English is a complex language. It’s a mix of all the cultures and influences that have combined to make the English and Americans the people they are today. Most word etymologies are straight forward, but the fun words are the ones with unexpected origins. How many of these do you know?

1. The concept of tourism is relatively new. The English word, “travel,” comes from the French word, “travail,” meaning “work.”

2. In Rome, ancillary information was posted on kiosks at crossroads. Because of this, the word, “trivia” comes from the Latin for “three roads.”

3. The word, “slogan,” didn’t always refer to advertising. It comes from the Celtic words, “slaugh” and “gheun,” meaning “battle cry.”

4. Low-growing fruit is frequently layered with straw in cold climates, then and now. From this practice, we get “strawberry.”

5. The fabric, “suede,” comes from the French word for the country, Sweden. The Swedes were the first to buff leather to a fine softness.

6. Those who are skeptical about government will be interested to know that the word, “senator,” comes from the Greek,”senex,” meaning “old.”

7. The English fashion essential, “jeans,” are named after the first city to produce denim fabric. It was first produced in Genoa, Italy.”

8. The “Slavs,” the people of Eastern Europe, were often enslaved in the Middle Ages. Henceforth, involuntary servants are called “slaves.”

9. In the Middle Ages, people put thresh, or straw, across their doorways to keep out the cold. From this practice, we get “threshold.”

10. That high school rite of passage, the senior prom, is named for the word, “promenade,” meaning “to stroll in public.”

By: Sandy Mitchell