Useless Etymology

Did you know that “hello” didn’t become a standard greeting until the introduction of the Bell telephone in 1876?

It appeared a bit before that in a couple of records from the 1820s and 30s, but it wasn’t commonly used—and it didn’t quite mean the same thing.

The word "giddy" literally means "possessed by a god," from the Old English gydig meaning "insane" (compound of Proto-Germanic *gudam "god" + *-ig "possessed").

"Literally" has been used to mean "figuratively" or for emphasis since the 17th century.

Literary examples:

• Adventures of Tom Sawyer (“literally rolling in wealth”)
• Nicholas Nickelby (Squeers "literally feasted his eyes" on Smike)
• Great Gatsby (“literally glowed”)

The English term or word-forming element “phobia” is from the Greek phobos meaning “fear,” “terror,” or literally “flight” from something.

These are just a few interesting phobias and their origins, as recorded in my book, 🔥 WORDS FROM HELL 🔥.

What’s this rising from the etymological depths? 🔥