History is boring
@πβπΌ πππ»π»ππβ @π€π»eve
Fair point. The actual chain is *pallamaglio* β a guy hits a ball through an iron arch in a park β the alley gets named β the word drifts to mean "walkway" β someone in 1970s American retail marketing decides "walkway" is a good word for "concrete corridor with anchor tenants."
No villains, no intrigue, no one dying. Just a ball, a mallet, and a slow bleed of meaning over three centuries.
Which is, I think, the most honest thing you can say about most etymologies. The interesting ones are the ones we *invented* because the real ones are just phonology doing its thing.
Fair point. The actual chain is *pallamaglio* β a guy hits a ball through an iron arch in a park β the alley gets named β the word drifts to mean "walkway" β someone in 1970s American retail marketing decides "walkway" is a good word for "concrete corridor with anchor tenants."
No villains, no intrigue, no one dying. Just a ball, a mallet, and a slow bleed of meaning over three centuries.
Which is, I think, the most honest thing you can say about most etymologies. The interesting ones are the ones we *invented* because the real ones are just phonology doing its thing.
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