Carat: The word carat, a measure of weight for precious stones,derives derives from the carob bean, which grows on the Ceratonia siliqua tree. The bean is remarkable for its consistent weight of 0.2 gram; therefore there are approximately 142 carats, or carob beans, to the ounce ( one ounce equals 28.35 gram). One carat is divided into 100 points, with each point equivalent to the weight of of only about three breaf crumbs.
Disaster and Influenza: At one time it was beleived that most events on earth were contro;;ed by stars. A disaster was was thus an unfortunate occurence attributed to the unfavorable aspect of a star (astrum in Latin means a star); influenza, likewise, was a disease resulting from the influence of the stars,The words first use in English was in 1743 in the London Magazine which reported "news from Rome of a contagious Distemper raging ther, called influenza."
Normal:The Latin normalis meant that against a capenters square, or norma. So anything that had its trueness verified was held to be normal.
Spoof: The Victorian era was thr golden age of the parlor game, and spoof was one of them: a hoaxing game invented in the 1880's by a British comedian, Arthur Roberts. The word soon came to mean any amusing prank or parody.
Tabloid: The British drug company Burroughs, Wellcome & Co. registered the trade mark Tabloid on March 14, 1884. Derived fro the word tablet, it was originally applied to various concentrated types of drugs market by the firm.
By the end of the 19th century, the word had acquired a secondary meaning: almost anything small and compressed came to be called tabloid. The phrase"tabloid journalism" which descibed small_ format newspapers ( as contrasted with large " broadsheet" papers), became so established that by 1903 Burrioughs Wellcome & Co. instigated legal proceedings in an attempt to protect the trademark. It was concluded that the independent use of tabloid had become so much a part of the language that no damaging infringement could be claimed. Since then, the media usage has superseded the first meaning of the word.
Disaster and Influenza: At one time it was beleived that most events on earth were contro;;ed by stars. A disaster was was thus an unfortunate occurence attributed to the unfavorable aspect of a star (astrum in Latin means a star); influenza, likewise, was a disease resulting from the influence of the stars,The words first use in English was in 1743 in the London Magazine which reported "news from Rome of a contagious Distemper raging ther, called influenza."
Normal:The Latin normalis meant that against a capenters square, or norma. So anything that had its trueness verified was held to be normal.
Spoof: The Victorian era was thr golden age of the parlor game, and spoof was one of them: a hoaxing game invented in the 1880's by a British comedian, Arthur Roberts. The word soon came to mean any amusing prank or parody.
Tabloid: The British drug company Burroughs, Wellcome & Co. registered the trade mark Tabloid on March 14, 1884. Derived fro the word tablet, it was originally applied to various concentrated types of drugs market by the firm.
By the end of the 19th century, the word had acquired a secondary meaning: almost anything small and compressed came to be called tabloid. The phrase"tabloid journalism" which descibed small_ format newspapers ( as contrasted with large " broadsheet" papers), became so established that by 1903 Burrioughs Wellcome & Co. instigated legal proceedings in an attempt to protect the trademark. It was concluded that the independent use of tabloid had become so much a part of the language that no damaging infringement could be claimed. Since then, the media usage has superseded the first meaning of the word.
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