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The etymology of faucet and tap is interesting (from Oxford online dictionary): > late Middle English (denoting a bung for the vent hole of a cask, or a tap fo
by hajile 4y ago
The etymology of faucet and tap is interesting (from Oxford online dictionary):
> late Middle English (denoting a bung for the vent hole of a cask, or a tap for drawing liquor from a container): from Old French fausset, from Provençal falset, from falsar ‘to bore’. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.
> Old English tæppa ‘peg for the vent-hole of a cask’, tæppian ‘provide (a cask) with a stopper’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tap and German, Zapfen (nouns).
Both had the same classical meaning from different origins, but the British chose the German/Dutch word while the Americans chose the French/Latin word.
- alsetmusic 4y ago> Both had the same classical meaning from different origins, but the British chose the German/Dutch word while the Americans chose the French/Latin word. One of the most interesting books that I've read in a long time: Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme--And Other Oddities of the English Language [0] This gave me incredible insight into the formation of modern English. I read it voraciously. Very good book to understand why it's such a mess. I bought it after hearing an interview with the author on a podcast.[1] I think anyone (English-speaking) who enjoys and appreciates language (and podcasts) will get a kick out of it. The author is passionate and excited by the topic, so very entertaining. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55332395-highly-irregular https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55332395-highly-irreg... [1] https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/corpse-corps-horse-and-worse/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/corpse-corps-horse-an...
- jstarfish 4y agoAt least OP didn't have to navigate disambiguating "gloryhole."
- GekkePrutser 4y agoSo what's the British English equivalent to 'gloryhole'? Ps asking for a British friend
- meepmorp 4y agoAccording to the OED, the use of faucet as a tap for drawing liquid out of something dates is attested as far back as 1400s - I'd consider that current sense (as does the OED).
- memsom 4y agoI don't thing British "chose" a German/Dutch word, it was the native choice. We speak a Germanic language, though it has been quite influenced by French and Latin loan words. Faucet sounds like a much "posher" word to me, native British English speaker. I think this is a common theme. British English has earthier words, American English seems to have fancier terms in a lot of cases - but sometimes it is reverse. Pot luck really, though I think AmE is the fancier one for general terms. The one that always sticks in my mind is the AmE "transmission", which is in BE, "gearbox". I wouldn't know what "transmission" means if someone hadn't told me, but I could have worked out what gearbox was from the fact it was talking about gears.
- pokeymcsnatch 4y agoHm. As an American, there's several gearboxes on my car but only one of them is the transmission.
- hajile 4y agoFurther, "transmission" refers to the thing sending power over the driveshaft. The RPM and torque are actually rather analogous to the frequency and amplitude of a radio wave rotating around a polar graph.
- memsom 4y agoI didn't say it was an accurate name, but it is what we call it. Just like we call the "gas pedal" the accelerator. (which is obviously an example of the reverse - fancier word vs earthy word.)
- kemiller 4y agoThere actually was a movement in British literature to favor Anglo-Saxon words that took hold after the American revolution.
- memsom 4y agoAnglish, I know. It is, unfortunately, really fragmented and full of idiolects.