I’ll be driving to Cologne in the morning, so I may not get much writing done over the weekend.
Cologne of course, is a city in western Germany.
Cologne though, as in cologne with a lower-case C when it’s not at the start of a sentence, is something a man sprays on himself to smell nice.
The reason we use the name for both is pretty straightforward.
Johann Maria Farina was an Italian chemist living in Cologne who developed a pleasant-smelling fragrance in the early 18th century. He called it eau de Cologne, the French for water of Cologne or Cologne water. His was actually a specific single fragrance, but the term has come to refer to any fragrance marketed towards men.
Cologne as a term for such a fragrance is really only used in American English. The rest of us call it… well, we’re not really sure. Some people say aftershave, but that’s not really accurate. Traditionally that was men’s primary method to smell nice, but of course it strictly should refer to some kind of balm applied after shaving. No-one seems to really want to call it perfume, as that’s been considered to be exclusively for women for so long. Fragrance seems to be the most acceptable term, though I think a lot of men are just happy to buy the stuff, use it, and not give it a name at all. In time, as traditional gender associations become less distinct, we’ll probably all call it perfume and that’ll be that.
Back to the city itself: Cologne is both the French and English name. In German it’s Köln. These names are derived from the Latin Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, or Colonia Agrippina for short. The Colonia part means colony. In the 1st century AD, it was a Roman settlement, named after Agrippina the Younger, wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. She was born there, and convinced Claudius to name the colony after her. Would that we all had such influence.
So effectively, cologne means colony. It’s not something you’ll probably think about the next time you’re drenching yourself in the stuff, but considering the word’s got 2,000 years of history behind it, it might make you more respectful and selective in your choice of cologne. And we’ll all benefit from that!
English-Language Thoughts 
Sounds like a cool city- I’d love to stop here when I visit Germany!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just back, it’s really great, especially this time of year: Christmas markets round every corner!
LikeLike
When I traveled in Europe, my bus tour stayed in a hotel outside Cologne, but we didn’t even see the city in the distance.
I remember first reading about ‘toilet water’ in maybe an Agatha Christie book, and thinking, no, that can’t be what it means.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny how the word “toilet” has gone from being posh to rude. No-one “makes their toilet” anymore!
LikeLike
In Australia, ‘toilet’ is perfectly acceptable, but we probably ‘go to the toilet’ or ‘use the toilet’. In South Korea, I had a foul-mouthed colleague from the US. One day at a restaurant I needed to go (a common expression), so I asked the waitress ‘Excuse me, where is the toilet?’ (in English – not sure why I didn’t ask in Korean; it was one of the first things I learned). The colleague was horrified that I would actually say that to a waitress.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By the way, the Korean word for toilet is literally ‘powder room’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always wondered if anyone actually uses that!
LikeLike
I’ve noticed that Americans really avoid it. In Ireland and the UK it’s still fairly OK, especially if you’re referring to a small room with just a toilet and wash hand basin.
LikeLike
I’m thinking cologne must be one of the rare good byproducts of colonialism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I can’t think of any more!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on lampmagician.
LikeLike
Eau de cologne is one thing, but I will never not giggle at “eau de toilette”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Think of all the poor French speakers who’ve innocently translated it to “toilet water!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] please. After I wrote about eau de Cologne recently, a few of you referred to eau de toilette in the comments, and it’s clear similarity […]
LikeLike
[…] about military ranks last week, I wondered if the word colony, which I’d touched on briefly the week before, was related to the word column, from whose Italian translation the word colonel comes […]
LikeLike