Today's topic is some common English words that have not so obvious origins in Latin. These words have perhaps been traveling incognito, their identities concealed. In case you aren't familiar with that word, it means “unknown” and it comes from the negative prefix -in and a form of the Latin verb “to get to know.” Stick around to get to know some interesting word history.
1. Coliseum
Most of you probably know that gladiators fought to the death in venues like the Colosseum, “the largest amphitheater in the Roman world,” according to History.com. The official name of this stadium where men and beasts clashed was Amphitheatrum Flavium, and this amphitheater was so named because emperors of the Flavian dynasty built it. [1]
The landmark in Rome is usually spelled capital C-o-l-o-s-s-e-u-m, but the spelling c-o-l-i-s-e-u-m is often used as well. Coliseum generally refers to a large venue that hosts entertainers, but it can also be spelled the other way! Take your pick. Two related words are colossal, an adjective meaning “big,” and colossus, a noun that refers to a large statue or anything enormous.
Interestingly, according to the National Geographic website, the Flavian Amphitheater became known as the Colosseum because of “the more than 100-foot-tall bronze statue of Nero depicted as the sun god—the Colossus Neronis—that once loomed over the valley.”
2. Arena
It wasn't so obvious that the word coliseum originated from “big statue.” Even more incognito are the origins of arena, which we all know means a central stage or ring used for sports or other entertainment. If you're familiar with Spanish, you may have figured it out, since arena means “sand.” And that's exactly where the English word arena comes from: a book titled As the Romans Did explains that places like the Colosseum were “covered with sand to soak up the blood.” [2]
3. Circus
The Romans loved their blood sports, and more blood was spilled at another venue, the Circus Maximus. The largest racetrack in Rome, it held 250,000 spectators, [2] who flocked there to watch chariot races and gladiator fights. An interesting book about Latin words and phrases—Cave Canem, which means “Beware of the Dog”—states, “The name circus referred to the round shape of the building where chariot races, horse races, and battles were the main exhibits.” [3]
Modern circuses feature acrobats and elephants, and so did the ancient Circus Maximus. According to an online guide to Italy, “To add variety to events, during the intervals between races they put on acrobatics or fights between exotic animals.”
English words that are related to the round shape of the circus are circle and circuit, [3] and one modern meaning of the word circus is “an open circle, square, or plaza where several streets converge.” One example is London's Piccadilly Circus, the junction of Regent Street and Piccadilly Street.
4. Muscle
You may have been surprised that the word circus has origins in the history of chariot races and its round venue. Get ready to be more surprised as we switch gears to discuss two words related to anatomy.
First up is the word muscle. It would make perfect sense if the root of this had something to do with strength. But no. Try the Latin word for “mouse,” which is mus, and its diminutive, musculus, which means “little mouse.” According to the blog Anatomy Words, “the Romans thought that a muscle looked like a mouse running under the skin.” That disturbing image is a stretch, though it is probably easier to see the connection if you're a small woman with little baby muscles. Also related to the Latin word musculus is the English word mussel, that tasty mollusk. The anatomy blog informs us that some species “have the shape of a mouse ear.”
5. Cloaca
Anyone who takes biology is familiar with our next word, which might be a little icky but has interesting origins nevertheless: cloaca. When dissecting a frog in class, you may be tasked with labeling features of its urogenital system. One such spot is the cloaca, which is “where sperm, eggs, urine, and feces exit.” Cloaca comes from the Latin word for “sewer” or “canal.”
Old Roman sewers exist even today, most notably the Cloaca Maxima, which means “greatest sewer.” It was built as a canal in the sixth century BCE. Four hundred years later it was covered over, becoming an underground structure. According to a web site all about ancient history, the Cloaca Maxima is visible today “at the eastern stairs of the Basilica Julia at the Roman Forum, where a door leads to the sewer. Here, you can sometimes hear (and smell) the water in the ancient sewer.”
There are many fascinating ruins to visit in Rome. If you go there with a companion, don't inhale if you're near the Cloaca Maxima!
6. Companion
We won't end this episode with a discussion of sewers, however. Let's finish up on a more palatable note. Let's think about yummy bread. The word companion comes from a combination of the Latin root com, which means “with,” and the word panis, which means “bread.”
References
1. Robinson, Lorna. Cave Canem: A Miscellany of Latin Words & Phrases. London: Elwin Street Productions, 2008, p. 63.
2. Shelton, Jo Ann. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 317.
3. Robinson, Lorna. Cave Canem: A Miscellany of Latin Words & Phrases. London: Elwin Street Productions, 2008, p. 59.
That segment was written by Bonnie Mills, with research help from her teenage son, Jake Trenga.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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