We have just one fun Friday feature for you today. Today’s
post is all on Real Cat Webster, who has a wild word to share.
Words with Webster
Hi, everybody! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words
with Me. Today’s word is “ounce.” If you missed yesterday’s post about heraldry, you might be wondering what an ounce, as in “16 ounces in a
pound,” has to do with cats. Well, that’s not the kind of ounce I’m talking
about. My favorite dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s,
says that an ounce is also
1. archaic : any of various moderate-sized wildcats (as the ocelot or lynx)
2. snow leopard
3. archaic : cheetah
4. a heraldic representation of a leopard
That last meaning is how we heard about this word. You know
what’s kind of weird, though? The Oxford
English Dictionary doesn’t mention that meaning; it just says that an ounce
is a “medium-sized member of the cat family” or snow leopard (the scientific
name of which is Panthera uncia).
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to share a Shakespeare
quote, but there is one for this word. Good ol’ Will!
Be it Ounce, or Catte, or Beare, Pard, or Boare with bristled haire. (1600, Midsummer Night's Dream ii. ii. 36)
This lynx could be called an ounce, although that's kind of archaic. |
That quote refers to the "medium-sized cat" meaning, by the
way. Here’s one for the "snow leopard" meaning, but it’s not from Shakespeare:
We will, therefore, call that animal of the panther kind, which is less than the panther, and with a longer tail, the ounce... (O. Goldsmith, 1774, A History of the Earth, and Animated Nature III.254)
“Ounce” has been around since about 1300, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. It came
from the Old French word once, which
used to be lonce, meaning “lynx.”
That word came from the Latin lyncea
(“lynx-like”), which was from the Latin lynx,
which was from the Greek lyngx. The “L”
at the beginning lonce may have been
dropped along the way because people thought it was an article instead of part
of the word.
And just in case you’re wondering, the word referring to a
unit of weight also entered English in the early 14th century, but it comes
from the Latin uncia, meaning “one-twelfth
part.” (The Troy system of weights has 12 ounces in a pound, instead of the 16 we’re
more used to.) The English word “inch” has the same origin.
This snow leopard could also be called an ounce. |
And if you have been paying really good attention, you probably
noticed that the species name of the snow leopard is uncia, which is the same as “one-twelfth part” in Latin. But that’s
not what it means in the snow leopard’s name. There, uncia is a Latinized version of the Old French once. So it’s really a Latinized version of an Old French word that
came from Latin.
Confusing, no?
How interesting!
ReplyDeleteI think the old English names are wonderful and still to be enjoyed today, wherever possible. The history of the words is great too, and I suppose we will probably never see such changes again as we have over the last 500 years. Alas the Ounce may not be around then, but that will be another matter we must address sooner rather than later else the dictionary entries will read something quite different...
ReplyDeletePurrs
ERin
Wow we really enjoyed your post AND those delicious pictures. Thank you for those and the research! Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, that Shakespeare quote makes a lot more sense now. :)
ReplyDeletedood !!!!! grate ta see ya again...seemz like itz been 40 yeerz sinz we saw ya heer
ReplyDelete...thanx for sharin sum knowledge two day.....we iz big time BIG CAT loverz N never new
de lynx bee an "ounce " ~~~~~~ awesum :) ♥♥
I didn't know about the Heraldic meaning of ounce, but "Snow leopard?" is quite a common crossword clue with the answer being ounce.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard this meaning before. But I LOVE snow leopards. I was OBSESSED back in elementary school ... sharing my life with one would be a dream come true :)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard the word ounce referencing cats! You find the most interesting facts to share!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting!
ReplyDelete