Any Spanish speakers out there? Any word buffs? Let see if we can discover the etymology of a word together. First we’ll do a warm up: “Companion.” It’s Latin based. cum + panis = with + bread (see dictionary.com), or “one with whom you would eat bread.” A companion is someone you share meals with. That’s kind of cool because it makes a lot of sense. Now here’s today’s word: Sincere. Let’s try our hand at this one:

Sincere. That also looks Latin: sine + cera = without + wax. The story goes that the Romans would use wax to hide imperfections and roughness on statues, columns and pottery. A really good Roman craftsman, on the other hand, would advertise that his creations were Sine Cera, or without wax. The Latin was adopted by the Spanish and English stole it from the Spaniards. And you can read all about it in Dan Brown’s first thriller, Digital Fortress, which I read last night.

What a great lesson! Aren’t words awesome? I feel smarter. :)

Except… The whole “Sine Cera” thing is completely WRONG. The OED states “There is no probability in the old explanation from sine cera ‘without wax’”. Wikipedia says, ‘”sincere” actually derives from the Latin sincerus meaning “clean, pure, sound.” According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the Latin word “sincerus” is derived from the Indo-European roots “sem” and “ker,” generating an underlying meaning “of one growth,” hence “pure, clean.”‘ Dictionary.com confirms this.

That’s the problem with the truth. It ain’t nearly as sexy. Sorry to disappoint you. Sorry that Dan Brown is full of manure. That’s just life, amigos.