海角大神

My latest bit of etymological learning came as much good learning does: on the way to finding out about something else.

What I learned: There exists something linguists call a Proto-Indo-European word root, a hardworking little knot of three letters, ped, meaning 鈥渇oot,鈥� which shows up in an astonishing range of words within the family of Indo-European languages, to which English and its kin belong.

The Online Etymology Dictionary has a solid paragraph of ped words.

This learning came as I was looking up impediment and also awaiting expedited arrival of a parcel.

The ped root shows up in, obviously, such words as pedestrian and pedicure.

The root is also a factor in antipodes 鈥� pairs of places on diametrically opposite points on the globe (the idea being that one鈥檚 feet are 鈥渁nti,鈥� or 鈥渁gainst,鈥� the feet of someone on the other side). The ped root gives us gastropod, literally 鈥渟tomach foot,鈥� the scientific term for snails and other mollusks that 鈥渨alk鈥� (loosely speaking) on their bellies.

And ped morphs into the English foot.

I got started with this while looking up impediment 鈥� an obstacle or hindrance, from a Latin verb meaning 鈥渢o shackle or ensnare someone鈥檚 feet.鈥�

This same metaphor of shackled feet gives French its verb 别尘辫锚肠丑别谤. It means 鈥渢o prevent,鈥� and not, as you may surmise if you snoozed through French II, 鈥渢o fill with peaches.鈥� Emp锚cher is, however, a word cousin of our English impeach.

We come by our English prevent, though, from a different metaphorical path: that of 鈥渃oming before鈥� something with the implicit aim of keeping it from happening.

For example: A number of years ago I was touring Boston鈥檚 Back Bay with an out-of-town friend. We came upon one of those private clubs so very private it barely has a nameplate. I thought, though, we might pop in for a moment to look around the lobby as one sometimes does in a grand hotel.

But our approach activated the club鈥檚 riffraff-control system. Two polite young men literally came before us to ask, 鈥淢ay we help you?鈥� Clearly, what they wanted to help us with was understanding that there was no way on earth we would get any closer to the building than we already were.聽

Fair enough, a club is not a hotel. We withdrew and went our way.聽

(I returned there recently as a ticketed guest, though. 鈥淚鈥檓 here for the [whatever] event,鈥� I called cheerily over to the man behind the front desk as I breezed by. The riffraff-control system did not activate.)

OK, enough about shackling feet. What about unshackling, or unfettering? (Fetter is another ped descendant.)

We get expedition from Latin roots referring to making ready or preparing, based on the idea of taking off shackles.

One pictures untying the horses, unlocking the supply room, and so on. And we get expedited delivery 鈥� nothing stands in its way.

Excuse me, I do think I hear the doorbell.