15 Words That Are More Complex Than They Appear

A popular myth claims that the 'step' in words like stepmother and stepfather refers to their position one step away from biological parents on family trees. However, this explanation is entirely incorrect.

Contrary to common belief, the 'step' in these terms originates from the Old English word steop, which denoted loss or bereavement. In ancient times, stepchild or steopcild referred to an orphan, not just the child of a remarried parent.

Discover 15 additional words with origins and meanings that are far more nuanced than they initially appear.

1. The term 'quick' in quicksand doesn’t refer to speed.

Contrary to the common misconception that quicksand drags people down swiftly, the word 'quick' here doesn’t imply rapidity. Similarly, in quicksilver—an archaic term for mercury—it doesn’t mean fast either. Both uses of 'quick' signify 'alive' or 'living,' highlighting the shifting, dynamic nature of quicksand and the fluid, movable properties of mercury.

2. The 'lolli' in lollipop isn’t related to lounging or relaxation.

The Oxford English Dictionary explains that lollipop has an “uncertain origin,” but its first part might derive from lolly, an Old English dialect word referring to the tongue.

3. The 'mid' in midwife doesn’t signify 'middle.'

Similarly, the 'wife' in midwife doesn’t refer to a spouse. Historically, wife meant 'woman,' and mid represented 'with'—essentially defining a midwife as a woman who is present with another woman during childbirth.

4. The 'wilder' in wilderness doesn’t imply 'wild.'

Not in the context of 'woods and wilds,' but rather as a variation of the Old English wild deor, which translates to 'wild deer' or 'animal'—creatures you’re bound to encounter in the wilderness.

5. The 'cut' in cutlet doesn’t imply 'trimmed.'

This term isn’t about being sliced from a larger piece of meat. Instead, cutlet originates from the French costelette, which means 'little rib.'

6. The 'bel' in belfry doesn’t refer to 'bell.'

A belfry isn’t exclusively a bell tower. Originally, it referred to a movable siege tower used by armies to breach castle or town walls. The term traces back to bercfrit, the ancient Germanic name for this war apparatus.

7. The 'ham' in hamburger doesn’t signify 'meat.'

The prefix has no connection to meat whatsoever. As many know, hamburgers are named after Hamburg, Germany. Meanwhile, the hamburglar hails from Des Plaines, Illinois.

8. The 'Jerusalem' in Jerusalem artichoke has no connection to the city.

This term is a misinterpretation of girasole, the Italian word for sunflower. Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke isn’t an artichoke—it belongs to the sunflower family. It’s also known as a sunchoke or sunroot.

9. The 'piggy' in piggyback doesn’t relate to pigs.

Piggyback is thought to be a distortion of pick-a-pack or pick-pack—a 16th-century phrase describing carrying something on one’s shoulders. It may originate from the archaic use of pick to mean 'pitch' and pack to mean 'a bag or satchel.'

10. The 'sand' in sandblind has no connection to beaches.

Sandblind, a 15th-century term rarely used today outside of literature, describes partial blindness. While often linked to poor visibility during sandstorms, it’s simpler: Sandblind comes from the Old English samblind, where 'sam' means 'semi' or 'half.'

11. The 'curry' in curry favor doesn’t relate to stew.

Contrary to the myth that currying favor involves slowly integrating into someone’s social circle, the phrase has a stranger origin. Here, curry stems from a Middle English term meaning 'to groom a horse,' and favor is a mispronunciation of Fauvel, a chestnut horse from an old French poem and folktale. In the story, Fauvel attempts to overthrow his master and is later pampered by the court. Thus, currying favor literally means 'fawning over a chestnut horse.'

12. The 'face' in shamefaced doesn’t refer to one’s visage.

Originally, shamefaced was shamefast, with -fast meaning 'fixed' or 'constant,' as in steadfast or stuck fast. The term likely evolved because the shame of a shamefaced individual is often visible in their expression.

13. The 'chock' in chock-full doesn’t mean 'a wedge or block.'

Being chock-full isn’t about being tightly packed like a chock under a door or vehicle wheel. Instead, 'chock' here comes from choke, implying something is overwhelmingly stuffed or crowded.

14. The 'D' in D-day doesn’t signify 'disembarkation.'

The 'D' doesn’t stand for deliverance, Deutschland, doomsday, decision, or any other d words often speculated. In reality, the D is simply a placeholder, much like H-hour, used during the planning of the Normandy landings to denote the unspecified day of the operation. Evidence shows the term dates back to 1918, 26 years before Allied forces landed on the beaches. Interestingly, the French refer to D-Day as J-Jour.

15. The 'good' in goodbye doesn’t mean 'good.'

Goodbye is a shortened form of 'God be with you,' a medieval farewell phrase. Over time, God shifted to good, influenced by similar expressions like good day and good morning. By the late 16th century, it evolved into the term we use today.