Word of the Day

Saturnian “prosperous, happy, or peaceful” derives from the Latin adjective Sāturnius “of Saturn.” The mythological figure Saturn, known to the Romans as Sāturnus and considered an equivalent of the Ancient Greek figure Kronos (Latinized as Cronus), was a Titan and a god of agriculture. The positive aspects of Saturn’s reign, referred to as the “golden age,” are what give Saturnian its meaning. Though Saturnian shares an origin with saturnine, they are almost antonyms; saturnine means “sluggish, gloomy, taciturn” and derives its meaning from astrology, in which the influence of the planet Saturn is associated with negative personality traits (in contrast to the recent Word of the Day jovial). The name Sāturnus is likely of Etruscan origin—compare the name of the Etruscan god Satre—but has long attracted (false) folk etymology hypotheses, such as derivations from Latin satus “sown” or satis “enough.” Saturnian was first recorded in English in the 1550s.

Makai “toward the sea” is a loanword from Hawaiian, in which it is equivalent to ma, a particle indicating direction, and kai “ocean, sea.” The opposite of makai is mauka, comprising the particle ma and the noun uka “inland.” Because Hawaiian is a member of the expansive Austronesian language family, kai has cognates in languages spoken throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Although the k and t sounds are allophonic in Hawaiian, meaning that they are variations of the same sound that only appear in certain contexts, the Hawaiian alphabet does not have the letter t and instead uses k regardless of a word’s pronunciation in a given dialect. This alternation between k, which is pronounced in the rear of the mouth, and t, which is pronounced near the teeth, is not as unusual as one might think; after all, in English, French, and Spanish alike, the letter c is pronounced either as k or s depending on the context. Makai was first recorded in English in the late 19th century.

Rebec “a Renaissance fiddle” is a borrowing by way of Middle French from Old French rebebe, with a phonetic alteration possibly because of the influence of bec “beak,” after the shape of the instrument. Rebebe derives from Arabic rabāb, the noun form of the verb rabba “to control, be master.” From the same Semitic root as rabba are the Hebrew- and Aramaic-origin terms rabbi, rabbinical, and rebbe, which all mean “master” or “my master” in their languages of origin. Despite the similarity in spelling, rebec is not related to the name Rebecca, which comes from a Semitic root meaning “to tie, join, connect.” Rebec was first recorded in English circa 1750.

Sardonic “characterized by bitter derision” is an alteration of sardonian, which derives either by way of Latin sardonius or directly from Ancient Greek sardónios “of Sardinia.” Sardinia comes into the picture here because, allegedly, sardónios once alluded to a plant from the island that, when consumed, was legendary for producing convulsive laughter until the eater died. However, this story about sardónios may in fact be folk etymology; one theory is that this spelling and definition replaced those of the original term, sardánios “bitter or scornful laughter.” Unfortunately, the ultimate origin of sardonic remains today, as it has for centuries, a mystery. Sardonic was first recorded in English in the 1630s.

Teapoy “a small three-legged table or stand” is adapted from Hindi tīpāi, with a spelling change likely because of the association with tea. Hindi tīpāi, however, is not related to tea; instead, tīpāi comes from Persian sipāya “three-legged stand.” The phonetic change from Persian s to Hindi t is due to a replacement of the Persian word for “three” with its Hindi cognate tīn, while the instrument sitar “a lute with a small, pear-shaped body” preserves this Persian numeral. Sipāya is a compound of Persian sē “three” and pāy “foot,” which are distant relatives of English three and foot, Latin trēs and pēs, Ancient Greek treîs and poús, and Sanskrit trí and pád. Teapoy was first recorded in English in the 1820s.