Saturday, April 12, 2014

A-to-Z Challenge: Kiss

Kissy, kissy.


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

12 comments:

  1. I don't make that sound. Great, I'm doing it wrong...

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  2. I take it by no relation, that cuss words and kiss are not meant to be associated?

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  3. I 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.

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  4. Right. But I will be thinking about it. :-)
    Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com

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  5. 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.

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  6. But how does all of that relate to the band; that's what I want to know.

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  7. Wow, kiss is popular today. Not where my brain went with K.

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  8. Uh oh. I'm totally going to be thinking about this! LOL. Looks like you and I are on the same page again today!

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  9. I'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....

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  10. LOL! That could be an especially fun fact to pull out in the middle of a story. =)

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  11. I don't think it makes that sound. I'm surprised it used to sound like "cuss."

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Please validate me.