Broken Symmetry

Etymology of the Day: Dilettante

From Italian dilettante, "a lover of music or painting." So in English later a lover of the fine arts; originally, one who cultivates them for the love of them rather than professionally, and so = amateur as opposed to professional; but in later use generally applied more or less depreciatively to one who interests himself in an art or science merely as a pastime and without serious aim or study.

When it comes to economics, I think it's fair to say that I'm a dilettante in the Italian sense.

Etymology of the Day: Culture

Adopted from French culture (in Old French couture), adaptation of Latin cultura cultivation, tending, in Christian authors, worship, formed on participial adjective of colere: see CULT.

Etymology of the day: "nature"

From an interesting article by Leo Marx:

But it also should be said that the word nature is a notorious semantic and metaphysical trap. As used in ordinary discourse nowadays, it is an inherently ambiguous word. We cannot always tell whether references to nature are meant to include or exclude people. Besides, the word also carries the sense of essence : of the ultimate, irreducible character or quality of something, as for example, 'the nature of femininity' or, for that matter, 'the nature of nature.' When this meaning is in play, the word tacitly imputes an idealist or essentialist hence ahistorical - character to the particular subject at hand, whether it be femaleness or nature itself. The word's multiple meanings testify to its age : its roots go back (by way of Latin and Old French) to the concept of origination of being born. As Raymond Williams famously noted, nature is probably the most complex word in the English language.

Etymology of the Day: "Rhythm"

Two branches:

Branch one is from the Latin words rime and rhyme, demonstrating the connection between language and perception.

Branch two is from the Greek rein (which meant literally "flow") demonstrating the connection between nature and language.