Category Archives: language

How Clever Is Your Cleaver?

Posted on July 2, 2026 by JE

I was reading Dougan’s commentary on Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations, which is a perfectly normal thing to do, and at one point (ad 1.49.118) he suggested that the English word clever is derived from deliver. “Interesting, if true,” I thought, and … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, books, language, words | Tagged | Comments Off on How Clever Is Your Cleaver?

Those Crazy Cats

Posted on June 6, 2026 by JE

I was reading Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations, which is a perfectly normal thing to do, and he quoted a line from Ennius, to make some point he thought needed making: egregie cordatus homo, catus Aelius Sextus “Why is he calling Aelius … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, cats, dogs, grammar, language, music, Rome, words | Tagged , | Comments Off on Those Crazy Cats

Echoes of Wuruyaaria

Posted on June 3, 2026 by JE

Still reading Lucian, and came across a great new-to-me Greek verb: ὠρύομαι (oh-ROO-o-mai). It means (and sounds like) “to howl” (as a wolf or dog). It comes up in conversation between Hermes, who is conducting a party of ghosts to … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, dogs, fantasy, language, Morlock, Myth & Legend, words | Tagged , | Comments Off on Echoes of Wuruyaaria

“Ixnay on the Ocodilecray!” Lucian Against the Paradoctors

Posted on June 1, 2026 by JE

I’ve been reading a lot of Lucian lately, for reasons that are difficult to explain; maybe I’ll write something about that when I figure it out. But I am finding that he reads better in Greek than he does in … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Adventures in the Public Domain, AI is a misnomer, ancient art, art, astronomy, books, dogs, language, Myth & Legend, sff, words | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on “Ixnay on the Ocodilecray!” Lucian Against the Paradoctors

Of Men and Mollusks

Posted on December 30, 2025 by JE

Came across this choice bit of abuse this afternoon: πλεύμονα αὐτὸν ἐκάλει καὶ ἀγράμματον καὶ ἀπατεῶνα καὶ πόρνον.—Diogenes Laertius 10.8 I render this as: “He <Epicurus> calls him <Democritus> a mollusk and an illiterate and a cheat and a whore.” … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Adventures in the Public Domain, books, history, language, words | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Of Men and Mollusks

Et Thew, Brute?

Posted on November 7, 2025 by JE

Some discussion of thews and thewbilation in the Sword and Sorcery Tavern on Discord made me curious about the etymology of thew. I consulted my friend, the democratic AHD, and it hit me in the face with this. Did not … Continue reading →

Posted in books, fantasy, language, Myth & Legend, sff, sword-and-sorcery, words | Tagged | Comments Off on Et Thew, Brute?

Water We Fighting For?

Posted on July 31, 2025 by JE

Typo of the day: Tuhursday (for an intended Thursday). Easily fixed, but now I’m wondering who Tuhur was. Mr. Internet tells me it’s a Sundanese word meaning “dry”. Maybe Tuhur was the archenemy of that Wonder Twin who turned into … Continue reading →

Posted in cartoon, language, Typo of the Day, words | Comments Off on Water We Fighting For?

18th Century Mashup: White’s MISTRESS MASHAM’S REPOSE

Posted on May 7, 2025 by JE

I came to T.H. White’s brilliant fantasy Mistress Masham’s Repose (Putnam, 1946): immediately after reading two much inferior (but not worthless) books. One was by White himself, The Age of Scandal (Putnam, 1950), a social history of the later 18th … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures in the Public Domain, books, fantasy, history, language, sff, words | Tagged | Comments Off on 18th Century Mashup: White’s MISTRESS MASHAM’S REPOSE

King Leer

Posted on April 18, 2025 by JE

Reading some Middle English this afternoon, I came across the word lere, meaning “face”. ”That’s got to be where leer comes from,” I said, with the unwavering confidence of a folk etymologist, and then my confidence wavered a bit and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, language, words | Tagged | Comments Off on King Leer

Swords Against Style

Posted on March 31, 2025 by JE

For various reasons I’ve had a couple different essays under my eyes this afternoon: “Epic Pooh” (Moorcock’s Titanic body-slam against Tolkien and other “high” fantasists) and Tolkien’s “On Fairy-Stories”. All critical writing about fantasy needs to be taken with a … Continue reading →

Posted in books, comedy, language, music, sff, sword-and-sorcery, words, writing | 1 Comment