#eymology

Nowadays the term ‘Celt’ is so common and widespread in its use of referring to Scots, Irish, Welsh etc., but where does this term originate from? The group of peoples we refer to as the ancient Celts were popularly known during their time as Gauls by the Romans. Caesar remarks in his De Bello Gallico (Gallic War) that he refers to Gauls as the people that call themselves Celts in their own language. It was the Greeks who granted the title of 'Keltoi' to these people, the meaning and origin of which is theorized as being one of the below:

Indo-European root quel = raised, elevated, noble

Indo-European root kel- = to strike

Indo-European root kel- = hidden

The most agreed upon theory by scholars is that of 'hidden', as it ties in with many associations, aspects of perception, details and references throughout Celtic history and mythology.

First of all, the ancient Celts were seen through a subjective - and likely biased - filter of mysticism by their neighboring cultures, as having strange and unusual customs, especially the act of keeping their knowledge and mysteries hidden in terms of Druidic teachings, as they chose not to record their teachings. It is also important to remark that in both old and modern Irish, the word celt still denotes ‘secrecy’, ‘concealment’, etc. Additionally, it is used for an article of clothing designed to cover or conceal, ie. the origin for kilt. And in Irish mythology, we have the Ulster hero Celtchair, whose name is explained as signifying ‘concealment’.

Even if the true source of the term Keltoi derives from a misunderstood communication between initial greetings of Celts and Greeks, it is generally agreed that the term bears the closest relevance to how the Celts viewed, described or associated themselves with.

It is safe to assume the Celts were aware to some degree of this Greek perception, this inherent connection with hidden, secret, concealment; and if they chose not to dismantle it, had no particular protests or laid any emphasis on what they truly stood for, we can propose the following interesting speculations:

They did not care how their neighboring groups viewed them. This may be unlikely as they did form good partnership with Greeks and learned their language to ease communications.

That it was true.

That it was not accurate / only partially / they stood for different values, or simply did not agree with this depiction; yet they did not impose to alter as they preferred to maintain their true values and teachings among their people only, thus confirming the view.

In either case, since the Celts chose not to write down their teachings, what remained of history were the records of the Romans and Greeks, and the way they viewed the Celts has become their defining quality from the name itself:

Keltoi, the hidden ones.

Like. Fads were what we know now as short-lived memes.

Back in the day, the term “meme” was reserved for the long-lasting ones. The memes that integrated themselves into internet culture. Memes back in the day were truly something. They became part of internet history.

Fads, on the other hand, were what we currently call the majority of “memes”. Fads are those silly things everyone clings onto for, like, a week? Maybe a month if you’re lucky. Then they died out, and often were completely forgotten. Maybe they’d pop up again once in a while, but for the most part, when a fad died it was dead.

By this terminology, we can define memes from fads by a simple mnemonic question: “Is this meme dead?” If yes, then it’s a fad. If not, then either it’s a fresh fad, or it’s a “true” meme.

I know that Power Plants are things, but how did we get that word.

Doing it wrong with meaning: Etymological Fallacy

By Chris Doty PHD   If you’ve read anything about heathenry, up to and including Culture of the Teutons, you’ve undoubtedly come across a writer talking about language. Whether it’s modern Icelandic, Old Norse, Old English, or something even more obscure (anyone know any Old Frisian?), the languages of our ancestors and our current coreligionists often crop up in discussions about topics as…

In continuation of my last post about left-handedness, here is some more linguistic evidence of the negative connotations of "left" in other languages:

Skaios-- Greek for left-handed and ill-omened or awkward

Mancino-- Italian for left-handed or crooked or maimed (and sinistro, which means left, comes from Latin, as does the English word sinister)

Gauche-- French for awkward or clumsy

Links/linkisch-- German, meaning awkward as well

Kjevhendt-- Norwegian for left-handed or crooked-handed