The Words of the Week - May 24

‘Helicopter’

Helicopter was in the news a good deal, after the President of Iran was killed when the one in which he was flying crashed.

The crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and several other top officials on Sunday was the latest high-profile deadly helicopter accident in recent years.
— NPR, 21 May 2024

A helicopter is “an aircraft whose lift is derived from the aerodynamic forces acting on one or more powered rotors turning about substantially vertical axes.” The word has been in English use since the later 19th century, and comes from the French hélicoptère. The French word is based on the Greek heliko- (“spiral”) and pteron (“wing”). Confusion about the word’s etymology has led to a number of words being formed which do not quite match either of the Greek roots, such as heliport instead of helicoport, and copter instead of pter.

‘Reich’

Reich spiked in lookups last week, after Donald Trump’s campaign released a video which made reference to this being a possibility in the United States’ future.

Biden, Democrats slam video on Trump site referencing 'Unified Reich' while Republicans dodge commenting
— (headline) ABC News, 21 May 2024

We enter Reich as a German noun, with the meaning of “realm, empire, kingdom.” While the word has historical use referring to German dynasties prior to the Second World War (First Reich is sometimes used to refer to the latter portion of the Holy Roman Empire, and Second Reich is applied to the Hohenzollern dynasty of 1871–1918), in modern use Reich is overwhelmingly used in reference to the Third Reich, which is Nazi Germany. Our files indicate that in current use Third Reich is approximately 100 times more common than Second Reich, and about 200 times more common than First Reich. If you decide to use this word without extensive qualifying information, readers are likely to assume that you are referring to the party of Adolf Hitler.

‘Eleemosynary’

Eleemosynary had a rare moment of interest last week, after the judge in Donald Trump’s criminal trial referenced the word in a light-hearted manner.

Judge Merchan turned to what he called “the most challenging issue facing us all”: how to pronounce “eleemosynary,” which he said means “relating to charity.” The quip got a laugh from both sides.
— Good Morning America, 21 May 2024

We define the word as “of, relating to, or supported by charity.” It is related to the much simpler word alms (“something (such as money or food) given freely to relieve the poor”); both words come from the Latin eleemosyna, meaning “alms.” The word is rarely said out loud these days, but when it is the pronunciation is \el-ih-MAH-suh-nair-ee\.

‘Back channel’

Back channel also spiked in lookups as a result of its being used in the same trial.

Cohen testified he was extremely skeptical of attorney Robert Costello, who allegedly tried to set up a backchannel for Cohen to Trump after he was raided by the FBI in April 2018.
— Politico, 20 May 2024

We define this sense of back channel as “a secret, unofficial, or irregular means of communication.” The word has an earlier, literal meaning, which dates from the middle of the 18th century, referring to a channel of water that is secondary to, or situated behind another channel. The figurative sense that we enter is considerably newer, with the earliest use we know of appearing in a 1964 letter from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Earle G. Wheeler, to General William C. Westmoreland, regarding the ways in which the Army and Air Force were not working together in Vietnam.

I would appreciate an early reply from you - - initially by back channel message if you desire - - because we have coming up before the JCS a number of problems upon which this problem impinges.
— Earle G. Wheeler, Letter to William C. Westmoreland, 17 Sept. 1964

Words Worth Knowing: ‘Vexillology’

Our word worth knowing this week is vexillology, which is not the study of vexing people, but instead is the study of flags. The word comes from vexillum, the Latin term for a square flag or banner of the ancient Roman cavalry.