The Surprising Origins of 10 Commonly-Used Words in the English Language

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If you need more convincing that English is actually a stranger language than you think, here are 10 of the most commonly used words in the modern English language that have the most surprising origins and histories behind them, including words inspired by Greek mythology and words that stem from the most fascinating folklores throughout history.

Whiskey
The word for our favorite liquor can actually be traced back to the Gaelic word uisge beatha, which literally means "water of life." It's definitely ironic for anyone who might have overindulged in a little too much whiskey and maybe felt like they were dying the morning after.

Sandwich
Ever thought about how weird the word “sandwich” actually is? Well, the sandwich got its name after John Montgau, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. As the story goes, he asked for his food to be served between two pieces of bread so he could eat with his hands and not have to leave his gambling table.

Disaster
This one was (literally) written in the stars: “disaster” is derived from Latin and Greek, with dis meaning “bad” and astron meaning “star.” The word got its name because the Greeks often blamed unfavorable and terrible conditions on the stars and the movement of planets. Talk about Mercury being in retrograde!

Muscle
Strangely enough, the word “muscle” comes from the Latin word musculus, which translates to “little mouse.” Apparently, people thought that the movement and shape of many muscles looked like mice running underneath our skin!

Nightmare

The word “nightmare” derives from the Middle English word mare, which referred to not a cute horse but actually a goblin creature or evil spirit that was believed to afflict sleepers with the feeling of suffocation as they sat on their chests. Sounds pleasant, right?

Sinister

We use “sinister” to mean something threatening or evil — so it’s bizarre that the word actually has its roots from the Latin word meaning “left” or “of the left,” right? Well, sorry, lefties of the world — the ancient Romans actually considered left-handed people as abnormal, which is why they came to believe that the left side was unlucky or untrustworthy.

Nice

Strangely enough, the word “nice” didn’t always refer to something nice. In fact, it actually began as a negative term derived from the Latin nescius, meaning “ignorant” or “unaware” — and, for almost a century, was used to refer to a stupid or foolish person.

Mortgage

In French, the word mort means “dead” and gage means “pledge” — so yes, mortgage basically means “death pledge.” But fear not: It was actually called this because the debt ends — or becomes “dead” — when the pledge is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure, not because taking out a mortgage is actually a death pledge (thank goodness for that).

Sarcasm

If you’ve ever felt hurt by a sarcastic remark made by someone, now you know why: the word “sarcasm” actually comes from the Greek verb sarkazein, which literally means “to tear flesh like dogs.” Eventually, I

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