Skip to main content

YOU MUST KNOW THIS

It is interesting to know that how the present day names, usages etc., has entered into our daily conversation.
Let's look into some of this.

1. CANNADA:  A Portuguese named Corteral sailed up the St.Lawerence. He was thinking that this place would provide a route to India. His men were very much disappointed and they cried aloud, "Cannada." The meaning of Cannada in their language means ' nothing here.'


The people who were there heard this word Cannada so often that it came into common use, and later, when other Europeans arrived they were greeted with "Cannada."The natives thought that by crying out this word, the newcomers would leave as quickly as the Portuguese had done.
In due course, the name stuck to the country and it has ever since been called Canada


2.SOAP: It is the English equivalent of the French word SAVON. The name is from the seaport town of  Savona in Italy. This place is well known for its beautiful manufacture of cleaning article.


3. SHORTHAND: It is the art of quick writing. It was first invented in 63 B.C. by Marcus Tullius Tiro.  This system of shorthand made by Marcus was taught in Roman schools and was some use for some centuries.


4.  SUPERSTITION: It is that which survives when its companions are dead.  Those people who escaped in wars were called superstitious. Superstition is that religion which remains when real religion is dead; that fear and awe and worship paid to the religious impression that survives in the mind when correct notions of the Deity no longer exists.

5. CATS PAW: This phrase is used to express a tool, a medium of doing another's dirty work. The allusion is a reference to the fable of the monkey who wanted to get from the fire some roasted chestnuts, and took the paw of the cat to get them from the hot ashes.

5.  THE CHRISTIAN ERA:  The Christian Era was invented by a monk Dionysius Exiguous about 532.  It was introduced in Italy in the sixth century and was ordered to be served by Bishops in council at Chelsea in 816, but was not generally employed till after. Charles III of Germany  was the first who added "in the year of our Lord" to that of his reign to his official proclamations, etc.,

6.  CURFEW:  A bell was rung in the ruling period of William I and II, at sunset to give notice to their subjects that they were to put out their fires and candles.  The word curfew is derived from the French 'covere feu', meaning cover fire. Nowadays when some trouble is feared, or breach of the peace is likely to take place in a region, magistrates proclaim curfew orders, prohibiting persons from walking out of their homes during some particular hours.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Do You Know this?

The Woolsack: The woolsack is a large red cushion on which the Lord Chancellor sits in the House of Lords.  The origin of the custom is in this way:  During the time of Queen Elizabeth I, wool was considered as a very valuable commodity and was considered as a source of national wealth.  Many people were employed in this industry.  An Act was passed prohibiting the export of raw wool from  England. To remind the judges of this law, the Queen ordered that each of them when in the House of Lords should sit on a cushion or sack stuffed with wool. Hence originates the name woolsack.

TODAY'S WORD/PHRASE

'BADGE OF POVERTY': In the reign of William III those who received Parish relief had to wear a badge (with the letter P together with the initial of the Parish)  in red or blue cloth on the shoulder of the right sleeve, whence it is used to denote a poor person.

INSPIRATIONAL WORDS

GOD AND RELIGION "In studying books we are sometimes deluded into thinking that thereby we are being spiritually helped; but, we analize the effect of the study of books on ourselves, we shall find that at the utmost, it is only our intellect that derives profit from such studies, and not the inner spirit.  This inadequacy of the book to quicken the spiritual growth is the reason, why although almost every one of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual matters when it comes to actions and the living of a truly spiritual life, we find ourselves so awfully deficient.  To quicken the spirit, the impulse must come from another soul".                                    -Swami Vivekananda