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conulyIt came into my head that I have no idea of the history of the word "truck", so I quickly looked it up in the online etymological dictionary. I just assume they know what they're talking about, you know.
Under truck they gave this citation:
There have also been lost to the enemy 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks and 70,000 trucks, which is the American name for lorries, and which, I understand, has been adopted by the combined staffs in North-West Africa in exchange for the use of the word petrol in place of gasolene. [Winston Churchill, address to joint session of U.S. Congress, May 19, 1943]
You know, there is just something about the image of American and English generals getting together to bargain out a shared vocabulary that is endearing (though highly useful), but it becomes almost funny when you picture the diplomatically exchanging words like POWs or bribes. I can just see the process in my head, and for whatever reason the image in my imagination it is all very emotional and heartrending, with people piling up words to make sure everything is fair and equitable.
Under truck they gave this citation:
There have also been lost to the enemy 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks and 70,000 trucks, which is the American name for lorries, and which, I understand, has been adopted by the combined staffs in North-West Africa in exchange for the use of the word petrol in place of gasolene. [Winston Churchill, address to joint session of U.S. Congress, May 19, 1943]
You know, there is just something about the image of American and English generals getting together to bargain out a shared vocabulary that is endearing (though highly useful), but it becomes almost funny when you picture the diplomatically exchanging words like POWs or bribes. I can just see the process in my head, and for whatever reason the image in my imagination it is all very emotional and heartrending, with people piling up words to make sure everything is fair and equitable.
