Jump! Mag

Language & Literature

Where Does the Word Candidate Come From?

Today is election day in UK, when the citizens of the country choose their new government. You can read all about how the elections work here. You wouldn’t think that dress codes of ancient Rome would affect the elections of today, but they do! Millie Slavidou explains.

Today is a good day to think about the word ‘candidate’. I rather like the etymology of this one.

It comes from Latin candidus, which is the past participle* of candidare, which meant ‘to make white, to make bright’.

Not because of whitewashing whatever the candidates might have said or done! It was because in ancient Rome candidates who wanted to be elected either to the Senate or any other office wore white robes.

If we take it one step further back, to a root meaning ‘white, shining’, we find that ‘candle’ is a cognate.**

*Past Particle

The past particle is the past form of the verb that can also be used as an adjective, like “a fallen tree”. In the case above, the adjective is like saying ‘whitened’ in English. Other examples of past particles are:

verb: bite
past particle: bitten
example: a bitten apple

verb: choose
past particle: chosen
example: aa chosen present

verb: crash
past particle: crashed
example: a crashed bicycle

**Cognates

A cognate is a distant relative, a word ultimately from the same root. Like a third cousin. Here are some examples of cognates.

Book is related to beech. Well, actually, book means beech! Both come from Germanic word meaning beech tree, Buche.

Germanic runes were originally inscribed on tablets made of beech wood. Modern German for book is Buch!

WOOL and FLANNEL are distant cognates. Today, fashion stores often describe plaid shirts as ‘flannel’, but it is actually a soft woven fabric, originally made of wool, but now often cotton or synthetic. You might have a flannel pyjamas, which are lovely and cosy in the winter!

The word wool is from a Proto Indo European root *wele meaning ‘wool’.

In Welsh, the word gwlanen, means ‘wool’ and is from the same root. The word flannel comes from the woollen vests that were made, presumably by Welsh traders from Welsh sheep – Gwlanen became fwlanen, and then flannel. So wool and flannel are distant cousins!

Today’s featured image is Marasmiellus candidus, a type of mushroom. You will often find the word ‘candidus’ used in botany or biology to describe something that is white, such as crocus candidus or the white woodpecker Melanerpes Candidus. There is even a white monkey called Propithecus candidus.

Crocus Image

Woodpecker Image

Food and Recipes, Home, Health & Style

Egg Box Gardening

I started a little experiment of my own this spring. I wanted to find an easy way of sowing seeds for growing vegetables at home. I have a small veggie patch, but I worked out last year that I could grow a lot more, if only I had many more seedlings to plant out.

But sowing seeds can be a bit fiddly, and then you’ve got to plant out each tiny plant. That takes a lot of time. I wanted more veggies for less work, so I collected as many egg boxes as I could find, and sowed seeds into each egg holder. The pictures show the planting and growing on of broad beans, but I have also used the egg boxes for runner beans, radishes, beetroots, spinach, tomatoes, rocket, pak choi and patty pans.

And it’s not too late to start growing your own right now. You don’t even need a veggie patch in the garden; plant the egg boxes into a pot or container for your window sill or patio.

Travel

JUMP! Around the World – Ayşe in Turkey

Have you ever wanted to know what it is like to grow up in another country?

We continue our Jump! Mag tour of the world in Turkey, where seven-year-old Ayşe lives.

Hello Ayşe, How do I say hello in Turkish?

Merhaba Annie!

What are your favourite subjects at school?

That’s hard… I think most of all I like learning Turkish language and…….music.

What kind of music do you like listening to?

I like to dance to pop music like Rhianna and Adele but I like Turkish music too, I like a rock band called Duman.

What games do you like to play with your friends?

Mostly street games like Tag and hide & seek, it’s fun to chase each other around.

What do you like most about being a girl?

…….I think maybe because…you can have a baby… Also at school at playtime, the boys are always chasing each other and fighting and being a bit rough, and they can be like that with each other but not with us, they can’t be so rough with us. I like wearing dresses also and dressing up!

What are your favourite words in your language?

I love you…….mum.

If you could choose any country in the world to visit, which would it be and why?

I want to go to America, to visit my Aunt in San Fransisco, I want to swim in the sea in Mexico because my Mum has told me all about it. I’d also like to go to Africa, to visit the different native tribes that live there.

How would you describe your village to someone who wanted to visit here?

I live in a fishing village, it is very sunny, there’s no snow here! We have the sea, which I like to go swimming in and I like to go walking up around the mountain near the sea which is beautiful.

Annie-May Gibb is a freelance writer, who is passionate about creating a better world.

She mainly works on projects that work to instil equality and confidence in young people. She is also passionate about using tabasco liberally on most foods.

Here is some more information about Turkey

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Turkey is a large peninsula that bridges the continents of Europe and Asia. Turkey is surrounded on three sides by the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea. Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, is built on land in the Bosporus seaway. The city is partly in Europe and partly in Asia. Turkey is larger than the state of Texas.

Science, Nature and Tech