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Article: Fun with words.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WORD ORIGINS
Ancient Here's a word that is used in every issue of CALLIOPE. Ever wonder what its roots are? Actually, it's traveled quite a bit. The modern-day "ancient" traces its origin to the Middle English auncien, which, in turn, is a derivative of the Old French ancien, meaning "old." Digging further, we find that ancien is a form of anteanus, a medieval Latin word meaning "going on before." Quite appropriate, don't you think?
Tribe too, is a word found in most every issue of CALLIOPE. Its history is a bit simpler than "ancient," however. English-speaking people in medieval times used the word trybe, an adaptation of the Latin noun tribus, one of ...