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Showing posts from December 6, 2015

Today's word/phrase

It is very interesting to know how certain words, phrases etc., which we use now come into usage. Let's look at 'Bohemian.' BOHEMIAN: Bohemian is a person who leads a luxurious and carefree life is called a Bohemian. The Frenchman called the gipsies as the Bohemians because they thought that the gipsies who were careless  by wandering by came from Bohemia in Central Europe.  In this way the expression  'Bohemian' came into usage.

TODAY'S WORD / PHRASE

It is interesting to know how the present day names, usages etc., have derived. Trade Winds: They are named in this way because they are always trading or trading in one uniform track.  It is a mistake to derive the word from trade (commerce) under the notion that they are ' good for trade.'  The correct derivation is (Anglo-Saxon) Treddle-wind, a treading wind- ie. wind of a specific beat or tread ( from the word tredan- to tread). In the northern hemisphere, the trade winds blow from the north-east and, in the southern hemisphere from the south-east, about thirty degrees each side of the Equator. In some places, they blow six months in one direction  and six months in the opposite.