Cleveland Polish Boy Sandwich

This sausage sandwich was invented here in Cleveland in the World War Two era by Virgil Whitmore, who owned a barbecue restaurant on Cleveland's East Side. The idea was to put something of a typical grilled kielbasa lunch or dinner of grilled kielbasa, french fries, coleslaw and barbecue sauce all together on a bun. I suggest using hoagie rolls that you can split yourself, and then only cut about 2/3 of the way through the roll. If you can't grill the sausage, broil or fry it until it gets a little brown. This is a BIG sandwich and it is often identified as one of the foods folks should try when visiting Cleveland. It has been touted on national television as one of America's best sandwiches. The napkin industry loves it, because you'll need plenty of napkins. 

Ingredients (per each sandwich):

1 kielbasa (6 to 8 inches)

1 hotdog or hoagie bun

2 to 3 tablespoons coleslaw (not with lots of liquid)

1 "good" handful french fries

2 to 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce

Grill, broil or fry the kielbasa so that it has some brown color to it. Toast the bun lightly, add the ingredients however you choose, as some people like to add the coleslaw or french fries first, then lay the kielbasa on top of that, before adding the other ingredients. I generally put the kielbasa, then the coleslaw, then the french fries and top everything with the barbecue sauce.

 

On this day, I had the Polish Boy Sandwich along with some potato salad ...

WORD HISTORY:

Kielbasa-This word has an "uncertain" origin, so I am going to work backward on its history. In American English, "kielbasa" was first used in the early 20th Century, and in American English it generally means a Polish sausage with rather coarsely ground pork, beef, or a combination of the two, in a casing, and the sausage is seasoned somewhat with garlic and then smoked. Kielbasa often comes in a "U" shape, but it can also come looking more like a hotdog. American English borrowed the word from Polish "kiełbasa," which means "sausage," in general. Polish "likely" got the word from its parent, Old Slavic "kelbasa" (other Slavic languages have forms too), meaning "grilled/roasted meat." This "probably" came from Turkish "kulbasti," with the same meaning, but literally "pressed on the coals/ashes," but transliterated Hebrew "kolbasar," a general term for "meat," is also a possible candidate.    

Spanish Chorizo in Cider: Chorizo a la Sidra

This is a great and simple tapas dish. Tapas are snacks or appetizer type foods that comprise a whole segment of the Spanish food and beverage business. Spain is famous for its tapas bars; that is, bars that serve these snacks and appetizers to accompany your beverages.

Spanish hard cider (sidra) is a common drink in the Asturias region of northwest Spain, where apples are grown in an abundance of varieties.

 

Serve with crusty bread ...

Ingredients:

1 pound Spanish chorizo (preferably semi-cured)

1 1/2 cups Spanish hard cider

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, very thinly sliced

(optional) parsley for garnish

Cut the chorizo into about 1 inch pieces, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the chorizo pieces 5 to 6 minutes, turning the pieces often, then add the cider and the sliced garlic and bring it to a simmer and cook the chorizo until the cider begins to cook down, about 6 to 8 minutes (it may thicken up).

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cider-This word for "apple juice, both fermented and non fermented" (see further, below), goes back to transliterated Hebrew "sekar/sekhar," which meant "strong (that is, alcoholic) drink." Ancient Greek borrowed the word as transliterated "sikera," also meaning "strong drink." Latin borrowed this as "sicera," and Old French took this, seemingly initially as "cisdre," then as "cidre," which continued with the "strong drink" meaning, but also with the meaning "fermented apple or pear juice." English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "cidre," meaning "strong drink," but by the mid 1300s the "fermented fruit juice" meaning had also become more common, eventually becoming exclusive to "fermented apple juice." In England and Britain, carbonation was later often added, but in the U.S., the 1800s saw the "fermented apple juice" meaning also expanded to "non-fermented apple juice with some of the apple pulp." Also in the U.S., carbonated cider isn't as common as in the UK, and fermented apple cider is called "hard cider," with the non-fermented type simply called "apple cider." 

Beets, Kale & Fennel Salad

A great salad!

 

Ingredients:

 

3 roasted beets (tennis ball size), sliced into about 1 inch length and 1/4 inch thickness *

1 1/2 cups fennel, raw, chopped

some fennel fronds 

2 1/2 cups curly or lacinato kale leaves, torn or cut into bite-size pieces, not fine pieces

2 1/2 cups beet greens, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup pecorino romano shavings

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

homemade blue cheese dressing for serving** 

                               or

homemade ranch dressing***

In a large bowl, add the cut beets, fennel, fennel fronds, kale, beet greens, pecorino romano shavings, ground black pepper and salt; toss to mix everything well (I do it by hand). Serve topped with homemade blue cheese dressing. You can serve the salad with a side dish of extra pecorino romano shavings for those who like more cheese.  

* For oven roasted beets, here is the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/06/roasted-beets.html 

 

** The recipe for homemade blue cheese dressing:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/07/homemade-blue-cheese-dressing.html

 

*** The recipe for homemade ranch dressing:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/06/homemade-ranch-dressing.html

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Balm (Balsam)-"Balm" goes back to transliterated Hebrew "basam," which meant "spice, pleasant smell." Greek borrowed the word as "balsamon" meaning "the Arabian balsam tree, or the oil of this tree," which was used for perfume, and Latin borrowed this as "balsamum," with the same meanings. Old French rendered the word as "basme," and English borrowed that form circa 1200, but also "baume," a form from Anglo-Norman, also spelled "bawm/bawme" in English, and this later became "balm" (1500s?) in imitation of the Latin spelling with "l". The meaning also moved from "perfume," seemingly to a parallel meaning, "annointing oil used to soothe," to "oily substance used to treat pain or wounds;" thus also "any person or anything that soothes someone's emotional pain." The word "balsam" is from the Latin "balsamum," mentioned above, and indeed, it was used in that form by English more than a thousand years ago for "soothing oil of some plants," and later it was also used for "the resin of these plants," which was chewed. By about the mid 1500s, the word was whittled down to "balsam," where it has remained ever since, but the meaning for the resin died out, but the "soothing oil" meaning expanded to many types of "ointment used to soothe wounds, injuries or certain inflammatory conditions;" thus it is really synonymous with "balm."    

What's In A Name: Abigail, Alvin

Abigail-This female name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Avhigayl/Avhigayil," seemingly taken to mean "father's joy" or "father's rejoicing." It is derived from "av," meaning "father" and "gil," meaning "joy." Biblically speaking, Abigail was one of the wives of King David. behindthename.com says that Abigail became popular in English after the Reformation and that the name was a popular one with the Puritans. 

 

Alvin-This male name is the revived version of Old English "Ælfwine" (literally "elf-friend") and "Ealdwine" (literally "old friend"). The "-wine" ending is from an Old Germanic form that is synoymous with "friend," a word also from Germanic. German has modern "Alwin," patterned after Old High German "Adalwin," meaning "noble friend," with its Old English relative having been "Æthelwine" (later spelled "Ethelwine"). The thing to remember is, many of the Old English names declined in usage after the Norman Invasion of England, and these old names were not always passed on in updated versions thereafter. Later however, some names were revived in modified forms, but these were not always direct descendants. The feminine forms are "Alvina" and "Elvina."  

 

If you are old enough to remember the late 1950s, you'll certainly remember the popular Christmas-themed song from that time, "The Chipmunk Song," a fun song performed by a group of cartoon chipmunks named, Simon, Theodore and Alvin, or perhaps it would be better to put it, "ALVIN!!!" The song was performed and recorded by its creator, Ross Bagdasarian (his stage name was Dave Seville), who was of Armenian heritage, and he sang all of the parts of the three chipmunk characters, then he adjusted the tape speed to achieve the squeaky sounding voices he wanted for the chipmunks. The most notable part of the recording was when Dave would yell out "ALVIN," to get a response from the chipmunk, who would finally answer, "OKAY!" The song was a huge hit, hitting #1 on the American pop music charts. 

 

I consulted the following in preparation of this article: 1) behindthename.com

2) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003

 

WORD HISTORY:

Serge-This word for a heavy woolen and silk or linen cloth mixture came to English in the late 1300s from French "serge" (dialect "sarge?"), which was from Latin "sarica," with the cloth meaning, and this was from Latin "serica," meaning "silk garments," which was from transliterated Greek "sērĭkḗ" (the feminine form of "serikós"), meaning "silken, of or from silk." Greek took the first part from "Seres," the name of a people from China from whom they got silk, although the Greeks may have first encountered the word "Seres" by contact with the Mongols. (Note: There "seems" to be no connection between the word "serge" and the name "Serge," which is a form of "Sergius.")

Happy Hanukkah To Our Jewish Friends & Neighbors

Happy Hanukkah To Our Jewish Friends & Neighbors! 

"Hanukkah," which has several other spellings, perhaps the most common of which is "Chanukah," is an eight day festival season that commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem from the Greek led Seleucid Empire in the Second Century B.C. (B.C.E.). With the retaking of the city, Greek laws and customs were done away with and Jewish religious tradition and manner of worship were restored; that is, re"dedicated" (see Word History, below) in the center of Jewish religious life, the holy Second Temple.   

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Hanukkah-This is a transliteration of Hebrew, which goes back to the Hebrew verb "khanakh/chanakh," which meant "to dedicate;" thus also, "to designate for holy commitment;" thus also, "(of people) to lead to holy commitment;" thus also, "to teach (to)." The use of the noun for the "Jewish festival commemorating the recapture of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Second Temple in the 2nd Century BC" seems to be from the late 1800s.      

Mecklenburg Sour Cream Potatoes: Schmandkartoffeln

This is a potato dish from the Mecklenburg region of Germany. Mecklenburg lies just east of Hamburg and vicinity, and after World War Two it was part of the Communist-dominated "German Democratic Republic" (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, abbreviated as "DDR," and don't be fooled by the "Democratic" part of the name, as it was a Communist dictatorship, with strong ties to the Soviet Union). As such, it was part of the state of "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (Vorpommern is literally "Fore Pomerania," but is more commonly called "West(ern) Pomerania," in English), a state that continued with the reunification of Germany. Within the Mecklenburg region itself, the best known city is Rostock. I had a German friend who lived in Rostock for a while as a child after World War Two, but fortunately, he and his family were able to make it to West Germany; then later, he emigrated to the U.S. 
    
This is an easy dish to prepare. I use beef stock to make it, but you can use vegetable stock, which will make the sauce somewhat lighter in color. The potatoes are often served with Rügenwalder Teewurst* and dill pickles (German: "Salzgurken" (literally, "salt gherkins"), also called "saure Gurken," literally, "sour gherkins"). "Teewurst" is a spreadable sausage available in some German delis, or online from sellers with German or German-style food products. If you don't have Teewust, you can try some ham salad or potted meat. By the way, the standard German word for "sour cream" is "Sauersahne," but in a number of regional dialects, the word "Schmand" is used.  

Ingredients:

2 pounds small to medium potatoes, cook with skins on
1/2 cup chopped smoked bacon
1 large (baseball size) onion, chopped
1 2/3 cups beef (or vegetable) stock
1/2 cup sour cream 
1/3 cup flour (or a little more, if you like the sauce thicker)
1 heaping teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons marjoram leaves (or oregano)
1 teaspoon salt (if your beef or vegetable stock has a good deal of salt, you can omit this)

Wash the potatoes well, cook them, skins on, in lightly salted water, until cooked, but still firm. Rinse the potatoes in cold water and peel them while they are still warm, set them aside for a little while. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the diced bacon for about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion softens. Sprinkle the flour over the bacon/onion mixture, then stir to mix in the flour, and let cook for just a minute or two. Gradually add the beef stock, stirring constantly, until the stock is all added and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the marjoram (or oregano), the salt (if using) and the white pepper, stir to mix in the seasonings. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure heat is turned low, then stir in the sour cream. Slice the potatoes and gently fold them into the sauce. Let the potatoes warm up over low heat, then remove the skillet from the heat. Serve with rye, whole wheat or multi-grain bread, slices of Teewurst and sliced pickles.

* "Teewurst" literally means "tea sausage," as it was often served with afternoon tea.

Schmandkartoffeln (Sour Cream Potatoes) with multi-grain bread, sliced pickles and Teewurst

WORD HISTORY: 
Cannon-This word is closely related to "cannoli," a word English borrowed from Italian, and also to "canon" (church law, standard or guideline for doing something, clergyman), also a borrowing by English. "Cannon" has a bit of a shaky distant history, but it "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed." Latin took the word as "canna," also meaning "reed," but also used for other "large woody plant stems;" thus also, "tube." This passed into Italian as "cannone," with the meaning "tube," which came to be applied to the barrel of artillery pieces when these weapons came into common use, but then this began to be used for the entire gun in general. This was borrowed by French (1300s?) as "canon," and English borrowed the word, also as "canon," in the early 1400s. The modern spelling "cannon" dates from the early 1800s. (Note: German borrowed the word as "Kanone" in the 1500s, but "perhaps" more so directly from Italian, and with reinforcement from French?)   

^ Sumerian was an ancient language of Mesopotamia in the Middle East from thousands of years ago. It has not been connected to any particular language family, although it came into much contact with elements of  the Semitic languages, especially Akkadian. 

Baja-Style Mexican Fish Tacos

Presumably tacos have been around for a long time; almost certainly, well before the Spanish set foot in Mexico; after all, wrapping food in cooked ground corn batter is not a terribly difficult concept to figure out. I, myself, figured it out last week. hahaha! While the history of tacos is sketchy, at best, the use of the word "taco" for this famous food is more than a little unclear. Quite some time ago I had a neighbor who was originally from Mexico. He told me the word taco, which actually means "plug, stopper," came to be used for the food by Mexican miners, who wrapped gunpowder in paper for use to extract minerals from the mines. I believe these explosive "tacos" were used more to extract silver, but I don't know that to be a fact. Anyway, the idea of wrapping fillings in tortillas led to the use of the word for the food, or at least that was my neighbor's story. On the other hand, tacos are a great snack, and could the word have been used because they act as a quick "stopper" for one's hunger between meals; thus, "a light meal?" Of course, there could be a simpler explanation proposed by some, that a word from one of the native languages for this already existent food was close to the Spanish word "taco," and so that is the word the Spanish speaking people took as the name for the food.

In Baja, the western part of Mexico, access to the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California eventually brought about fish wrapped in tortillas; thus, the fish taco, a "somewhat standardized" form of which spread to the U.S. side of the border and to San Diego and vicinity, although the tasty dish is much more widespread now. Notice I used "somewhat standardized" form for fish tacos, as with any popular dish, there will be inevitable variations, and so it is with fish tacos. Some people use red cabbage, some people use lettuce, some people use vinegar, some use chili peppers, some use white cheese, and I'm sure there are other changes. I like fish tacos with "Mexican rice,"* often called "Spanish rice" in the United States. 

Ingredients (8 servings):

1 bag shredded cabbage/carrot cole slaw mix 
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 pound cod in 4 fillets, then halve each fillet (8 pieces total)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup beer, more if needed to thin batter (light color, a Mexican brand if you desire more authenticity)
oil for cooking
corn tortillas 
chipotle sauce **
lime wedges 

In a bowl, add the slaw mix, the onion, the cilantro. In a cup or small bowl, mix together well the olive oil, lime juice, salt and honey. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix in well. Best if refrigerated for a minimum of a couple of hours. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, the ancho chili powder, the salt, the baking powder and the beer to form a batter. Add enough oil to a skillet to give you about 1/2 inch of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Drop a cube of bread into the oil. If the bread sizzles and starts to brown, you're ready to go. Dip the fish pieces into the batter, then let the excess batter drain off. I fry 4 pieces of fish at a time. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so. Put a piece of fish into each tortilla, add some of the slaw mixture, then drizzle on some chipotle sauce. Add a lime wedge to each serving.  

* The recipe for Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) is at the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/mexican-red-rice-arroz-rojo.html


** To make the creamy chipotle sauce, this is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/creamy-chipotle-sauce.html

Baja Fish Taco with Mexican rice...

WORD HISTORY:
Canon-This word has a number of meanings, the most common of which are: "church law issued by religious authorities," which broadened into, "law, principle, rule, guideline, standard accepted as proper;" "a list of people deemed worthy of sainthood;" "the collected validated works of a writer;" "a clergyman living under the principles of certain religious orders and often serving in a cathedral." "Canon" is related to "cannon," the gun, a word borrowed by English. It "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed," which were used for measurement and keeping things in a straight row; thus, "ruler (the implement);" thus, "a standard." Latin took the word as "canna," with the same meanings, but which then developed into "Church issued decree" ("rule to be followed"), as "canon." "Canon" was borrowed into Old English from Latin, but certainly reinforced by French, which had had the term passed to it from Latin. Latin had developed the adjective "canonicus," meaning, "by the rules of the Church, according to the rules of the Church," and this came to be used as a noun for the "clergyman" meaning ("a man who lives by the rules of the Church"). This passed into Old French as "canonie," and it was either taken to England by the Normans or developed among the Norman nobles in England as "canun/canoun." It was borrowed by English, at first as "canoun," in the late 1100s.     

East of Eden: The Miniseries, Part Two

For Part One, this is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/10/east-of-eden-miniseries-part-one.html


Samuel Hamilton, using a divining rod, tells Adam there is plenty of water on the land Adam wants to buy and that he and his sons will dig the wells and build the windmills for Adam's new place. Adam then spins off into idealism, as he tells Samuel how Cathy has brought a light into his life. He says he wants to make a beautiful garden that is fitting for her light to shine on. Samuel sits silently on his horse listening to Adam, but his expression seems to tell us he's concerned that Adam is a man just asking to be hurt, emotionally. Finally Samuel tells Adam again that he'll get him water and that "you'll have your Eden."

Adam buys the land and the development all starts, as the house begins to rise, along with other structures for the new place, and Samuel and his sons begin to drill for water. The ever resourceful Will Hamilton is owed money by his brother Tom, so he makes a deal to forgive Tom's debt in exchange for Tom taking on Will's workload too. When the house is finished, Adam hires a Chinese servant named Lee, a man who dresses in Chinese clothing and who speaks in pidgin. Cathy is uneasy with Lee and she treats him rudely. She is also upset with her distended abdomen, since she long ago learned how to use her looks to get what she wanted from boys and men. When Cathy goes into labor, Lee rides to get Samuel Hamilton at the drilling site, as Samuel has delivered at least four of his own children, and likely all nine, as well as some children of neighbors. When Samuel arrives at the house, Cathy has had Adam put blankets over the bedroom windows and Samuel tells Adam to take the blankets down so he can have natural light in the room. Adam declines, saying that "the light hurts her eyes." When Samuel insists that the windows be uncovered and that Adam leave the room, Adam balks, but Samuel threatens to leave, and Adam agrees. Cathy tells Samuel, "Get that lousy Chink out of here too." Samuel tells her he will need Lee's help, then, when Samuel goes to her bedside and asks if the water has broken, Cathy hisses like a serpent and snarls at him. Samuel again threatens to walk out, and Cathy sees that she needs him, so she settles down. Samuel takes out a large rope, fixes the ends to the lower bedposts and hands the middle of the now extended rope to Cathy to pull on when she is delivering. Samuel again moves close to Cathy and when one of his hands gets close, Cathy grabs the side of his hand with her teeth and won't let go. Samuel has to begin to choke her to get her to loosen her bite. Lee tells Samuel, "The woman is a demon," and Samuel tells Lee to get some whiskey to pour over the wound, and Lee says, "I'll get it and a clean rag to wrap it up in." Even with the tense situation, Samuel notices that Lee has spoken in clear English, and when he asks Lee to repeat what he said, Lee does so, but in pidgin. Just then Cathy screams and within moments she delivers a baby, a boy. Samuel goes out of the room to tell Adam he has a son, and Adam starts to enter the bedroom, but retreats with a sickly look on his face, as Samuel tells him he hasn't had a chance to clean up everything yet. Cathy screams again and Samuel goes back into the bedroom only to see another baby, also a boy, is being born. As Samuel prepares to leave a while later, he tells Cathy she has two sons, but that they are not alike, as each was born separately in his own sack. He offers to show the babies to Cathy, but she refuses, even saying, "I don't want them." Samuel tells her, "I don't like you Mrs. Trask," and this brings the faintest smile to Cathy's face. She asks for Adam and she has him cover the windows again, telling him, "I want to be in the dark."

Outside, Lee tries talking to Samuel in pidgin, but Samuel tells him it's too late, that he knows Lee is likely an educated man and probably a Christian. Lee says he spent "a couple of years at the University of California; nothing to shoot off rockets about." He then tells Samuel that he was a Presbyterian for a time, but that, "I've gone back to dragons and demons. They don't make any less sense." Samuel asks Lee why he used pidgin, to which Lee replies, "It's what's expected." (NOTE: Chinese immigrants were greatly discriminated against in the era of the 1800s and the early 1900s.) Lee and Samuel begin a little discussion, which shows the beginnings of their friendship, and their common curiosity and interest in learning, as contrasted to Cathy's, "I want to be in the dark." Lee tells Samuel that he's a good servant, but Samuel then asks what kind of a wet nurse he'll be, since Mrs. Trask has no milk, and she wouldn't nurse the babies even if she had it. He tells Lee of how as a boy in Ulster (Ireland) his father had taken him into town, where a murderer was about to be hanged. The condemned man looked right down at little Samuel from the platform, and Samuel says the man had the strangest eyes, that his eyes weren't human, but rather like the eyes of a goat. Samuel tells Lee that he had never seen such eyes again until he saw Cathy. He finishes by saying that he fears for the boys.

About a week passes and Cathy arranges for Lee to go into town on a Friday and not return until Monday. The workers still putting up other buildings take their leave for the weekend and Adam goes to Cathy, who is dressed to go out. She bluntly tells Adam she is leaving him. She also tells him, "I'm not what you think I am. I tried to be, I really tried, but I just can't do it." She tells Adam that everybody will be better off without her and she even mentions that there are things about her that Adam and the others don't know about. Adam panics and shoves Cathy into the room and locks the door, but now Cathy turns on the charm and begs Adam to open the door, which he does. There stands Cathy with a gun pointed right at Adam, and she fires, causing Adam to fall to the floor as the two babies cry and Cathy goes out the door. Later, we learn that Lee came home early and found Adam, but Adam tells the sheriff (played by American actor Emmet Walsh) he wounded himself by accident. The sheriff knows he's lying, but Samuel, who is present, gets the sheriff to ease up, because Adam just doesn't care. By the way, the sheriff calls Lee, "Ching Chang," so Lee speaks in pidgin to him. Adam tells Samuel he'll pay him for his work, but he doesn't want the work on the wells completed. Samuel tells Adam to act out being alive and that eventually it will be true.

The scene shifts into the town of Monterey, to "Whorehouse Row" there. The sheriff finds Cathy working at one of the whorehouses. She now goes by "Kate Albey," and she has dyed her hair. The sheriff sets down the conditions for Kate to continue at the whorehouse: don't steal from the customers, don't shoot anybody else and don't go anywhere near her sons, because he doesn't want the boys to grow up and find out their mother was a whore. In walks Faye, the madam of the whorehouse, and a person who is already well on her way to being played by Kate. Faye relies on Kate to manage much of the business, and she tells Kate that she no longer wants her to have "clients," because she is like a daughter to her, so she'll still pay her the same amount of money. Faye also goes to her attorney and has a will drawn up making Kate her sole heir. Faye gives Kate a glass of wine to celebrate the occasion. Faye tells Kate that she has plenty of money and that she is thinking of selling the house and then the two of them will go to Europe. Kate rebels a bit at the thought, telling Kate that they can even make more money. As Kate drinks, Faye notes that she looks different, and Kate says, "I'm going to really show you how to run a whorehouse." Faye is now fearful of how Kate is acting. Kate then tells her she hasn't given up her regular "clients" as she promised Faye, but she in fact charges these clients far more than the going price at the house, because, "no one else is good enough for them." She tells Faye that the house will now be run like that, but Faye tells her to leave. Kate forces Faye to down a bottle of paregoric,*  as she holds a broken wine glass to Faye's throat. We next see Kate giving orders to the piano player at the house,** and the implication is, Faye is dead.***

More than a year passes and Samuel Hamilton rides over to the Trask place, where he sees everything more or less as it was left the day Cathy shot Adam. Even the buggy that Adam had bought upon their arrival in California still sits partially covered by grass and weeds grown high. He calls in a firm voice for Adam, who finally comes out onto the porch with one child waddling behind and Lee carrying the other boy another step or two behind him. This sets up one of the most memorable scenes of the miniseries. Samuel raises his voice as he tries to get through to Adam, who is still a broken man. He tells Adam he has heard that Adam has not even named his sons. Samuel yells at Adam, "What do you call them, 'This' and 'That,' 'Thing' and 'Thong,' or do you just whistle for them like a couple of puppies?" When Adam admits he hasn't named the boys, Samuel hits him, knocking him to the ground, although the exertion causes Samuel to gasp for breath, which is a hint that Samuel is not well. Adam says, "Their mother left them motherless," but Samuel yells back, "And you have left them fatherless! Get up so as I can knock you down again." This brings Adam to say, "I wouldn't try it old man... and you ARE an old man," but Samuel replies with one of the great lines I've always remembered, "Not so old as you, if it's measured by meanness and self pity." When Samuel tells Adam he'll hit him again, Adam has reawakened to life and he tells Samuel that there's no need to hit him again, and he admits he has been wrong. Lee smiles as he stands nearby. Samuel says that Adam should name the boys now, and he tells Adam he has brought along his family Bible to find the names.

As Adam and Samuel sit and sip some wine, before naming the boys, Adam asks him if Cathy was beautiful. Samuel answers, "To you she was, because she was your creation, but I don't believe you ever really saw her." Samuel asks why Adam now has the sudden curiosity about Cathy, and Adam says he wants to know what kind of blood is in his boys. This brings Samuel to tell him not to put things about blood onto them. Lee joins in and the three discuss some possible names for the boys, including some biblical names, like Adam's own name, Joshua and Cain or Abel, with the latter two names leading them into a discussion about the biblical story and its meaning. Lee's feeling is that God simply had a preference for lamb over vegetables, the products offered to God from the labors of Abel and of Cain, individually. It brings Adam to wonder in a muttering to himself if the Lord may have had a preference for a puppy over a pearl handled pocketknife. Samuel reads the story aloud from his Bible, then says how dreadful the story really is, as it is without any encouragement. This brings Lee to inject, "I'm not so sure." He goes on to explain that God protected Cain, even though he had murdered his brother. "God must have seen something worthwhile in Cain." Samuel then says how this is true, since Cain lived and had children, while Abel only lives in the story. Adam sits by thoughtfully listening, obviously thinking of his brother Charles and their father, but he finally asks Samuel if we share in Cain's guilt, which Samuel answers affirmatively, noting that we are all descendants of Cain. This gives Adam the opening to ask an uncomfortable Samuel how this then plays into his feeling that blood doesn't matter. Samuel can't answer and he diverts the conversation back to the naming of the boys. When the name "Caleb" is mentioned, one of the nearby sleeping boys awakens, and so he has chosen his own name. Samuel says Caleb made it to the promised land. He then suggests Aaron, a name he says he has always liked, but that Aaron didn't make it to the promised land, but Adam agrees anyhow. (Note: The Trasks use the spelling "Aron.") Samuel prepares to leave and he shakes Adam's hand, and he gives a hug to Lee, who now gives a concerned expression with Samuel's action. As Samuel puts his Bible into the saddlebag on his horse, he tells Adam he has heard about Cathy. He tells him about Monterey and the whorehouse, with Lee nodding in agreement, but now Adam reverts to the old Adam and to his mind's own Cathy creation. Adam blurts out, "That's a lie!" Samuel assures him that it is true, because he's heard it from numerous people. Adam stomps off.  Samuel leaves.

Later inside the house, Adam tells Lee that he didn't need to hear that kind of news of Cathy, but Lee tells him that Samuel needed to say it, because he's dying. At first, Adam is shocked, but then he recalls Samuel hitting him and notes that it wasn't a very strong punch, even though Samuel was furious at him. The scene shifts to Samuel's funeral, where Adam removes the flower from his lapel and places it into Samuel's hand. Lee then stoops down and utters a word, "timshel," toward Samuel's ear. He later explains to Adam that it all went back to their discussion of Cain and Abel and about various biblical translations of the Hebrew word "timshel." He says the translation is important, because it has been translated as "thou shalt rule over sin," a promise, and also as, "thou must rule over sin," a command. Lee says he discussed the translation of "timshel" with four old Chinese scholars and a learned rabbi over a period of two years (which now tells us how much time has passed since the naming of the boys), so that the six of them finally came to the conclusion that the best English translation is, "thou mayest;" that is, it offers people a choice between good and evil, but it is that, "a choice, free will." Lee says he wanted to tell Samuel all of this, but he was too late, and Samuel died, but Adam assures him that Samuel likely heard it.

As they drive off in a buggy, Lee is troubled to hear from Adam that he is going to go to Monterey. Lee tells him to leave Cathy alone and move on with his life, comparing such things to a moth flying into a candle's flame until it is destroyed, but Adam firmly tells Lee to stay out of it, and that if he doesn't like it, he can seek employment elsewhere. Lee tells Adam he would, except that Samuel's ghost would haunt him for leaving the still young boys at this time in their lives. Adam goes to Monterey and goes to the whorehouse, now called "Kate's." He asks Kate (he still calls her Cathy) if she wants to know about the two boys, but she says "no." He tells her he heard about her and the house, but that he didn't believe it and he needed to see for himself. He asks if she actually "works" in the house, or if she just runs it. Kate can see how Adam still wants to believe in her and says such, implying in her words how untrue Adam's image of her really is. He finally admits to her that Charles had been right about her, so he says he'll now go. Up to this point, Kate has been rather subdued, but now, sensing Adam's need of her, she turns to her manipulative self and tries to lure him into having sex with her, but the spell is broken, and Adam forcibly removes Kate's hands from him, prompting Kate to cry out, which brings her bodyguard/bouncer charging into the room. He and Adam fight and the man knocks Adam to the floor, where he lies motionless. Kate orders him to "Give him the boots," but the man tells her there is no fight left in Adam. She orders the man from the room and then she tells Adam that she always thought he was a fool, but that now, she hates him. Adam tells Kate he had really loved her, so much that, "it took quite a killing." Adam struggles to his feet and begins to leave, while Kate tells him how he'll come back, begging for her, but Adam is silent. Sensing that's she's lost her hold on Adam, she angrily tells Adam, "They're not your sons." Adam stops, and now sensing that she has regained the initiative, she gives off an evil smirk. When Adam mentions how hurt she had been back then, she quickly says, "I wasn't too hurt for Charles." She quickly recounts some of the events from back in Connecticut, leaving Adam with the thought, "Now that you know me a little better, maybe you'll wonder in whose bed I spent my wedding night." Adam leaves....

More in the final part, Part 3...

* Paregoric is a medicine with opium as one of its ingredients. I don't really hear about it in recent times, although that doesn't mean it isn't still in use, but when I was a kid and into adulthood, it was a common drug for treating diarrhea.                

** The piano player at the whorehouse is played by Stymie Beard, famous for having played in the popular "Our Gang" short film series in the 1930s (the series itself ran far longer than Stymie's stint in the shows, and there were numerous cast changes as the kids outgrew their roles). The series was released to television in the 1950s and became popular fare for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if the films are still shown on television somewhere.

*** The miniseries is very faithful to Steinbeck's book, with few exceptions, but I've always found Faye's gradual death in the book, due to poisoning by Kate, to be one of the weakest parts of the book. The scene in the miniseries is even less believable, in my opinion, although later on we hear a bartender tell Adam that Faye was ill for two months before she died and that her cause of death was given as food poisoning, which ties it more closely to the book, but my question is, after Kate's nasty performance with Faye in the miniseries, how did Kate let her live two months without Faye telling others about what Kate was really like? Anyone for a shot of paregoric? 

Photo is of the back of the case for the 2009 Acorn Media DVD for Volume 2 

 WORD HISTORY:
Eden-For such an important term in religious belief and symbolism, this word's ancient history is uncertain, although it seems to go back to transliterated Semitic "edhen," meaning, "a pleasure, something delightful," but whether the word originated in Semitic or in another language family is unknown. The idea of "a delightful place," thus also meant, "garden," or perhaps, "oasis," as many places where Semitic was (and is) spoken were often hot, desert or barren land. Some speculate that the original idea was a "plain with flowing water;" thus, the land had lots of vegetation, making it a garden, which then was used in Hebrew for the biblical "Garden of Eden," a paradise, because its water provided plants and animals with the means to easily thrive and survive. "Eden" is thought by some, perhaps many, to be the same word as "Aden," which is a city in modern Yemen. There is also the "Gulf of Aden," the water area around the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and their connection into the larger Indian Ocean.

What's In A Name: Clara, Claire, Jordan

Clara/Claire: This name means "bright;" thus, "clear," and it comes from the Latin name "Clarus," itself from the Latin word "clarus," with the same meaning. It also passed from Latin to French as, "Claire." It seems to have taken hold in English as some families named their children after Saint Clare of Assisi beginning in the mid 1200s.

Jordan: This name is from the river in ancient Palestine where Jesus was baptized. The river's importance to Christianity brought its use as a name. The word comes from transliterated Hebrew "yarden," meaning, "to flow down(ward)."

 I consulted the following for this article: "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Bull (2) ^-This is the noun most commonly meaning, "an official papal document." It is not related to the word of the same spelling, but meaning "a type of male animal." The word's distant history is unclear, although some seem to feel that Latin borrowed it from Gaulish, a Celtic language of western Europe that was largely absorbed by Latin in what is today much of France and southern Belgium. That may well be, but at this point, I'm not really convinced. It goes back to Latin "bulla," which meant, "knob, bubble," which then produced the meaning, "a rounded metal device used to seal documents." The meaning then transferred to the documents themselves; thus, "a sealed document issued by a figure of authority." More and more such documents were issued by the pope, bringing a strong connection between "bulla" and the papacy. The word was borrowed by English as "bulle" in the late 1200s, with likely added reinforcement for its spelling from Old French, a Latin-based language, which had "bulle" as its form of the word.^^             

^ This is the link to the article with the history of the word "bull," the animal: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/02/world-in-protest-revolution-or-civil_07.html

^^ Just a guess really, but likely the word was present in religious circles in England from Latin itself, but the upper classes in England were descendants of the Norman French and they still used their form of French extensively in writing in that time period. Many, many Latin and French words were similar or even the same in spelling.  

What's In A Name: Peter, Rebecca

Peter-This male name goes back to Greek "Petros," meaning "stone," as a translation of Aramaic* "Cephas," the name given to Simon by Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible. Latin took the name as "Petrus," and it spread to other European languages by way of Christianity. The feminine form is "Petra," meaning "rock," as in "rock formation." The Norman influence in England brought the form "Piers" into use, but the English form "Peter" rebounded after a century or two, and it has remained the main form in English. Other European forms: Italian "Pietro," Spanish "Pedro," German "Peter" and "Petrus," French "Pierre," Serbian and Croatian "Petar." "Pete" is a common shortened form of "Peter."  

Rebecca-This female name goes back to transliterated Semitic** "rbq," which had the notion, "to tie together, to bind;" thus further, "to join." This gave transliterated Hebrew "ribqah," meaning, "connection, joined, teamed," thus the basis for the name of the biblical wife of Isaac. The name was translated into transliterated Greek as "Rhebekka," which was taken by Latin as "Rebecca."  The name was not common in English until the 1500s. The spelling "Rebekka" is an alternative form in English, as well as a primary form in a number of languages, like Norwegian, Dutch and some others. "Becky" is a common shortening for "Rebecca."

* Aramaic is a Middle Eastern Semitic language (see next note) akin to Hebrew.

** Semitic is a language family centered in the Middle East. The most common modern Semitic languages are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew and Tigrinya. Arabic and Hebrew are commonly known in much of Europe and North America, but Amharic is spoken in a large part of Ethiopia. Tigrinya is also spoken in parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, another East African nation. 


I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, 1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940. 3) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY: 
Rock-This is the noun^ for "stone." The ultimate origin is unknown. It appears in Old English in the compound "stanrocc" (literally "stone rock"), but meaning, "high pile of stones, column of stone, obelisk," with the "rocc" part a borrowing from Latin  "rocca." This was later reinforced and given staying power by Norman French "roche/roce," which was also from the Latin form.

^ The verb "rock," with the meaning, "to move something back and forth, to make something move in such a way," is an original English word from Germanic. It also came to be applied to the "rock" part of, "rock-n-roll." It is a completely different word from the noun form above. For the verb's history, it is included in this article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/02/german-question-part-seventy-eight.html

What's In A Name: Ethan, Sophia, Sophie

Ethan-This male name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Eitan," which meant "strong, firm." It was taken into Latin (about 500 AD?). Its popularity in English speaking countries has been limited until more recent decades, especially in the United States, Canada and Australia, but Scotland, England and Wales aren't far behind.

Sophia/Sophie-This female name goes back to transliterated Greek for "wisdom." The daughter of King James I of England was given the name "Sophia," but the child died in infancy. His  granddaughter was also named "Sophia" ("Sophie" in German), and she was born the "Princess of the Palatinate" in Germany, and she became the wife of the "Elector of Hanover." Later, her son became King George I of Great Britain and Ireland. "Catherine the Great," the famous tsarina, was actually born a German princess, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbt." In more recent years, the name has increased in popularity in the United States and Canada, as well as in parts of the United Kingdom.  

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, 1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940. 3) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Candor-This word, related to "candle," goes back to Indo European "kand," which had the meaning, "to glow, to shine brightly." This gave Latin "candere," meaning, "to shine brightly," but also, "to glow white." This produced the Latin noun, "candor," meaning, "brilliant whiteness;" and figuratively, "purity;" thus also, "honest in speech, open in mind." English borrowed the word in the early 1500s, initially with the "brilliant whiteness" meaning, but the "honest in speech, open in mind" meaning was taken about 100 years later.       

What's In A Name: Jane, Jeanne, Joan, Zachary

Jane-This is a feminine form of John;" and thus, it goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Yohanan," "graced by God." Greek took the name as "Ioannes" (transliterated), which was then borrowed by Latin as "Ioannes," the feminine form of which was "Johanna." This passed into Latin-based French as "Jehanne/Jehane," and then "Jeanne," which was taken by English in the Middle Ages as "Jeanne," but also in the altered English form "Jane." "Joan" was taken by English directly from the Latin form "Johanna," and for awhile in England, it was used more than "Jane," which then overtook it during the 1600s. The use of "Jane" has declined in England, other parts of Britain and in the United States in more recent times, which prompts me to ask, "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?" * Likewise with the name "Joan," but I'm not going to ask, "Whatever happened to Baby Joan." 

Zachary-The most common short forms of this name are "Zac" and "Zack." The name is from transliterated Hebrew "Zekaryah," meaning, "Yahweh remembered," which was rendered in transliterated Greek as "Zacharias," and which was taken by Latin as "Zaccharias." Seems to have been Anglicized as "Zachary" circa 1600, although it has never been highly popular until more recent times in English.  


* For an article I did on the movie of that name, here is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/09/whatever-happened-to-baby-jane-featured.html

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Daunt/Daunting-This word, distantly related to "tame," an original English word from Germanic, goes back to Indo European "demeh," which had the notion, "to compel, to force;" thus also, "to break the wildness from, to get an animal accustomed to being around humans." This gave its Latin offspring "domare," which meant, "to tame, to subdue," and an infinitive form of which was "domitare," with the same meaning. This passed to Latin-based Old French as "donter/danter," which meant, "to control, to hold in check;" thus also, "to tame," but also, "to dominate, to subdue;" which gave the word a "sense of fear" as a part of the meaning. English borrowed the word in the early 1300sas "danten/daunten," with those meanings, but by circa 1500, the "sense of fear" part had come to the fore; and thus, "to instill fear, to intimidate, to bring fear, to frighten," became the main notion of the word, which brought "daunting," the adjective, meaning, "intimidating;" often heard in the expression, "daunting task;" that is, "an intimidating task, a job that inspires fear." 

What's In A Name: Conrad, Elizabeth

Conrad-Also spelled "Konrad," this name is a compound, with the "con" part meaning, "bold, brave," but also had the meaning, "wise, knowledgeable." It is Germanic and a relative of the verb "can" and of the adjective "keen." The "rad" part, also from Germanic, means "advice, counsel." So the name means like, "wise counsel." It was a popular name in the German lands, as there were German emperors, kings and other nobles with the name, as well as a Christian saint from the Lake Constance area in Germany. While it did have limited use in England long ago, its use increased in the 1800s, "perhaps" due to the strong familial ties of the British royal family and nobility to the German nobility.    

Elizabeth-Also spelled "Elisabeth," both of which are also most often used in German. A VERY common name in many countries and languages, with shortened forms like "Elly" and "Elli," and with MANY spelling variations in other languages, a few of which are: "Isabel/Isabela," in Spanish, Portuguese; Isabelle (French); Elisheva (Hebrew); Yelizaveta (Russian); Elisavet (Greek), but there are many more. The name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Elisheva," the meaning of which seems to be hard to define, but which has to do with "God" and "oath." Greek took the name as transliterated Greek "Elisabet." As the New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek, the name spread into various languages, as I noted above, including to a Christian saint from Hungary, as "Erzsébet," in Hungarian. Its use in England, and in English, increased tremendously because of Queen Elizabeth I, the Queen of England from 1558 until 1603. The long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, begun in 1952, has certainly enhanced the name, as it remains a highly popular name in English.   

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 

WORD HISTORY:
Awl-This word "seems" to go back to an Indo European form "ohla/ela," meaning, "piercing tool." This gave Old Germanic "ahlo," with the same meaning; thus also, "awl." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "æl" and "eal" (dialectal variants?). This then became "alle" (likely pronounced like "ahl-leh"), before the modern version. Relatives in the Germanic languages: German has "Ahle," Low German Saxon "had" "al," but no longer uses it, Dutch has "aal," West Frisian "els" (?). Old Norse had "alr," but it seems to have died out in its descendants (an ending "r" was common in Old Norse words). 

What's In A Name: Amy, Jason

Amy (also spelled Ami and Amie)-This came to English from French "Amee" (also "Aimee??"), which came from a participle form of the verb "amer" (to love), from Latin "amare" (to love). So, the meaning of Amy is, "beloved." It is a fairly common female name in Ireland, England, Wales and the United States. 

Jason (also as, Jayson)-This name comes from transliterated Greek "iason," from the word "iasthai," which meant, "to heal," a form of which was "iatros," meaning, "physician." Popular from Greek mythology and Jason of Thessaly (one of the regions of Greece), the leader of the Argonauts (a group of heroic sailors of the ship "Argo"). Because there is a "Jason" mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible, which was written in Greek, this may have provided a second source for the name, as the Hebrew name "Yehoshua" (Joshua) was also rendered as "Jason" in Greek. "Jason/Jayson" remains a very popular male name in English, especially so in the U.S. Now, if we could get a Jason to lead a space mission, we'd have, "Jason and the Astronauts."

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, (1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. (2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.

WORD HISTORY:
Ballad-This word, related "ball" (a dance), goes back to Indo European "gwele/gwela," with the notion of, "bubble up, rise up, overflow, throw outward or upward." This gave transliterated Greek "ballizein," with the meaning, "to jump about in dance" (literally, "to throw oneself about"). Latin borrowed the term from Greek as "ballare," also meaning, "to dance," and this passed into Old Provençal as "balar" (to dance) and this spawned "ballada," meaning, "poetic verse for a dance." This then was taken on by Old French as "ballade," meaning, "song for dancing," and English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1400s. By the 1600s the meaning had shifted to "a poem, often expressing sentimentality, set to music."  

What's In A Name: Jacob, James, Guinevere

Jacob-This name is from transliterated Hebrew "Ya'aqov," which seems to have meant, "one who follows on the heels of and takes the place of another;" thus, "a supplanter." Greek borrowed the name as transliterated "Iakobos," which was then borrowed by Latin as "Iacobus." English took the name as "Jacob" from the Latin form, which also had a variant form of the name, as "Jacomus." This second form passed into French as "James," which was borrowed by English and became widely used by Christians, in preference to "Jacob," which was thought of by many as a Jewish name. Other common forms of "Jacob," outside of English, are "Jakob," "Yakov," "Giacomo" and "Yakub." Another form of "James" is "Jaime."

Guinevere-This is from Welsh "Gwenhwyfar," which "seemingly" meant "fair and smooth." * At some point after the Normans conquered England in late 1066, they rendered the name as "Guenevere." Famously, "Guinevere" is the name of King Arthur's wife in the writings about the legendary leader of a part of the the Celtic people who were resisting the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Briton. Some of those Celtic people survived the Anglo-Saxons in Cornwall,** in southwestern England, where the name came to be rendered as "Jennifer."  

* Some sources believe the meaning to have been "white ghost/spirit."

** The original language of Cornwall was "Cornish," one of the Celtic languages, and closely related to Welsh and Breton (from Brittany in France). It has declined, as English prevailed as the primary language in Cornwall, but it is still spoken as a second language by some there, while others know at least some words or phrases.

For these names, I consulted: 1) "A World of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Glee-There is a problem with "glee's" history. This word, related to "glad" and to "glisten," both from Germanic, goes back to Indo European "ghel," which had the notion "to shine, to cause or to bring light," with the extended meaning, "to bring joy or happiness." Many sources cite some Old Germanic offspring from the Indo European form, but the problem I have is, where are the forms in other Germanic languages, although Old Norse had "gly," which meant "joy, gladness." I wonder if, in fact, "glee" is not just a shortened form of "glad," which was "glæd" in English long ago, or an English invention fashioned out of "glæd" as an intensifier, as while "glad" means "happy, pleased, cheerful," it does not convey the intensity of joy that "glee" signifies. In Old English, "glee" was rendered as both "gleo" and "gliw" and meant, "joy, merriment, jesting, mirth." Further, in Old English, a "gleoman" was a "jester" or a "minstrel." Could it be that the forms of "glee" back then were more often applied to "joy" provided by performers/entertainers who made people "gleeful?" "Glad" often expresses a sense of cheerfulness derived from "satisfaction;" as in, "I'm glad your son chose to go to college." "Perhaps" the Old Norse form could have been borrowed FROM English. The Old English forms melded into "gle," before doubling the "e" for the modern version. 

What's In A Name: Joseph, Irene

Joseph-From transliterated Hebrew "Yosef," with the idea of, "Jehovah will add." Made popular among Jews by the Old Testament son of Jacob, and made popular among Christians by the New Testament husband of Mary, as well as the Old Testament. Passed onto Muslims and Arabic, generally as "Youssef," also from the Old Testament. Passed into transliterated Greek as "Iosif," which was borrowed by Latin as "Ioseph," then also "Iosephus." The name became increasingly popular in other parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, but of course, in different forms throughout the various language groups, like: "Giuseppe" (Italian), "José" (Spanish/Portuguese), Joseph (English, French, German, although the spelling "Josef" is also sometimes used in German, as well as, Dutch). The female form of the name is "Josephine," which was borrowed by English from French "Joséphine." Likely made more popular circa 1800, as it was the name of Napoleon's first wife, the Empress Joséphine. 

Irene-This female name comes from transliterated Greek "Eirene" (pronounced as if, "i-ray-nay"), which meant "peace," "perhaps" from an original notion of "joining and working together." The name was used for the Greek goddess of peace. Originally more popular in eastern Europe, the name eventually grew in popularity in other areas of Europe in the 1800s.    

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see: 1) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940. 2) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 

WORD HISTORY:
Fathom-This word goes back to Indo European "peteh," which had the notion of "spread out." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "fathma/fathmaz," meaning, "an embrace." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon)  "fæðm/fæðme" (modern = faethm/faethme), which also meant "an embrace," but also, "a length of measurement from outstretched arms of 6 feet." This later became "fathome," before the modern version. The verb was originally "fæðmian" (=faethmian), meaning, "to grasp with outstretched arms, to embrace, to surround." Forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "Faden," meaning "thread," from "a piece of thread the length of outstretched arms," but also, "a fathom, a unit of measurement (originally from outstretched arms)." It has been spelled "fadum" and "vadem" at various times. Low German Saxon has the same, "Faden," "perhaps" influenced by standard German in more modern times, but also once spelled "vadem," meaning, "length of measurement of 6 feet, the length of outstretched arms." Dutch has "vadem" (fathom), Danish and Norwegian have "favn/favne" (meaning "embrace," actually usually as "omfavne," and "fathom(s)"), Icelandic "faðma" ("embrace") and "faðmur" ("measurement of depth"), Swedish "omfamning" ("embrace") and "famn" ("fathom, armful, rope/cord").  

What's In A Name: Ferdinand, Ruth

Ferdinand-This name originated in Germanic as a compound, but the first part is hard to pin down. It "might" be related to English "fare." * The Old Germanic ancestor of "fare" meant, "to go, to travel." It "might" also mean "peace" (brought by strong defense against force of arms; thus, "protector, guarantor"), and this would make it related to English "frith" (or "friþ," as it was once written), a word overtaken by the borrowing of the word "peace," a word derived from Latin. The second part of the name goes back to Old Germanic "nanthiz," which meant, "a venture, a risk," which then gave Old English "neðan" (=nethan), a verb meaning, "to be daring, to be bold." Thus the name "Ferdinand" "could" mean "daring or bold traveler," or "bold protector." Germanic tribes entered Iberia and the name caught on there initially as "Ferdinando," later usually contracted to "Fernando." Several kings in Spanish history have been named "Fernando," and in Portuguese history, Ferdinand (Fernão) Magellan, the explorer, is famous. World War I was ignited by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the spelling in German and English are the same). Not a terribly common name in English, except for men of German heritage, and Fernando is more common among American men with heritage from Spanish speaking countries, or with heritage from Portuguese speaking countries, especially Portugal or Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese speaking country. 
 
Ruth-From a Hebrew name which was derived from the transliterated Hebrew word "reut/re'ut," which meant "friend, companion." The name is, of course, well known from the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament of the Bible. "Ruth" was not a very common name among people connected to Christianity until the Reformation and thereafter. The popularity of the "Baby Ruth" candy bar, developed by an American candy company in the early 1920s,* could only have given a boost to the name, as the company "claimed" the candy was named after the daughter of former president Grover Cleveland. Ruth Cleveland had been well known to the public during her father's presidency, which was unfortunately reinforced by her early death from diphtheria, when she was only 12, a few years after Grover Cleveland left office. "Perhaps" some good marketing by the candy maker helped the sales of "Baby Ruths," as the candy bar also was thought by many to be named for baseball player, Babe Ruth, who was becoming ever more famous when the candy bar came onto the market. The candy proved to be a "home run" in sales, "perhaps" boosted by the association with both Babe Ruth and Ruth Cleveland. I must admit, when I was a kid, I thought the candy bar was named for Babe Ruth, and to my recollection, I never heard about the former president's daughter until decades later. 


I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. Also, "BabyNamesPedia."

* For the history of "fare," here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/10/taxing-question.html

WORD HISTORY:
Soap-This word, related to "sieve," "seep" and "sift," goes back to Indo European "seip," which had the notion, "to flow through, to drip, to trickle." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "saipon," which meant, "plant or tree resin," also "soap." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sape," meaning, "reddish or reddish brown resin or salve, soap." This then became "sope," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Seife," Low German Saxon "Seep," West Frisian "sjippe," Dutch "zeep," Danish "sæbe," Norwegian and Swedish "såpe," Icelandic "sápe." Long ago, Latin borrowed a form from Germanic, giving the Latin-based languages forms of the word too.  

What's In A Name? Susanna, Susan, William

"Susanna" comes from Hebrew "Soshana/Sosanna" ("lily"), and Greek took for a religious name as "Sousanna," which gave Latin "Susanna." The name came to English from Latin church/biblical writings during the Middle Ages. "Susan" is simply a shortened variation of the name. There are also variations as "Suzanne" and "Susannah," among others.

"William" is from Germanic "Willahelm" ("willa"=will, determination; "helm"=helmet, protection, protector). The name was used by the Germanic tribe the Franks, who conquered the general area of modern France, and the name was then carried to England by the invading Normans by none other than the future king of England, who is known to history as "William the Conqueror." There were some variations in spelling, including the Anglicized "Willelm," but eventually the Norman French form, "Willaume," became "William." The French name "Guillaume" is really just another form of the name, "Liam," is an Irish shortened form, and "Willhelmina" is a feminine form.

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Sore (Sorely)-This word, related to "sorry," goes back to Indo European "sai," which had the notion "pain, suffering." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "saira," which meant "suffering, sickness, pain." This gave Old English the noun "sar" (long "a" sound), meaning "pain, suffering, sickness, wound," but also the sense of "emotional pain, sadness, grief," and the adjective of the same spelling, meaning "painful, wounding," and "emotionally distressed, sad," and the adverbs "sare," which meant "painfully, grievously" and "sarlice" (likely pronounced as if, "sare-lick-eh"), which meant "mournfully, sorrowfully, lamentably." This later became modern English "sorely," which adds emphasis as "to a large degree, greatly," as in, "He will be sorely missed" (meaning, "he will be greatly missed"). The adverb "sare" later became "sore," as in the biblical, "and they were sore afraid," as it meant "much, very," from the notion of "painfully" ("they were painfully afraid," or "much/very afraid"), but it is now dated, as English borrowed "very," which gradually took over as the main word for that meaning. "Sar" has come down to us in modern times as both the noun "sore," meaning "wound, injury, skin ailment," and the adjective "sore," meaning "painful," but also the emotional side, "angry." English once had a verb form, "sarian," which meant "to feel pain," but also the emotional "feel pain or sadness for." Some forms in the other Germanic languages: German "sehr" (adverb, meaning "very," and its meaning evolution paralleled the development of English sare/sore, from "painfully" to "very"), German also has "versehrt" (adjective), which means "disabled," and the noun form, "Versehrte(r)," which means "a disabled person." Low German Saxon has "sehr" as both a noun and adverb, with essentially the same meanings as its English cousins, and the spelling with the "h" may be from the influence of standard German, as the Low German spelling was once "ser." Dutch has "zeer" as both a noun and adverb, again, with pretty much the same meanings as English. Icelandic has "sár" (adjective, "sore"), Danish has "sår" (noun, "wound"), Norwegian has "sår" for both the noun ("wound") and adjective ("sore"), Swedish has "sår" (noun, "wound").

What's In A Name? Nathan, Margaret, Marguerite, Margarita

The male name "Nathan" is derived from Hebrew "natan," which meant "gave;" thus perhaps, "gift of/from God." The name came into English from Christianity and the use of names from the Bible.

The female name "Margaret" is the more common spelling in English, but the name has various forms, some of which are forms from other languages, but which are used in English speaking countries, some examples: "Marguerite" in French, "Margherita" in Italian and "Margarita" in Spanish (see Word History below). It goes back to Greek "margarites," which meant "pearl," but which likely was borrowed by Greek from Persian "morwarid" (meaning "pearl").* Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "margarita," which spawned a number of variant names forms in the Latin-based languages, including Old French "Margarete." English borrowed the name circa 1200. The Italian form of the name is also used for a style of pizza with tomato sauce, basil and cheese, supposedly produced in the 1880s for Queen Margherita, the wife of the Italian king, Umberto. The red sauce, the green basil and the white cheese are the colors of the Italian flag. The Spanish form of the name, "Margarita," is also used for a tequila-based cocktail, likely invented in Mexico, but highly popular in the United States.**

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. And I consulted, "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.

* Persian is a language from Indo Iranian, a branch of Indo European, thus it is related to English, but much further down the family tree, as English is from the Germanic branch of Indo European.

** For more on the history of the Margarita, see: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-of-the-margarita-57990212/?no-ist

WORD HISTORY:
Pearl-The more distant history of this word is unknown, but it goes back to Latin "perna," which meant "upper thigh, ham, leg," but it was used in some dialectal Latin-speaking Mediterranean areas for the name of mollusks, like clams and oysters, "seemingly" because many thought the shells resembled a "ham," or because they have a "foot" (leg), to move. Of course some such mollusks had pearls, and the word "pernula" was derived from "perna" as a diminutive ^ as the name for the product of these mollusks, "a pearl." ^^ Old French, a Latin-based language, got the term from Latin as "perle," and English borrowed it from French in the 1300s.

^ A diminutive is a word that makes something smaller or dearer; for example, duck, but duckling, pig, but piglet, both make the main animal smaller/younger, but diminutives can be for inanimate objects, like part, but particle; red, but reddish. As for making a word convey endearment, mother, but mom, and further, mommy. Often used for names, like John, but Johnny, Cynthia, but Cindy.

^^ The general Latin word for "pearl" long ago was "margarita."

What's In A Name? Michael, Michelle, Alan

"Michael" goes back to Hebrew "Mikhael" (transliterated from Hebrew) , and means "who is like God?," in a question form. Greek borrowed the name from Hebrew as "Mikhael" (transliterated from Greek), and Latin took it as "Michael." "Michelle/Michele" are just feminine forms of "Michael," and they came to English via French "Michel."

While far from a certainty, Alan and its main spelling variations, Allen and Allan, "may" go back to the name of an ancient group of people, the Alans, who came from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European. At least some of the Alans settled in Gaul, including in Brittany. Gaul was the area of western Europe which generally later became France. Brittany, whose inhabitants are called "Bretons," * is important, because it is highly likely the name "Alan" was carried to England by Bretons who came after the Normans invaded in 1066. The name then spread into Scotland and Ireland.

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

* Breton is a Celtic language, and Celtic dialects were spoken in much of Gaul and Britain long ago. Breton is closely related to Welsh and Cornish, as well as Irish and Scots Gaelic, and Manx (from the Isle of Man).

WORD HISTORY:
Angel-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but Greek had "angelos" (transliterated from Greek), which meant "messenger," but which later took on the religious meaning as translations from Hebrew biblical texts for "messenger of God, God's messenger." Latin borrowed the term as "angelus," and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) borrowed a form as "engel." The spelling change to "angel" with the "j" like pronunciation of the "g" came from the influence of French "angele" (derived from Latin), carried to England by the Normans, but the process "seems" to have taken some time, and the old spelling and pronunciation persisted into the 1400s. The French form was from Latin. The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German Saxon "Engel," West Frisian "ingel," Dutch, Norwegian and Danish "engel," Icelandic "engill," Swedish "ängel."