Monthly Archives: May 2013

Connecticut. “The Nutmeg State,” the fifth to enter the Union, in 1788, takes its name from the Mohegan Indian quin nitukqut, “at the long tidal river:’ in reference to the state’s loca tion on what is now the Connecticut River. … Continue reading →

Lapageria. French Empress Josephine, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, was born Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. A Creole of French extraction, she had been married to Vis count Alexandre de Beauharnais, who was guillotined after the French Revolution, Josephine … Continue reading →

German words in English. English is of course structurally Germanic and is considered a Germanic language because of its Anglo-Saxon roots, but many words from Germanic languages have come into English at a later time in history, from the Middle … Continue reading →

Henry James, 1843–1916) An American writer, born in New York City into a wealthy family regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. Henry James lived to the age of seventy three. His parents were Mary Robertson … Continue reading →

Francisco MarIa Piave 1810-1876 Italian Librettist La donna è moble (One of my favorite) Woman is fickle Rigoletto (opera with music by Giuseppe Verdi act 3 “La donna è mobile” (The woman is fickle) is the Duke of Mantua’s canzone … Continue reading →

Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) Italian poet and scholar, 1304-1374 We are continually dying; while I am writing these words, You, while reading them, shall be dying. When you read this, you die while I write, we both are dying, we all … Continue reading →

The Characters “Of Mankind” (i688) Jean de la Bruyere French moralist, 1645-1696 There are but three events which concern man: birth, life, and death. They are unconscious of their birth, they suffer when they die, and they neglect to live. … Continue reading →

SEA The Old English poets used over 30 words for sea (and 27 for ship), as befits bards of an island nation. Sea, however, has lasted in the language. Sea is an earlier English word than OCEAN and is first … Continue reading →

Idaho. ` Idaho may be the only state name that is a complete fraud, at any rate, its name may mean nothing at all. Many sources derive the word Idaho from a Shoshonean Indian word meaning “gem of the mountain:’ … Continue reading →