The English language is a sprawling, quirky tapestry, and today we’re diving into the top 10 weird backstories that give everyday words their oddball charm. From ancient islands to medieval quarantine stations, each term hides a tale worth a double‑take. Buckle up for a whirlwind tour of etymology that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening.
Top 10 Weird Word Histories
10 Lesbian
The term “lesbian,” now a staple for describing women who love women, actually traces its roots back to the Greek island of Lesbos. Around 600 BC, the island was home to the famed poet Sappho, whose verses—most of which have vanished—were often quoted by later writers, preserving fragments of her passionate celebrations of female affection.
Because Sappho’s poetry frequently explored love between women, scholars have long speculated that she herself may have been homosexual. Some ancient accounts even suggest she married and bore a daughter, but the surviving snippets make it difficult to paint a definitive portrait of her private life.
Her daughter is recorded as Cleis, though a handful of researchers argue that Cleis might actually have been the name of Sappho’s beloved. The poet’s husband, according to tradition, was a man named Kerkylas from the island of Andros.
Curiously, the name “Kerkylas” bears a phonetic resemblance to the Greek word for “penis,” while “Andros” echoes the Greek term for “man.” This playful linguistic overlap—essentially “Penis from the Island of Man”—suggests that ancient storytellers may have been having a bit of fun with the names.
9 Assassin
An “assassin” is someone who kills for pay or a fanatical cause, often political. The word’s lineage stretches back to the Crusades, when a sect known as the Nizari Ismaili operated from the mountains of Lebanon. These zealots answered to a shadowy leader nicknamed the “Old Man of the Mountains.”
The Nizari Ismaili became notorious for eliminating rival leaders, and Western Europeans of the era believed they did so after indulging in copious amounts of hashish, which supposedly put them in a trance. Whether true or not, the rumor earned them the moniker “hashishin,” literally “hashish users.”
As the term filtered through Italian and French, it eventually settled into English as “assassin,” shedding its intoxicating connotation but retaining the deadly reputation.
8 Walrus
Before J.R.R. Tolkien penned Middle‑Earth, he toiled on the Oxford English Dictionary, tracing the lineage of words beginning with “W,” including the seemingly straightforward “walrus.” Tolkien unearthed several competing theories, but the one that convinced him most involved the Old Norse phrase “hrossvalir.”
Translated, “hrossvalir” means “horse‑whale.” The “whale” part fits, given the walrus’s massive, aquatic nature, but the “horse” element is puzzling. One plausible picture is that early observers, seeing a hulking, tusked creature with a shaggy moustache, likened it to a horse‑like beast of the sea.
Tolkien wrestled with this etymology for years, eventually settling on the horse‑whale hypothesis, though he documented at least six alternative histories in the OED archives, each reflecting the word’s tangled past.
7 Quarantine
Undoubtedly, the word “quarantine” has become part of our modern lexicon, especially after the recent global health crisis. Its origins, however, reach back to medieval Venice, where officials imposed a strict 40‑day isolation period for ships arriving from plague‑stricken ports.
The Italian term “quarantino,” meaning “40 days,” was chosen deliberately. Venice’s authorities believed that a 40‑day wait would be sufficient to ensure any hidden cases of the disease had manifested, thereby protecting the city’s populace.
Fast‑forward to contemporary times, travelers were ordered to self‑isolate for two weeks during the coronavirus pandemic—a far shorter span than the original 40 days, reflecting advances in medical knowledge.
Why exactly 40 days? The number holds deep religious significance in Christianity: Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert, and Noah’s Ark weathered 40 days and nights of rain. Medieval thinkers linked the sanctity of the number to purification, making it a natural fit for a health‑related practice.
This blend of religious symbolism and practical disease control gave rise to the term we now use to describe any period of enforced isolation.
6 Nimrod
Today, calling someone a “nimrod” is akin to labeling them a clumsy fool, but the word’s heritage is far more regal. In the Bible, Nimrod is introduced as the great‑grandson of Noah and celebrated as a mighty hunter, a figure of strength and prowess.
The shift in meaning appears to stem from mid‑20th‑century cartoons, particularly Bugs Bunny’s interactions with the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd. Bugs would sarcastically dub Fudd a “nimrod,” drawing a contrast between the biblical hunter’s legendary skill and Fudd’s bumbling attempts.
Young viewers, missing the biblical reference, took the word at face value, and the sarcastic insult slowly morphed into a generic term for anyone who’s inept or foolish. By the 1980s, “nimrod” had fully shed its noble origins.
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5 Muscle
When we picture a muscular physique, a tiny mouse is probably the last animal that springs to mind. Yet, the English word “muscle” comes from the Latin “musculus,” which literally translates to “little mouse.”
The connection lies in visual similarity: early observers thought a flexed biceps resembled a little mouse scurrying beneath the skin. The subtle, twitching motion of a mouse inspired the metaphor.
Middle English also offered the term “lacertous” for a well‑built person, derived from the Latin “lacertus” meaning “lizard.” So while “muscle” invokes a mouse, “lacertous” evokes a lizard—both animals imagined as surprisingly strong.
4 Cancer
The word “cancer” shares its roots with the crab. In Latin, “cancer” directly means “crab,” and the astrological sign takes its name from a constellation that early Greeks thought resembled a crab’s shape.
Greek mythology adds drama: during Heracles’ battle with the Hydra, a giant crab attempted to assist the beast. Heracles crushed the crab, and in gratitude, Hera placed the creature among the stars, forming the Cancer constellation.
Medical practitioners, noticing that malignant tumors often have a central mass with radiating extensions—reminiscent of a crab’s body and legs—adopted the same term. Notable physicians like Hippocrates drew the parallel, cementing the crab‑cancer association.
3 Malaria
Malaria, the feverish disease transmitted by mosquitoes, carries a name rooted in a historic misunderstanding. Before the discovery of the insect vector, doctors adhered to the miasma theory, which blamed foul‑smelling vapors for illness.
The Italian phrase “mala aria,” meaning “bad air,” gave rise to the term “malaria.” Marshy, stagnant waters emitted the dreaded vapors, leading sufferers to associate the disease with the surrounding atmosphere.
In reality, mosquitos love the very same wetlands for breeding. Their bites, not the air, spread the parasite that causes the recurring fevers and chills we now recognize as malaria.
2 Tragedy
The word “tragedy” might sound far removed from farm animals, yet its etymology links directly to goats. In ancient Greek, “tragos” means “goat” and “oidos” means “song,” together forming “goat‑song.”
Scholars believe the term originated from the satyr plays that accompanied serious dramas in classical Athens. Satyrs—half‑goat, half‑human creatures—performed humorous interludes, and their presence gave rise to the “goat‑song” descriptor.
1 Candidate
Modern political hopefuls are often scandal‑marred, but ancient Roman aspirants were distinguished by their immaculate togas. These specially bleached garments earned them the label “candidati,” literally “whitened men.”
The Latin root “candidus” means “pure white,” and the term eventually filtered into English as “candidate,” denoting anyone seeking office.
Interestingly, the same root gave rise to the medical term “Candida,” a stubborn white fungus that can cause oral thrush. The visual similarity—both being starkly white—links the political and biological worlds.
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