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The cock roach (lemmy.ca)
submitted 4 days ago by Kurtagag@lemmy.ca to c/funny@sh.itjust.works
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[-] hakase@lemm.ee 44 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

This is an example of folk etymology. The original word was Spanish cucaracha, but English speakers couldn't make anything meaningful of that when they borrowed it into English, and so they folk etymologized it into cock "male chicken" and roach "a type of fish", that sounds similar enough to cucaracha to be reasonable.

The same thing happened to Cayo Hueso "Bone Key" as "Key West", for example.

[-] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 14 points 4 days ago

I hate that THAT is acceptable but when I combine "no one" to "noone" someone HAS to call me out for it and act like English never changes to become easier

it's extremely petty but I'm still mad about it

[-] spongeborgcubepants@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

This is outrageous, we shall duel at noone

[-] BambiDiego@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago

Do you hate it.... alot?

[-] MadJockMcMad@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

People like you should of never been born

[-] TronBronson@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Nah let these gentlemen cook. I don’t get mad when people can’t do math and destroy the economy, but make one spelling or grammar error online and it’s over.

[-] nelly_man@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

I think about better example for you to follow would be how "a napron" turned into "an apron."

However, I'm not a fan of "noone" as it doesn't look like it would be pronounced as "no one." It could perhaps be "no-one" or "noöne", but they seem off as well. And very few people use umlauts in English to signify that the two consecutive vowels are separate sounds (The New Yorker is the only publicaton that I know about that does this, but I'm not sure if they stopped).

[-] Thorry84@feddit.nl 10 points 4 days ago

The name for the insect probably originated in the Caribbean. Then brought over by the Portuguese and transferred to Spanish. The English got it from the Spanish, where other languages like French and Dutch got it from the Portuguese.

In English it went from the Spanish cacarucha to the English cacarootch. Which later changed to cockroche and eventually became cockroach.

The original Caribbean word was most likely kakalaka. This went to cacalacca in early Portuguese and then into the Spanish cacarucha. Interesting enough the newer Portuguese word of caroucha was based on the Spanish word. So the word went from Portuguese to Spanish and back again.

People always forget languages are a living thing and words for a lot of things were very different hundreds of years ago.

[-] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 8 points 4 days ago

In English it went from the Spanish cacarucha to the English cacarootch.

Is this why goku/kakarot so hard to kill?

[-] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

Yes, it's a fascinating phenomenon! Similar things happened with "Elligemña Ballejõs".

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago

TIL stale beer attracts dick bugs.

[-] Omgpwnies@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Well, what do you expect if you put your dick in stale beer?

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

A good time?

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

And they say scientists don’t have a sense of humor.

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 10 points 4 days ago

Where was other scientist when people were naming birds?

[-] Hyphlosion@lemm.ee 1 points 3 days ago

Dickbug broom hockey! LGF!!!

this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
596 points (100.0% liked)

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