A cognate is a word that sounds the same and has the same meaning in different languages. Examples: in Spanish the words medicina, dormitorio, chocolate mean medicine, dormitory/room, and chocolate in English, respectively. But, I think I've mentioned before, there are false cognates, or words that sound or seem the same but don't directly translate. One case that's brought up often and used to comic effect is the Spanish word embarazada. You would think that it means "embarassed", right? Wrong: it means 'pregnant'. Can you imagine the hilarious accidental situations in which a novice Spanish speaker might misuse this false cognate?
But why is it so? Why does the Spanish word for "pregnant" sound like the English word for "deeply ashamed"? For generations, eons, woman's purpose in life was to procreate (after having been legally married, of course); it would only make sense that showing signs of pregnancy would be cause for happy emotions and celebrations, and not shame...unless it were an "illigitimate"/"bastard"/"unexpected" birth. That's the explanation I can think of right now. Today we see female celebrities dressed very stylishly throughout pregnancy, showing off the progress of their baby bump. There's even a show called "Pregnant in Heels" that, to my knowledge, features a pregnancy concierge to help an expecting mother look fabulous throughout her term. But it's only been recently that the pregnant woman was seen as beautiful or remotely sexy. There's a lot of negativity directed at female bodies in general.
Take the word "hysteria" too. Another word with the same suffix: hysterectomy, which is the surgical removal of the uterus. Coincidence? No; I think it was in Victorian times that it was thought that the womb/uterus floated around a woman's body, and that this movement made a woman so disturbed that she was hysterical, experiencing hysteria. Recently the trailer for a movie of the same name came up, and I have high hopes for it. Not a serious-face period drama, but that's what makes it enticing, to me: it's a comedy-- a sex comedy at that-- which is set in a traditionally stuffy time period, and it focuses on an...interesting subject matter.
......wut?
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