Skip to content

The word for today is…

kismet (noun):

1: a hypothetical force or personified power that determines the course of the future events : fate, destiny
2: an inevitable and often bad outcome, condition, or end that a particular person or thing will experience

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Is it your fate to tie macramé while drinking coffee and eating sherbet in a minaret? That would be an unusual destiny, but if it turns out to be your kismet, you will owe much to Turkish and Arabic. We borrowed kismet from Turkish in the 1800s, but it ultimately comes from the Arabic word qisma, meaning "portion" or "lot." Several other terms in the bizarre opening question (namely, macramé, coffee, sherbet, and minaret) have roots in those languages too. In the case of macramé and minaret, there is a little French influence as well. Coffee and macramé also have Italian relations, and sherbet has an ancestor in a Persian name for a type of cold drink.

If you enjoyed this Good Oil word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest

Tax – A Burden We Don’t Need

Tax – A Burden We Don’t Need

We have to keep the tax gatherers well away from the seat of power. The coalition may not have given us all we voted for but they are certainly preferable to those occupying the opposition benches. This is why tactical voting has come to the fore and why it is so important.

Members Public