Somebody asked me today where the word shindig comes from, and the answer is quite engrossing. Meaning "a lively party", this term emerged in the 1870s with mysterious origins. It's possible that it comes from the Scottish word shinty, describing a game similar to hockey, which has a commotion similar to parties. Alternatively, it could be from Gaelic sinteag, meaning "to leap", from Irish shindy, meaning "a spree", or even shinny, another word for hockey. All of these possible origins have one thing in common: they are not Germanic. Rather, they derive from Celtic, which is one of the reasons for their collective obscurity- it is a poorly documented and reconstructed language. Interestingly, usage of the word "shin-dig" is higher than ever; you would think, as an old-timey term, it would have been most used in prior years; however, there's been a recent boom in frequency of shindig. Whether a leap, a spree, or hockey, this word is weird.
3 Comments
Geoffrey Harris
6/1/2019 07:46:43 pm
Well s before i or a is pronounced sh in Gaellic as in Siabhon, siannon, etc.
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Mackenzie Rivers
5/24/2021 03:17:16 pm
I am looking to find the etymology of the word frequency in Irish gaelic because i am slightly baffled it would be a term used in that age of the Druids
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Kevin Michael Rung
1/20/2023 04:52:36 pm
I learned this word when I lived back east . For a time I dated an Appalachian beauty who's father introduced me to the word. I remember the first time I heard it, I didn't even have to ask what it meant because the context was so clear.
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AUTHORHello! I'm Adam Aleksic. I have a linguistics degree from Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote my thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy traveling, trivia, philosophy, board games, conlanging, and art history.
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