Etymologists study the roots of words, tracing back centuries to find where, for example, an English word might have originated in an ancient language. Many modern words share a common ancient root, or etymon. Sometimes these connections are obvious — for example, “portable” and “transport” both come from the Latin verb portare, meaning “to carry.” Similarly, all words with a “bio-” prefix, whether the science of biology or a written biography, are related to the Latin bios, meaning “life.” Other words might share similar spellings, but the meanings are a little further apart. For example, “bicycle” and “cyclone” are based on the same root, the Greek kyklos, meaning “circle, wheel.” Whether the relation is crystal clear or more oblique, two or more words that share a common source are doublets. Let’s take a look at some words that have an obscure connection to each other — you can’t tell these words are doublets from spelling alone.
Many words that don’t look related today have gone through millennia of evolution and can be traced back to a common ancestral language. Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is a hypothetical language, spoken at least 6,000 years ago. It’s considered hypothetical by linguists because no written record of it exists, but it’s been reconstructed from the earliest Indo-European writings. The Romance, Germanic, Slavic, Celtic, Iranian, and Indian languages descended from PIE, and we can find the roots of the majority of the English language in PIE.
In PIE, “*ker-” (an asterisk is used when writing PIE syllables to denote they are reconstructed by linguists, or hypothetical) means “head” or “horn,” with derivatives referring to horned animals, horned-shaped objects, and projecting parts.
In modern English, head-related derivatives include “cranium,” “cerebrum,” “cerebellum,” and, less obviously, “migraine.” “Migraine” derives from the Greek hemicrania, literally “half a head,” because migraines typically affect half of the head.
Names of animals with projecting parts from “*ker-” include “triceratops,” “unicorn,” “reindeer,” “rhinoceros,” and “hornet,” named for its projecting stinger. Earlier pronunciations in their various root languages of “reindeer,” “hornet,” and “rhinoceros” began with a guttural “k” sound, which is why they are in the family of words stemming from “*ker-.”
Animal horns have been used as musical instruments for millennia, and so we can add to this extended family of words “horn,” “alpenhorn,” “flügelhorn,” “French horn,” and “cornet.” When a horn is used as a container for food, it’s a cornucopia.
Many mathematical and scientific words have Arabic roots, owing to the achievements in the Arabic-speaking world that were adopted by Europeans in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. In Arabic, al- means “the,” so the prefix was often combined with an Arabic noun to create a new English word.
“Alcohol” is from the Arabic al-kuhul, the black substance now called “kohl,” used as a cosmetic to darken eyelids. This substance was created by sublimation, a chemical refinement process. “Alcohol” came to refer to any substance obtained by sublimation, such as “alcohol of wine,” which was produced by distillation, a process much like sublimation. By the mid-18th century, “alcohol,” used on its own, referred to the intoxicating ingredient in any strong liquor.
“Algebra” is from the Arabic al-jebr, meaning “the reunion of broken parts,” a word in the title of a seminal treatise by Baghdad mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī. The “al-” in that mathematician’s name means he was from “the” town of Khwārezm
, now called Khiva, in Uzbekistan. The English word “algorithm” derives from his name. Thanks to al-Khwārizmī, we use Arabic numbers (0-9) and benefit from algorithms.
Other words related to this al- family include “alcove” (al-qobbah, “an arch or vaulted room”), “chemistry” (al-kimia, the supposed art of transmuting base metals into gold), “artichoke” (al-hursufa, “artichoke”), and “admiral” (amir-al, “commander of the …,” and amir-al-bahr, “commander of the sea”).
In PIE, “*weg-” means “to be strong, lively.” In English, “wake,” “watch,” “velocity,” “vigil,” “vigilante,” “vigor,” and “surveillance” share that common ancient etymon.
“Witch” joins this family because of a witch’s supposed power to awaken the dead. Her name derives from the Germanic wikkjaz, “one who wakes the dead.” The pagan religion Wicca derives its name from the same source.
Also sharing the lively root is “vegetable” — anyone who has ever planted a veggie garden knows the link is in the strength of a seed. With the right soil, sun, and rain, it will become lively and grow to fruition.
Seventeenth-century English poet Andrew Marvell used “vegetable” in this sense in his poem “To His Coy Mistress,” when he tells her, “Had we but world enough, and time / This coyness, lady, were no crime… . My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires, and more slow.”
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