Chinese Apples - Ends 30th March

[MKR&*42]

I'm always incredibly intrigued about finding out the etymology (origin, meaning and formation) of certain words in various languages. Anyone who has ever studied French at school will probably have encountered the mildly-amusing noun "pomme de terre" meaning "potato", which means apple from the ground. As for students of German, although not as anywhere near well known as the meaning of "pomme de terre", the noun "Apfelsine" which is another word "orange" originates from the Dutch noun "Appelsina" - literally "China's apple". Origin can also be incredibly interesting - for example, did you know that "Narcissism/t(ic)" comes from a Greek myth of "Narcissus" who died staring at his own reflection? Crazy!

Now's your time to shine. I want you to post a word which has interesting literal meaning or origins (and explain these)below.
The most interesting/unique will win!

Prize: 2 Weeks Forum VIP, 50 Tokens & 2 Raffle Tickets

[Martin]

​This competition is now OPEN! Get entering!