Collection of Lame Jokes

[phinds]

Why do "Flammable" and "Inflammable" mean the same thing?

They started out from different languages.

derivation:

We get inflammable from the Latin verb inflammare, which combines flammare ("to catch fire") with a Latin prefix in- (more commonly seen as en- in English, as in enfold) meaning "to cause to be." This in- shows up occasionally in English words, such as indent and indebted, and it showed up in inflammable in the early 1600s.

 

[symbolipoint]

They started out from different languages.

derivation:

We get inflammable from the Latin verb inflammare, which combines flammare ("to catch fire") with a Latin prefix in- (more commonly seen as en- in English, as in enfold) meaning "to cause to be." This in- shows up occasionally in English words, such as indent and indebted, and it showed up in inflammable in the early 1600s.

That tells us something about how some vocabulary could and should be changed. "Enflame" is a good one.

 

[phinds]

That tells us something about how some vocabulary could and should be changed. "Enflame" is a good one.

Well, English has a a few instances where confusion results from such things. I've never kept track of them but have noticed a few over the year.

My favorite quote (sort of ... mis-attributed to H.L. Mencken, who said something similar) is this. I don't know where it's from but I love it.

Almost all languages borrow a word or two here and there from other languages. English chases them down an alley and mugs them

 

[Bandersnatch]

They started out from different languages

As you can see in the bit you quoted, flammable comes from Latin flammare, while inflammable comes from Latin inflammare.
Same language, no?

 

[symbolipoint]

As you can see in the bit you quoted, flammable comes from Latin flammare, while inflammable comes from Latin inflammare.
Same language, no?

I did not even check the message thoroughly enough. I picked comfort from the prefix "en-".

 

[phinds]

As you can see in the bit you quoted, flammable comes from Latin flammare, while inflammable comes from Latin inflammare.
Same language, no?

Oh. Good catch. I, for some reason, though flammable was from French but obviously didn't pay proper attention what I was quoting.

EDIT: Oh, wait ... I know. I'm old. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

 

[dwarde]

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[jack action]

Why do "Flammable" and "Inflammable" mean the same thing?

The original word is inflammable:

Etymology​

From Middle French inflammable, from Medieval Latin īnflammābilis, from Latin īnflammāre (“to set on fire”), from in (“in, on”) + flamma (“flame”). Equivalent to inflame +‎ -able.

Where inflame means:

To set on fire; to kindle; to cause to burn, flame, or glow.

And as for flammable it was created to "avoid" confusion:

Etymology​

Back-formation from inflammable, which is used to avoid confusion with non-flammable, as the prefix in- is often used to mean "un-; non-", although it was originally meant in a sense closely related to en-.

Note also that enflame is consider an alternative spelling of inflame. So, someone created a lot of drama where there was none, thinking some were too stupid to learn the meaning of a word.

 

[berkeman]

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[fresh_42]

Intergalactic Olympics were canceled after Earth insisted on adding bureaucracy as a competitive sport.

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[fresh_42]

View attachment 365583

Meeting:

"And what can you contribute to our discussion?"
"Nothing."
"So why are you here?"
"I like the company of like-minded people."

 

[nsaspook]

 

[davenn]

 

[fresh_42]

View attachment 365587

Time travel was invented last Thursday. The inventor has already gone back to warn himself not to.

 

[gmax137]

Meeting:

"And what can you contribute to our discussion?"
"Nothing."
"So why are you here?"
"I like the company of like-minded people."

I was in a meeting once, and one guy said, "this is really a no-brainer." My co-worker Gerry said "that's why we're putting you on it."

 

[jack action]

View attachment 365587

How is this news?

 

[berkeman]

How is this news?

We have numerous notable RIP threads at PF. Well, this is the first RIP(ed) one...

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[phinds]

 

[phinds]

 

[fresh_42]

View attachment 365620

Not if you ask the pig.

 

[WWGD]

Not if you ask the pig.

What do the police have to see with anything? Are they called " schwein" in Germany too?

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[fresh_42]

What do the police have to see with anything? Are they called " schwein" in Germany too?

The cops? They are called bulls, and I cannot recommend testing it. If you want to be particularly insulting, or have too much money to spend, then it's bullswine.

 

[WWGD]

 

[dextercioby]

 

[berkeman]

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[dextercioby]

 

[DaveC426913]

 

[Swamp Thing]

(bilingual joke screenshot)

As one does, I geeked into the "que" rabbit hole and googled up whether this is related to a similar word in Persian and Indian languages.

Yes, the Spanish word que and the Persian word ke are cognates, both descending from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) interrogative and relative stem *kʷ-.


Spanish que (and qué)
Proto-Indo-European (PIE): The forms kʷís ("who?") and kʷíd ("what?") are the ultimate root. The stem kʷ- represented both interrogative ("who?", "what?") and relative ("that," "which") pronouns in PIE.
Latin: From PIE, these developed into the Latin pronouns quis and quid. Over time, these Latin forms evolved and merged to become the Old Spanish que.
Old Spanish: Old Spanish que inherited the functions of both the interrogative and the relative pronoun from Latin.
Modern Spanish: Today, the word maintains both functions. The accent mark distinguishes them in writing:
Qué (with an accent) is the interrogative pronoun, meaning "what?" or "which?".
Que (without an accent) is the relative pronoun or a conjunction, meaning "that," "which," or "who".

Persian ke (که)
Proto-Indo-European (PIE): Persian ke also traces back to the same PIE roots, kʷís and kʷós.
Middle Persian: The Modern Persian ke evolved from several Middle Persian subordinating words, which were used for "who, which," "that," "when," and "if." These forms ultimately derive from the PIE stem.
Modern Persian: The modern word ke (که) acts as a subordinating conjunction with multiple uses, including "that" and "which". It serves a function similar to the unaccented Spanish que and the English "that."

 

[Swamp Thing]

View attachment 365583

Won't it also waft the alcoholic smell all around?

 

[WWGD]

View attachment 365669

A lady called Ella Ross went to work with Elvis Tech.

 

[jtbell]

I passed this place in Wilkesboro NC today (er, yesterday).

I wonder if they call their customers “buttercup”.

 

[WWGD]

 

[WWGD]

 

[BillTre]

View attachment 365690

Or there was a bullet hole in the glass which a fly later got stuck in.

 

[Borg]

Or there was a bullet hole in the glass which a fly later got stuck in.

Or someone put a dead fly there, took a picture and uploaded it to the internet as a meme.

 

[Ibix]