When Was the Middle Ages?
The Middle Ages, often called the “medieval” period, is a nebulous time in history spanning anywhere from the 6th century all the way to around the 14th or 15th century (depending on which region a person is considering). Many scholars would place the true beginning of the Middle Ages at 1150AD, when Old English transitioned into its new—and much more recognizable—form.
Phrases From the Middle Ages We Still Use Today
Despite the hundreds of years separating the medieval period from our modern day, English speakers continue to use many words and phrases that first found their footing in the Middle Ages. While they may no longer mean the same thing in context, many have retained the general shape of their intent.
Sink or Swim
Today, telling someone to “sink or swim” means that they should do something without any help from others; whether they succeed or not is based entirely on their own efforts. However, in the Middle Ages, this idiom arose from a real-life water ordeal.
To try alleged criminals, authorities would throw them into the water—often with their hands and feet bound. If they sank, they were presumed to be innocent because the water of baptism accepted them, and so they were without sin. However, if the holy water “rejected” them by allowing them to float or swim, they were found guilty (and executed).
Many theologians protested the practice, mainly because they claimed that not all water was the water of baptism; it was just normal water and had no properties of holiness. Others alleged that the test was not accurate because God would surely save an innocent person by allowing them to float instead of drown.
Nest Egg
In modern terms, a person who is building a nest egg is saving money for the future, usually retirement. This phrase has its roots in the medieval practice of chicken-keeping. To encourage hens to continue to lay their eggs in the same spot, farmers would leave one egg in the nest (the “nest egg”) so the hens would return to it.
This was a useful strategy, as it allowed the farmers to more accurately predict their access to eggs instead of wondering each day how many they would be able to find across their entire property. In a sense, then, the nest egg back then was also a means of preparing for the future!
Eke
To “eke out” means to achieve despite difficulty, as in “to eke out a living.” The Middle English word “eke” meant to add or grow; it did not pick up the word “out” until the 1600s. While there is a small connection between the concept of “eking out” a living—that is, adding to your funds by securing more—this phrase has largely taken on its own meaning separate from its original definition.
However, remnants of this word are found in other, perhaps more unsuspecting, places. A person’s eke-name, or additional name, gradually morphed into the word “nekename” through a linguistic practice called rebracketing. People misheard eke-name as nekename until the word “nickname” (that is, a person’s extra name) became commonplace.
A Baker’s Dozen
The Assize of Bread and Ale, a piece of legislation in 1262, sought to combat frequent complaints that bakers were short-changing their customers by selling loaves that weighed less than they should. To prove that they were providing enough bread, bakers began adding an additional loaf for every 12 that they sold. Thus, the concept of the baker’s dozen as 13 items instead of 12 was born—and this meaning has carried through to today.
Full Tilt
To approach something “full tilt” means to commit oneself fully and entirely, or potentially even at high speed. This meaning has been preserved from the medieval ages, when jousting matches tested the mettle of two knights on horseback.
The tilt is the divider separating each jousting knight, and it is along this tilt that the riders spurred their horses. Later, the tilt became synonymous with the practice of jousting itself. Thus, to go “full tilt” was to commit fully to a joust, spurring the horse as fast as possible and striking the opponent hard, with complete commitment to the blow.
While people today probably aren’t jousting, they can still approach something at full tilt by going as fast or as hard as possible!
Language Is Always Changing
One of the most exciting things about language is that it continues to evolve every day. Even though the Middle Ages are long past, it is unlikely we have seen the last of their influence; new words and phrases can appear at any time, even from periods of history hundreds of years in the past. From old words like “quixotic” that still find their place in niche writing today to intriguing options such as “fopdoodle” that need only to catch on in order to surge in popularity, Middle English is likely far from done contributing to the modern vocabulary.
