WORD HISTORIES III

Tawdry

The word tawdry is an alteration of the name of Saint Audry, an Anglo-Saxon princess who died of a throat ailment. A fair was held annually in her honor at which cloth neckbands or neckties, called tawdry laces, were sold. These must have been showy but inexpensive souvenirs, because the word tawdry, meaning "gaudy and cheap," became an adjective in its own right.

Prestige

Before it meant influential status and widespread respect, prestige - strangely enough - first meant an illusion, conjuring trick, deception, or imposter. It developed in French to a mean the positive attributes of influence, success, wealth, and renown that were achieved through such deceitful practices. 

Inch and Ounce

Both of these units of measure go back to the Latin word uncia, meaning "a twelfth part." Uncia came into Old English as ynce, denoting a linear measure of one twelfth of a foot. The word remains in modern English as inch. Uncia also developed into Old French unce as a unit of weight equal to one twelfth of a pound. This word was borrowed into Middle English and survives in Modern English as ounce. The system of troy weight, still used for precious metals, is based on a twelve-ounce pound. The more common avoirdupois system uses a sixteen-ounce pound.

Copper

The copper we use for ordinary things like pennies, pots, and wire has a more romantic history, for it has associations with the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. The English word copper comes from the Late Latin word cuprum, derived from Latin Cyprium, "Cyprian." The ancient Romans called copper the "Cyprian metal" because Cyprus was the main source of copper in the ancient world.