Why can one word describe cousins, loan security, and unintended damage?
The meaning and the connection are in the slides. #words #vocabulary
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WORD STORY: collateral.
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WORD STORY: collateral. Meaning: Descended from a common ancestor but through different lines.
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WHERE IT BEGAN: Start with the older meaning. Collateral came through Anglo-French from Medieval Latin collateralis, literally side by side. It combined col-, the form of com- before l meaning with or together, and lateralis, of the side, from Latin latus, side.
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THE CONNECTION: How the meaning moved. Things beside the main line became secondary or supporting.
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THE CONNECTION: How the meaning moved. A cousin is collateral kin because the relationship branches beside direct descent; collateral security supports a primary debt from the side; collateral damage is harm outside the intended target.
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