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#etymology

Pugnacious

pugnacious (adjective)
having a quarrelsome or combative nature

Pugnacious individuals are often looking for a fight. While unpleasant, at least their fists are packing an etymological punch. Pugnacious comes from the Latin verb pugnare (meaning “to fight”), which in turn comes from the Latin word for “fist,” pugnus.

Merriam-Webster

I love looking up words that I come across. Looking into the origins. And then you’ll catch me laughing because your said porcelain. I know, I am weird. This word came up in reading through an old Spurgeon sermon this morning.

Destroy

“Do we have time for a y-o-r-t-s?” my wife asks to avoid the kids understanding us.
“Yorts?” I respond.
“Backwards.”
“Stroy,” I respond.
“I suck at this.”

And this brings us to “stroy,” which is the opposite of “destroy,” right? So if destroy means to break, stroy has to mean to build. Etymology time!

Middle English, from Anglo-French destroy-, destrui-, stem of destrure, from Vulgar Latin *destrugere, alteration of Latin destruere, from de- + struere to build

Merriam-Webster

So there you go. Go forth and stroy!

Rigmarole

Edward I of England, also known as Hammer of the Scots, forced members of the Scottish nobility to swear fealty to him by signing oaths of allegiance that were collected on a number of parchments that together made up what came to be called the Ragman Roll (or Ragman Rolls, or Ragman’s Roll).

Over time ragman roll, for a long roll of parchment full of “nonsense,” eventually became rigmarole, a long, unnecessarily time-consuming hassle. No doubt a word that has always been useful.

Mental Floss