40 Weird Word Origins - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep.46)

A weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John looks at the weird origins of 40 words such as "noon," "denim," and "mortgage."
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[@jeynalim]

John Green presents these videos so well... I always think he writes them. But when I look at the credits, I think Meredith Danko deserves a round of applause too.

[@stephanberger3476]

She secretly writes his books, too..?

[@KaiahAurora]

I really like contracted words, like how "blush" is "blood rush", "never" is "not ever", and "studying" is "student dying".

[@ProfessorPuppet]

You missed my favorite one - Camera. Camera used to mean Vault or Chamber in Latin. A guy named Al Hazan built the first Camera Obscura (Dark Chamber) which was a room with just one pin hole to let in light. This hole projected an upside down image of the view outside on the opposite wall. - Like Magic. The phenomenon of the Camera Obscura eventually lead to the invention of the Camera for taking pictures in the 19th century. Our "Bi-Cameral" Legislature takes it's name from the same root - it has 2 Chambers, get it?

[@windsorpatb]

The Radcliffe Camera at Oxford is a "reading room". :-)

[@SaraHuang]

Love how KZbin's automated captioning system interprets "Mental Floss" as "menopause". #nailedit.

[@eshajain2397]

These videos are always a joy to watch. Well done!

[@TheWhistlinphil]

I just searched "origins of words" on KZbin to get this video. I watched, liked, and subscribed. ... This guy is funny!

[@AprilLVideos]

fat honey badger in latin is "Pingue, taxo"

[@WillieWest]

Did somebody say _Penguin Taco?_

[@321grammar]

williewest12 Lol. Speaking of Penguins and random facts, a friend of mine just told me yesterday that when he was in Iceland, they all ate Puffin! I was like, "Whaaaaa?! How could you eat those cute little things? I mean, they MATE FOR LIFE! Where is your heart?!" Lol.

[@830927mjki]

321grammar the only things that mate for life are the ones that don't get a chance to do it twice

[@laurenrobinson9833]

It's ridiculous how much I enjoy watching these videos

[@Mooseplatoon]

Minor gripe, but when you're talking about Greek mythology the name for the appropriate God is Poseidon. Neptune is the Roman name yadda yadda yadda.

[@OpheliaBookworm]

haha, that "nice guys finish last" comment was gold!!!

[@thejerrymobile]

Etymology is fun!

[@TerenceClark]

If you haven't already been there, I highly recommend www.etymonline.com . They speak with a little more authority than I think they should, sometimes, as several of their etymologies are more under debate than they let on. But it's a great starting point on the topic.

[@stocktonjoans]

You should do the origin of the word "prestigious" it always makes me chuckle when people are celebrated as prestigious considering what the root word means lol

[@libraryloft]

Just looked it up lol

[@bigjavo36]

The Spanish word for pineapple is piña hence why the drink is called piña colada.

[@IceMetalPunk]

It's also "ananás". They're synonyms.

[@Eloraculodelvalledeatras]

IceMetalPunk Not is not really a synonym. It is in fact, another type of fruit, similar to pineapple. Maybe it is synonym but no one uses ananás. Everybody uses piña.

[@IceMetalPunk]

antimanipulador Hm. Google translates it as pineapple. So what's the best translation into English for ananás?

[@Eloraculodelvalledeatras]

Maybe the word ananá is the "old spanish" or something related to latin roots, but definetly not the common word for pineapple since decades. We always use "piña"

[@IceMetalPunk]

antimanipulador Haha, I wouldn't consider decades to be "old Spanish" XD

[@Mistran5lation]

Best linguistic fact: the polar-opposite words "shit" and "science" have the same root.

[@lapincealinge2]

Well in french the expression we use for curfew is exactly what you described. Comes from the time when they would cover the fire torches that lit the streets in old times (I guess I'm sort of stating the obvious ..?). But yeah, couvre-feu.

[@Tonzor]

This was one of the best ones so far, good work and very entertaining!

[@IceQueen975]

The Greek God of the Seas is Posiden. Neptune is is Roman counterpart. Just so you know...

[@FellowLee]

It is interesting to see how words evolve over tim. Also, to hear how John Green pronounced 'feu' put a smile on my face. Thank you.

[@Catherine-wh1rj]

Can we talk about the fact that heresy means choice in greek and the catholic church made it a bad thing. They were basically saying that making your own choices is wrong.

[@PriestessPaula]

Sounds catholic to me.

[@heidiindisguise]

I quite like 'lukewarm' as a tautology. It's almost like 'so-so' - as in, 'How's the water?' 'Eh, warm-warm.'

[@cavefish]

Wait!!! In Spanish we use piña, instead of ananas !!!

[@cavefish]

Ramón Rivera Yep. Maybe they call it pineapple because of the spanish invaders ...

[@efrainmagana6228]

I said the same shit

[@tjdegnan6415]

John Green is why I watch these videos. I haven't seen a commentator as good as he is in Mental Floss.

[@emaane]

Sorry guys, but the statement about English being the only language which uses a different word for pineapple among the ones in the list is wrong. In Spain's Spanish a pineapple is a "piña", which is actually more similar to "pineapple" than to "ananas", and still if "ananas" is used in any Spanish speaking country, which may be possible, it wouldn't have any accent on it :)

[@Palewolf]

I'm not sure, but i think ananás is commonly used in South America. And yes, it does have a tilde, just not in the middle syllable: lema.rae.es/drae/srv/search?id=4mYPMj3odDXX2LXnvoFQ

[@claudiaaranda651]

Actually, I am from the center of South America and we use piña. Anana is commonly associated with the way other spanish speaking countries talk. I think the spanish use it? Or was it the argentinos.... I can't remember now. But something along those lines.

[@gustano123]

Carlos Vives Pero la mayoría de los países hispanos usan Piña.

[@emaane]

Carlos Vives I always thought it was pronounced with the stress on the middle syllable, my bad! (yet another proof that we really don't use that word much to say pineapple ^^)

[@emaane]

Claudia Aranda Barrios Nop, not in Spain, I'm a Spaniard myself and we say "piña" :) I've always associated "anana" or "ananas" I'm not sure, with Portuguese, but I didn't really want to say that no Spanish speaking country uses it, because there are so many that you never really know!

[@drummergurl93]

Someone FINALLY pronounced MAHON correctly! John! You have no idea what a great thing this is!

[@EggsayveeyurhMatthew]

That moment where you realize John Green is the same John Green that wrote The Fault in Our Stars.

[@shanid7216]

I remember that feel. Except it was with An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns cuz it was like, four years ago :P Still though, it's a good feel.

[@EggsayveeyurhMatthew]

It is indeed!

[@autumnmott24]

But what's cool is if you already watched JG and _then_ read TFIOS. I related to the book much better knowing who wrote it... I could imagine him writing it, so it made the funny parts better.

[@EggsayveeyurhMatthew]

Exactly what I thought XD

[@Kissarai]

I read Paper Towns before I found the vlogbrothers, and it took me forever to make the connection.

[@thebradleyb]

Knight & Day wasn't too bad. It was like a comedy spy film. Didn't take itself too seriously. I was surprised at how I enjoyed it.

[@NikolajLepka]

also Pineapple in spanish is piña, you've probably heard it in "piña colada" which is an alcoholic drink containing, you guessed it: pineapple so no, english isn't the only language using the term "pine" to describe an ananas

[@rrrosecarbinela]

I grew up with Piña, but some latin american countries call it ananás

[@benjaminabel8596]

Ananá un Argentina

[@benjaminabel8596]

Abacaxi in Portuguese

[@LEDiceGlacier]

Now I know how to call zombies during the apocolipse. Screw walkers or biters. I will call them lemurs.

[@pyrotheevilplatypus]

...I liked Knight and Day... Don't worry, I'll show myself out...

[@d3fyre]

whenever I watch mental floss, I keep humming that tune. so catchy...

[@hellokitty2095]

Ummm what I know pineapple in Spanish as piña (i have a mexican family never heard of that other words he used )

[@AschKris]

Both words are ok. Piña is mainly used in the Americas whereas anánas is used mainly in Europe. Piña has the same etymology of pineapple.

[@Zukooooooooo]

ananá y piña son sinónimos

[@hellokitty2095]

Weird

[@naegling]

yo se que en argentina le dicen ananá, la primera vez que fui para allá no entendía por qué no había helado de piña hasta que descubrí que el ananá era la misma cosa

[@hellokitty2095]

Ooooooo se mi asi muy raro personalmente ._.

[@MattJammer]

Objection John. When discussing thw hippocampus you noted its Greek origin and then said how the hippocampus were loyal to Neptune. But Neptune is the Latin sea god, not the Greek in which case he would be Posideon.

[@keegan9935]

Alternate title: 40 Examples of how English is just made up of pretty much every other language on Earth.

[@shoshana5869]

Another one of my favorites: the word 'barbarian' comes from the fact that the Romans thought that every language that wasn't Latin sounded like "bar bar bar bar".

[@tashies987]

In Latin: fat honey-badger is: Mel-hyrax adeps. Have fun. :)

[@blasterniner5863]

Great video as always, but "banca rotta" in Italian means literally "broken bank", not broken bench as you said :) the word "banca" (bank) is the feminine for "banco" (desk) as it was the phisycal place where merchants did their money transactions. Source: I'm Italian.

[@TheGurumash]

How Significant is it, that Heresy means Choice? That it is defined in the modern era by having an opinion belief that is contrary to a religious belief (mainly Christian). "Speak no Heresy, for you are allowed no choice but to follow our God"... yea sounds about right.

[@caley.j.n]

"how do you say fat honey badger in Latin" I'M DEEAAADDDDDDD

[@BertGrink]

according to google translate, it's "adipem mel operimentum pellem melis"

[@reltub]

So that's why Terry Pratchett spells it that way, Wyrd Sisters

[@jasminaliysa111]

Genius...that man is amazing

[@StarSong936]

In reading the comments here, I see some criticism of of John. Keep in mind, he has other people doing this research for him. He is mainly presenting what he is given, and he is a good presenter. When I see the word wyrm, it means serpent or dragon. When I see worm I think of the little guys who live in the soil, aerate it, and turn it over so our plants grow better, or we dig them up and use them as fish bait.

[@hsmoscout]

Hippocampus was actually named after the seahorse. The Latin name for seahorse is hippocampus and the hippocampus looks a lot like a seahorse.

[@athanasiosvoulgaropoulos5993]

Hippocampus (or ιππόκαμπος) is a greek word, but anyway , yes it is not a mythical creature but the sea creature known as seahorse.

[@athanasiosvoulgaropoulos5993]

But the hippocampus in anatomy is named after the sea creature because of the similar shape.

[@jerynbaldonado4208]

THE book,"the fault in our stars,"is very inspiring to me because like if u have cancer, or if your sick, ur still the same person, and not a different person that everyone is seeing or talking to. :)

[@leiilei5440]

so when the church has you executed for Heresy they are really kicking you out of their religion because you made a choice not to believe what they where preaching? sounds about right.

[@dude2meetu]

Glad to have you back, John. We missed you.

[@aliciavalverde9195]

Pineapple is "piña" in Spanish not anánas... because of the same reason

[@norma003]

Some of these words make so much more sense in Romance Languages, such as Spanish, French or Italian. Good video!

[@TheAlGal8]

Pineapple is piña in Spanish

[@Jordan-zk2wd]

Beserkers... "My love for you is like a truck BESERKER!"

[@bewareofwil]

3:12 Good God! What is is good for? Absolutely nothing.

[@ARP2wefightforyou]

About 29: banking was done on benches, so it makes sence for bankrupt to mean "broken bench", plus the word "bank" comes from Italian for "bench" (because of the above.)

[@QuotePilgrim]

In Portuguese “pineapple” is “abacaxi”, which is clearly not some form of “ananas”. Also it’s a word that John is probably unable to pronounce properly.

[@iceburnpt]

In European Portuguese we use Ananás. And in Spain the word "piña" is usually used.

[@QuotePilgrim]

João Mota I might be wrong about this, but I believe in Brazil the word “ananás” is also used, but by far not as much as “abacaxi”. I mean, I knew the word “ananás” already, but never seen anyone ever use it.

[@RKH1502]

3:43 Perhaps this is why I say cold, cool, warm, and hot, depending on the temperature - I almost never say "lukewarm". Norwegian, however, has just two terms: "kald" (which literally means "cold", but is most often used for "cool"), and "varm" (which means "warm"). So when something is cold, it's "veldig kald" ("very cool"), and when something is hot, it's "veldig varm" ("very warm"). (To my fellow Norwegians: I know the word "het" exists, but seriously, who uses that?!)

[@KyleColgan]

cool, but one thing. "In greek mythology ... associated with Neptune" Neptune is roman, Posidon is greek

[@itak1996]

I like how after this video the people in the credits were still acknowledged as "these 'nice' (alternatively ignorant) people"

[@RKH1502]

2:29 Spanish: "piña".

[@goldtgreentwirler]

Hey John, could you do one of these on little known ways to avoid draft selection by the U.S. military services? It could also incorporate ways that famous people avoided the draft in previous military policing actions such as Country Joe of Country Joe and the Fish.

[@lugosky02]

Spanish pineapple is mostly called piña [ˈpiɲa]. Bankrupt is also banca rota in Spanish, so probably the meaning might go back to Latin.

[@benjaminabel8596]

Bancarrota

[@benjaminabel8596]

Y viene del italiano

[@nerdra]

It took me several years to realize that "Mental Floss" is a pun on "dental floss". I guess I've always been better with analogies than puns, but wow.

[@AnonBrony]

So part of our brain looks like Rainbow Dash? :D

[@AnonBrony]

***** D:

[@thereminify]

'Nothin' wrong with a little nocturnal brilliance every once in a while...

[@disgorgeengorge]

Hello John. I'm an undergraduate physics major and a couple of my colleagues were discussing about strange rules and words in the English language. Like ghoti is another way of pronouncing fish, and how the "i before e except after c" rule has over fifty words that don't follow this rule. I was wondering, since you are a writer and understand the English language better than I do, if you could make a video on this oddities that occur. Much appreciated, thank you! DFTBA

[@IceMetalPunk]

According to QI, there are actually more words that don't follow the "I before E" rule than those that do. No idea how accurate that is, but that's the idea.

[@TheSH1N1GAM1]

Warm Skywalker?

[@Suite_annamite]

@4:28: In Shakespeare's "Macbeth", the witches were often called the "weird sisters".

[@jeffjohnston6678]

Yup, original folio said weyard which probably meant Wyrd, as in fate or the fates, probably implying that the witches were able to see someone's fate.

[@KatieWillems]

If "Hippocampus" is Greek would they not then be associated with Poseidon rather than Neptune? Or perhaps they are in both Roman and Greek mythology. I don't know!

[@ferretyluv]

I learned the Hippocampus is a seahorse and the Hippocampus is called such because it looks like a seahorse.

[@KatieWillems]

Oh great thanks for clearing it up! Anything I know comes from the Percy Jackson series so I couldn't be sure; and I didn't think John would get something like that wrong. Thank you :-)

[@IceQueen975]

More likely it would be Posiden. However, if the word 'Hippocampus' was being used first in Rome, then it would be Neptune. But I believe the mythical creatures are mentioned so they are connected to Posiden.

[@RAGBOY562]

I lost it when he said fat honey badger. Lmao

[@rafaeltavarez5089]

theres a mistake, "banca rotta" or "bancarrota" in spanish, ment broken bank, you went to the actual translation, but banks used to be called banca, IN some places, a small bank where you also make bets ares still "bancas"

[@MrAatch]

Nope, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy#Etymology disagrees with you, the source they cite is here: books.google.co.nz/books?id=iqE9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4&sig=ACfU3U39ALC4E5DT2uogcFBas-csIqYLhw&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=banca+rotta

[@rafaeltavarez5089]

Actually they agree with me, the say "banca rotta means Bronken Bank or bech". i just said that the first option was a more acurate translation.

[@smilenantiangoscia]

Bench in italian is PANCA, not banca. "Banca rotta" means broken bank. I'm not sure if the italian word banca (bank) originally came from panca (bench), it might be, but the etymology of bankrupt is definitely "broken bank".

[@rafaeltavarez5089]

finally!! someone who doesnt only speaks in inglish, thank you

[@Indiedeca]

MrAatch Needless to say that this time wikiipedia lost few points. I can tell you that "banca" is Bankin italian language, 'cause you know, i'm actually Italian!

[@2c9s]

I saw 'Night and Day', John! And I liked it!

[@geekgroupie42]

1:29 HI DASHIE!

[@mansonitefirefox]

how old are you?

[@juliennepdy]

"Gasp" John Green is a brony. "Mind blown" "Brain explosion"

[@Dajara]

i am once again pretty much awed at how good of an entertainer John is

[@velvetsrose]

Neptune is Roman Poseidon is Greek, Hippocampus is a Greek mythological creature not Roman, please get it right. -_-

[@InterestWarrior48]

Yay, Shrutebucks!!! That reference made me so happy!

[@JesusHComedy]

when I put pineapple in spanish into google, it says its Pina, not ananas.

[@herrroge]

Yes, the common use is piña, but also anána is correct.

[@gabyloresis]

Roge Rodríguez I'm a spanish speaker and did NOT know that. Must be a thing from a specific(s) country or something. Good to know. :)

[@lizerlothdlb2389]

Roge Rodríguez is not im mexican

[@lizerlothdlb2389]

Gabriel Cotto

[@herrroge]

Gabriel Cotto That's right, it depends of the country, for example, in México the common use is Piña, in Argentina is ananá.

[@WolvenSpectre]

Mental Floss Ketchup was a western attempt to recreate the taste of a certain fish sauce, but over time evolved into the more sugar based version we use today. They used Tomatoes for their bitter tang that when mixed with natural vinegars, salts, and spices tasted similar to the fish sauce, but supposedly they had trouble keeping the bitterness just right so they used sugar to get it right, eventually just adding more and more over time until we got a sauce similar to what we use today.

[@HexerPsy]

Jan Kees = [ya(w)n kays] Jan Kees or Jan-Kees is a name, which generally describes an average, or mundane person.

[@IceMetalPunk]

So it's the Dutch equivalent of the English John Smith?

[@HexerPsy]

yes, exactly :D Couldnt think of the name lol

[@intellexual9097]

I love your books, Mr. John Green! :) Especially "The Fault in Our Stars" and "A Bunch of Katherines"!

[@helenaqueenofthechickens108]

Rainbowdash!

[@50Calabyte]

I'm fairly certain those words "Wurm" and "Wyrd" are Middle English, not Old English. The two are very different, with Old English being almost an entirely different language.

[@symbolxchannel]

FALSE! The word "war" and "warrior" comes from the French "guerre" and "guerrier"… It was transformed by the Normans sailers to "werre" and "werrier"… Once in England, it was Anglicized to "war" and "warrior"… (I guess the Normans had a hard time saying "gu-"… lol!)

[@ButzPunk]

Actually, _guerre_ came from Frankish _*werra_ (which came from Proto-Germanic _*werrō_) not the other way around. The theorised reason that the Romance languages looked to a Germanic root instead of using the descendants of Latin _bellum_ is that with the collapse of the old Latin case system, _bellum_ became too similar to _bellus_ ("beautiful").

[@symbolxchannel]

Ben Rowe The actual wikipedia page "war" is wrong… I have read in a more credible source the evolution of the word "war". It was used as a demonstration in a book about the different European languages… I was interested in the "langues d'Oil" and the "langues d'Oc"… I can't remember where I found this… But if I find it, I'll let you know. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d'oïl fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan (Sorry, I speak French… Maybe you can use the Google Translate to read the French version of the Wikipedia page… The English page is less detailed and accurate.)

[@symbolxchannel]

Ben Rowe More interesting pages on languages… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/IndoEuropeanTree.svg

[@ButzPunk]

I've already studied quite a bit on languages and I'm quite interested in the evolution of PIE languages especially. I didn't actually look on Wikipedia, but here: etymonline.com/?term=war, here: dictionary.reference.com/browse/war and my Oxford at home. I tend to check a few sources to make sure they corroborate before claiming anything to be true. I don't doubt that all of those sources could be wrong together, but I wonder what your source is and what makes it more credible than these.

[@symbolxchannel]

Ben Rowe I meant more credible than wikipedia… Since I usually look at etymology from various sources in different languages… And wikipedia have different stories in different languages… There is often a different explanation on different wikipedia articles! Also, the book I am referencing was a book dedicated to the evolution of languages… Which is more credible than most dictionaries. Dictionaries tend to have a very "interpreted" [and short] explanation of etymologies… If you have multiple references with the same explanation, I may be wrong… But as far as I remember, the word "War" comes from the French. The French word "Guerre" may come from a Proto-Germanic word, but "War" is still from the French "Guerre".

[@EnderWyatt]

"Banka rotta" means "broken bench" because in ancient Italy, I believe, merchants would keep their coin on benches. When they were out of coin, or when people had stopped making deposits, their bench was broken, in that it no longer served its original purpose of being a bank.

[@EnderWyatt]

Regardless, my point stands.

[@dont_subscribe_plz3309]

NOT NEPTUNE, POSEIDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chloemacdonald1892]

My english teacher told me this one: the word "Barbarian" came from when Germans were trying to invade Greece, and what the german language sounded like to greeks was "barbarbarbarbar."

[@werotus]

''John finds looks at''. An odd grammatical error in the description.

[@rusted_ursa]

That kind of thing happens when someone is revising the description in a hurry but doesn't highlight all the words they mean to replace. (I have also been guilty of this from time to time.)

[@werotus]

Kellen Connor True. I tried not being a dick about it. Just pointed it out so the guys can fix it :)

[@liquorgunsandrhetoric]

Woo, your example for a senator was Al Franken. Minnesotans REPRESENT!

[@TheRumpletiltskin]

intro is LOUD...

[@arthursprague226]

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but i believe worms are called worms not because they were huge in medieval times, but because perhaps they were believed to be serpent hachlings :) Or perhaps their ideas of serpents/dragons were much smaller

[@patrickthomas3385]

Neptune is a roman god, not Greek.

[@L33tH4ks]

Fat honey badger: pingue, taxo You're welcome.

[@danivb16]

I knew the facts about denim...go French class.

The French term for a seahorse is "un hippocampe."

[@danivb16]

Good to know.

[@lizerlothdlb2389]

Danielle R. i dont think is french dude

[@danivb16]

Lizerloth dlb What are you talking about?

[@allanhindmarch7323]

Here's one most people should know by now, but, "government" means MIND CONTROL. 'Govern' from latin "kubernao" meaning to steer, guide, pilot, drive, and 'ment' from latin "mente" for mind. Another is "anarchy". Most people think it means lack of rule, but in fact means 'without ruler' (not rule). 'an' meaning "without" and 'archy' from greek 'archon' meaning "ruler". So anarchy is not lack of law, it means lack of a ruler, insinuating that we should rule ourselves and not be controlled by others. Everyone is capable of moral and ethical choices. We don't need other people, no different to anyone else, making decisions for us. There are so many of these words and symbols that have had their meanings changed, or maybe integrated into something else for a specific purpose. Did you know the dollar sign ($) is an ancient occult symbol meaning "scurge". This makes perfect sense, but has anyone ever been taught that in school??

[@thepeterparkershow]

Wrong! Pineapple in Spanish is: "Piña"

[@WillStrop2008]

The Systran Widget (in Macintosh OS 10) agrees. However, this might be a difference between Mexican Spanish (which most Americans are more familiar with) and Spaniard Spanish. They are about as different as American English and British English.

[@benjaminabel8596]

Ananá

[@mr_soap9613]

y ahora a ver de dónde coño vendrá "piña"

[@benjaminabel8596]

@@mr_soap9613 De pino seguro

[@benjaminabel8596]

O "pinea" en latín. Y le dieron el nombre de "piña" al ananá por la semejanza que tienen. "Naná" fue la palabra original que viene del guaraní através del portugués.

[@LeeLee-pk4ss]

I subscribe to the theory of the origin of the word war that it is an acronym for We Are Right, but if you believe that then you're not the mama.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

lolwat John.. you got the wrong generation of pony toy for sea-ponies..

[@AdrianLikesFlags]

I'm from Guadalajara, México and I have never ever said or hear someone around me say "Ananas" when they refer to a Piña (Pineapple), so I would hope deeper research for your videos Mental Floss crew. **drops mic**

[@benjaminabel8596]

Ananá en Argentina. Una piña es exclusivamente "pinecone" o "punch" en la cara.

[@MrBreadie]

War comes from the French word Guerre just like the French for William is Guillaume.

[@haakonengen1332]

late Old English (c.1050), wyrre, werre, from Old North French werre "war" (Modern French guerre), from Frankish *werra, from Proto-Germanic *werso (cf. Old Saxon werran, Old High German werran, German verwirren "to confuse, perplex"). Cognates suggest the original sense was "to bring into confusion."

[@vaendryl]

the dutch word for 'to confuse' is 'verwarren'. make of that what you will.

[@Suite_annamite]

But Guillaume is also from Wilhelm, which is in turn Germanic again.

[@MrBreadie]

Le Huy-Anh That wasn't my point. I was just picking another word to show its etymological similarities to Guerre.

[@mikespearwood3914]

so what does "guerilla" mean?

[@VioletAyame47]

I watched that movie too John. You were not alone!

[@whitewillowfarm]

false. hippocampi werent associated with neptune. they were associated with POSEIDON. there's a difference, though very small, between greek and roman mythology

[@TobyKidMajor]

Long live Mental Floss! It's like having your favorite author being a teacher at your school.

[@midnightsmagic]

If you *really* want the "favorite author as a teacher at your school" experience, check out Crash Course. Here, we get random facts. There, John actually attempts to educate us.

[@DARETOBEEPIC]

"Obviously they never saw my guns! How do you say fat honey badger in latin?"

[@TheLaughingPanda]

About curfew and "cover-fire", I read in a magazine that it was because in the middle ages (or some other period of time from a long time ago) people had to put out their candles and hearths and other fires before they went to sleep so that they didn't, like, burn their houses down overnight.

[@Darticus42]

I knew about half of the Latin word origins: First year Latin class FTW!!

[@kimiana18]

the bit about heresy meaning choice had me pause the video for a good few minutes and just revel in wonderment