Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City in 1882, when the Central Labor Union held a parade to display the spirit of its trade and labor organizations. The show of solidarity went national in 1885, after a vote by the body that became the American Federation of Labor. Now observed in every American state, Labor Day also signals the unofficial end of the summer season.
In North America, Labor Day falls on the first Monday in September. Many cities offer planned events in local parks and fairgrounds, and many families arrange picnics. These days, Labor Day is largely a time for family togetherness and relaxation.
Cookouts, barbecues and leisure activities, such as boating, fishing, camping and picnicking, are popular ways to spend the Labor Day weekend, as people seek to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts and take best advantage of the summer sunshine before autumn sets in. Here in San Diego (or Sun Diego), we bask in the knowledge that many more warm, sunny days will shine upon us.
This is a good time, then, to talk about the origins of the words we assign to jobs:
Why do the words veterinarian and veteran look so much alike? Veterinarian came about because the first veterinarians treated only animals that were old (Latin vetus, as in veteran), that is, old enough and experienced enough to perform work such as pulling a plow or hauling military baggage.
Why do the words pedagogue and pediatric start the same way? The original pedagogues (Greek paidos, “child” + agogos, “leader”) were slaves who accompanied their masters’ children to and from school. Gradually a pedagogue came to mean “one who teaches children at home.” Similarly, the first orthopedists set the bones and joints primarily of children.
Most occupational titles are self-explanatory: A baker bakes, a teacher teaches, a preacher preaches, a gardener gardens and a writer writes. But the origins of some job names are more obscure. Janitor derives from the Roman god Janus, who guarded doorways. Astronaut is formed from astro-, “star” + -naut, “sailor”; hence, “one who sails among the stars.”
The noun minister started life as a Latin word for “servant,” from minor, “one who assists.” The modern word minstrel shares a similar etymology. A vicar acts vicariously (from vicarius, “substitute,” “deputy”) as a priest in place of a rector or parson. A professor is “one who professes, makes public declarations,” while the first deans were military officers in charge of 10 (decem) soldiers. Those soldiers were so called because they were paid in Roman coins called solidi.
When Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in his prologue to “The Canterbury Tales,” “a clerk ther was of Oxenford,” the poet was referring to a clergyman or cleric, the first meaning of the word clerk. In the Middle Ages, literacy was largely confined to the clergy, but clerk gradually became the name for bookkeepers, secretaries and notaries — anyone who could read or write.
Here are some more vocational names and their not-so-apparent derivations:
• broker. One who broaches (opens) casks of wine;
• bursar. One who controls the purse (bursa);
• chauffeur. One who stokes the fires of a steam engine;
• coroner. An officer of the crown (corona);
• grocer. One who sells by the gross;
• nurse. One who nourishes;
• pastor. A spiritual herdsman;
• plumber. One who works with lead (plumbum);
• secretary. One to whom secrets are entrusted.
What is a lexicographer? Cobbled from lexicon, “wordbook, dictionary” + grapher, “writer,” a lexicographer compiles dictionaries. Lexicographers are among my favorite workers, A to Z.
Please send your questions and comments about language to richard.lederer@utsandiego.com