Month: May 2017

Knowledge is Power

Niall O'Donnell 10 Comments

What does it mean to know something, or someone? To know is such a common verb that we use all the time, but when you really look into it, it becomes quite complex.

Defining it seems fairly straightforward: it means to understand something, or generally have knowledge about something. But consider the two following sentences: Continue reading →

A Moot Point

Niall O'Donnell 8 Comments

This phrase is probably one of the most misused in the English language. Often, people will say a mute point instead. There are a few reasons for this, I believe:

  1. It’s used more in discussions than in written English, so many people don’t know how to spell the word.
  2. Mute is a much more common word, and kind of makes sense in the context: if a point is moot, it doesn’t need to be mentioned, so it’s mute, or silent.
  3. What the bloody hell does moot mean anyway?

That’s an interesting question actually, because it’s not quite as simple as you might imagine. The Oxford English Dictionary’s second listed meaning for moot is having little or no practical relevance, which is how it’s commonly used, e.g.

Whether  they were the better team or not is a moot point: the match is over and they lost.

But the first meaning in the OED is subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty. Which of course is the exact opposite of how we mostly use the term. How on earth could this be? To solve this mystery, we have to delve deep into the origins of the word moot… Continue reading →

May Day!

Niall O'Donnell 7 Comments

Happy May Day! There’s a good chance that today is a holiday for you (if it’s not, my condolences). Initially a Spring Festival in the Northern Hemisphere, you can still find many celebrations based on old Pagan traditions. In the late-19th century, 1st May was chosen by the Second International as the date for International Workers’ Day, in commemoration of the Haymarket Affair, which took place in Chicago in 1886.

Like the names for the other months, May is Latin in origin. The month was named for Maia, the Roman goddess of the spring and growth.

You may also be aware, by the way, that in addition to being the name of the holiday, Mayday is also used as a distress call in the field of aviation. Though note that in this case, it’s one word with only the M capitalised. This is in contrast to the holiday, which is May Day, because it’s an actual day. You might have heard something of the origin of the term Mayday. When I first heard about it, it sounded like one of those stories that sounds too be cute to be true. But there is in fact some truth to it. Continue reading →