"To call forth a concept a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality."
The power of language sits innocuously on our tongues and in our minds without us realising its true potency. We produce words every second of every day, either spoken or thought, but we neglect to recognise their full depth and the intricately interwoven relationships they all have with one other. The first place these clusters of meaning can be found is in words’ etymologies.
In all lines of human enterprise, a keen curiosity about language’s secret powers is beyond invaluable. But this couldn’t be truer than of strategy. A profession where we define and articulate the ideas at the heart of brands and organisations. Words are an inescapable expression of all our strategies, because as Roger Horberry says:
"Words are ideas in another form."
Whether we want words to express our ideas or to connect to the culture around us, to reach into hearts and minds, evoke primal responses or conjure imaginative landscapes, etymology is a powerful ally.
To illustrate, let’s start with the etymology of “etymology”, which, in a phrase, means ‘the truth of the word’. Composed of the Greek étumon, meaning ‘the true sense’, and logos meaning ‘the word’, etymology is the pursuit of original meaning. Once one is awake to this “truth”, language looks a little different — weird crossovers and curious coincidences occur.
Like the ‘mo’ in “etymology”, for instance. Wouldn’t it make sense if that connects with the French word for “word”, mot? Even though the ‘mo’ comes in the “truth” part of the word… But the mirroring is there. And it isn’t farfetched, either, to see symmetry between mot and “mouth”, is it? Especially when you consider mot comes from the Latin word for “sound”. Mic drop? No, not yet.
It is all connected, though. Even if some of these examples benefit from an imaginative leap, they demonstrate the dense yet elastic network of connections that lies beneath the surface of our language.
Not convinced? Well, consider “word”. That’s one letter away from “wood”. Which might not seem like much, but don’t forget, the Latin for “word” is logos. So, one wonders, might that mean something? Might that have something to do with the word “wand”? Wands and logs aren’t that dissimilar, after all.
But no, not according to Etymonline.com. Remember, a lot of linguistical meaning has been lost over time, though, and not only is it powerful, but language is magical. We do spell, don’t we? And there aren’t many of us who don’t curse. Then if you consider “writing” chimes with “rite”, penning one’s thoughts might just be a magic, ritualistic act. Making the pencil the original wand.
As it happens, Abracadabra, once of the most universally recognised magical expressions, supports this theory. What does it mean? Well, when written properly, it looks like this: A’Bra Ca Dab’Ra, meaning ‘I create what I speak’.
Yes, now the mic drops. As does the penny, perhaps.
But that’s not it; there’s more. Word, sound, etymology, mot and mouth, spell and curse… it all suggests that the power of language comes from its being spoken. The word must reverberate; verbalising is magic; an incantation; sound, not silence, is golden.
Which makes complete sense when you look at the word “audio”. Thinking purely visually, isn’t it funny that ‘Au’ is the chemical symbol for gold and that dio is Italian for God? Wouldn’t that make “sound” the gold of God? If so, we ignore the greater context of language at our own risk.
Understanding the ‘truth of the word’ comes from listening, but looking is crucial, too. When we speak our ideas, we can hear the meaning, but when we write them, we can see the meaning, if we know where to look. “Idea” does come from Proto-Indo-European root ‘to see’, after all. So, if you’re keen to truly see and hear ideas, explore the magic of etymology.
Written by Hugh and Jamie.
