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SO WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM?

we all know 'HOORAY!"......but where did it originate?

and how about '"YAY!".......where also?

now I know hundreds of people will reply to this.....lol.......but please, won't at least ONE of you out there give me a reply!?!?!

thanks......

Posted - April 3, 2017

Responses


  • This could be asked of every word.
      April 3, 2017 8:57 AM MDT
    2

  • 22891
    i have no idea
      April 3, 2017 10:26 AM MDT
    1

  • Dear Ben1011,
    I love etymologies, so I did some poking around for HOORAY...and quite interesting too!

    The experts seem uncertain, but they speculate hurrah and hooray may derive from the Old German saliors' cry of "huzza." I found one reference to HUZZA as early as 1573, although other sources say 1686 is the earliest usage located so far. (Also, others claim the word came from invading Mongols...)

    Anyway, the sailors apparently used huzza (heisau! hissa!) as a kind of onomatopoeic hauling or hoisting cry, and then it got extended to a cheer or salute whenever friends or someone they admired came on board...then you found the word in Sweden and Denmark, along with spreading through the military.

    * * *
    Okay, that should get you started, and welcome to AnswerMug. (Oh wait! You joined April 1, 2016, I thought it was yesterday! Well happy one-year anniversary here then.) This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at April 3, 2017 9:16 PM MDT
      April 3, 2017 2:11 PM MDT
    1

  • I have a Page A Day calendar titled "Forgotten English" which has an archaic word and it origin every day.  Some are pretty cool and I might use them.  Others are too obscure and seem to be just forgotten short lived slang.
      April 3, 2017 2:30 PM MDT
    1

  • THAT sounds like really great fun, Whistle6...I hope you manage to work some of 'em in here on AnswerMug too...
      April 3, 2017 2:33 PM MDT
    2

  • 3523
    Sorry, this is not the answer to your question but it's still interesting.  We were in France during the olympics last summer.  During a basketball game when ever the French team would score, the announcers would yell, "Weeee!"  At first we thought those announcers were really having a great time.  Then we realized they were saying, "YES!" in French.  Maybe the word "yay" grew out of some modification of YES! or YEAH! This post was edited by CallMeIshmael at April 3, 2017 10:15 PM MDT
      April 3, 2017 5:57 PM MDT
    1

  • 604
    thank you so much!!!!  I generally do it myself, but for once it was fun to let someone else do the 'heavy lifting"....LOL>

    thanks again...........(now THERE"S one for ya; where did 'heavy lifting' start and when did it enter our language?

    JUST KIDDING DON'T ANSWER THAT ONE!!!!!!!!  

    but I wanted to get you to thinking, at least!!!!!!!!!

    LOL

    :-D
      April 4, 2017 9:40 AM MDT
    0