Yes, the humors were all bodily fluids - hence, they were (are?) all wet (no humorous pun intended). Since these humors also dicate mood, and humor in the modern sense is a kind of mood, I don't think the leap is so very difficult. Paul "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128). ________________________________ From: "Suarez, Julia" <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sat, September 24, 2011 2:22:06 PM Subject: Re: Call for vocab Hi, Linda, Probably from the idea of the bodily humors--those mysterious essences that were once thought to dictate our personalities,--phlegm, choler, bile, both black and yellow. . .all quite moist--humid. Julie -----Original Message----- From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Linda Comerford Sent: Sat 9/24/2011 1:08 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Call for vocab "Humor" relates to "damp"? Interesting! Does anyone know how? A perspiring nervous standup comedian comes to mind.... Linda Comerford 317.786.6404 [log in to unmask] www.comerfordconsulting.com <http://www.comerfordconsulting.com/> _____ From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2011 10:22 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Call for vocab On an even lighter note: humor/humid ...although these two really are cognates, deriving from words meaning "damp." On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:16 PM, Jane Saral <[log in to unmask]> wrote: On a lighter note, (for an SAT vocab exercise) I wonder if I might solicit words that fit the pattern of noun ending in -or and adjective in -id.... To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/