You should probably get what word I’m doing. If not, you may need to see a specialist.
There’s no date for when kiss
showed up,
but it is known that it was cuss in
Middle English (no relation), and
before that, coss (as a noun) and cyssan (as a verb) in Old English. Cyssan can be traced to the
Proto Germanic kussijanan, and it’s thought that the
kuss- part of the word is supposed to be onomatopoeia of the sound it makes.
Now try not to think about that the next time you kiss someone.
Sources
University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center
Tony Jebson’s page on
the Origins of Old English
I don't make that sound. Great, I'm doing it wrong...
ReplyDeleteI take it by no relation, that cuss words and kiss are not meant to be associated?
ReplyDeleteI find it amusing that kiss came from the word cuss, even though I know it didn't have the same meaning then as it does now. And my kisses don't make weird noises. I must talk to my husband about this.
ReplyDeleteRight. But I will be thinking about it. :-)
ReplyDeleteDeb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
Hmm I'll have to listen next time, but I don't think I make that sound either, maybe the Proto-Germans kissed with a little more gusto.
ReplyDeleteBut how does all of that relate to the band; that's what I want to know.
ReplyDeleteWow, kiss is popular today. Not where my brain went with K.
ReplyDeleteUh oh. I'm totally going to be thinking about this! LOL. Looks like you and I are on the same page again today!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure my kisses don't sound the way the word sounds. But just in case, I'm going to go practice a little....
ReplyDeleteLOL! That could be an especially fun fact to pull out in the middle of a story. =)
ReplyDeleteCussing and kissing!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it makes that sound. I'm surprised it used to sound like "cuss."
ReplyDelete