Question:I'm nuts about filberts. I seem to recall hearing a story once about the origin of this tasty nut's name. Can you refresh my memory?Answer:The nut you fancy is named after St. Philibert, a 7th century Frankish abbot. You might wonder if St. Philibert was a known grower of filberts or had a special affection for them, but no, his connection with the nut is based rather on the fact that his feast day (the day in the church calendar on which he is commemorated as a saint) falls on Aug. 20, which just happens to be the peak of the nutting season in France and England. The Anglo-French word for the nut of the hazel tree was "philber," which was in turn borrowed into Middle English as "filbert."
Question:Is it true that the word "gaudy" comes from the name of the 20th century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi? I was told this while having dinner in a Spanish restaurant in which the decor was, well, somewhat gaudy.
Answer:Antoni Gaudi's architectural creations have been described as elaborate, outlandish, breathtaking, quirky, lunatic, grotesque, garish and inevitably, gaudy. But you were wise to doubt the reliability of your dining companion's etymology of the word "gaudy." Antoni Gaudi, as you say, flourished in the early 1900s (he died in 1926). On the other hand, we've had "gaudy" since at least 1582. There are some who may recall the word in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," when Polonius gives some famous advice to his son Laertes: "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man . . . ."
So where does "gaudy" come from? In Middle English, there was a noun, "gaude," that meant "a trick or prank" and "a brightly colored ornament or bauble," and our adjective is derived from that noun. The origins or "gaude" itself are vague and somewhat a matter of conjecture, but it may be derived ultimately from Latin "gaudere," "to rejoice." There may also be some connection between the "ornament" sense and the use of "gaud" (formerly "gaude") to denote the larger, more ornate beads that are placed between the groups of ten smaller beads in a rosary. That "gaud" is postulated to come from Latin "gaudium," which means "joy," reflecting the "joyful mysteries," the first of the three sets of mysteries, or events from the life of the Virgin Mary, that are invoked as subjects of meditation when reciting the rosary.
Thus there may actually be a connection of sorts between Gaudi's name and our "gaudy." The word "gaudi" means "enjoyment" in Catalan, the language spoken in Antoni Gaudi's native Catalonia in northeastern Spain.
Question:How come a person who writes a play is called a "playwright"? Why not a "play-writer"?
Answer:Your question must be in the back of the minds of many people since the most common misspelling of "playwright" is "playwrite." But the "-wright" of "playwright" has nothing directly to do with writing at all. "Wright" means "worker" or "maker" and goes back to the Old English period before the Norman Conquest. It still survives as an independent word but is more common in compounds like "millwright," "shipwright," "wheelwright" and "wainwright." The last two are probably more familiar today as family names than as occupational names.
Those words are all very old in our language, but "playwright" is a relative newcomer. It first appeared in the late 17th century, was being used by Alexander Pope and others within the next 50 years, and has remained in active use (to the exclusion of possible alternatives like "playwriter") ever since.
This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster's "Collegiate Dictionary," Tenth Edition. Send questions to: Merriam-Webster's Wordwatch, P.O. Box 281, 47 Federal St., Springfield, MA 01102. Merriam-Webster Inc. Dist. by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service