Wonderful Words

English is a truly impressive language, with a vast array of interesting and quirky words. Or, as I like to say, wonderful.

Words have fascinated me for a long time. They are the natural tools of the most magical occupation ever created – writing. I find it a huge privilege to spend all my time creating artwork that informs and entertains people.

Here are some of my favourites. Unlike most other articles, I’ve gone into more than the basic definitions of the words, including what I have been able to find out about the history of the word and how it has developed over time. Language is never static while it is living, and I would argue that there has seldom been a language quite as ‘alive’ as English.

Night

I don’t think this word really needs its definition, but for those who want it: ‘the period of darkness between sunset and dawn’.

This word comes from the Saxon neaht, or the Anglian neht, both of which meant ‘the dark part of a day’ or ‘darkness’ or ‘absence of spiritual illumination, moral darkness, ignorance’. It comes from the Proto-Germanic nahts.

Thesis

The word thesis means ‘a proposition or statement supported by arguments’ or, by extension, ‘a lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially in order to gain a qualification’. In logic, it can also mean ‘an affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis’.

This word entered English at some point in the late 14th century, and meant ‘unaccented syllable or note’. It came from Latin with no shift in spelling, and meant ‘the stressed part of a metrical foot’, and it entered Latin with no shift in spelling from the Greek thesis, which meant ‘a setting down, placing, arranging: position, situation’.

Its modern use didn’t come in until sometime in the 1570s, and it only became attached to higher qualifications in the 1650s.

Incredible

Incredible means ‘too implausible to be credible; beyond belief; unbelievable’ or ‘amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring’, or ‘marvellous; profoundly affecting; wonderful’.

The word incredible came into English at some point in the early 15th century and has held its first definition of ‘unbelievable’ quite well. It came from the Latin incredibilis, ‘not to be believed, extraordinary’, which in turn comes from the prefix in- and credibilis, ‘worthy of belief’.

Rebellion

Rebellion is ‘open, organised and armed resistance to one’s government or ruler’ or ‘resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition’.

The word entered English at some point in the 1300s as rebellioun, from the Old French rebellion, ‘stubborn, obstinate’, and the Latin rebellionem or rebellio, ‘rebellion, revolt; renewal of war’.

Shaft

Shaft is one of those words that has a lot of meanings, so I hope you’ll bear with me as I work my way through them. It means either ‘the entire body of a long weapon, such as an arrow’, or ‘any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool, or a pole between which an animal is harnessed, or the driveshaft of a motorised vehicle’, or ‘a beam or ray of light’, or ‘the main axis of a feather’ or ‘a vertical or inclined passage’, and then finally ‘an act of unfair treatment’.

The original meaning of ‘long, slender rod’ does run through most of those definitions, thankfully. It came into Old English as sceaft from the Proto-Germanic skaftaz. It was modified into the Middle English shafte, and then lost its final ‘e’ at some point in the 1300s. It came to mean the handle of a tool sometime in the 1520s, and that was translated into the more mechanical use in the 1680s.

The most modern definition of ‘act of unfair treatment’ didn’t come in until 1959, and I can’t find any reason for it. It doesn’t seem to have any connection to the initial meaning.