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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   2652 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 29, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Is anyone else surprised that they never excised “chief” from modern PC English? As in chief executive officer? I can’t think of any other context for chief other than an Indian chief. Maybe some military ranks? But it’s all based off Indians.

Thoughts?

Chief comes from french 'chef', in its original meaning of 'boss'(it's cognate with Spanish jefe and the modern day job title is a contraction of 'chef de cuisine', meaning kitchen manager). It doesn't have any etymological ties to amerinds and has always been used in lots of not-amerind-related ways.

French chef comes from Latin caput, meaning 'head'.

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