This book of the Military Origins of Everyday Words and Phrases looks for the source or sources of various words, and the variations they have gone through over a period of time.
The bikini, for example, takes its name from the island of the same name.
The locals called it Pikinni, but the military got it wrong, and left us with its present form. The development of the modern two-piece has a long, chequered history. There was opposition from different sections, but once when Brigitte Bardot was seen in a bikini in And God Created Woman, the thinking about it underwent a dramatic change.
Granting Quarters relates to a practice of the battlefield. A vanquished knight was held captive for ransom. He was provided appropriate quarters, and the cost of that was also added to the ransom.
Arena refers to a competition area. In Latin it stands for sand. In the past the areas prepared with sand served as spots for contests of strength. When the bodies bled from wounds, the sand could absorb the blood.
Booty is the practice of plunder on a captured ship continued into the 19th century. When one ship captured another, it was a practice to allow the crew to take anything on and above the main deck so that while they were busy above, the officer could search for the real
treasure below the decks.
Chastity belt has come to us through a long process of varied interpretations.
The present-day equivalent would perhaps be a virginity ring. The idea of chastity belt had something to do with the notion that the knight, going to the war or crusade, would enclose his sweetheart's loins in a contraption to save her from falling from virtue during his absence.
That's what some call a myth. There are numerous medieval references to chastity belts and girdles. These related to cords knotted into a distinctive pattern, and tied round the waist to indicate a person's desire to remain chaste.
Grass Widow was commonly thought to be an expression for wives, temporarily separated from their husbands, pertained to colonial India. In the sizzling heat of summers the officers sent their wives to the hills where the grass would still be green and verdant. But the expression Grass Widow was also noted as early as the 16th century, with reference to the woman who had 'some grass stains' on her skirt and been left pregnant and forsaken.
Loot is a Hindi word and stands for stolen goods. (A 'lutera' is one who robs others of cash and goods to sustain himself. In Hindi it is now widely but sarcastically used for those in positions of power who enrich themselves at the cost of others).
-- Reviewed by Bal Sethi, a former trustee of the P.G. Library board.
