Sunday, August 14, 2022

The Etymologies of Some Company Names

Ever wondered where brand names come from? How, for example, did somebody come up with Apple for a computer company? Where did Mercedes come from? How about Coca-Cola? 

Well, I can’t leave you hanging, can I?

  • Apple – because Steve Jobs liked them and because it was “fun, spirited and not intimidating” (the Sir Isaac Newton thing came later)
  • Mercedes – named after chief engineer Emil Jellinek’s daughter
  • Coca-Cola – from cocaine, an original ingredient, and kola, an African nut (and another original ingredient)

Ever wondered, though, what these words mean themselves? What’s the etymology (ultimate linguistic source) of “apple”? How did “Mercedes” come about? Where are “cocaine” and “kola” from?

Well, I can’t leave you hanging here either, can I?

  • Apple – Germanic, “fruit”
  • Mercedes – Spanish, “mercies,” from Maria de las Mercedes (“Mary of mercies,” a title for the Virgin Mary)
  • Coca-Cola – Aymara (indigenous Bolivian language) / Mandinka (African language)

I’m no believer in definition by etymology (that’s an obscure grammar/linguistics thing). But it can be a little fun.

So, let’s give it a try. I’ll give you the etymological meaning of some brand name and you try to guess what it is. To make it a little easier, I’m putting them in like groups – tech, financial, etc. I’m also giving you the language of origin as well.

Good luck!


Tech

  • Bricks (Spanish)
  • Friend Construct (Native American [place name], Latin)
  • Above (German)
  • At-hand/distant (Latin, Old English)
  • Speaker (Greek)
  • Twist-flutter (Old English, Old English)
  • AppeaseBrother (Latin, Germanic)

Financial

  • Wasp Squeeze (Italian [name], Latin)
  • More-papyrus (Latin, Greek)
  • Wales Slope (Norman, Spanish - surnames)
  • Table of the Wasp (Germanic, Italian [surname])

Consumer

  • Victory (Greek)
  • Coldhut (Germanic, Latin – surname)
  • One-hare (Latin, Latin [surname])
  • Chalktown (Celtic, Germanic – place name)
  • Cram (German)
  • No-breasts (Greek)  

Food

  • Son-of-War-power (Gaelic – surname)
  • Great-river (Norse – surname)
  • Fair of hand / bright fame (Gaelic, Germanic – surnames) 

Automotive

  • Lake-colony (Brythonic, Latin – surname)
  • Modernity (Korean)
  • Adze (Slavic – surname) 
  • Original-rice-paddy (Japanese – surname)
  • Fruitful-rice-paddy (Japanese – surname)
  • Father (Sanskrit – surname)
  • Three-diamonds (Japanese)
  • Little-fighter (French – surname) 


Answers

Ready?  I’m gonna give you the category, the clue, a logo, and then the answer.  Scroll appropriately.


Tech

Bricks

Adobe


Friend Construct

Texas Instruments


Above

Uber


At-hand/distant


Instagram


Speaker


Oracle


Twist-flutter


Netflix


AppeaseBrother

PayPal


Financial

Wasp Squeeze


American Express


More-papyrus


Mastercard


Wales Slope


Wells Fargo


Table of the Wasp


Bank of America


Consumer

Victory

Nike


Coldhut

Colgate


One-hare

Unilever


Chalktown

Marlboro


Cram

Pampers


No-breasts  

Amazon


Food

Son-of-War-power

McDonald’s


Great-river

Starbucks


Fair-of-Hand / Bright-Fame

Baskin Robbins


Automotive

Lake-colony

Lincoln


Modernity

Hyundai


Adze

Tesla


Original-rice-paddy

Honda


Fruitful-rice-paddy

Toyota


Father

Tata


Three-diamonds

Mitsubishi


Little-fighter

Cadillac

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