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March 29, 2013

Strange But True!

Q. Those amazing bodily fluids that keep us functioning smoothly also contribute some colorful words to our language. Blood, probably the best-known of them, gives us “sang-froid,” from French for cold blood. Thus the term means calmness, especially under stress. Can you name some other fluids and the words derived from them?

A. Lymph gives us “lymphatic,” from Latin lympha (water), says Anu Garg on his “A Word a Day” website. It was once believed that too much lymphatic fluid resulted in sluggishness, hence, its meaning of lacking energy. Similarly, “melancholy” comes from the notion that an excess of black bile led to a gloomy state, from Greek melan- (black) and chole (bile), suggesting a pensive, depressed state. And something highly original relates to “seminal,” from Latin semen (seed).


 
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