Dandelions. We’re all quite familiar with those sunny little flowers, right? Weeds, most people say. But to be quite honest, I always loved them. They’re so cheerful and happy when in their yellow stage…and though not quite so pretty when they’ve gone to seed, that white puff is FUN, am I right? Eh? Eh? 😉

But what about the word itself? Have you ever pondered why this oh-so-abundant member of the daisy family (that’s right, it IS a flower!) has “lion” in its name?

I think I always assumed that it was because the yellow petals were reminiscent of a mane. But nope. I was wrong.

Dandelion, which has been an English word since the 1300s, is actually from Old French dent de lion, which is in turn directly from Latin dens leonis, meaning “lion’s tooth.” Um…er…em…huh? Yup. Not for the petals…for the LEAVES, with their jagged edges.

Go figure!

Another name given once-upon-a-time to this plan was tell-time (also from the late 1300s), so called either because of how the flower opens up with the sunshine, or perhaps based on an idea that the number of puffs it takes to blow off the seeds corresponds to the hour. (Riiiiiight.) I’d never heard that name for them, but it was interesting enough to share!

Okay, so ‘fess up. How do you really feel about dandelions?

Word Nerds Merch!

Okay, I’m a little late in the season for this one, I grant you…but the question came up when my daughter received her high school diploma, and I haven’t honestly done any of these posts since then–June was CRAZY! And I figure, hey, learning is learning. 😉

So the word diploma comes (not surprisingly) from Latin. The Latin word being–brace yourself–diploma. Yep. Straight borrow there. The interesting thing, though, comes in the meaning. The Latin, and the original English that dates from the 1640s, both meant “an official state letter of recommendation.” This would be less like our diplomas today and more like what became a passport or a letter of introduction. The Latin is actually taken straight from the Greek, from the words “fold over.” So not a rolled scroll or something in a frame–a folded piece of paper.

By 1680, it was being used in relation to documents issues by colleges to award achievements. This is of course our primary meaning today–and it’s extended to other schools as well–but it wasn’t exclusively that kind of document until  modern times.

Word Nerds Merch!