Give To Charities, But With Care
As we approach the holiday season, I hope we can turn our thoughts to the many legitimate charities which seek to help others. Certainly many people are in great need, and those in need are right here in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world. Job losses and low wages due to downsizing, outsourcing, technology, and just plain greed, have put tremendous stress on an increasing number of families and individuals. Many of this nation's poorest residents are CHILDREN. * So, if you can spare even a small amount, please give to the charity of your choice. Remember, some of the lowest of lowlifes are out in force at this time of year looking to scam well meaning people out of their money. They call, they send emails, they send letters or cards, but don't ASSUME any request for money or for your credit or debit card info is legit until you check out the organization. Technology has advanced so much and so quickly, scammers can hide their own number by using phony telephone numbers, or duplicate phone numbers of legitimate businesses or people, which will be displayed on your caller ID. This is called "spoofing." Similar can be done with email addresses. NEVER give ANY personal information out over the telephone or online to someone who has contacted you, no matter who they say they represent, including your bank or some local, state or federal governmental agency. This is a link to some helpful advice about preventing charity scams: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0074-giving-charity
Also, please don't forget the animal charities.
* See Time: http://time.com/3588844/child-homeless-study/
WORD HISTORY:
Appeal/Peal-"Appeal" is a compound of "ap" and "peal." The "ap" goes back to Indo European "ad," which meant "at, near," which gave Latin "ad," meaning "to, towards," and "ap" is simply a variant of "ad." The "peal" part goes back to Indo European "pel," which meant "drive, beat, thrust." This gave its Latin offspring "pellere," which meant "to drive, to push." The original Latin compound "appellere" seems to have been used for "to drive or to direct a ship to a certain place." While presumably the same word with a modified spelling, the meaning of "appellare" also changed; "to address, to call by name;" thus also, "to summon," perhaps from the notion of "directing a ship," to "directing a person toward another or to a place by calling their name, addressing them." This gave the legal meaning, "to call for a review and reversal of a verdict;" as well as "to accuse someone," thus, "call before an authority." Old French, a Latin based language, inherited a form of the word as "apeler," with the legal meanings, but also, "to call to someone, to call out." English borrowed the word in the early 1300s with those same meanings, but eventually the meaning of "calling for a review and reversal of a verdict," prevailed in the legal sense, and the "call out to someone" meaning continued as, "make a serious request to someone." The noun form came from the verb in French as "apel," which was also borrowed by English in the early 1300s. German also later borrowed a form of the noun from French as "Appell," the main meaning of which is "roll call, muster," but it also means "appeal." "Peal," meaning "ringing of a bell or bells," is simply a shortened form of "appeal" from later in the 1300s, with the notion of, "bells calling out to summon worshipers."
Also, please don't forget the animal charities.
* See Time: http://time.com/3588844/child-homeless-study/
WORD HISTORY:
Appeal/Peal-"Appeal" is a compound of "ap" and "peal." The "ap" goes back to Indo European "ad," which meant "at, near," which gave Latin "ad," meaning "to, towards," and "ap" is simply a variant of "ad." The "peal" part goes back to Indo European "pel," which meant "drive, beat, thrust." This gave its Latin offspring "pellere," which meant "to drive, to push." The original Latin compound "appellere" seems to have been used for "to drive or to direct a ship to a certain place." While presumably the same word with a modified spelling, the meaning of "appellare" also changed; "to address, to call by name;" thus also, "to summon," perhaps from the notion of "directing a ship," to "directing a person toward another or to a place by calling their name, addressing them." This gave the legal meaning, "to call for a review and reversal of a verdict;" as well as "to accuse someone," thus, "call before an authority." Old French, a Latin based language, inherited a form of the word as "apeler," with the legal meanings, but also, "to call to someone, to call out." English borrowed the word in the early 1300s with those same meanings, but eventually the meaning of "calling for a review and reversal of a verdict," prevailed in the legal sense, and the "call out to someone" meaning continued as, "make a serious request to someone." The noun form came from the verb in French as "apel," which was also borrowed by English in the early 1300s. German also later borrowed a form of the noun from French as "Appell," the main meaning of which is "roll call, muster," but it also means "appeal." "Peal," meaning "ringing of a bell or bells," is simply a shortened form of "appeal" from later in the 1300s, with the notion of, "bells calling out to summon worshipers."
Labels: animal welfare, charity, child poverty, English, etymology, French, Latin, poverty, scams, spoofing
posted by Randy at 9:03 AM
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