Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A-to-Z Challenge: F

Today’s word is float, and man, now I really want a root beer float.



Float comes from the Old English flotian, to rest on the surface of water. Before that, it was the Proto Germanic flotan (to float, of course) and Proto Indo European pleud, which means flow. Don’t think that letter change is weird. A lot of p words changed to f, like flea and foul.
                                                                                                         
Oh, and apparently there were a bunch of other related words in Old English, like flota, which meant fleet (for the record, yes, it did give us fleet) and flot, a body of water. They were consolidated into float, or just lost to the ages.

I seriously can’t stop thinking about root beer floats. Man, what am I going to do? Oh, wait! I’m an adult! I’m going to the grocery store to buy root beer and ice cream, suckers!

Sources
Online Etymology Dictionary
University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center
University of Texas at San Antonio’s page on Proto Indo European language
Tony Jebson’s page on the Origins of Old English
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15 comments:

  1. Tasha Duncan-DrakeApril 7, 2015 at 7:01 AM

    LOL - enjoy your root beer float ;) I remember the first time I had a coke float in an American Diner that had opened up in our town - it was awesome. Can't make myself like root beer though.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  2. Alex J. CavanaughApril 7, 2015 at 7:34 AM

    Or stop by an A&W Drive-in, whichever is easier.

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  3. J.L. CampbellApril 7, 2015 at 9:32 AM

    I seem to remember flotilla from the historical novels I used to consume.

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  4. Chrys FeyApril 7, 2015 at 10:02 AM

    Can you make me a root beer float? ;)

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  5. Susan Gourley/KelleyApril 7, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    I haven't had a root beer float in years. Mmmmm.

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  6. Andrew LeonApril 7, 2015 at 11:41 AM

    But what kind of root beer? Hmm...?

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  7. Sunday VisitorApril 7, 2015 at 11:43 AM

    Didn't know float had such an amazing history. Thanks for sharing that :)

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  8. David P. KingApril 7, 2015 at 12:23 PM

    This post rocks my boat. :)

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  9. bettyApril 7, 2015 at 12:23 PM

    When I saw the word float, first thing I thought of was root beer floats :) Now I have to get that image out of my mind and substitute it with a boat floating down a river :)

    betty

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  10. Kate LarkindaleApril 7, 2015 at 2:25 PM

    Root beer floats…Mmmmm that takes me back. Root beer isn't available in many places here, unfortunately, but now you've put it into my head, I may have to sneak off to the store that sells American candy to get my fix.

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  11. Liz A.April 7, 2015 at 7:12 PM

    I've never had a root beer float. I hope you enjoyed yours.

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  12. William KendallApril 7, 2015 at 8:08 PM

    It's been years since I've had one of those.

    Flotian feels Italian.

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  13. AnonymousApril 7, 2015 at 9:18 PM

    I've never had a root beer float. I'd like to try it.

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  14. Nick WilfordApril 7, 2015 at 11:59 PM

    Root beer might be the thing to help us stay afloat this month.

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  15. Scribbles From JennApril 8, 2015 at 1:53 AM

    This post made me want a root beer float, too. Too bad I'm already in my P.J.'s

    Scribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge

    ReplyDelete

Please validate me.

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