[niafabo]

Thought it would be fun to do a word origins game. The first person says a word. The second person says where that word game from and then introduces a new word and the next person guesses and so on and so forth. Cheating is allowed.

For example
psychology = latin
pig = middle english
shaman = tungunsic
kimono = japanese

[niafabo]

Okay I'll go first.

Diet

[Live4Summer13]

Diet= Greek (I think? what google said!)

Next word:
Weight

[niafabo]

(yep you got it the original meaning of the word is also very inspiring if you think about it)

Weight = Old English/Old Norse

Next word:
Exercise

[Nienna]

Latin, from the verb "exerceo, exercere"

I knew that being a Classics major would pay off at some point!

beauty

[niafabo]

Beauty = Latin from the word beātus ‘blessed, happy’

Next word:
Strength


@Nienna glad we have an expert in our midst. lol.

[Nienna]

Hmmm, I hate to admit this, especially after niafabo hailed me as an expert, but I had to get some help on this one. "Strength" has apparently come down to us through Middle (strengthe) and Old English (strengthu) and appears to be related to the Old High German word strengi for "strong". Miriam-Webster also suggests a possible link between strengi and the Latin verb stringere (to bind or draw tight), but I'm skeptical about this, so I'd go with Old High German.

next word: athletics

[Treena]

Athletics - That definitely has got to be ancient Greek. They created the Olympics after all! I admit I had to look it up, and it seems to have some Latin influence as well. The word "athletics" (like all words) evolved a few times before it became what it is now, but it originated from the ancient Greek word "athlos," meaning contest.

We definitely should keep this thread going. I'm an English major and breaking words down to their origins is a secret hobby of mine (wait, did I say that out loud? Lol!).

How about this one:
Box

[puneri]

Hey Treena,
i wanted to know how to teach 3 year old spellings with origins?
I am looking for good books.
Pl help.