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The English corner: The story behind the words I
24.09.10 - Escrito por: Alex García Rosal
 Hi friends!
We use words or expressions every day, but sometimes we do not know their origin, and in most of the cases, these are funny or weird. I want you to know and enjoy with this funny etymology. These are some examples.
Sandwich
The name comes from the English diplomat John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. It was said that he was a compulsive gambler and to avoid stopping the game to eat, he would order that his food was brought to his table. The valet would bring him cold beef between two slices of bread. Later the snack became known as sandwich.
OK
In the American Independence War, when the soldiers came back to the quarters, and, luckily they had not suffered any human lost, used to write in a board “0 killed” to refer to "zero killed". This evolved in “OK”, which meant that something had a successful ending.
In 1932 it was officially included among the international terms for radio broadcasting. Later, during the Second World War, the American army also used it.
Yankee
This word probably comes from the Dutch name Jan Kaas, a nickname used to refer to a Hollander, which means "John Cheese". It was then used by the British to refer to someone from the United States. But in American English it refers to someone from the northern USA, especially New
England.
Kangaroo
This word appeared in English around 1770, when Captain Cook and his botanist recorded it as the Aboriginal name for this animal. According to a traditional story, when these British explorers asked about the name of the animal, the Aborigines replied "kangaroo" (which meant "I don't understand"). But this story has no evidence.
Fuck
The stories around the first expression are typically based on the (entirely fictional) notion that in medieval England a knight or nobleman would receive, by blessing or arrangement of the King, a young maiden to de-flower, as reward or preparation for battle, or more dramatically, a final pleasure before execution. Accordingly, a sign would be placed outside the bed-chamber, or perhaps hung like a 'do not disturb' notice from the door handle, displaying the words “Fornication Under Consent of the King”, which is the acronym of FUCK.
Bibliography
www.saberingles.com.ar
www.businessballs.com
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