Since it’s Memorial Day, I thought I’d take a look at some appropriate words. =) I know I did “memorial” last year, though, so today we’re going with “veteran.”
I was a bit surprised by how old this one was for some reason. Since 1500 it has carried the meaning “old experienced soldier.” It’s taken from the French vétéran, which is in turn from the Latin “veteranus,” which means, simply, old. (Sorry, all you vets out there! LOL) Of course, “veteranus” is from “vetus” which also means old, derived from a bunch of really ancient languages in which similar words mean “year.”
That kind of surprised me, since its only history is attached to age and not to service. But there you have it. By the 1590s it had taken on the meaning of anyone experienced with any position, moving from noun to adjective by 1610.
But no matter where the word comes from, I certainly want to take today to thank all those men and women who have served our country, who have fought for our freedom. All those who have given of themselves for a noble cause.
And now, go enjoy your holiday. 😉 I’m off to bake a watermelon-shaped cake…
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
The cake is strawberry, tinted a bit redder, which chocolate chips for the seeds. Icing will be cream cheese, with a skim-layer of white to catch all the crumbs (and look like the inside of the rind) and then tinted two different greens for the stripes. =) We'll see how it turns out, LOL. You can bet I'll post pictures!
Thanks for the post! The history of this word is surprising. I guess I thought it would be more complicated or something.
A watermelon shaped cake? I would love to see that! What kind is it? A chocolate watermelon cake? A strawberry watermelon cake?
Enjoy the weekend with your family!
Oooh – wanna see the cake!
And love learning this, as usual.