The Fun (But Fake) Etymologies Of America

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SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

[NameExplain]

Around the 09:30 I got some numbers a bit jumbled up. Apologies for that. The record claimed to be from 1495 was actually from 1565 as I wrote, but for some reason said 1564, and that record was lost in a fire in 1860 not 1560 as I said for some reason, the document didn’t travel back in time and get caught on fire lol. I don’t know if number dyslexia is a thing, but if it is I have it.

[isaac_aren]

My favourite folk etymology comes from a popular joke in Cork, Ireland:
When the city of Dubai was being built, all Irish workers came over to help build it. When it was finished, the mayor came to the workers and said "You've done such a good job that we'd like to name the city after you"
The Irish workers replied "Ah do bai"

("Ah" being just a part of speech like "uh" or "um".
"Do" on it's own used to say "Go ahead" or "You can do that".
"Bai" or "Boy" is a popular addition to speech in Cork similar to saying "Like" or "You know" at the end of sentences)

[sohopedeco]

There's a folk etymology that the Portuguese word for "thank you" (obrigado) might come from Japanese ("arigato") or vice versa. In fact, both are core vocabulary of their respective languages, even being created by conjugating existing verbs.

[dracodistortion]

I was today years old when I learned the word "news" came from the proto-indo-European *Newo- 😶💀😶😝😱👁👄👁😱😱👀

[Cadwaladr]

I remember in like 5th grade this Hungarian lady came to my class and told us that America was indirectly named after some Hungarian guy called Emeric, because Amerigo Vespucci was named after him.

[IgabodDobagi]

You should do another video covering other folk etymologies. Like the one I recently had to debunk for an 18 year old coworker who swore up and down that it was true. Shit stands for Ship High In Transit. I had to tell him the real origin is the German word for fecal matter and he didn't believe me until I finally explained to him that I know German and have studied etymology extensively for 20 years and then finally had to google and find a website with the real etymology of the word. The same coworker actually tried to convince me that the Navy developed a bullet proof paint and that's why all Navy ships are painted every day. I had to disabuse him of that notion by telling him that I was actually in the Navy and ships aren't painted every single day nor is paint bulletproof nor would that be necessary on a steel hull ship. He really just believed everything he read on the internet.

[chr]

I thought "permafrost" meant "permanent frost", but it actually comes from the Permian Age.

[AWormsPurpose]

Can’t believe Name Explain was the only thing that reminded me an American that tomorrow’s our Independence Day

[rattrap]

Favorite folk etymology has to be “fuck” being an adjective for “Fornicating Under Consent of the King”.

[servantofaeie]

as a kid ive always noticed new in news

[sikanderabbas]

Me after watching Name Explain after a year: He hasn't changed a bit

[johnfelixable]

And I thought Folk Etymology is when a guy with an acoustic guitar and a harp tries to explain the origin of words to you.

[rparl]

My favorite ghost etymology is the relationship between venue and avenue. A venue is a location, often circumscribed, like a concert venue. An avenue is a wide open road, not circumscribed. Sounds good but their etymologies are completely different.
BTW, I've used the word ghost instead of folk. I guess I think of folk as more related to folk song than folktale.

[Ifoundnohappinesshere]

As someone who knew about the American people, I agreed their culture are pretty improvised sometimes

[PRDreams]

I was taught in elementary school that it was named after Américo Vespúcio (Spanish for Amerigo Vespucci) that's how I learned it, that's how I taught it to my children.

[dansv]

The version I heard I school in the 1960s - ‘70s was that Amerigo Vespucci was a cartographer who drew a map of Columbus’ voyage, and his signature on the map was misinterpreted as being the name of the new world.

[dracodistortion]

Petition to rename "North America" as Eriksland

[Livy_lives]

Do you use the sketches app? It’s my favorite for drawing :D

[jsoulas]

You should have talked about the folk etymology of the word elephantiasis.

[kara__kats]

Thanks for this video! I remember learning in school that it was named after Vespucci.