My name is Honora and I'm a compulsive etymologist . . .booyah!

It started innocently enough in those book-filled days of my youth . . . a fascination with words (my friends, my comfort, my reliable bastion against boredom). It took an unusual word or phrase, though, to spark the chase in those days.

That was because you had to work at it . . . dredge up long-forgotten dronings of ancient nuns on root words; plumb the depths of respected elders' knowledgebases (by which I mean their brains, not a database); and dig through resource books. And one never had the truly good research books in one's home – no, travel to a local library was required. Thus, the phrase or word had to make the cut. Not every randomly pondered word could inspire that level of commitment and dedication.

Inexorably, though, the compulsion grew. So I upgraded my resource books at home (the Complete Oxford Dictionary including built-in drawer for magnifying glass, anyone?). Alas, it was as frequently fruitless as fulfilling.

But then - the internet . . . . and all was lost. In the 10 or so years I've been cybersurfing, the compulsion has grown. I now cannot get through a conversation (business, social or otherwise) without the insidious distraction of that seductive voice saying, "Where does that word / phrase / concept come from?" [shakes head] Perhaps the vernacular (yee-haw! or "okay"). Perhaps word connections (see "muse" below). Perhaps language roots (well, duh – I knew "nudge" was Yiddish . . . but who woulda thought "mish mash," "cockamamie" and "magila" were, too? Oh, koshernosh, lomir geyn! [let me go!]).

At last week's Women's Writers Group, it happened again. But it wasn't ME – it was our kindly knitter-slash-"audience ear" who mused about variations of "muse." [shamefacedly sighs] Okay, but it was me who came home, researched the question across three of my favorite language websites, wrote up said research, and assembled the update email to 20 folks (only a quarter of whom were actually in attendance at said gathering). In my defense, I received two thank-you emails from people who had not attended but just found it interesting stuff (why, yes, it IS a communicable disease).

[from email] Following up from today's writers' meeting, here's some background on the definition and etymology of the word "muse" and the subsequent words we mused about that suggested some form of "muse" related thereto:

[note: most information taken from Online Etymology - one of my favorite sites]

MUSE - verb
"to be absorbed in thought," 1340, from O.Fr. muser (12c.) "to ponder, loiter, waste time," lit. "to stand with one's nose in the air" (or, possibly, "to sniff about" like a dog who has lost the scent), from muse "muzzle," from Gallo-Romance *musa "snout," of unknown origin. Probably influenced in sense by Muse.

MUSE - noun
c.1374, protectors of the arts, from L. Musa, from Gk. Mousa, lit. "muse, music, song," from PIE root *mon-/*men-/*mn- "to think, remember" (see mind (n.)). The names of the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (q.v.), and their specialties are traditionally: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry, lyric art), Euterpe (music, especially flute), Melpomene (tragedy), Polymnia (hymns), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy).

MUSEUM - 1615, "the university building in Alexandria," from L. museum "library, study," from Gk. mouseion "place of study, library or museum," originally "a seat or shrine of the Muses," from Mousa "Muse." Earliest use in ref. to Eng. institutions was of libraries (e.g. the British Museum); sense of "building to display objects" first recorded 1683.

AMUSE - 1480, from M.Fr. amuser "divert, cause to muse," from à "at, to" (but here probably a causal prefix) + muser "ponder, stare fixedly." Sense of "divert from serious business, tickle the fancy of" is recorded from 1631, but through 18c. the primary meaning was "deceive, cheat" by first occupying the attention. Bemuse retains more of the original meaning. Amusement "a pastime, play, game, etc." is first recorded 1673, originally depreciative. Amusement park is first recorded 1909. Amusing is noted late 1920s as a vogue word.

MUSIC - c.1250, from O.Fr. musique (12c.), from L. musica, from Gk. mousike techne "art of the Muses," from fem. of mousikos "pertaining to the Muses," from Mousa "Muse." In classical Greece, any art in which the Muses presided, but especially music. Meaning "film or theater piece of which song is an essential element" is from 1938. The use of letters to denote music notes is probably at least from ancient Greece, as their numbering system was ill-suited to the job. Natural scales begin at C (not A) because in ancient times the minor mode was more often used than the major one. The natural minor scale begins at A. To face the music "accept the consequences" is from 1850; the exact image is uncertain, one theory ties it to stage performers, another to cavalry horses having to be taught to stay calm while the regimental band plays. To make (beautiful) music with someone "have sexual intercourse" is from 1967. Children's game musical chairs is attested from 1877, hence use of musical as a modifier meaning "changing rapidly from one to another possessor" (1924). Musicology "the study of the science of music" is from 1909.

And one we didn't think of:

BEMUSE - 1735, "to make utterly confused," from be- + muse (cf. amuse). Used humorously by Pope (1705) in the sense "devoted utterly to the Muses."

So . . . aren't you sorry you discussed anything related to etymology in my presence? [grin]

Indeed.

But it became officially out of control today as I attempted to quip to THE list about Saturday Night Live, Generalissimo Francisco Franco, young 'uns lack of pop culture knowledge . . . .well, never mind – suffice to say, Arafat is dead. Back to my main point . . . . the tipping point was "booyah." A chance use of "booyah" and the siren's call is heard . . . another 15 minutes of my life gone forever.

Yet, while there are those who would argue this was time wasted, to me, it is time invested in roads elsewise [I don't give a shit, Microsoft Word, I *like* the word "elsewise" so stick your suggestion of "otherwise" as a replacement in your cyberass . . . but I digress] not traveled. Hell, elsewise not even found. How else would I have stumbled across this delightful and useful epicurean site with the following two-year old entry about "booyah" (and I quote from miseblog.com) ?

BOO-YAH! Soup

While searching for the etymology of the taunt "Boo-Yah" (as in "I just dunked on your sorry ass! Boo-Yah!"), I stumbled across references to Booyah soup. Apparently, this is a stew from Belgium with chicken, beef, and pork that's generally made in huge vats. It seems to be popular in Wisconsin, where there are a lot of Belgian immigrants. I'm going to have to make up a batch of this just for the fun of saying the name.

Now if I can just find the recipe for Who's-Your-Daddy Gumbo...

Clearly, there are fellow travelers on this road of compulsion . . . I will take comfort (and support for my obsessive Googling) in their blogged admissions, even if we're all on the road to rack and ruin . . . [rack . . . hmmm, as in "torture rack" or something else? . . . . ummm, yeah, I'll see ya later . . . . www.google.com . . . ]

UPDATE: 11/14/04: Ahhhh, not "rack" - but rather "wrack" as follows: wrack c.1390, "wrecked ship," probably from M.Du. wrak "wreck," cognate with O.E. wræc "misery, punishment," and wrecan "to punish, drive out" (see wreak). The meaning "damage, disaster, destruction" (in wrack and ruin) is from c.1408.