This week’s Weird Words continues its holiday theme with another dozen terms we rarely use at other times of year.
Our previous installment focused on religious vocab like manger, noel and Kris Kringle; here are 12 more, with a slightly secular slant. (Remember, in this space we’re concerned not so much with traditions as with meaning and etymology.)
Carol – A song of joy, especially at Christmas. From an ancient French word involving a circle of dancers or singers; possibly related to carrel, in the sense of an enclosure — and of course, to the choral word-group as well.
One cool tidbit: Carol is the feminine form of Charles (ultimately deriving from the German Karl, meaning “man”). This may explain its otherwise odd use as a title for Dickens’s famed Christmas tale.
Mistletoe – A parasitic plant that grows on other trees, it is the state flower of Oklahoma. Etymologically, mistletoe is a compound of two old words meaning basil twig. The plant’s use for smooching apparently relates to ancient fertility beliefs — and that’s all I’m gonna say about that in a family newspaper!
Nog – A drink made with milk and beaten eggs, usually mixed with liquor or wine. Nog is an old British term for strong ale — which I much prefer to this goop, by the way. My dad loved it; but personally, I’ll stick with Mad Elf, thanks.
Partridge – We don’t have this four-toed fowl in America, which is why I wouldn’t find one in my pear tree — not even from as a gift from “my true love”!
As Bill Bryson points out in The Secret History of Christmas, partridges — along with related ground-birds like chickens and turkeys — don’t nest in trees; their anomalous arboreal appearance in the famed seasonal song could be due to the fact that in French, the bird is perdrix — pronounced with a silent X, almost exactly like “pear tree”!
Poinsettia – This tough-to-spell word refers to a plant originally native to Central America, where it was discovered by American diplomat and botanist J. R. Poinsett. I always thought this term had some weird French derivation, but it is, instead, one of many common nouns named for a person — like chauvinist, boycott, dunce, derrick, guillotine and salmonella. (We’ll do a separate column on those next year!)
Reindeer – It might be fitting if this word related to rein — as in a leather strap for animals. But of course, the term is much older than Rudolph; and in any case, it’s tough to imagine wild animals named for their association with a giant sled! In truth, the compound comprises two old terms meaning “deer” — one of which was the Norse hreinn.
Santa Claus – Nothing more or less than an alteration of the supposed gift-giving figure St. Nicholas, who was actually an ancient Christian bishop and, among other things, patron saint of children, thieves, brewers and pawnbrokers. Go figure.
Scrooge/Grinch – These two famed literary grumps are now synonymous with seasonal misanthropy. Both names were inventions of their creators — Charles Dickens and Dr. Seuss, respectively. The latter is likely meant to recall grouch, while the former possibly invokes “squeeze,” along with a standard colloquial name for Satan: “Old Scratch” (both Scrooge-related terms appear in Dickens’s text).
Tannenbaum – German for “fir tree.” Its origin is obscure, though it may be related to the bark-derived chemical tannin.
Tinsel – I always thought this common decoration was named for tin — though it was originally made from silver, lead, copper, or brass (and nowadays, mostly plastic). But actually, it derives from scintilla, meaning flash or sparkle. That’s where we get the more common adjective scintillating — which I hope describes your tree this year!
Wassail – A toast to one’s health or prosperity; or the beverage so used; or even a festive drinking party. Somewhat surprisingly, the term is not from “ale,” but rather the Norse ves heill, “be healthy.” (The second half of that relates not only to our word health, but also to the similar hale.)
Yule – Christmas itself, or simply that season. According to the invaluable Online Etymology Dictionary (which I called on repeatedly for this article), it derives from an ancient heathen festival that was co-opted by Christianity. Etymologists William and Mary Morris trace the term to Middle English yollen, “cry aloud”; this is apparently what folks did upon discovering that the days were starting to get longer — which will happen for us later on this week!
In the meantime: ves heill — and to all a good night.
