Sunday, April 19, 2009

etymology-"journal" "portfolio" "swap"

I list the words whose meaings were different in my word definition. The term "journal" is more broadly used. "Journal-writing has in recent years evolved from simply a matter of keeping a diary into a potentially intergral aspect of a learner's process of acquisition." (Brown 2007, p506). I never heard "swap" before. It is very interesting to me!!

journal
c.1355, "book of church services," from Anglo-Fr. jurnal "a day," from O.Fr. journal, originally "daily" (adj.), from L.L. diurnalis "daily" (see diurnal). Sense of "daily record of transactions" first recorded 1565; that of "personal diary" is 1610, from a sense found in French. Journalism is 1833 in Eng., likewise from Fr. (where it is attested from 1781).
"Journalism will kill you, but it keeps you alive while you're at it." [Horace Greely]
Journalist "one whose work is to write or edit public journals or newspapers" is from 1693. Journalese "language typical of newspaper articles or headlines" is from 1882.

portfolio
1722, from It. portafoglio "a case for carrying loose papers," from porta, imperative of portare "to carry" (see port (1)) + foglio "sheet, leaf," from L. folium (see folio). Meaning "collection of securities held" is from 1930.

swap
c.1300, "to strike, strike the hands together," possibly imitative of the sound of hitting. The sense of "exchange, barter, trade" is first recorded 1594, possibly from the practice of slapping hands together as a sign of agreement in bargaining. The noun in this sense is attested from 1625.

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