The phrase, which has come to refer to a completely inebriated person, derives from sailing, but not from the sails, as one might think.
In the early 1800s, chains were used to regulate the angle of the sails, and these were called sheets.
When the sheets were loose, the boat would become unstable and “tipsy,” thereby resembling a drunk person.
The abbreviation eg., standing for the Latin exempli gratia, or “for the sake of example,” means exactly that, a series of examples: “large dogs, e.g., Saint Bernards and Great Danes.” The abbreviation i.e., standing for id est, or “that is,” explains the subject you have mentioned: “large dogs, i.e., those over 3 feet tall and…
English is the wordiest language, with approximately 455,000 active words and 700,000 dead words.
Rather than measuring the time that passes during a meeting, the word minutes refers to the Latin minutus, or “small.” This is because the occurrences of the meeting are meant to be noted shortly and quickly, not that the events themselves are unimportant.
The U.S. Navy defines a boat as “a vessel that can be hauled aboard a ship.” In ordinary usage, however, large vessels are often called boats as well as ships.
The origin of the word Kismet is from the Turkish gismat, “portion” or “lot”. It means fate or the completion of destiny.
Homographs are two or more words that are spelled alike but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations, such as lead (the metal) and lead (to conduct). Homophones are pronounced alike but have different spellings and meanings, such as rite, right, and write. Homonyms are spelled or pronounced alike but have different meanings, such as…