Where does “Polari” come from?
Polari (English) comes from Italian parlare, from Latin parabolō, from Latin parabola, from Ancient Greek παραβολή, from Ancient Greek παραβάλλω, from Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ-, from Ancient Greek παρά, from Latin verēdus — horse.
Polari (English): A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne
Definitions
- A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne
Ancestry of “Polari”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | parlare | to talk; to speak; to cant |
| 2 | Latin | parabolō | to make clear by metaphors |
| 3 | Latin | parabola | A comparison, illustration, likeness; An... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παραβολή | a placing of two things side by side,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | παραβάλλω | to compare; to set side by side; I set side by... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πᾰρᾰ- | near; next to; by, near |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | παρά | |
| 8 | Latin | verēdus | A fast or light breed of horse; courier's horse; hunter |
| 9 | Gaulish | werēdos | horse |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | *uɸoreidos | horse |