BRANCHING LANGUAGES

8 Words You Would Have Never Guessed That Share The Same Roots

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Did you know that there are many words in modern English that seem completely unrelated yet they share the same historical roots? Join us to discover what’s up with etymological doublets.

Languages change a lot over a few generations, and some words end up having very long and complicated histories, sometimes forking into new words and acquiring new meanings. Unraveling this mess is the job of the etymologist, who must take on the role of both a historian and a linguist in order to decipher and find the contrived paths of particular words through recorded history.

We already know that English is full of similar words that seem related but really aren’t. However, the opposite is also true: there are many common words that are used to mean completely different things and that might even sound distinct enough, but actually share the same etymological origin. These words are called etymological doublets (or even triplets!). Here are 10 examples of these estranged word twins:

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Both words come from the Latin root ‘specie’, meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘form’. While the word ‘spice’ with its modern meaning was imported to English from Old French, ‘species’ was only borrowed later directly from Latin.

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An interesting pair that at a first glance might not seem related at all. However, these two words share a Latin root in the word ‘nativus’, which means natural or innate.

‘Native’ retained the part of the Latin meaning that relates to an innate origin, while ‘naïve’ kept the sense of innocent, unspoiled nature.

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These two are fairly similar, only diverging by one letter. But in modern usage, they mean very different things. While ‘convey’ means to transport or deliver something (both information or materials), convoy refers to a group of vehicles that travel together, usually for protection.

Again, these two words share the same Latin root (notice a pattern?) in the word ‘conviare’, which means to carry, transport or to accompany along a certain way.

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There is no way these two pieces of clothing could be confused today. But surprisingly, both derive from the Old English word ‘scyrte’, a long dress-like shirt worn by peasants in 14th century England. Guess that when this multipurpose fabric was cut in two, the original word was also accordingly split into shirt and skirt.

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Some of these doublets seem to almost carry their own metaphors and ironies. In this case, one can’t help but smile at the thought of two ideas seemingly so opposed, having etymological roots that bring them together. Both come from the Latin ‘tradere’, meaning the act of handing over or handing down.

And if you haven’t guessed already, this is actually an etymological triplet, spawning also the modern English word ‘trade’.

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Another fun one! Could grammar be actually glamorous? Probably not, but at least the words are related, according to etymologists. The kinship can be traced back to its Latin and Greek forms, where the word referred in general to the study of literature.

Since the high class tended to dedicate their time to studying classical literature as much as alchemy, magic, or astrology, the word ‘glamour’ - originally just a mispronunciation - evolved to encompass the fancy quality of these last err… unorthodox studies.

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Who could have thought these two were related? Both words originate from the Latin word ‘uncia’, meaning the twelfth part. When the Romans occupied Britain, ‘uncia’ found its way into Old English as ‘ince’ or ‘ynce’, later becoming the modern ‘inch’.

"And what about ‘ounce’?" you might ask. ‘Uncia’ was also used to measure weight as much as length, but it was only through French - where it was adopted as a weight unit called ‘unce’ – that this sense came back into Middle English and became the ‘ounce’ we all know today.

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As you probably guessed, this doublet has its origins in the Middle East. But etymologies are never simple, and this case isn’t the exception, bearing successive transformations from one language into the other.

Just as the flower that got imported from the Middle East into Europe in the early 16th century and that enamored Europeans for decades, the English word ‘tulip’ took a long journey from Persian ‘dulband’ to Turkish ‘tülbent’, and then to French ‘tulipe’ or ‘tulipan’.

But Persian ‘dulband’ actually meant ‘turban’, and the flower only gets its name from the resemblance its overlapping petals have to the folds of cloth of a turban. At some point, however, meanings diverged, and this sense came into French already changed into ‘turbant’.

Did any of these doublets surprise you? I know I’m still in shock over the kinship between treason, trade, and tradition. If you love to read about language, long-lost etymologies, and other related topics, stay around! We will keep uploading interesting content to assuage all your language trivia cravings.