The Words of the Week - Apr. 24
Dictionary lookups from archaeology, elections, and Scandinavian mythology
‘Mummy’
A surprising discovery involving a mummy led to a rise in lookups for mummy.
Archaeologists Unearth a Papyrus Fragment From the ‘Iliad’ Tucked Inside the Wrappings of a 1,600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy
—(headline), Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Apr. 2026
We define the relevant sense of mummy as “a body embalmed or treated for burial with preservatives in the manner of the ancient Egyptians.” The word mummy has had quite the odyssey. It traces back to the Middle English mummie, which referred to the powdered parts of a mummified body used as a drug (!!!), which in turn comes—via Anglo-French and Medieval Latin—from the Arabic mūmiya (“bitumen, mummy”), whose ancestor was the Persian word for wax, mūm.
‘Kraken’
The discovery of a prehistoric sea creature helped make kraken a word of the week.
A massive kraken-like octopus may have prowled the seas during the age of dinosaurs
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Now to release the kraken (sometimes capitalized Kraken) definition: “a gigantic tentacled sea monster of Scandinavian myth.” The word, which comes from Norwegian dialect, has been used in English since the middle of the 18th century. Krakens have featured in various contexts more familiar to English speakers than Scandinavian folklore, including various iterations of krakens in Marvel comics and a memorable monster in Clash of the Titans.
‘Marijuana’
The reclassification of marijuana on the governmental list of drugs subject to legal restrictions and controls led to a rise in lookups for marijuana.
A reclassification would be the most significant reform on marijuana in more than half a century, opening the doors for medical research and bringing marijuana to the same level as prescription painkillers, said Marijuana Policy Project executive director Adam Smith.
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The word marijuana, a synonym of cannabis sense 2, refers to the psychoactive dried resinous flower buds and leaves of the female hemp or cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa or C. indica) that contain high levels of THC and are smoked, vaped, or ingested (as in baked goods) especially for their intoxicating effect. Marijuana is also used synonymously with sense 1 of cannabis and sense 1a of hemp, which we define as a tall Asian herb (Cannabis sativa of the family Cannabaceae, the hemp family) that has a tough fiber and is often separated into a tall loosely branched species (C. sativa) and a low-growing densely branched species (C. indica).
Marijuana is a borrowing of the Mexican Spanish mariguana or marihuana, which is of uncertain origin. Note that the form marijuana is not recorded in Spanish before its use in English in the early twentieth century, which means that the hypothesis that the origin of all the forms is a contraction of the compound name María Juana is not supported—in the first 60-70 years of the word’s presence in print in Spanish the only attested spellings are mariguana and marihuana.
‘Gerrymander’
The word gerrymander was much in the news this week, and lookups for the word subsequently spiked.
Republicans argued that it was unfair to gerrymander Virginia’s districts to Democrats’ advantage. But Democrats argued that they were creating a fairer election landscape nationally by counteracting Republican gerrymandering elsewhere.
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We define the relevant sense of the verb gerrymander as “to divide or arrange (a territorial unit) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage.” Elbridge Gerry was a respected politician in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He signed the Declaration of Independence, served as governor of Massachusetts (1810-1811), and was elected vice president under James Madison. While governor, he tried to change the shape of voting districts to help members of his political party get elected. His system resulted in some very oddly shaped districts, including one (Gerry’s home district) that looked a little like a newt. Upon seeing a map of the bizarre regional divisions, a member of the opposing party drew feet, wings, and a head on Gerry’s district and said “That will do for a salamander!” Another member called out “Gerrymander!” Thus gerrymander became both a noun and verb applied for such political schemes.
Word Worth Knowing: ‘Jawbation’
If someone is jawing at you about some minor misdeed or perceived peccadillo, it would be perfectly idiomatic to respond “Quit your jawing!” But if you’d prefer a more obscure way to get them to cease their scolding or let up on their lecture, consider replacing jawing with jawbation, a word defined in our Unabridged dictionary as “a long tiresome reproof.” The word is an alteration, influenced by the verb jaw meaning “to talk especially abusively, indignantly, or long-windedly,” of jobation, which has the same meaning. Jobation in turn comes partly from the archaic verb jobe, a synonym of scold, reprove, and lecture, after the biblical Job, well known for his jawbation.
“Don’t see what harm it does you,” said Mr. Kavanaugh in reply to his wife. And then, having found an idea to harp upon, he was able to do so, and did it in a peevish, complaining minor key. … And so on, until his wife pulled him up abruptly. “Now! I don’t want a jawbation,” said the pleasant lady. “Take and eat your supper, and be thankful.”
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