2006-07-10 02:46:20 · 15 answers · asked by bmbm 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
why is a tree called a tree. there is no real reason, just someone decided thats what it should be called.
2006-07-10 03:53:58 · answer #1 · answered by NBGirl 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
A rose by another name. That's why.
If you mean technically all word are derived from older languages that actually meant something.
Like tact, it means to have moral and social graces. It comes from the Roman word Tactus I believe, he was a war adviser known for being well....tactful.
2006-07-10 09:52:24 · answer #2 · answered by Darkmaven 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only in English.
German: Jungs sind Jungs und Maedel sind Maedel.
Spanish: Muchachos son muchachos y muchachas son muchachas.
Dutch: Jongens zijn jongens en meisjes zijn meisjes.
etc.
OK?
2006-07-10 09:52:16 · answer #3 · answered by Hi y´all ! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because girls would be called sugar & spice and boys would be called snakes & snails.
2006-07-10 10:08:09 · answer #4 · answered by Q.S. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What else would you like to call them? There's no real reason, except that that's what someone eons ago decided to call them and people have gone along with it ever since. There's no real resource for finding out who gave names to anything, except for recent inventions.
2006-07-10 13:24:16 · answer #5 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
boy
1154, boie "servant, commoner, knave, boy," possibly from O.Fr. embuie "one fettered," from V.L. *imboiare, from L. boia "leg iron, yoke, leather collar," from Gk. boeiai dorai "ox hides." But it also appears to be identical with E.Fris. boi "young gentleman," and perhaps with Du. boef "knave," from M.Du. boeve, perhaps from M.L.G. buobe.
girl
c.1290, gyrle "child" (of either sex), of unknown origin; current scholarship leans toward an unrecorded O.E. *gyrele, from P.Gmc. *gurwilon-, dim. of *gurwjoz (represented by Low Ger. gære "boy, girl"), from PIE *ghwrgh-, also found in Gk. parthenos "virgin." But this is highly conjectural. Another candidate is O.E. gierela "garment." Like boy, lass, lad it is of obscure origin. "Probably most of them arose as jocular transferred uses of words that had originally different meaning" [OED]. Specific meaning of "female child" is 14c.
2006-07-10 10:10:41 · answer #6 · answered by Bog woppit. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its very simple.. because if boys are called girls and girls are called boys.... we cant accept!!! it .......so only
2006-07-10 10:36:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
BECAUSE CATS ARE CALLED CATS AND DOGS ARE CALLED DOGS
2006-07-10 09:49:22 · answer #8 · answered by Cowgirl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because your are speaking in English.
2006-07-12 17:24:50 · answer #9 · answered by rogersjhn55@sbcglobal.net 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not a genealogy quesiton
2006-07-10 10:42:22 · answer #10 · answered by Gatherer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋