- Hello everyone, I'm
Teela with Deep English,
and I'm so excited to
bring you another lesson
in uncovering the hidden meanings
of some common English words.
It's a cloudy, rainy day today.
I think it's the perfect
day to dive a bit deeper
into the mysteries of
the English language.
Because when we can
learn the hidden meanings
of some common English words,
we have a better understanding
of what we're actually saying
when we speak English.
So let's get started and dive right in.
We will be learning the hidden meanings
of five common English words today.
Our first word is the
word inspire, inspire.
Inspire means to cause
someone to have a feeling,
an emotion, or a desire to do something.
We might use the word
inspire in a sentence like
his speech about plastics
polluting the ocean
inspired me to give up
plastic bags altogether.
Or in a sentence like
seeing the elderly couple
holding hands at the park
inspired me to be sweeter
to my husband when I got home.
Or maybe even in a sentence
like I hope this lesson
inspires you to look deeper
into the hidden meanings
of words in your own language.
So inspire.
So now, let's look at the hidden meaning
of the word inspire.
The word inspire came from
the Latin word inspirare,
and it originally meant to breathe into
or to breathe spirit into.
So how cool is that?
So the next time you're
looking for inspiration,
you might think about
what fills you with life,
or what fills you with spirit,
and you might just find
your inspiration there.
Alright, let's move on to
our second English word
with a hidden meaning.
Our second word is the word bully, bully.
The word bully refers
to someone who uses his
or her strength or power
to mistreat someone else.
The word bully might be
used in a sentence like
the bully stole my parking spot,
and so I had to drive
around the block again.
Or the bully ripped up my
homework and called me names.
I know that when I was in grade school,
I was teased by bullies all the time.
I had very unruly hair, and I still do.
You guys are lucky that I comb it,
or you might be frightened.
But when I was a kid,
my hair was very crazy,
and bullies used to
tease me about my hair.
So most of us know someone who's a bully,
or maybe we have even been
a bully ourselves before.
Hopefully, if we've been a
bully, we aren't anymore.
But we have a pretty good understanding
of what the word bully
means in today's context.
So let's look a little bit deeper
at the hidden meaning of the word bully.
So the word bully comes
from the Dutch word boel,
and it originally meant
brother or sweetheart.
The word bully was originally
a term of endearment.
How interesting?
So before, the word
bully was actually used
to say something pleasant
about someone else.
It's so different from the way
that we use the word bully today.
But one thing that I
find really interesting
is that new research shows us that bullies
often have had a hard childhood.
And so when we think about the way
that we use the word bully today,
we might just think of a bully as someone
in need of more love and more sweetness.
So the hidden meaning of the word bully
reminds us that we're
all in this together,
and even those of us
with the tough exterior
can use a little more sweetness
and love in our lives.
Okay, let's move on to
our third English word
with a hidden meaning.
Our word is courage, courage.
So courage means to be
brave or to face your fears.
We might use the word
courage in a sentence like
after I saw the snake on the trail,
it took all of my courage to keep going.
Or in a sentence from my own life,
I was moving to a place
where I knew no one.
I had to muster all of my
courage to make the move.
Or maybe one more
example from my own life,
when my boyfriend dared me
to jump into the cold pond,
it took a lot of courage to finally do it,
and yes it was freezing.
So courage.
So now, let's take a look
at the hidden meaning
of the word courage.
The word courage comes
from the Latin word cor,
which simply meant heart.
Dr. Brene Brown says
that the original meaning
of the word courage was to tell the story
of who you are with your whole heart.
So simply put, to have
courage was to be able
to express who you truly were,
to be able to say your truth,
to show up as who you really are.
So we often think about courage
as something that only heroes have.
But really, anyone who's
willing to be honest
about who they are and to express
that to the world is a courageous person.
So I think that one is especially cool.
Let's move on to our
fourth common English word
with a hidden meaning.
Our word is disaster, disaster.
The word disaster refers to a
surprising or unexpected event
that caused a lot of damage.
So we might use the word
disaster in a sentence like
the outdoor wedding
was a complete disaster
because of the rain.
Or an example from my own life,
my small dog ate a grape,
and grapes are toxic to dogs,
and so we took her to the vet immediately
to avoid a disaster.
And luckily she was okay,
so that was thankfully.
So the word disaster.
So now that we have an understanding
of how we commonly use the word disaster,
let's take a look at the hidden meaning
of the word disaster.
The word disaster came
from the Latin word astrum.
Astrum means star.
Dis aster meant ill-starred.
A disaster was something
that was ill-fated
or something that astrology
or the stars were influencing.
And so this one is also
really interesting,
because when something
terrible happens nowadays,
we don't usually think about
the stars or think about fate.
But maybe it would be
helpful if we did begin
to lean a little bit more into the mystery
behind the way that life unfolds.
Maybe if we can remember
the hidden meaning
of the word disaster, ill-starred,
it can help us to get through
some of those tougher moments
in life without
overthinking them too much.
Okay, let's move on to our
final common English word
with a hidden meaning.
Our word is animate.
It's our fifth word, and it's animate.
So the word animate means
to be infused with life
or to be expressive.
We might use the word
animate in a sentence like
she was so animated when she told stories,
everyone loved to listen to her.
Or from my own life, I was
such an animated young child
that people often told me to relax.
Or when I get really happy,
I'm really animated in the
way that I express myself.
So now let's look at the hidden
meaning of the word animate.
The word animate comes
from the Latin word animus.
Animus means soul.
Before, to be animated,
meant to be infused with soul or spirit.
Can you think of someone in your own life
who is very animated when they talk?
Could it be that this person
is somehow more connected
with their soul or maybe
expressing their soul more?
Oftentimes, we hold back,
and we make ourselves small.
We're afraid to express ourselves,
because we don't wanna seem too dramatic,
or we don't want to seem
like we're being too much.
But what if when we hold
back we're also saying no
to having more soul in our lives?
And so that's why the hidden
meaning of the word animate,
I think, is so important
for us to contemplate.
So the next time you're holding back,
and you're not expressing
who you really are,
maybe remember the hidden
meaning and remember
that to be animated once
meant to be full of soul.
Alright everyone.
Thank you so much for
joining me as we went
through five common English
words with hidden meanings.
It was such a pleasure,
and I look forward to
our next lesson together.
