Saturday, July 18, 2009

Thaddeus Fun Etymological Fact of the Day

"Spelling Bee" - This is no where near as cool as I had hoped"spelling" can be traced all the way back to PIE (Pro-Indo-European, not delicious dessert) "spel" meaning "to say aloud, to recite." "Bee" - from PIE "bhi" for "quiver," the way they look when buzzing around, I guess. In American English, "bee" came to represent folks coming together for mutual benefit, like in a hive. Snore
See, I had hoped that in the old days, in these spelling competitions, if you got the word incorrect, that we set a swarm of stinging insects on you. You know folks would study harder. I'll have to bring this up with my principal, Mr. Cooper.