DEPARTMENT OF WRITING NEW ZEALAND
  • Home
  • Bid writing
    • Shipley partnership
  • Business writing
  • Writing training
    • Individual writing training
    • Register
  • Contact

Etc.
Words about words.

Today's word: Avocado

29/6/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Avocados originate from South America, where the Aztecs called them ahucatl, after their word for testicle. No explanation required there, although one hopes the analogy was based on shape rather than colour.
 
As we all know, the Spanish eventually arrived on American shores and, as conquering hordes are apt to do, decided that easier than getting their tongues around the natives' word (yes, I know what you're thinking, and shame on you) was using one of their own words which sounded similar. Thus ahucatl became avocado, the Spanish word for advocate.
 
And there the story could end, but then it wouldn't be much of a story, would it? Another popular name for avocados is alligator pears - again, for obvious reasons, given their dark green, knobbly skin. Now where do you think the word alligator comes from? Well, mis amigos, it's a mangling of the Spanish el legarto, aka the lizard. 
 
Isn't that a nice symmetry? Those rotten Spanish conquistadors mess up a perfectly good Aztec word, then us English speakers take their messed up Aztec word and replace it with another word which is, itself, a messed up Spanish word. Ha! Anyone know the Spanish word for karma?

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Copyright. 2023 Department of Writing
  • Home
  • Bid writing
    • Shipley partnership
  • Business writing
  • Writing training
    • Individual writing training
    • Register
  • Contact