**** The meaning of everyday words ****

[is that my watch]

well was reading dan browns book the lost symbol in the header they say that all the location history and other date is from facts and the story line is just make believe so was wondering to myself how true this is as in the lost symbol Robert langdom say's how words we use in everyday life had hidden meaning back in the past take sincerely then he goes on to say it was taken from Latin (but in his book the digital fortress says it Spanish to fit the story line for that one) that it is a joining of two words. sine = without, cera = wax. referring to sculptures as in the with out wax meaning pure or perfect ( as some artist would cover their mistakes with a mix of wax and rock dust so if a piece was signed sincere then it was perfect which was rarer to happen .

but this thought have only been gathering moment since the books and most accredited people think this is no more then folk etymology (A folk etymology is an attempt to retroactively explain where a word comes from.) But language isn't logical. does it seem to fit yes but seems to pat.

The Oxford English Dictionary states, however, that "there is no probability in the old explanation from sine cera 'without wax'".
but is more likely to be ..

The Oxford English Dictionary and most scholars state that sincerity from sincere is derived from the Latin sincerus meaning clean, pure, sound (1525–35). Sincerus may have once meant "one growth" (not mixed), from sin- (one) and crescere (to grow).[1] Crescere is cognate with "Ceres," the goddess of grain, as in "cereal."

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the Latin word sincerus is derived from the Indo-European root *sm̥kēros, itself derived from the zero-grade of *sem (one) and the suffixed, lengthened e-grade of *ker (grow), generating the underlying meaning of one growth, hence pure, clean.

but this explanation to me is confusing as we know over times words change their meaning and go full circle some time's depending if in vogue or not .

As always ismy

[boatme99]

Quite the cunning linguist, eh?
Etymology has always fascinated me, too. I read constantly and always have good dictionary handy. With the internet now, it's easier to trace some of the more obscure words and go deeper into foreign origins and words.

[is that my watch]

Quite the cunning linguist, eh?
Etymology has always fascinated me, too. I read constantly and always have good dictionary handy. With the internet now, it's easier to trace some of the more obscure words and go deeper into foreign origins and words.

I read old books so you see quite often words not much used today in them and also some books translated from other languages too most the time when reading books say that are maybe 50 to 100 years old some still make me stop and think and I love books that are full of real life facts as well as a good story love Shakespeare / Vicki Baum / agatha christie . just to name a few ...