Spanish word of the day - calvo

Spanish calvo = bald, calavera = skull
from L. calvus (bald), whence E. Calvin, Calvary, Calaveras (County), Chauvinism

Latin calvus yields Spanish calvo, from which descend Calavario (Calvary) and calavera (skull). English Calvary comes straight from the Latin, but Calvin (surname and given name...originally a Roman nickname) is borrowed from the French.The famous philosopher John Calvin was born in France as Jean Chauvin. Another Chauvin, a legendary soldier in Napoleon's Grande Armee named Nicholas Chauvin, was so devoted to the Emperor that his surname became associated with exaggerated, blind patriotism. Fr. Chauvinisme resulted, whence E. chauvinism.

Out in California, some years later, much of the gold-rush country fell within Calaveras County. Mark Twain, famously familiar with mining towns, wrote a humorous short story called The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. It concerns a clever gambler who is outsmarted by a more clever gambler. The true winner of that contest is present-day Calaveras County, a tourist area that generates mucho dinero from its manufactured history.

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