1883 Phrenology Chart (via Wikipedia)
The Four-Year-Old, surveying the world from her car seat: “Mommyo, why are some trees called evergreens?”
Mommyo: “Because they keep their leaves all year round and are always and forever green.”
Caught up in the excitement of knowing the answer to one of the Four-Year-Old’s questions without recourse to the iPhone, Mommyo decides to share her other tidbit of knowledge on the subject: “Trees that lose their leaves in the fall are called deciduous.”
The Four-Year-Old: “Why?”
Mommyo, stumped and worse, driving, so unable to consult her usual panel of experts, replies: “I don’t know off the top of my head.”
The Four-Year-Old: “Do you know in the bottom of your head?”
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Michael Howell
Shala Howell
Deciduous is from the latin: de + cadere, so literally “to fall off”. I didn’t think of this off any part of my head, I just looked it up.
The antonym, evergreen, lacking such a lofty etymology seems plebeian in contrast. Or should I say, run-of-the-mill?
Yes. I’m afraid I got lazy with that Caterpickle in not cracking open the Virtual Webster’s. Fortunately, you were all over it, for which The Four-Year-old says “Thank You.”
Hmm. Well what she actually said was “Cool,” but I expect she really meant “Thank you” as she is a very well brought up child indeed.
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