auria “Hussein” cortes

In honor of George Carlin, I dedicate this week’s Thursday’s Thirteen to Origin of Words.  

• Dreadlocks - It seems that back in the day Caucasians would call a black persons hair dreadful. Over the years, the black community took ownership of the word dreadful and named their hairstyle dreadlocks.  (Source: a documentary on hair that I saw, but can’t remember the name)
• Bimbo - This term for a floozie or loose woman, especially one of low intelligence, is from the Italian bambino, or baby. (Source)  
• Crap - The word crap, meaning excrement, is from an English dialectical word originally meaning chaff or the discarded husks of grain. (Source) 
• Dork - The original sense of dork is penis. It is probably an alteration of dick, dating to the early 1960s. (Source) 
• Dryrun - The earliest known usage of dry run dates to 1941 and is originally US Army slang for practice or dress rehearsal. But why dry? It either refers to booze or sex. Dry has been associated with the abstention from alcohol since the 15th century and was a common term during the Prohibition years of the 1920s and 30s. It is certainly possible that a military dry run lacks the kick or rush of actual combat, much like a dry drink lacks the kick of alcohol. The possible sexual connection is from the term dry fuck, or frottage, the rubbing of a couple’s bodies together while clothed. (Source)
• Dyke - This term for a lesbian is a clipped form of bulldyker, an American slang term that dates to at least 1906. The origin is unknown, but the fact that bulldyker is the earliest known form by several decades limits the possibilities significantly.  (Source)  The word dyke is used as a derogatory term towards lesbians.
• Ghost - Germanic origin. It dates back to the Old English period and the word gast. The general sense of the word is a spirit or soul and it is used in various specific contexts. (Source)
• Jaywalk - This term for crossing the street in the middle of the block is U.S. slang dating to the early years of the 20th century. It comes from the sense of jay meaning a stupid person, a rube. (Source) 
• Keeping up with the Joneses - The expression keeping up with the Jonesesgot its start in 1913 as the title of a comic strip by Arthur R. “Pop” Momand. The strip detailed the lives of the McGinis family, who were envious of their neighbors, the Joneses. By the mid-1920s, the phrase was in common use. (Source)  
• Ku Klux Klan - Ku-Klux is a variation on the Greek kuklos meaning circle. The Klan is obviously from clan, with the k used for alliterative purposes. (Source) 
• Redneck - A redneck is a white, working class US southerner, often with provincial and insular attitudes. It is most likely a reference to the sun-burned necks of those who work in the fields all day. But it could be a reference to either anger or pellagra, which can both turn the neck red. (Source)
• Spic - Spanish-speaking individuals with limited grasp of the English language say, with an accent,  “ I don’t spic English.” Hence, the word Spic is used as a derogatory terms towards Hispanics and Latinos.(Source: Read it in one of my favorite books – When I was Puerto Rican) 
• Widow’s peak - A widow’s peak is the sharp angle of the hairline on the forehead of some people. It’s so called because it resembles the peak of a hood traditionally worn by women in mourning. (Source)                   

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