WesDymMay 22, 2023
English has two different terms for words that come into English from other languages. A 'calque' is translated from the source language. (E.g., flea market, beer garden, paper tiger) A 'loanword' is ported in its original form. (E.g., cafe, bazaar, kindergarten) Perhaps ironically, the word 'calque' is a loanword, while 'loanword' is a calque (from Ger. 'lehnwort').
Show threadDavid Mankins

@wesdym
I think my favorite loan word is "caucus". It sounds so Latin! And it's about politics, and one's mind goes to caucusing in the Roman Senate.

But, no -- it has a much more interesting heritage: it comes from the Algonquin family of languages, along with, it turns out, a lot of other ideas about freedom, politics, and economy as the monarchical Europeans encountered the societies of the Americas and had their eyes opened to many novel ways of organizing societies.

May 23, 2023 at 1:38pmWeb
Show threadCastedo EllermanMay 23, 2023

@lain_7 @wesdym

Doesn't "caucus" mean "drinking vessel" in Latin?

It seems far more likely that the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Caucus that met in a tavern to enjoy drinks like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_(cocktail), was named after a Latin word for a drinking vessel. And this group influenced American political jargon with members like Samual Adams and John Adams.

Boston Caucus - Wikipedia

Show threadDavid MankinsMay 23, 2023

@castedo @wesdym

You could be right. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucus gives several possible etymologies -- both the Algonquian and the drinking-vessel among them.

Native American politics was well known at the time (Franklin held them up as an example the colonies could learn from, and I think Jefferson discussed them as well).

Caucus - Wikipedia

Show threadCastedo EllermanMay 23, 2023
@lain_7 @wesdym
I know exactly what happened. 😉 Early European Americans argued while drinking Flip in colonial taverns over the true origins of the word caucus in Latin and Algonquian. And this led to the word's increased popularity! 😃
Show threadDavid MankinsMay 23, 2023

@castedo @wesdym

Among them, Boston shipwrights, caulking hammers hanging from their belts....

Show threadWesDymMay 23, 2023
@castedo One of several Latin terms for various drinking vessels, I believe -- of the goblet variety, I believe. (There is a goblet-shaped fungus named Ciboria caucus.) It's the hypothesis I personally prefer, because it seems to me to require the fewest and least extravagant assumptions. But to my knowledge, there is no solid proof for this or any other hypothesis so far.
Show threadWesDymMay 23, 2023
@lain_7 My understanding is that the origin of this term is currently uncertain. The most direct reference is the Colonial-era Caucus Club of Boston, but no one seems certain where they got their name. A good candidate is Algonquin 'caucauasu' (advisor, speaker). But there are other possibilities, including Latin and other English words, and without more evidence we just don't know right now.