I was watching a video of my new favorite word nerd, Adam Aleksic. He speaks way too fast in his videos, but if I find the topic interesting, I’ll listen a few times and take notes. I particularly like the reels where he tells you where a word comes from and then links it back to other words in English.
I put together the following chart based on his carrus/car video. He starts with the Latin word for car (carrus) and then wanders through related words and how they trace back. Here are the words he mentioned, their definitions, and their etymologies. I think you will see the connections, without feeling like somebody is rushing you. I edited the etymologies a little, since they started getting repetitive.
| Word | Definition | Etymology |
| websites | https://www.merriam-webster.com/ | https://www.etymonline.com/ |
| car | Carriage, chariot, (train) car, automobile | c. 1300, "wheeled vehicle," from Latin carrum, carrus (plural carra), originally "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot.” |
| carry | to move (a person or thing) while holding or supporting | early 14c., "to bear or convey, take along or transport," from Anglo-French carier "transport in a vehicle"…from Latin carrum… |
| carriage | a wheeled vehicle
especially:a horse-drawn vehicle designed for private use and comfort |
late 14c., "act of carrying, means of conveyance; wheeled vehicles collectively. From Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon." |
| carrier | one who carries: bearer | late 14c., "one who or that which conveys," agent noun from carry (v.). The meaning "person or animal that carries and disseminates infection without suffering obvious disease" is from 1899; genetic sense is 1933. |
| carousel | 1. tournament or exhibition in which horsemen (do complex, choreographed maneuvers)
2. merry-go-round; a circular conveyor |
1640s, "tilting match, playful tournament of knights in chariots or on horseback," from French carrousel "a tilting match," from Italian carusiello, possibly from carro "chariot," from Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon" (see car). The modern meaning "merry-go-round" as an amusement ride is by 1895. |
| cargo | the goods or merchandise conveyed in a ship, airplane, or vehicle; freight | 1650s, "freight loaded on a ship," from Spanish cargo "burden," from cargar "to load, impose taxes," from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "wagon." |
| caricature | exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics | "grotesque or ludicrous representation of persons or things by an absurd exaggeration of what is characteristic," 1748 (figurative), 1750 (literal), from French caricature (18c.), from Italian caricatura "satirical picture; an exaggeration," literally "an overloading," from caricare "to load; exaggerate," from Vulgar Latin *carricare "to load a wagon or cart."
[KC – Mr. Aleksic describes it as “overloading the wagon and overloading the drawing.] |
| career | a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling | 1530s, "a running (usually at full speed), a course" (especially of the sun, etc., across the sky), from French carriere "road, racecourse" (16c.) from…Vulgar Latin *(via) cararia "carriage (road), track for wheeled vehicles," from Latin carrus "chariot" (see car). The sense of "general course of action or movement" is from 1590s, hence "course of one’s public or professional life" (1803).
[KC – Mr. A. said, “Think of it as the path you take in the wagon of your life.”] |
| charge | 1. to fix or ask as fee or payment
2. to set a price 3. to give an electric charge to 4. to attack 5. archaic: to lay or put a load on or in: load |
early 13c., chargen, "to load, put a burden on or in; fill with something to be retained,"…from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon" (see car). |
I hope you enjoyed this little road trip!
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
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