[Lexicog] A folk-etymology

[Kenneth C. Hill]

A problem is that English has too many word-forming para-'s, cf. paramilitary (doesn't mean stop the military, so a peace demonstration is not paramilitary, nor are the Quakers paramilitary -- para- here is from a Greek element meaning 'beside'). Also consider apparent para- in paramount and paramour, where the etymological segmentation is par-a....

--Ken Hill

rtroike at email.arizona.edu wrote:    
 Someone a few days ago (pardon, I've forgotten who) mentioned the Spanish
 word "paracaidas" ("parachute"), and etymologized the "para" as the
 preposition meaning "for" ("caida" is "fall"), citing "paraguas" ("umbrella")
 as a parallel ("for water").
 
 I had always folk-etymologized the "para" part the same way myself, and just
 happened to learn from a student recently that it is actually the verb
 "parar" ("to stop, prevent, hinder"). Checking the online OED for "parachute",
 I found that the "para" part here is from the same source, and the "chute" is
 cognate with the Spanish "caida".
 
       Live and learn,
 
       Rudy Troike
 
 
 
            

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