Using Curl
Today I’ve been casting about for interesting but useful English words that are out of the common way in terms of etymological origins (i.e., words that aren’t Germanic, Latinate, French, or Greek). Somewhere along the line, I stumbled across some mention of cravats, and given my affection for Regency neckware, I couldn’t resist investigating further.
If I had ever stopped to think about the origin of cravat, I almost certainly would have supposed a French origin—as I’ve only ever encountered cravats in novels about English noblemen who frequently toss about words like de trop, demimondaine, and dernier cri, it was a somewhat logical conclusion.
So I was surprised to discover not only that the word was of Croatian origin, but that it was in fact derived from the very word that means Croat. According to the Academia Cravatica (one of the more peculiar non-profits I’ve ever come across), the cravat was popularized by Louis XIV, who was presumably inspired by the neck scarves worn by Croatian soldiers who fought for France. And the fashion, naturally, took the name of its progenitors.
After reading this I spent a good five minutes saying cravat in a bad Bond-villain accent, wondering why I’d never noticed the connection before.
For those of you who are interested, here’s the etymology of cravat as per the OED:
Etymology: < French cravate (1652 in Hatzfeld & Darmesteter), an application of the national name Cravate Croat, Croatian, < German Krabate (Flemish Krawaat , < Serbian and Croatian Khrvat , Hrvat , Old Church Slavonic Khrŭvat , of which Croat is another modification: compare the following
1703 London Gaz. No. 3903/2, Monsieur de Guiche‥Colonel-General of the Regiments of Horse called the Cravates.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 125 We fell foul with 200 Crabats.
1752 D. Hume Ess. ii. vii. I., 355 The troops are filled with Cravates and Tartars, Hussars and Cossacs.
And in case you’re wondering what the Academia Cravatica does, let me direct you to their homepage:
Academia Cravatica is a non-profit institution founded on 26th March 1997 and it studies, preserves and improves the cravat as a part of Croatian and world heritage.Academia Cravatica builds from an authentic historical fact that the cravat emerged as an expression of the genius of the Croatian people and that this fashion ornament is a medium able to transmit many discreet messages to the world.
I put roughly 25,000 miles on my car between September 2008 and April 2010—but I only drove on a third of the interstates shown above. I’m glad I didn’t have this map at the time or I might’ve tried to collect the complete set.
(Interstates as Subway Diagram: 2011 Version | Cameron Booth via Lifehacker)
The Political Notebook: Fact-checking the debate over women in the military
I never even thought to question this claim (why I dimwittedly didn’t is a subject for another day, I think). Though this doesn’t actually refute the notion that male combatants might be inclined to be particularly or even recklessly protective of their female colleagues, it does refute the notion that we know for sure one way or the other.
I’ve been told on the Internet more than a few times since yesterday that the emotional danger wrought by having women in combat is proven by the fact that Israeli Defense Forces do not gender integrate as a result of male soldiers being more willing to risk their lives for fellow female combatants. I tracked down the source of this, which is in Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s 1996 book On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society in which he wrote:
The presence of women and children can inhibit aggression in combat, but only if the women and children are not threatened. If htey are present, if they become threatened, and if the combatant accepts responsibility for them, then the psychology of battle changes from one of carefully constrained ceremonial combat among males to the unconstrained ferocity of an animal who is defending its den.
Thus the presence of women and children can also increase violence on the battlefield. The Israelis have consistently refused to put women in combat since their experiences in 1948. I have been told by several Israeli officers that this is because in 1948 they experienced recurring incidences of uncontrolled violence among male Israeli soldiers who had had their female combatants killed and injured in combat, and because the Arabs were extremely reluctant to surrender to women.
It isn’t a study. It’s based on this man’s discussions with “several Israeli officers” about something that happened in 1948. This isn’t the most valid argument against gender integration.
