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foi_nefasteI'm starting to live up to my sister's cherished (if annoying) name for me (The Encyclopedia of Useless and Little-Known Facts). And thus, I shall have to be obnoxiously enlightening for everyone who chooses to read. Useless, but cool, if you like history and language.
Did you guys know that the French word redingote comes from the English Riding Coat? 'cause, in 18th-century France, English was the cool thing to know and imitate, right. But people couldn't all pronounce it. Thus, new word! New word!
Oh, and did you know that portable writing-desks (and other portable furniture) were invented in the 18th century, and gained popular use in France during the reign of Louis XV? And that most furniture fashions from the 18th century in France and England come from 17th century Dutch furniture?
The word chairman comes from medieval Europe. Since, when you gathered a bunch of important people in the same room, the one who got to sit was the most important, and the one making all the decisions. Hence, the powerful man is the man with the chair. Practical, and simple.
The expression to put your hair down means just that, too. Down meaning off. When you had wigs that weighed a fair amount, as soon as you got into the family's private quarters, you'd take off your wig.
And that the word for restaurant comes from 18th century France, too? A guy got it into his mind to serve meals in his hall, not the typical tavern-stuff, but meals that would restore you. Hence, the word.
Oh, and the concept of public/private rooms within a home was more or less determined then, too. So when we refer to a room as a salle ('salle a manger), it's a public room, and a chambre (Chambre a coucher, chambre de bain, etc) is a private room. So when we talk about a court, a judge's chambers are private, and that's where the idea comes from. Cool, isn't it?
... Yes, I've been doing research for a presentation. Which went quite well, thank you. *grins*
(Oh, and I almost had a heart attack last night when I found out that I'd forgotten my house key in the apartment. And, since I live alone, and the closest person with a spare is in Sherbrooke, it would have been an issue. However, last year, I was scared of that happening, and I'd pinned a spare in my backpack. Moral of the story: always put a spare key where you can reach it. Always. It's worth it.)
And the Buffy-night went particularly well. However, Hayden saw that I owned Beautiful Thing - a really cute love story about two teenaged guys in London. So I have the feeling that we're going to be watching that sometime next week. Along with the Buffy movie. Same rules apply - anyone wanting to come, give me a holler. I'll post another invitation when I know date/time, of course.
And Nano is coming along. I'm quite pleased with the 5 chapters I have. So, shall attempt to work on that before my boss calls and annoys me. Au revoir!
Did you guys know that the French word redingote comes from the English Riding Coat? 'cause, in 18th-century France, English was the cool thing to know and imitate, right. But people couldn't all pronounce it. Thus, new word! New word!
Oh, and did you know that portable writing-desks (and other portable furniture) were invented in the 18th century, and gained popular use in France during the reign of Louis XV? And that most furniture fashions from the 18th century in France and England come from 17th century Dutch furniture?
The word chairman comes from medieval Europe. Since, when you gathered a bunch of important people in the same room, the one who got to sit was the most important, and the one making all the decisions. Hence, the powerful man is the man with the chair. Practical, and simple.
The expression to put your hair down means just that, too. Down meaning off. When you had wigs that weighed a fair amount, as soon as you got into the family's private quarters, you'd take off your wig.
And that the word for restaurant comes from 18th century France, too? A guy got it into his mind to serve meals in his hall, not the typical tavern-stuff, but meals that would restore you. Hence, the word.
Oh, and the concept of public/private rooms within a home was more or less determined then, too. So when we refer to a room as a salle ('salle a manger), it's a public room, and a chambre (Chambre a coucher, chambre de bain, etc) is a private room. So when we talk about a court, a judge's chambers are private, and that's where the idea comes from. Cool, isn't it?
... Yes, I've been doing research for a presentation. Which went quite well, thank you. *grins*
(Oh, and I almost had a heart attack last night when I found out that I'd forgotten my house key in the apartment. And, since I live alone, and the closest person with a spare is in Sherbrooke, it would have been an issue. However, last year, I was scared of that happening, and I'd pinned a spare in my backpack. Moral of the story: always put a spare key where you can reach it. Always. It's worth it.)
And the Buffy-night went particularly well. However, Hayden saw that I owned Beautiful Thing - a really cute love story about two teenaged guys in London. So I have the feeling that we're going to be watching that sometime next week. Along with the Buffy movie. Same rules apply - anyone wanting to come, give me a holler. I'll post another invitation when I know date/time, of course.
And Nano is coming along. I'm quite pleased with the 5 chapters I have. So, shall attempt to work on that before my boss calls and annoys me. Au revoir!
