Shingle
Mike from Cadillac asked
about the word shingles. Specifically, he wanted to know how the painful rash
connects to a roof tile.
Even though the current
spelling of both words is identical, it is an accident of history. The
overlapping shingles used to protect a roof are thin pieces of wood with
parallel sides, one end thicker than the other. It comes from the Latin word scindula, a split piece of wood.
The viral rash comes
from the Latin cingulum, a girdle or
belt. While the rash may appear anywhere on the body, it often shows up at the
beltline. As insistent ads warn us, if you ever had chickenpox, you are a
candidate for shingles. The virus that causes chickenpox lurks for years in an
inactive state. If it becomes active, it can cause the painful rash.
Shingle is also used to
signify the start of one’s professional life, as in to hang out your shingle, a reference to a sign board advertising a
business. Shingle is also a women’s hair style in which the hair is worn short.
It’s also used as a humorous putdown, as in that
guy’s a shingle short.
Listen
to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by
going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen
Now. You’ll also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The Ron Jolly Show.
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