It gets even funnier when you include stuff that Latin used with a certain meaning, but gets borrowed with another meaning, like:
- lārva - ghost. Since freshly hatched insects and the likes are semitransparent, someone compared them with ghosts, so… the word got stuck.
- vīrus - poison, slime, venom. A big point of the modern idea of “virus” is that you are not dealing with a substance, but something else.
- placenta - a layered cake. It’s kind of gross to compare a layered cake with the structure/organ/whatever developed in pregnancy, but eh.
- ānus - it was supposed to be any ring. Not just “that” one. (…ānus dēlendus est!)
But by far the weirdest one IMO is neither native to Latin nor borrowed, it’s inherited: Romanian “a dezmierda” to caress, to pet. It’s etymologically “to disenshittify”. As in, you got some baby, baby did #2, you need to take care of it, right? It’s gross and cute at the same time.
placenta - a layered cake. It’s kind of gross to compare a layered cake with the structure/organ/whatever developed in pregnancy, but eh.
Oh, is that why people looked at me weird when I started talking how delicious a good placenta is?
ānus - it was supposed to be any ring. Not just “that” one. (…ānus dēlendus est!)
Julia… will you marry me? [presents anus as she tears up and nods]
But by far the weirdest one IMO is neither native to Latin nor borrowed, it’s inherited: Romanian “a dezmierda” to caress, to pet. It’s etymologically “to disenshittify”. As in, you got some baby, baby did #2, you need to take care of it, right? It’s gross and cute at the same time.
lmao
Oh, is that why people looked at me weird when I started talking how delicious a good placenta is?
When I prepared it at home I made sure to call it with /k/ exactly to avoid this “eeew”. Granted the picky eater of the family still complained about it being a cheesecake, but at least nobody brought the comparison to the table.
Julia… will you marry me? [presents anus as she tears up and nods]
My sides went into orbit!
