Partie 7 : À propos de la langue anglaise
Chapitre 67 : Quelques origines
Noms dont l′origine est un nom de personne, page 140
| wellingtons (wellies) | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), was a British soldier and statesman. |
| a sandwich | John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), would spend long hours at the gaming tables. In order to carry on with his gambling and not waste time having lunch, he would order a bread and meat concoction. |
Noms dont l′origine est un nom de lieu, page 140
| bedlam | Bedlam was the name of a famous London mental hospital. |
| suede | It was borrowed in the 17th century from the French Suède (Sweden) in the expression gants de Suède. |
| denim | The word comes from the French Serge de Nîmes. This sturdy fabric was originally made in the French city of Nîmes. |
| gipsy | The word is an alteration of “gypcian”, a dialectal form in Middle English of “egypcien” (Egyptian), from the supposed origin of these people. |
| tawdry | “Audrey” was a later form of “Etheldrida” (died in 679), patron saint of Ely, where tawdry laces, along with other cheap finery, were traditionally sold at a fair. |
Faux emprunts, page 140
| camping | a campsite, a campground |
| baskets | trainers, tennis shoes, sneakers |
| smoking | a tuxedo, a dinner jacket |
| lifting | a facelift |
| a car park |
| a record holder |
| a diet coke |
| a rugby player |
Food for thought, page 141
| a teddy bear | the President who spared the life of a bear cub on a hunting trip: Theodore Roosevelt, nicknamed Teddy. |
| a hoover | an American businessman who produced vacuum cleaners: William Henry Hoover. |
| a mackintosh | an engineer who invented a method for making waterproof garments: Charles Mackintosh. |
| a boycott | an English land agent in Ireland who was ostracized for refusing to reduce rents in the 1880s: Captain Charles Boycott. |
| a biro | the Hungarian inventor of ballpoint pens: Jozsef Biro. |
| jeans | the city in Italy where they were made: Genoa. |
| a derrick | a 17th century hangman; the word originally referred to a gallows: Goodman Derrick. |
| macadam | the Scottish engineer who first proposed compacted crushed stone as a road covering: John Loudon Macadam. |