9 words whose origins may surprise you

1. Toilet

Once these devices were produced by Unitas. Due to the association with the word "basin" in Russia, the name of the company has become a household name. The same thing happened as with the words "copier" and "diaper": the name of a foreign brand in Russia became the name of the product.

By the way, Unitas translates as "unity".

2. Umbrella

It would seem that everything is simple: the suffix "-ik" was added to the "umbrella" - it turned out "umbrella". But no.

It was the word zondek ("sun canopy") that came from the Dutch language to Russian, formed from zon ("sun") and dek ("tire"). And initially it was used in this form.

Later, the "sondek" turned into an "umbrella". In this word "-ik" began to be perceived as a diminutive suffix, so it was dropped - and the word "umbrella" was obtained.

3. Elephant

The name of this animal has nothing to do with the word "loitering". In ancient times it came from aslan - "lion" borrowed from the Turkic languages.

For our ancestors, elephants and lions are exotic animals that they did not meet in the forests. Apparently, having heard from the Turks about a certain "Aslan", the Slavs decided that it was a herbivore with a trunk and tusks. So the name stuck, losing the initial vowel and changing the root.

There is another outlandish beast, the name of which has sharply changed its meaning in a similar way. Old Russian "velbud" is formed from the Gothic ulbandus, which goes back to the eastern word meaning "elephant". So this animal in our language turned into a camel.

4. Poison

Let's remember the word "food" - and everything will become clear. Historically, "poison" has the same root as "food", "is." Originally the word meant “what is eaten; food". Then, probably, it acquired the meaning of "bad food", then - "poisoned food", and in the end - "poison".

5. Sweet

Surprisingly, this word is derived from the same stem as salt. In the old Russian form "licorice" we can easily isolate the root "sol". By the way, "malt" is formed from it.

Most likely, for our ancestors "salty" became synonymous with "tasty", and from it the meaning of "sweet" has already appeared.

6. Carousel

This word is of Italian origin. Perhaps a transformation of the words gara (competition) and sella (saddle) put together. Initially, this was the name of equestrian competitions, and only then it became a kind of attraction.

Now it is clear why the classic carousel is horses moving in a circle.

7. Sleigh

The original meaning of this word in the Old Russian language is "snakes". By the way, the chassis of this object is a runner, and this is also a kind of already-shaped. The sliding of the runners on the snow reminded our ancestors of crawling reptiles, as a result they called the winter carriage and its parts.

8. Week

What do Ukrainian “nedila” and Belarusian “nyadzela” mean? Sunday. And in the Old Russian language, this day was also called "nedulya". The word is derived from "not to do", that is, on this day one could rest easy. By the way, the word "Monday" was transformed from po neděli - "after Sunday." As "on return" - "after return", that is, this is the day after the week-Sunday.

But even in ancient times, the meaning of "week" has changed. Today it is not one, but seven days, and nothing can be done at this time only on vacation.

9. Year

Historically, this word has the same root as "benefit", "fit", "please". This is a derivative of "goiti" - "to satisfy, to approach." It used to be the name of a good, good time.

Compare with Czech hod, Slovenian gȏd and Polish gody, which mean "holiday". Or with the German gut - "good". And only later this word began to denote a time period of 365 days.