Tag: Etymology
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Cultureteca 27.12.15

The How and Why of 25 December: The Early History of Christmas It took three hundred years following the death of Christ before Christians began celebrating his birth on 25 December. The fathers of the early Church were not sure that birthdays ought to be celebrated. Origen (185-253/254) wrote that 'In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast...

Cultureteca 17.07.15

A new feature here at Culturedarm, Cultureteca ought to prove a weekly collection of stuff on and off the internet: snatches of music, videos humorous or otherwise, snippets of literature, sometimes art, architecture, or photography, and topical sporting moments, alongside assorted other diversions. There will be no standard format, no compulsion to include something on every subject each week. And that...

A Cultural History of the Potato as Earth Apple

The etymology of the word 'apple' takes us back to the Early Middle Ages, when it appeared in various related forms across the Germanic languages: as 'apful'/'aphul' or 'apfel'/'aphel' in Old High German, 'appel' in Old Frisian, 'appul' in Old Saxon, 'epli' in Old Icelandic, 'æplæ' or 'æpæl' in Old Danish, and so on. At the time, the word referred...