Polka dots

I have always been fascinated by word origins. I think maybe it has to do w/ my spelling bee past. My mama and I would practice for spelling bees by having me look at the list of words for a while, and then she would call out the words and I would spell them back to her. Often she would tell me ways to remember a spelling, and sometimes this would include a tidbit of word origin. I think it was those tips (and the fact that I have a somewhat-photographic memory) that made me a pretty decent speller.

I took an etymology (word origins -- not bugs) class in college my freshman year. We studied all sorts of Latin and Greek root words and much of the lectures revolved around some of the more wacky word origins. For example, one of my favorites was the word "hysteria". The Greek root "hyster" refers to the uterus (as in "hysterectomy", or the "cutting out of the uterus"). A uterus is something only women have. Or at least in normal circumstances. Anyway, as you probably know, hysteria is "a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of the psychic, sensory, vasomotor, and visceral functions" (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online). Or as I like to think of it, a hissy fit. Evidently, those Greeks thought hissy fits were a woman thing, and what does a woman have that a man does not? A uterus! So it must be that ol' womb acting up again. It's kinda funny, really.

Okaaaay, so what does this have to do w/ polka dots?

A few weeks ago I put a new dress on Claire. It was navy blue, covered w/ polka dots of all different colors. She was fascinated by the pattern, as was Noah. I explained that they were called "polka dots". She would point at them and say "that?" over and over and then repeat "poka dot" after I told her again what they were. I think she just liked to hear me say it.

Anyway, it occurred to me to question why they are called "polka dots" to begin w/. I mean, really, it's a weird phrase. Doug did not know why, and so I vowed to go to the source of all totally useless knowledge (along w/ some useful knowledge) -- the internet. And this is what I found at www.wordorigins.org:

Polka Dot

Where did this name for round circles of dye on clothing originate? And what, if anything, does it have to do with the dance of the same name?

In the 1840s, the polka was sweeping America. It was the latest dance craze, like the Charleston of the 1920s or the Macarena of a few summers ago. In an effort to cash in on the fad, manufacturers began naming all sorts of thing polka. Polka gauze, polka hats, polka curtain bands and many other products with the polka name hit the market in the 1840s. Although, the actual term polka dot is not attested to until 1866. Of these, only polka dots survive today.

The term polka dot first appears in the New York Times on 21 Sep 1866: "It is effectively trimmed with anumber of rows of silk galloon of the same shade, with black or white brocaded polka dots."

There are two possible origins for the word polka. It could come from the Czech pulka, or half-step, Pul meaning half. Or, it could be a combination of the polonaise and mazurka.

(Sources: Oxford English Dictionary Online, Proquest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times)

I found several different websites w/ similar information, so I'm assuming this is true. Interesting, yes? You know you love it!