The Good, the Bad, but not the Ugly

The English language borrows roots from many languages.   Therefore, the same meaning can be expressed in different ways, even in prefixes.  For example, pre and ante both mean before.

If something is good, two possible roots are the Greek eu and the Latin bene.  A eulogy is saying good things about someone who died, even the words are lies while a euphemism is a nice word for an ugly concept – collateral damage for civilian casualties and height-challenged for short.  (By the way, my favorite euphemism is expanded face for describing baldness.).  Similarly, a benefit is a money or privilege that makes life better while a benediction is a blessing, i.e. good words.

By contrast, malady, maladroit and malfunctioning are very bad, as is part of their root, mal.  I don’t know the Greek root for bad or whether it is used in English, but I would be happy to find out from someone.  So, have a euphoric and benevolent week and avoid mal-de-mer, otherwise known as seasickness.

Famous and Forgotten

There are many ways to have your name remembered generations after your death.  They include winning or losing a battle, founding a city, and leading your country.  The ideal would be, of course, to have those future generations remember exactly what your achievements were, but you cannot always have everything.

The English language does have words which are named after actual people.  Some of these words are so common that the person himself (no women in this list, but I am willing and happy to add one if you know of any woman words) has been mostly or completely forgotten.  Take Mr. Leotard, whose practical garment is worn by millions of dancers around the world.  Sadly, nobody even gives even a thought.  The following list shows eleven terms in English of not-so-famous people:

Word	Meaning	Person	Reason
1.  Mesmerize	captivate	Mr. Mezmere	French personality who "hypnotized" his hosts
2.  Leotards	tights	Mr. Leotard	Circus performer who needed garment that did not hinder him
3.  Quisling	traitor	Mr. Quisling	Norwegian leader who cooperated with the Nazis
4.  Crap	defecate	Sir Thomas Crapper	Inventor of flush toilet
5.  Real McCoy	genuine	Mr. McCoy	Prohibition era smuggler of (real) rum from Jamaica
6.  John Hancock	signature	John Hancock	Signer of declaration of independence with a large signature
7.  Sandwich	Lunch food	Earl of Sandwich	Apparently, a noble who had trouble keeping staff
8.  Decibel	Sound measure	Alexander Graham Bell	Pioneer in the study of sound
9.  Pasteurize	Milk treatment	Louis Pasteur	Discovered source of milk contamination and how to prevent it
10. Cup of Joe	coffee	Admiral Joe	Banned alcohol for British sailors
11. Grog	Rum drink	Admiral Grog	Added water to the rum rations to British sailors

To paraphrase Shakespeare, is it better to have been remembered and then forgotten or not to have been remembered at all?