When Racism Slips Into Everyday Speech

[tblue37]

51. "Lord" and "Lady" =

hlaf weard (loaf ward/guardian)

and

hlaf dige (loaf-kneader--i.e., one who makes the bread--from the same OE root as to dig)

Over time, elision smoothed out many of the sounds to produce our modern words "lord" and "lady."

Here's another you might like:
Richard =
reich weard (guardian of the reich/kingdom)

Etymologies are just plain fun. (The name "George," amusingly enough, actually does refer to a man of the earth, a farmer--from the Greek geo, so Maybe W was simply trying to live up to his name when he was always out there clearing brush and pretending to "work the land" on his ranch.)

I am amused by the way people get confused over the phrase "toe the line," thinking it is "tow the line," because they have lost the idea of racers toeing the line at the start of a race--i.e., not violating the rules or transgressing the proper boundaries.

Or how about the humorous line, "You've got another think coming (meaning, "You'd better think about that again!&quot ," which many have misinterpreted as "You've got another thing coming"--which makes no sense at all.