Cognate Cognizance Podcast

This week’s “Cognate Cognizance” duo is one that I wish I’d known during those 30 years in which I was teaching Spanish. I came upon the English word, which is now considered mostly archaic, while reading “Moby Dick” recently. The moment I saw the word, I had one of those “ah-ha moments” in which I figuratively (and perhaps literally) slapped my head while simultaneously groaning aloud in frustration. Again, if only I’d known this word when I was teaching Spanish, it would have come in so handy.

So, let’s look at the word.

disport — essentially, this noun simply means “sport” but it also can mean “play, pastime, diversion, or game” and as a verb it means “to divert” or “to amuse”

deporte — the Spanish cognate that means “sport”

If you’ve ever learned Spanish or if you teach that language, you know just how common the word “deporte” is in vocabulary lessons and in the Spanish language as a whole. In English, we long ago shortened “disport” to the much more commonly used “sport.”

“Disport” and “deporte” come from Latin’s portare which means “to carry.” Hmm, how does a word that means “to carry” come to refer to “sports?” Let’s look at the explanation provided by merriam-webster.com:

“Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the earliest writers to amuse the reading public with the verb disport. Chaucer and his contemporaries carried the word into English from Anglo-French, adapting it from desporter, meaning "to carry away, comfort, or entertain." The word can ultimately be traced back to the Latin verb portare, meaning "to carry." Deport, portable, and transport are among the members of the portare family.”

Chaucer died in 1400, and our language has changed much since his time, so it’s no wonder we eventually shortened “disport” to “sport,” but the Spanish language continues to use “deporte” for “sport.”

My students would logically assume “deporte” meant “deport,” but it doesn’t. It was a logical assumption, though, because the two words are almost identical. They are that way because they both come from the same linguistic ancestor. “Deport” in Spanish, however, is “deportar.”

In reference to the above-mentioned words, “transport” is “transporte” in Spanish, and “portable” is “portable” or “portátil.”

If you’ve ever had to carry a canoe or a kayak from the river and across or around something blocking your way or dangerous, then you’ve practiced the act called “portage.” This is “el porteo” in Spanish. Once again, you see that base of the Latin ancestor in those words.

When you are playing a sport, you are essentially carrying yourself away in the entertainment of that activity. You are “disporting” yourself.

While I know this post isn’t going to bring “disport” back into common usage, it can help those learning or teaching Spanish to understand that “sport” actually is a cognate of “deporte.” My students would see the commonality between the words due to them both containing the letters “p-o-r-t” but I failed to investigate and see the solid connection between the two words because I had never heard of the word “disport” until I read “Moby Dick.”

Here is the quote where it appears:

MOBY DICK

"And thus, though surrounded by circle upon circle of consternations and affrights, did these inscrutable creatures at the centre freely and fearlessly indulge in all peaceful concernments; yea, serenely revelled in dalliance and delight. But even so, amid the tornadoed Atlantic of my being, do I myself still for ever centrally disport in mute calm; and while ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve around me, deep down and deep inland there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy."

Chapter lxxxvii - THE GRAND ARMADA

I love reading classic literature for many reasons, but linguistically speaking, I enjoy it for moments like this when I see the connection between an archaic English word and a commonly used Spanish one and thus understand the sentence I’m reading without needing to look up the word. It makes me feel smart. Ha ha.

I hope this post has made you feel a bit smarter as you’ve increased your “Cognate Cognizance.” This is a free post. If you’re a free subscriber only, you missed out on learning more about the words “security,” “brilliant,” and “communal” these past weeks. Won’t you give being a paying subscriber a one-month chance, so you don’t miss any more entries? I’d really appreciate it.

Until next time.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

This is April’s free post one week early because I need to take next week off — and no, this isn’t an early April Fool’s Day joke. I’ll return with a post for paying subscribers on April 8th, but I’ve made this post extra long for my paying subscribers’ benefit.

Let’s begin with the cognate duo.

vestural — an adjective meaning “of or relating to clothing or vesture”

vestural — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning.

I begin with that duo because they are spelled exactly the same, and I’m hoping they will help you see the connections I’m going to point out in the rest of this post.

In the English meaning, you see the word “vesture.” Did you know that “vesture” as a noun simply means “clothing?” Or that as a verb it simply means “to clothe?” Many people do not. If they know the word at all, they equate it with a robe or vestment worn by a priest, but “vesture” is also any clothing. Or it’s the act of clothing oneself. I prefer to vesture myself in comfy vesture.

“Vesture” as a noun in Spanish is “vestidura.” As a verb, it is “vestir” or “vestirse.”

These words and all their cognates come from Latin’s vestire which means “to clothe” and vestis which means “clothing” or “garment.”

Whether you know this or not, the word “vest” can be a verb, and in one sense of it as a verb, “vest” means “to clothe with or as with a garment.” As a noun, one meaning of “vest” is “vesture, clothing, garb,” but most people think of it as what it is more commonly used for — to refer to a type of clothing that men wear over a shirt.

Oddly enough, despite so many cognates surrounding the words that come from Latin’s vestire, the type of “vest” pictured in the above photo in Spanish is “chaleco.” Clearly, not a cognate.

Let’s get back to the two Spanish verbs “vestir” and “vestirse.” These would be translated to English as “to clothe” and “to clothe oneself.” Essentially, with the first, you are putting clothing on someone or something else, like a child or someone who isn’t able to dress himself. With the second, you are putting the clothing onto yourself. It’s what is called a reflexive verb — the action reflects back upon the subject who is doing it, and that ending “se” changes to indicate who is receiving the action.

Examples:

“I dress the children” is “Yo visto a los niños.”

“I get dressed” is “Yo me visto.”

“The children dress their dolls.” is “Los niños visten sus muñecas.”

“The children dress themselves (or clothe themselves) (or get dressed).” is “Los niños se visten.”

When I was teaching Spanish, I’d go over lots of words for various pieces of clothing. The word “vestido” caused all sorts of confusion for students. At first glance, you might assume the same thing that they assumed and think that “vestido” is “vest,” but you’d be wrong. Remember, I already told you that “chaleco” is “vest.” So, what in the world is a “vestido?” It’s a “dress.”

If you make all the connections with these words that begin with “vest” and that they all have to do with getting clothed or getting DRESSED, it’s easy to remember that “un vestido” is simply “a dress,” but teenagers don’t usually have advanced vocabulary skills, so this was a struggle for them. The struggle worsened for them, too, because “un vestido” is a masculine word in the Spanish language, and the students wanted to equate the gender of the person who usually wears a dress with the dress itself, but that’s not how language works.

A “vestry” in a church is the place where the “vestments” of the clergy are kept among other things. In Spanish, this is a “vestuario.” It can be called other things, too, but this is the cognate for “vestry.” “Vestuario” is used outside of church, though, and can be used to refer to other types of dressing rooms.

Another word for that room in a church as well as for the clothing kept in that room is the “vestiary.” It’s probably no surprise that “vestuario” is also the Spanish cognate for “vestiary.”

If you “divest” someone of something, you are taking it away, but you can also use this verb to mean that someone is removing clothing. “He quickly divested himself of the heavy clothing before jumping into the lake.” In that sense, the Spanish cognate is “desvestir” or “desvestirse.”

Yes, “invest” comes from the same place, and some of its meanings retain that aspect of “clothing” someone. Essentially, you surround someone with something if you “invest” them with certain powers or other things — kind of like adorning them or placing clothing upon them. In this sense, the Spanish cognate is “investir,” but only in this sense.

Until next time. Consider becoming a paying subscriber, so you don’t miss these weekly posts. Paying subscribers learned about “caprice” and the word “march” this month. It’s only a few dollars a month.

Thanks.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

I dream of having a home library that is ample enough to hold all my books in one room or a wall like the one pictured that is more than ample enough.

ample — an adjective meaning that something is “more than adequate in size, scope, or capacity”

amplio/amplia — the masculine and feminine forms of the Spanish cognate of the same meaning

“Ample” is a great word that doesn’t get used as much in English as it does in Spanish, in my opinion. The cognates come from Latin’s amplus and the word has retained essentially the same meaning through the years.

If something is “ample,” then it has that “more than adequate” aspect of size. It’s a “generous” quality and a generous word.

The above photo shows what we might call a “large living room” but in Spanish it would more likely be called a “sala amplia” because you can see that it has that essence of being quite generous or more than adequate in the amount of space that is provided in the room.

The shelves offer the “ampleness” I need to comfortably house all my books in one room. “Ampleness” is a noun, and so is “amplitude.” Their meanings vary a bit with “amplitude” having more, but the Spanish cognate for both of these is “amplitud.”

I admire the “amplitude” of certain authors who have written a great number of books on a great number of topics.

If you “amplify” something, you increase its size or volume. You make what was “ample” even more generous in size. The Spanish cognate is “amplificar.”

An “amplifier,” which we sometimes abbreviate to the word “amp,” is the thing that “amplifies” the volume of something. My favorite amps have my name on them — ha ha.

In Spanish, it’s an “amplificador,” which is a masculine word — remember that all nouns in Spanish and Latin-based languages have gender.

Sometimes we say that someone was “amply” rewarded for doing something; thus, that person was generously rewarded or given something that went beyond what was expected. “Amply” is an adverb and as such in Spanish, it follows the pattern for creating adverbs from adjectives — you take the feminine form of the adjective which is “amplia” in Spanish and then add the “-mente” ending. Thus, the cognate is “ampliamente.”

I think I’ve been “amply sufficient” — “ampliamente suficiente” — with today’s Cognate Cognizance, so I’ll sign off for now. Reminder, though, that this is the free edition for March, so if you’re a free subscriber, you won’t hear from me again until April. Free subscribers missed the posts about “evolution,” “ridiculous,” and “mountain,” so consider upgrading to “paid” so as not to miss out on other weekly posts.

Have a great week/month. See you soon.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

Are you confused as to why there is a photo of a woman jousting on a post about the word “career?” If you are, then you’re about to learn something. If you’re not, then give yourself a pat on the back for already having some solid cognate cognizance.

The meaning of “job” or “profession” for “career” is not the original sense of the word, so let’s look at what those original senses are.

career — as a noun, “career” is a “course” or “passage” of something, the “speed” of something, a “charge” or “encounter” in a tournament, or when referring to a horse, it is “a short gallop or a run at full speed.”

As a verb, “career” means “to make a short gallop or charge,” or it means “to go, drive, or run at top speed.”

carrera — the Spanish noun whose first meaning tends to be a “race” or a “course” and whose later meaning is a “career/profession.”

These words come to us from Latin’s carrus for “wheeled vehicle.” In Spanish, one word for “car” is “carro.” You can easily see that those two words are cognates and came to us from that same Latin word. (As does “cart” which is also a vehicle that has wheels on it.)

When I was teaching Spanish, the word “carrera” would come up in stories or sentences that were sports-related. Typically, the word would translate as a “race” in those instances, but my students would see the word and assume it meant “career” and that would confuse them because they only knew the word “career” in the sense of a “profession.”

However, that sense of the word originated from those earlier meanings that deal with the “course” in which something travels or the “speed” at which it travels. A horse in full career is at full gallop. Over time, when you look at the full “course” that your profession took, it came to be called your “career,” and then the word shifted a bit to refer more to one’s profession than to the “course” or “passage” you took along the way.

Thus, the word “career” is perfect for the course of one’s professional life and tends to be used only for people who follow a more consistent path instead of for those who jump from job to job. I had a long “career” as a teacher, and now I’m very set on my course, or “career,” as a writer.

As a verb, I think the word isn’t used much, but it’s a great word. “Where are you careering off to?” gives a very vivid image of a child rushing at full speed through the house or down a hallway while also a bit out of control.

Since it isn’t used much in reference to speed, my students didn’t know the word “career” as anything other than “profession,” so when “carrera” would appear in sentences about someone winning the “carrera” in the competition, they would be confused. It wasn’t a word that they ever became adept at recalling to mean a “race” because they couldn’t make that connection between “career” and “carrera.”

Just look at the beginning of the words. The word “car” is in both of them. What does a car do? It goes fast, and sometimes it’s used in a “race” or a “carrera.”

Today, when you watch the sun’s career (la carrera del sol) or the moon’s career (la carrera de la luna) across the sky, think of the word “career” in a new way. Run your own race in life, focus on your own career, and keep improving your cognate cognizance.

Until next time.

This was the free post for February. If you’re not a paying subscriber, consider becoming one to get these each week. Non-paying subscribers missed out on “cuneiform,” “culpable,” “rancor,” and “promise.” I promise you it’s worth a few dollars a month to keep improving your vocabulary skills. Thanks.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

I’d be remiss to allow this Monday that falls on the first day of January, 2024, to slip by without addressing a cognate duo that may be on many people’s minds today.

resolution — while this word has many meanings, the one I’ll focus on today is “something that is resolved or for which a firm decision has been made regarding it”

resolución — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning

These words hearken back to Latin’s resolutio which comes from resolvere which is the ancestor of our word “resolve” and Spanish’s word “resolver,” both of which have many meanings, too. However, for the start of this new year, if you “resolve” to do something, then you are making a firm decision to do whatever it is you’ve “resolved” to do.

I make “resolutions” each new year — most of them have to do with reading a certain number of books (it’s usually 50) and writing a certain amount (this year, I resolve to complete another book).

In a book or short story, there is a “resolution” as well. It’s the point at which the main complication is worked out and everything is then settled or solved.

If you are “resolute” about something, you are determined to get it done and may even show courage or bravery about it. In Spanish this adjective is “resuelto” for masculine things and “resuelta” for feminine things. It has the vowel change because, as a verb, “resolver” is what is called a “stem-changing verb” in Spanish, so “I resolve” becomes “yo resuelvo.” That vowel change exists then in the adjective form of the word, too.

“I am a resolute person” is “Yo soy una persona resuelta” no matter the gender of the person who is speaking because the word “persona” is always feminine in Spanish.

I like to think that I’m a very resolute person because I decide things and then get them done. I think that’s why I actually enjoy making New Year’s “resolutions” or “resoluciones” because I know that I’ll see them through.

If you’re observant, perhaps you noticed that the accent mark in the singular “resolución” was dropped when the word was pluralized to “resoluciones.” If you noticed that, give yourself a pat on the back; if you didn’t, then “resolve” to be more observant in 2024. Ha ha.

Are you a movie buff? Do you remember the scene in “National Treasure 2” where they search the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office? If not, here’s a link to the clip: Resolute Desk clip

Here’s the photo that’s mentioned in the clip, too.

The desk was made “from the oak timbers of the British ship HMS Resolute. In 1880, Queen Victoria gifted the desk to President Rutherford B. Hayes.” (whitehousehistory.org) A naval ship would need to be very “resolute” or determined and brave to do battle with ships of other nations.

This is the first free cognate post of 2024. At the start of each month, there will be a free post, but every Monday, paying subscribers receive a new “Cognate Cognizance” post in their email. Won’t you help me with another of my “resolutions” — gain more readers/paying subscribers — by choosing to become a paying subscriber today?

Happy New Year. Good luck with whatever “resoluciones” you’ve made for 2024.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever been accused of being a “Chatty Cathy?” (I’m showing my age by using that expression, I’m sure.) If so, you are probably a “prolix” person. Maybe a “Prolix Polly” or a “Verbose Veronica,” or a . . . oops, now I’m being “prolix.”

prolix — an adjective describing someone using excess words; something written or spoken that is too long and drawn out

prolijo — the Spanish masculine cognate of the same meaning

prolija — the Spanish feminine cognate

One of the many benefits I encountered while teaching a high school linguistics class for a few years was that my own lexicon grew by leaps and bounds. One of the words that I vividly recall adding to my lexical repertoire was the word “prolix” because it’s an odd-sounding word and because it sounds as though it describes someone who is a pro at taking his or her licks (or a pro at licking? — ha ha).

“Prolix” comes from Latin’s prolixus which means “extended” and which comes from the combination of the prefix “pro-” and a form of the Latin word for “liquid.” If you are “prolix” then your words tend to flow out of you in copious quantities and you may be a person who takes a long time to get to the point. You may be accused of being someone who “word vomits.” Yuck.

Since the word “prolix” is Latin based, then the words related to it all have cognates in Spanish and other Latin-based languages.

“Prolix” is “prolixo” in Portuguese, “prolisso” in Italian, and “prolixe” in French. If we make it a noun, in English it’s “prolixity” and means that you are using too many words in your speech or your writing. That word becomes “prolijidad” in Spanish (remember that I’ve pointed out here how where we use “-ity” at the ends of our nouns, Spanish will use “-idad”), “prolixidade” in Portuguese, “prolissità” in Italian, and “prolixité” in French.

A lesser-used noun form of the word in English is “prolixness.” If you write or speak in a very verbose or prolix manner, then you do that “prolixly.”

I tried to be a bit “prolix” in this week’s post simply to help stick the word into your own lexicons. Here’s an unnecessary abundance of Post-it notes to help you visualize the concept of “prolixity.”

This is the free “Cognate Cognizance” for December. If you aren’t a paying subscriber, you missed out on learning about the words “paladin,” “ambit,” and “insatiable” in November. Please give yourself the Christmas gift of knowledge and become a paying subscriber now, so you don’t miss any more weekly posts. It’s only a few dollars a month, and you can subscribe monthly or pay for an entire year. Thanks for your support.

Until next week (or next month).

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

(I apologize for the unavoidable car noises in the background of the recording. There’s no getting away from it right now because there’s a very busy avenue right outside my room here in Mexico.)

The Panama Canal runs through the narrowest part of the “isthmus” of Panama.

isthmus — a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses

istmo — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning

An “isthmus” can also be a “narrow anatomical part” that connects larger parts. Perhaps that makes you think of your “neck.” If so, good for you because the words “isthmus” and “istmo” come to English and Spanish via the Greek word for “neck” which is (ισθμός) “isthmόs.”

I’ve never been a fan of the word “isthmus” due to its strange spelling and pronunciation. Now I can just blame the Greeks for that. Ha ha.

I came upon the Spanish cognate in the Spanish version of Isabel Allende’s novel, “Zorro,” which I’m reading for my next column during my stay in Mexico. In it, the two main protagonists travel down from the region of California to the “istmo de Panama” to then traverse that narrow strip of land and board a ship bound for Barcelona.

Seeing the Spanish cognate got me wondering where the word came from because it doesn’t look Spanish, and it certainly doesn’t look English, so I looked it up and learned that it comes from Greek. It’s a classic example of how languages borrow words from each other when there’s a need to name something.

While reading the novel, I came upon the word “nuca” a few times. I had to look it up to see what it meant and found that it means the “nape” of one’s neck. Something about the word made me wonder if we had a cognate for it.

We do! It’s “nucha.”

Never heard of it? Don’t feel bad; I hadn’t either. If you know the word, then reach back and below your “nucha” and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.

“Nucha” and Spanish’s “nuca” come from Latin, but Latin took the word from an Arabic one meaning “spinal marrow.” In English, we used to use “nucha” to refer to the “spinal cord,” but that meaning is now obsolete. I suspect that “nucha” for “nape” will become obsolete at some point, too, because most English speakers use “nape.” The word “nape” comes to us directly from Middle English, too, so that explains why it’s more commonly used.

Our word “neck” comes down to us from Old English, but it is akin to an Old High German word for “nape.” The Spanish word for “neck” is “cuello,” and it comes from Latin’s collum. When I taught Spanish, I would tell my students to think of the “cuello” as the place where the “collar” goes because “collar” and “cuello” come from the same Latin word.

This is the free “Cognate Cognizance” post for November. If you missed getting these little info-bytes each week, please consider upgrading to “paid,” so you don’t miss out on any more. Additionally, with a paid subscription, you have access to the full archive.

Until next time.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

literature — I doubt this needs a definition, but essentially, it’s “the writings in prose or verse” of humankind

literatura — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning/s

Given my love of literature and the fact that I’m an author myself, I’m a bit embarrassed that I haven’t covered this cognate duo before, but better late than never as the old saying goes.

These words come from Latin’s littera which means “letter” as in letter of the alphabet. All “literature” comes from words, and when you go through the process of putting those spoken sounds down onto paper into some sort of visual form, you need individual letters. Putting those individual letters together into words and then into sentences and paragraphs, etc. is writing and from doing that, we get things to read or things that we can lump together under the category or definition of “literature.”

Essentially, “literature” is all those things that are made up of individual letters and meant for us to read. Nowadays, we can also listen to literature via audiobooks and the like and feel the words through Braille, but “literature” began when people first started putting their oral stories into written form and thus needed those magical little symbols called “letters.”

So, any word related to “literature” also hearkens back to that Latin word for “letter.”

Since it does, it will have a Spanish cognate as well as cognates in the other Romance languages.

“Literal” is simply “literal” in Spanish; “literary” is “literario” for masculine words and “literaria” for feminine ones; “literally” is “literalmente” because Spanish tends to use the -mente ending on adverbs where we use that -ly ending; “literality” is “literalidad” because Spanish uses that -dad ending on nouns where we use “-ity.”

If you are a “literate” person as in the sense of being “cultured, learned, educated,” then you are “una persona letrada.” If you simply mean that you can read, then you are “una persona alfabetizada.” I think you can see that the word for “literate” in the second Spanish example shows that the person knows his or her “alphabet” and thus can read but may or may not be “letrada” in the sense of being well read.

In Spanish, the word for “letter” is “letra.” It’s quite evident in the word “letrada,” which would be “letrado” for something masculine.

The next time you pick up a piece of “literature” to read it, take a moment to marvel at those little symbols that we call “letters.” The English alphabet has only 26 letters, but they combine to make hundreds of thousands of words and millions upon millions of pieces of literature. The Spanish alphabet has 27 or 30 letters, depending on whether you want to include the “ch” and the “ll” and the “rr” as separate letters or not — when I first learned the Spanish alphabet, I learned it with 30 letters.

I will say it for you now, but you’ll only hear it if you are listening to this via the attached podcast and not just reading it.

Until next time. This is the free “Cognate Cognizance” post for October. If you want to keep receiving this weekly instead of monthly, please upgrade to “paid” now. Being a “paid” subscriber gets you access to the full archive of all the past posts, and there are many now since I’ve been writing these for over 2 years.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

foment — a verb meaning “to incite” or rouse or encourage or instigate

fomentar — the Spanish cognate of the same meanings.

“Foment” is a verb that nowadays usually carries a negative “fiery” connotation but it had a “warm” beginning. We tend to hear it now in media reports about people “fomenting rebellions” or other criminally charged events, but “foment” comes to us from Latin’s fovēre which means “to soothe” and “to heat.”

We originally used the word “foment” to tell someone to “foment” a sore muscle by applying moist “heat” to it. If you metaphorically apply heat to someone, you stir that person to action, so over time, the word’s denotation (dictionary meaning) as well as its connotation (the sentiments we apply to it) changed. Now, if we “foment” someone or someone’s actions, we are “inciting” that person or thing to do something and usually that something is something bad.

That something can be a good thing, though, of course. I hope that I am “fomenting” your desire to keep expanding your lexicon with these “Cognate Cognizance” posts.

If you’re a person who encourages or instigates things, you might be called a “fomenter.” I’m okay with being called a “fomenter” of language growth. In Spanish, I’d be a “fomentadora” since I’m a female. A male would be a “fomentador.”

If you apply those moist, hot compresses to soothe something, or if you instigate something to happen, you are practicing the act of “fomentation.” This can also simply be called a “foment” in English, so it is “un fomento” in Spanish.

If you “foment” something, you kindle it into action. So, there are “fomites” which are inanimate objects (like doorknobs) which can carry bacteria that can then be transferred to another person and kindle an illness in that person. “Fomite” comes from the same Latin verb as “foment.” In Spanish, the word is “fómite.”

If I have been “fomenting” your love of words, then consider upgrading to Paid now because after the 15th (which marks 2 full years of me writing these posts), I’m only sending the weekly posts to paying subscribers. Free subscribers will get a monthly post.

I’m going to offer my birthday discount once more, so if you care to subscribe for a full year, it’s 20% off. That means you get 52 posts for less than a dollar a post.

Until next time.

Tammy Marshall

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cognatecognizance.substack.com/subscribe

I hope you are fortunate to have the day off from work, but I know that some people still have to work, or do labor, on this day anyway. In honor of the day, though, let’s examine the word “labor” and its relatives.

labor — a noun that in its simplest definition means “work” (— this word can also be used as a verb, “to labor,” and as an adjective, “a labor leader”)

labor — concerning the noun version of the word, this is the Spanish cognate of the same meaning, even though they more frequently use the word “trabajo” for “work”

The word “labor” comes to us from Latin’s labor, which, besides meaning “work,” also means “drudgery,” and “hardship.” That’s why the connotation of “labor” still brings up work that is difficult and strenuous, whether physically or mentally so.

My daughter is a paleontologist in charge of the laboratory pictured below. The word “laboratory” comes from the same place as the word “labor” because a “laboratory” is a place in which you can conduct work/research. The Spanish cognate for “laboratory” is “laboratorio.”

I mentioned above that the word “labor” can be used as an adjective. When it’s an adjective in Spanish, it becomes “laboral.” Thus, “the labor movement” is “el movimiento laboral.”

If a job takes a lot of “labor,” we might call it “laborious.” That adjective is “laborioso” for masculine words and “laboriosa” for feminine ones. A “laborious project” would be “un proyecto laborioso.” Sometimes we say that the project is “laborsome” in English, but that word would still be “laborioso” in Spanish.

If you’re a hardworking person, especially if your job requires strenuous work, then today is your day. “Labor Day” was created to honor you and other Americans like you. If you’d like to read about the history of the day, here’s a link to an interesting article about it: Labor Day origin

Writing these “Cognate Cognizance” weekly posts has been a “labor of love” for me these past two years. As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m going to continue the weekly posts for paying subscribers only after September 15th (which officially marks two full years of writing this) and go to monthly posts for free subscribers. The paid subscription is only a few dollars a month.

I’d be so happy if you’d consider becoming a paying subscriber for a while at least. My birthday is next week, so you could think of it as a small gift to me for turning 55, if you’d like. In honor of my birthday, I’m extending the special offer if you subscribe now for a year.

If you’d prefer to subscribe for a month or two instead:

Thanks for reading. Until next week. Enjoy Labor Day!

Tammy Marshall

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