I always assumed “midriff” was an opaque word, but it breaks down pretty cleanly. It comes from Old English midhrif: midd “middle” + hrif “belly, womb.”

Hrif goes back to Proto-Germanic *hrifiz, with cognates like Old Frisian rif “belly” and Old High German href “body, womb.” It died out in English as a standalone word and survives only as a fossil inside “midriff.”

Further back, *hrifiz is usually traced to PIE *kʷrep- “body, form, appearance.” That same root is the commonly cited source of Latin corpus “body,” which would make “midriff” a very distant relative of corpse.

$200: This adjective describes when a city (or two cities?) has a dark underbelly of squalid poverty, like in 19th Century Victorian London. What is Dickensian?

$400: This adjective alluding to pleasure gained from cruelty or violence has its roots in the works of a 16th-17th century French nobleman. What is Sadistic?

$600: This adjective can used to describe the type of totalitarian oppressive dystopia evident in a 1949 classic book. What is Orwellian?

$800: The word for this type of idealistic impractical behavior comes from the name of a 16th-17th Spanish author’s delusional (but chivalrous) character. What is Quixotic?

$1000: This word is appropriate to describe being stuck in a maze of senseless bureaucracy or illogical frustrating situations like those in a certain Prague born author’s writing. What is Kafkaesque?

Two years ago I had a successful kickstarter etymology card game. Now it's a video game!

https://www.etymologygame.com/

I am an English student interested in translation. How can understanding the origin and history of a word help translators choose the correct meaning in another language?

I'm aware of other idioms and phrases that have lengthened, supposed "original" versions, such as "curiosity killed the cat / but satisfaction brought it back" or "blood is thicker than water // the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." People have been editing and twisting common idioms around for ages I'm sure.

My dad says, "When pigs fly, we'll shoot our bacon," is how he was taught. He tells me he probably learned this from his mom. I've tried looking it up but this addition to "when pigs fly" seems completely original or at least undocumented.

Has anyone ever heard this phrase or something close to it before, or did my family just completely make it up?

According to a web-site called ‘etymonline’ (I am unsure if this is a reliable source or not as am not well-versed in etymology itself), the english comes from a meaning about blood.

‘Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian"to consecrate by a religious rite, make holy, give thanks," from Proto-Germanic \blodison"hallow with blood, mark with blood," from *blotham* "blood" (see blood (n.)). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars.’

— etymonline entry

I know, from personal experience, that the French verb se blesser means to injure or hurt oneself, which one can certainly link to blood, quite easily. Is there an actual link between these words, or is it just happenstance?

I know they generally mean the same thing but where do you guys generally use these terms? For me, I use gap when it’s a space between two objects. To give an example, “a bit of the chicken I was eating ended up in the gap between two of the number keys.”

I use slit when the space has a horizontal or vertical shape. For instance, I slid the paper in between the slip between the door and door frame.

I use cavity when I refer to a small hollow space inside a solid object. For instance, removing the painting reveals a small cavity in the wall.

ie. plaque on your teeth vs plaque award vs plaque to read (ie. museums)

did they come from the same root?