Writer: Helena Bergström
Why is it called that? I love thinking about different words and their origins, and after all these years together, I let Peter join in the word game. He might also be wondering… why is it even called that?
Why are you saying this?
Once you start thinking about words and their origins, you can’t stop. The game is endless. There are a large number of words and expressions, and each of them has its own exciting story to tell. Here is a small selection of words with interesting origins…
1. Mack
Mack is an acronym of the first letters of the surnames Mathiasson, Andersson, Collin and Key, who together formed the Mackmeter company in Sweden in 1916. The name Mack was cast on the pumps and the word became synonymous with gas station.
2. Hot dog
When sausages with bread first came to the United States in the 19th century, the dish was called “Dachshund sausages,” or “dachshund sausages.” People started joking that there was a real dog in the sausage – hence the name hot dog.
3. Cookies
The word cookie simply comes from the English “cakes”, which in turn comes from the Old Norse “kaka”. Then you can discuss whether the word should be pronounced with a hard k or a tje at the beginning? It’s an eternal language debate…
4. Spam
Spam, which usually describes junk mail, comes from the product SPAM, where the word was created to describe “seasoned ham”, i.e. a canned ham from Hormel). The word later became synonymous with spam thanks to a Monthy Python sketch where the word was repeated until everyone got tired of it – just like spam email.
5. Jeep
During World War II, the army’s off-road vehicles were called GP (General Purpose Vehicle). If you pronounced the abbreviation a little quickly, it sounded like “jeep”.
6. Fire Clap
The word brasklap comes from the bishop Hans Brask, who lived in the 16th century. He signed a document that he did not really like, so he added a note: “I have been forced and coerced into this”. Thus the word bonfire was born…
7. Robot
The word “robot” was coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in the play RUR (1920). The word comes from the Czech ‘robota’, which can be translated as day labor or slave labor.
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8. Sandwich
The word “butter goose” comes from the fact that the lumps of butter created when churning butter float to the surface of the milk and move, much like geese. To begin with, it was these lumps that were called “sandwiches”. Over time, people went from saying “slice of bread and sandwich” to just “sandwich.”
9. Sandwich
The multi-slice sandwich is named after John Montgau, Earl of Sandwich, who wouldn’t leave the gaming table. Legend has it that he asked to have his meat sandwiched between two slices of bread so he could continue playing with one hand.
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10.Bluetooth
Bluetooth is simply named after the Viking king Harald Blåtand, who united the tribes of Denmark in the 9th century, because the technology unites various digital devices. The name was chosen by Intel’s Jim Kardach, who was inspired when he read about the king in a book. The logo for Bluetooth is the combination of the king’s runes!
11. Shit about shit
The expression “pö om pö” sounds like honest Swedish and means “little by little”. In fact, the expression was borrowed from French in the 19th century and comes from the French “peu à peu” (gradually).
12. Bikini line
The two-piece swimsuit is named after the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, where the US tested atomic bombs the same year the garment was launched (1946). Fashion designer Louis Réard chose the name to emphasize the explosive effect he thought the new, revealing swimsuit would have…
13. Sauna
In Finnish, and also in English, it is called sauna. In Sweden we use the word sauna, which comes from the word badstuga. Shortened slightly, it simply became a sauna.
14. Paparazzi
The word paparazzi comes from an Italian film, La Dolce Vita (1960), in which a high-ranking photographer was called Paparazzo. The name remained a symbol for enthusiastic photographers.
15. Googling
Google is originally a typo. The idea was to use the name Googol, a number written as a one followed by a hundred zeros. But someone made a mistake and the founders decided to keep the new spelling.
16. Whiskey
The word whiskey comes from the Celtic ‘uisge beatha’, which means ‘water of life’. This term was used to describe the spirit, in the same way as the French brandy and the Nordic aquavit also means “water of life” from Latin water of life. If you pronounce “uisge beatha” a little fast, it becomes something like… whiskey.
17. Quarantine
The word quarantine comes from the Italian quaranta giorni, which means ‘forty days’. This was as long as ships had to lie in wait during the plague period.
18. Ketchup
The word ketchup originally comes from the Chinese ke-tsiap, a type of fermented fish sauce. The sauce spread to Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Malay word became “kĕtjap”. European traders brought the sauce to Europe and the word eventually evolved into “ketchup”. And later still, the tomato-based sauce that we are used to today was developed…
19. Punch
Punch came to Sweden via the East India Company and it is believed that the name comes from “panch” in Hindi, meaning “five”. The five original ingredients of punch are arrack, water, sugar and tea. An alternative theory is that the name comes from the English word for wooden barrel, bumpwhich was used to transport the drink.
20. Helicopter
The word helicopter word came to Swedish via French, but actually has Greek origins. Helix in Greek means spiral and pteron means wing. In other words, a helicopter is a ‘spiral wing’. Not so stupid!
21. Coffee
The word fika comes from the word kaffi, a dialectal variant of coffee. Ordte emerged in the early 20th century as a kind of ‘backslang’ (if you deliberately reverse the letters) among students.
22. That
The word “dass” comes from German the house or the house (the house/the little house), which was a way of describing the house where one did one’s business. By omitting the word “house”, only the German article “das” was retained, which then became Swedish to “dass”.
23. Troubadour
The word “troubadour” comes from the Old French and Occitan words for “one who finds” or “one who invents”, referring to the medieval poets and musicians who created and performed poems and songs.
24. Pajamas
The word ‘pajama’ comes from Hindi/Urdu and in turn is borrowed from Persian. The word means “legwear” or “garment for the legs” and entered Swedish via English. Originally originating as loose-fitting trousers worn in warm climates, its meaning later came to mean a form of sleeping garment.
25. Scandal
The word ‘scandal’ comes from Greek, where the word ‘skándalon’ means snare or snare. From the beginning it was something to stumble over, and over time it became a moral trap and a scandal.
Do you have more examples of words with unexpected origins?
Do you have more examples of words with unexpected origins? Please tell me!
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