Oceans 11Oceans 11G.Burgess

2009.

Words that come from life at Sea.Words that come from life at Sea.

Try to figure out how the original meaning of each word in the following list is connected to the sea and write your ideas in the

space provided.

1. Astronaut/Cosmonaut (a person trained to make flights in space)

2. Posh(fashionable and expensive) 3. Ostracism (a group's rejection of someone who is disliked) 4. Skyscraper (a very tall building) 5. Strike (refusing to work in order to get better working conditions

or higher pay) 6. Abundance (a great supply) 7. Overwhelm (to overcome completely, making helpless) 8. Listless (having no interest in what is going on) 9. Antenna (a slender feeler on the head of an insect; an aerial for

a television or radio) 10. Salary (a fixed amount of money paid at regular times)

Answer key: Answer key:

1. Astronaut/cosmonaut: From nautes, "sailor." 2. Posh: Today meaning fashionable and expensive, it has

its origins along the docks of colonial Boston. The trunks of the wealthy would carry the label "POSH," short for "portside out, starboard home." This phrase indicated the side of the ship where the luggage should be placed to avoid exposure to the heavy sun.

3. Ostracism: From the Greek ostrakon, meaning "oyster shell." In ancient Greece, the writ of banishment was inscribed on oyster shells.

4. Skyscraper: The topsails of ships were called skyscrapers and later lent their name to tall buildings.

5. Strike: To lower or take down, as a sail or an ensign or a yard. When the British Navy mutinied in 1797, the sailors "struck their yards to prevent them from proceeding to sea . . ."

6. Abundance: In Latin, the word ab means from, and unda means wave. Plenty of waves or water was an abundance, from abundare. Unda is also the root of "inundate."

7. Overwhelm: This comes from the middle English word "to capsize."

8. Listless: Under a wind, ships list to the port or starboard. If there is no wind, there is no list and so no movement for the sailing craft; it is dull and lifeless.

9. Antenna: Romans used this word to refer to the wooden horizontal beams from which sails were hung. In the sixteenth century, the term was borrowed to refer to the "horns" of an insect.

10. Salary: The Latin salarium was the allowance of sea salt given to Roman soldiers with their wages.