What is a "jinx"?

I have always been curious about word origins and this one is a real hoot. According to the book, Wicked Words, jinx has had an interesting transformation.

Jinx is a person or thing believed to bring bad luck; as a verb, to change fate for the worse. However, the word is an Americanism and surprisingly new, dated so far only to 1911. It is apparently a misspelling of the word jynx, which is the name of an Old World bird, also called the wryneck (from the way it writhes its head and neck when disturbed). A member of the woodpecker family, the jynx was thought to have magical powers. Witches used its feathers in making love philtres and other potions, with the result that by the sixteenth century the bird's name was synonymous with "charm" or "spell." Thus, it seems, the jynx became a jinx.

What a great word to work into a novel, either as the bird, or a magical potion.

Favourite Word

I have always liked the word, minion, so I decided to do a little investigating. According to the book, Wicked Words, here is a little something about my favourite word.

minion. A subordinate or follower, usually contemptuous. . . . The word has enjoyed much better meanings in the past. It comes from the French mignon, dainty, which is also responsible for the filet mignon steak. A minion originally -- going back to the early sixteenth century -- was a beloved object, as a lady-love or darling. In time, the term was transferred to paramours, mistresses, obsequious attendants and dependents at court, then to hussies, jades, and other servile creatures -- with the result that the original estimable sense has been almost entirely lost.

What a fun word to use, in its original sense, in a historical novel.

Phantom Words

One reason I collect dictionaries and writing reference books is to add to my knowledge. One thing I have learned, even with those large, unabridged dictionaries, not all words make it into the dictionary. Why? It may be the word is too specialised and has fallen into disuse. And, I have just such a word for you today, deucer.

According to the Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, deuce comes from both the Latin (duo) and French (deux), both meaning "two." But the word "deucer" has a number of meanings, the most common is that it can be used as another word for a two-dollar bill. In underworld slang, it is a person serving a two-year sentence in jail. Baseball jargon uses it to mean either a two-base hit or the second game of a double-header. In racing circles, it is the horse that finishes second. In circus and vaudeville, it is slang for the second spot on the bill.

So, though you may be hard pressed to find deucer in a dictionary, it is a word that can and should be used in your writing. And, with the wide array of uses listed above, I'm sure you can find some way to sneak it into a project.

Love of Dictionaries

I must admit I am an avowed "dictionariaholic." It is not a word you will find in the dictionary -- I made it up for my condition -- I collect large, oversized, multiple volume dictionaries. I find endless pleasure opening up to a random page to find a new word.

I know writers who don't have dictionaries and rely on "Spellcheck." What they don't realise is: if the word is not spelled incorrectly, Spellcheck won't flag it. And, if you use the improper word, you are the one who looks idiotic.

So, here is a little writer's helper for those of you who may be writing fiction with a medical theme.

Diagnosis: the act of deciding, on the basis of analyzing symptoms, what disease is affecting the patient. It comes, like most medical language, from Greek, specifically from dia (between) and gignoskein (to know).

Prognosis: the prediction made by a physician of the course and probable termination of the disease. It has the same root as diagnosis, of course, and the prefix pro means "before." Thus a prognosis is a "knowing before" -- or prediction.

The next time you are out at a flea market or yard sale, look for a lovely old dictionary -- you just might get hooked.