Today I’ve gone with hearth, a word I’ve always hated
because I think it should be pronounced like earth with an h in front not heart
with a th on the end.
I get mad about weird things.
Hearth comes from the Old English heorð (the ð just means th), with the
same meaning. It comes from the West Germanic hertho, burning place
(don’t-make-joke-don’t-make-joke) and the Proto Indo European kerta, which comes from ker, meaning heat or fire. That ker gave
us carbon of all words.
I can
Sources
Tony Jebson’s page on the Origins of Old English
So from ker we got carbon and hearth? That is odd.
ReplyDeleteWhenever someone says hearth I always think of the nursery rhyme Little Polly Flinders even though it never mentions the word - I think I must have learned that sitting among the cinders meant sitting near the hearth or something :)
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
When I was little, and learn "hearth" for the first time, I thought it was a neat word. :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard it pronounced both ways many times. I didn't know one was correct over the other.
ReplyDeleteI bet carbon comes from what's left after a fire.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought that it should rhyme with earth before, I can see why you wouldn't be fond of it for not doing so :)
ReplyDeletebetty
I've always found it a comfortable word- perhaps because I so like a good fireplace.
ReplyDeleteSo, that weird letter is thorn? Is there a keyboard shortcut to make thorn? I've become quite fond of that letter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, carbon and hearth aren't very much alike. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteI love the origin of words, it's a little touch of time travel. K to H is odd. I guess it would depend on the accent, or a bunch of crazy undereducated townsfolk ;)
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