Hello friends. I’m home early today to wait for daughter’s return from university, so time for a little light blogging. I thought you might enjoy a bit of word history, but this time focused on politics and elections. Plus I have a Bonus Corgi Video (you will like, I guarantee!)
President means simply “one who presides”. Presides comes from Latin praesidare, which means “to stand guard” or “to supervise”, but which literary means “to sit in front of”, from pre- (before) and sedere (to sit).
Vote comes from Latin votum. Its original use was for a vow, which meant a promise to a god, etc., hence the term votive offering. Vow, avow, and disavow are all related words.
Election comes from Latin electio, a form of eligere, meaning to “pick out”. Eligere in turn was combination of from ex- (from) and legere (to choose or to read). Related words include eligible, legible, etc.
Party comes, via French, from Latin partem, meaning a portion, part, etc. Related words include partisan, participate, partition, etc. The Latin terms mostly replaced the old Anglo-Saxon term, which was deal, which of course survives both as a term of cards, business, and also politics (New Deal).
Nomination means the act of mentioning by name, coming from Latin nominare, which in turn came from Latin nomen, meaning name. Both the Latin and the English terms come from very old roots, and have cognate forms in a number of Indo-European languages.
Candidate comes from Latin candidatus, meaning some one seeking an office, but it literally means “white-robed” because office seekers in Rome work white togas, coming from the Latin verb candere, meaning “to shine” Candid and candle are related words.
Candle itself has often been used with political implications, implying resistance or memoriam, perhaps most famously in the last words attributed to Hugh Latimer, who was burned at the stake with Nicholas Ridley during the Marian persecutions:
Be of good cheer, Master Ridley and play the man. we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.
Oath (as in oath of office) comes from Anglo-Saxon að (ð = was pronounced as th). It has cognate forms in many Germanic languages, such as Eid (German), eed (Dutch), and ed (Danish). Note the consonant shift in the cognates from -th to -d. All Germanic languages except English and Icelandic lost the th sound, so to this day the word for oath in Icelandic is eið.
Campaign comes from Latin campus (field) and was first used to describe military operations in fields or open country. It was first used to describe political operations in the U.S. in the early 1800s.
Senator comes from Latin senex, meaning old, or old man. Senile and senior are related words.
Speaker (of the House, etc.) comes from the Anglo-Saxon verb sprecan, which has cognates in various Germanic languages, such as German sprechen. (The r in the English verb fell out of use over time, but was preserved in German.) House also is an Anglo-Saxon word, and has modern cognates in Dutch huis and German Haus.
Source (for much of this): Online Etymology Dictionary.
Plus the bonus … Corgi Sock Bandit
x YouTube Video