Let’s compare apples and oranges; to be specific, where the two words come from. “Apple” is a native English word, from Old English æppel, which in turn comes from Proto-Germanic *ap(a)laz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ab(e)l — imagine nomads in the steppes of Russia and Ukraine munching on *abels 5,000 years ago. “Orange”, in contrast, travelled westward across the medieval world to English through Old French, Italian (arancia), Arabic (naranj), Persian (narang) and Sanskrit (naranga), likely from a Dravidian source. The origins of words can offer tantalising clues about deep histories, migration, trade and a world more interconnected than one might imagine. For many, it’s also a lot of fun.
In a new edition of his book A Short History of Nearly Everything, author Bill Bryson has corrected his etymology of “asteroid” after a Delhi schoolboy wrote to him pointing out that it comes from the Greek word aster (‘star’), not from Latin. There’s another story behind that: Both the Greek word aster and the Latin word (stella) as well as English “star”, the Sanskrit root str and many others come from the same source, Proto-Indo-European *h₂ster, which probably wasn’t as impossible to pronounce as it looks (it’s just linguistic notation). Later, aster itself was also borrowed directly into Latin — the Romans took many things from the Greeks, from words to mythology to sovereignty.
As the principal of the student’s school wrote, it’s refreshing to see that he’s engrossed in reading in an “era of screen addiction”, and that etymology — always as much a province of hobbyists as linguists — continues to fascinate. The author’s prompt correction, too, is heartening, and speaks to the resilience of the relationship between reader and writer.
