|
Home
|
Feb 22, 2021
This week’s themeToponyms This week’s words Queenborough mayor borstal Poplarism Shrewsbury clock Scarborough warning 
The Mayor of Queenborough by Thomas Middleton
Previous week’s theme To hyphenate or not to hyphenate? 
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargWhat’s common among a spa, mocha coffee, and capri pants? All three are toponyms, words derived from place names. The word spa is coined after Spa, a resort town in Belgium. The mocha coffee is named after Mocha, a port city in Yemen, a trading center for coffee. And capris got their name from Capri, an Italian island, where they were popularized. Many everyday words are coined after places. This week we’ll look at some unusual terms that have their origin in places. Such words are known as toponyms, from Greek topos (place). This week we focus on terms coined after places in the UK. Queenborough mayor
PRONUNCIATION:
(KWEEN-buh-roh may-uhr)
MEANING:
noun: A position involving pomp and show, but no real power or authority.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Simon the tanner who becomes the mayor of Queenborough in Thomas
Middleton’s 1620 play Hengist, King of Kent, or The Mayor of Quinborough.
Queenborough is a small town in Kent, UK. Earliest documented use: 1668.
NOTES:
The website
(permalink)
of modern-day Queenborough is forthright when it says:
“The Town Council is technically a parish, the ‘Town’ status allows us
to have a Mayor and to continue with the long tradition of Mayors of
Queenborough.”
Two related terms are figurehead
and sinecure.
USAGE:
“A Queenborough mayor behind his mace, And fops in military show, Are sovereign for the case in view.” Matthew Green; The Spleen; 1754. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the
masks are dropped. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (22 Feb 1788-1860)
|
|
Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
© 1994-2024 Wordsmith