I looked up the etymology of parole in An etymological dictionary of the Romance languages, and was intrigued by this: "It took the place of the L. verbum which, from religious scruples, was sparingly used" (emphasis mine). What "religious scruples" are they alluding to? No elaboration is given in that entry. I realize that verbum means "word", and shares a stem with lots of other meanings, but I would love to know if anyone knows more.
posted by everichon on Sep 8, 2009 - 11 answers

I need to find the word meaning "a word with mixed Latin and Greek roots." It's not just "hybrid word," but a word that specifically indicated Greek and Latin origins. I've had several people remark that they know it but can't think of it, and my search skills have failed thusfar.
posted by luftmensch on May 6, 2007 - 10 answers

Is there any etymological relationship between the non-nominative Latin forms of Jupiter [Iuppiter, Iovis], e.g. iove (which would be pronounced "yohweh"), and the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh?
posted by stopgap on Jan 23, 2005 - 11 answers

Where does the word "stat" come from, as in "Give me 20ccs of Ringer's Lactate, stat!"?
(I know it means quickly, but what's its origin?)
posted by jpburns on Dec 13, 2003 - 10 answers