when a bank gives you credit, it is, in a sense, trusting you with its heart.
the word goes back to latin credere, "to believe, to trust", which most etymologists trace to an old indo-european phrase meaning "to put one's heart" into something. the same heart root turns up all over the place:
greek: kardia, hence cardiology
latin: cor, cordis
hittite: kēr
german and english: herz and heart. jacob grimm (yes, the fairy tale one) noticed that a k sound in the older languages regularly became an h in the germanic ones, which is why we say heart and not "kard".
once you spot cor, it's everywhere in english:
record: from latin recordari, to call back to mind, literally to bring back to the heart
concord and discord: hearts together, hearts apart
accord: hearts brought into line
courage: from old french corage, from cor
cordial: from the heart
so a loan is a vote of confidence, and every relationship runs on credit. whether the other side pays it back is another matter.
which word origins have surprised you?
the word goes back to latin credere, "to believe, to trust", which most etymologists trace to an old indo-european phrase meaning "to put one's heart" into something. the same heart root turns up all over the place:
greek: kardia, hence cardiology
latin: cor, cordis
hittite: kēr
german and english: herz and heart. jacob grimm (yes, the fairy tale one) noticed that a k sound in the older languages regularly became an h in the germanic ones, which is why we say heart and not "kard".
once you spot cor, it's everywhere in english:
record: from latin recordari, to call back to mind, literally to bring back to the heart
concord and discord: hearts together, hearts apart
accord: hearts brought into line
courage: from old french corage, from cor
cordial: from the heart
so a loan is a vote of confidence, and every relationship runs on credit. whether the other side pays it back is another matter.
which word origins have surprised you?
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