Editor's Corner

This Editor’s Corner is dedicated to Ron Fauset, who is retiring next week. Ron has been a great office mate, a helpful coworker, and the source of several articles here over the years. This one is for the Labor Day holiday Monday. Thanks to Ron who gave it to me, and to Richard Lederer, who actually wrote it. 😊 You can find the entire article here at the Verbivore.

Most occupational titles are self-explanatory: A teacher teaches, a preacher preaches, a gardener gardens and a writer writes. But the origins of some job names are more obscure.

The verb to vet means “to examine credentials, manuscripts, or other documents as a veterinarian examines an animal, hoping to give it a clean bill of health.” The noun veterinarian came about because the first veterinarians treated only animals that were old (Latin vetus) and experienced enough to perform work such as pulling a plow or hauling military baggage. That’s why veteran and veterinarian start with almost the same letters.

Janitor derives from the Roman god Janus, who guarded doorways. A professor is “one who makes public declarations,” while the first deans were military officers in charge of ten (decem) soldiers. Those soldiers were so called because they were paid in Roman coins called solidi.

Close kin to janitor is usher. The word has a long history, going all the way back to the Latin ostium, “door,” related to os, “mouth,” because a door was likened to the mouth of a building. Usher, then, turns out to be a body metaphor for a person who stands at a door.

A ventriloquist is someone who is skilled in the art of throwing his or her voice so that it appears to emanate from a source other than the speaker. Appropriately, the roots of ventriloquist are the Latin ventris, “belly” + loqui, “speaker.” In other words, a ventriloquist is a “belly speaker.”

When Geoffrey Chaucer quilled in his prologue to The Canterbury Tales, “a clerk ther was of Oxenford,” the poet was referring to a clergyman or cleric, the first meaning of the word clerk. In the Middle Ages, literacy was largely confined to the clergy, but clerk gradually became the name for bookkeepers, secretaries, and notaries — anyone who could read or write.

Have you ever worried about the fact that the person with whom you trust your hard-earned life savings is called a broker? Worry no more: The original broker was one who broaches (opens) casks of wine.

The surname Webber means “a man who weaves,” Webster “a woman who weaves.” Brewer signifies “a man who brews,” Brewster “a woman who brews.” Dyer is the last name of “a man who dyes cloth,” Dexter the last name of “a woman who dyes cloth.” Baker, of course, denotes “a man who bakes,” while Baxter denotes “a woman who bakes.”

No matter what you do for a living, enjoy your day off from it on Labor Day. And Ron, thank you for everything you’ve done for us over the years. I hope your permanent time away from work is wonderful!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

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