Etymology - Let's learn something new together.

What is Etymology you ask? Well let me tell you. Any of you that were unfortunate enough to be in an ACE school during your middle school / high school years hear this word and you are immediately filled with dread. Your palms get sweaty, you get slightly nauseas, and well, you start gagging at the smell of eraser dust. Why? Because Etymology was the most time consuming pace there was - "Write this list of words ten times each." "Please give the definition of each word and then use in a sentence." Which was followed by a trip to the scoring table only to discover - you used the wrong dictionary. Which is where the unhealthy fear of eraser dust came from. I say all this to say, I love etymology! No no, not the ACE paces but ETYMOLOGY itself! What is it? Well here is what the online Mirriam - Webster dictionary had to say:

Main Entry: et·y·mol·o·gy

Pronunciation: \-jē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural et·y·mol·o·gies

Etymology: Middle English ethimologie, from Anglo-French, from Latin etymologia, from Greek, from etymon + -logia -logy

Date: 14th century

1 : the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in otherlanguages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language
2 : a branch of linguistics concerned with etymologies

— et·y·mo·log·i·cal \-mə-ˈlä-ji-kəl\ adjective

— et·y·mo·log·i·cal·ly \-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

I must also say that I can usually figure out the origins of a word rather quickly. I'm sure this talent will get me somewhere in life, right? Probably not but I do love it. I also LOVE words! Not only finding out where they come from but also learning new ones or refreshing the oldies but goodies. Not your every day words or the slang we find ourselves using so sloppily today but words that are obscure...long .50 words! The kind of words that will make someone either act like they know what you're talking about with a smile and a nod or they get the most perplexed look on their faces and this gives you a chance to laugh. :) Such is the case with the word I have chosen for this entry - "SMARMY". Yes, my friends it IS a word and yes it is absolutely hilarious to say. (To me anyway.) I can't help but laugh almost every time I say it. Its on of those English words that just sounds hilarious and really has a variety of meanings. Let me show you (again from that great resource the online Mirriam-Webster dictionary) the vast meanings of the word "SMARMY".

Main Entry: smarmy

Pronunciation: \ˈsmär-mē\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): smarm·i·er; smarm·i·est

Etymology: smarm to gush, slobber

Date: 1924

1 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness New Yorker>
2 : of low sleazy taste or quality

— smarm·i·ly \-mə-lē\ adverb

— smarm·i·ness \-mē-nəs\ noun

Another online resource also says:

smarm·y (smärm) adj. smarm·i·er, smarm·i·est 1. Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest; unctuous. See Synonyms at unctuous. 2. Sleek. [From smarm, to smear.] smarm·i·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Wow... you could use this word in a plethora (another favorite word!) of ways!
Your mission this week: Use this word at least once a day in random ways. Perplex the common mind out there and help someone else learn something new. What's your favorite word? If it makes you smile use it more! :) Don't be a smarmy person! In the words of a current television ad, "Upgrade yourself!" Sound a little smarter starting today. :)