Obscure words, etymological tales, language trivia | Books available here: https://t.co/5k8NBYQJW6 | Tweets by @PaulAnthJones | Artwork by @bread_and_ink
1. In languages with gendered vocabularies, a HETEROGENE is a word whose meaning shifts depending on whether itās masculine or feminine. So in French, āplatineā can mean either platinum (m) or a DJās turntable (f), while āmariā can mean either a husband (m) or marijuana (f). 
In English, the indefinite article was originally always ANāso itās not the case that āaā gains an N in front of a vowel, rather āanā loses its N in front of a consonant.
2. In the sense of a later event or consequence, the word AFTERMATH originally referred to a second crop of grass grown or cut after the first had been harvested. 
AMETHYST stones take their name from the Greek for ānot drunkā. Ancient Greek folklore claimed drinking alcohol from a vessel made from or containing an amethyst stone would prevent the drinker getting intoxicated. 
Trace it back far enough and youāll find that GANACHE derives from āgnathosā, the Greek word for a jaw. Thatās the same root found in words like AGNATHAN (a jawless fish) and COMPSOGNATHUS (the tiny chicken-sized dinosaurs that see off Peter Stormare in The Lost World). 
Derived from a Greek word meaning āto recoverā, or āto double backā, ANACAMPSEROTE is the name of a fabled plant once supposed by herbalists to be able to restore a lost romance. 
The story concerns a hard-of-hearing old ferryman, who has borrowed so much money from friends that he and his poor family have ended up in trouble with the local bailiff. And sure enough, one morning the ferryman sees the bailiff walking down the long road to his home. 2/10
One question that pops up here more than any other is whether the words HH posts are real. Yes, they really are.
Sometime around 1805, a few months into his second term as president, Jefferson was out riding near his home in Virginia when he happened to bump into another man on horseback, who accompanied him the rest the way. 2/9
We set off from Londonāwhere, in 19th century slang, a KENT STREET EJECTMENT was the act of removing the front door of a house. Named after Kent Street in Southwark, this was a ploy used by local landlords to evict tenants who had fallen more than two weeks behind in their rent. 