starchy edible tubers and poisonous vines. It is widely cultivated as a garden vegetable. The word entered English in the 1560s and was used to describe the vegetable we call sweet potato today...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for November is vegetables! A vegetable is a plant or part of a plant that is used for food. The word dates to the mid-fifteenth century when it meant 'non-animal life’ and was used to describe any type of plant. It has been used in reference to plants specifically grown for food since 1767. Our first word of the month is cabbage. A cabbage is a vegetable with large thick green or purple leaves that grow around a spherical heart. The word dates to the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Old French ‘cabace’ which means ‘head’ and is a diminutive of the Latin word ‘caput’. Cabbages are likely n...
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