Chrysti The Wordsmith: Toponyms - 1

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. What do dollar cheddar daiquiri magnets and Paisley have in common. Well these terms are all examples of the semantic category known as the top n m t o p o n y m atop an M is a word that traces its origins to a specific place. For example cheddar cheese is named for its place of origin in Cheddar England and daiquiri is the top name of daiquiri a village in Cuba. There are hundreds of top names hidden in our language on any dictionary page you're likely to come across one or several of them. Scratch the surface of a top in him and you'll discover a story worth savoring. And that's what we're going to do on the next several wordsmith additions. But first a word about the word. Top banana originates in the Greek term top US meaning place and the element ne m NY M which refers to a name so etymologically and literally

the word means a place name top a name is a close relative of the term typography which refers to the surface features of a place or region. Join me next time to explore the familiar and delightful Toppan am cheddar a cheese named after its place of origin. I'm Christie the wordsmith. This series comes to you from the studios of KGO L T F M on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. Good day were lovers. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.