Library›Where Words Come From›One card

A LITTLE SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING

A small discovery. Yours to pass on.

Language & WordsOne small ahaWord

This word literally means bad star, reflecting an old belief in blaming misfortune on the stars.

Think it. Then flip it. ahamoraTap to reveal Back to the cue
Language & WordsOne small aha
Your new ahaDisaster

Disaster: Originally reflected the idea of blaming misfortune on the stars. Source: Wiktionary: disaster ↗

ahamoraReference ↗

Keep the thread going

One answer is a beginning.

Share a little curiosity, or follow it into the full collection.

Flip the full deck →

More from Where Words Come From

A few more worth knowing.

  1. 31This word comes from the Italian phrase for forty days, the length of an early isolation period.RECALL
    Quarantine

    Quarantine comes from the Italian phrase for forty days, the length of an early isolation period.

    Open this card ↗
  2. 32The word “Quarantine” comes from, or was formed in, this language.RECALL
    Italian

    Quarantine comes from the Italian phrase for forty days, the length of an early isolation period.

    Open this card ↗
  3. 33This word once meant a ball of thread, evoking the myth of Theseus finding his way through a labyrinth.RECALL
    Clue

    Clue once meant a ball of thread, evoking the myth of Theseus finding his way through a labyrinth.

    Open this card ↗