sucka sc: knit & crochet

Word nerd strikes again

Here’s some trivia for ya: I was wondering about use of the word “rocket” before this century, and looked up rocket on an online dictionary to get a look at the origin of the word. I’ve been looking up words since I was very small, which is part of the reason I have a stellar vocabulary and kill at Scrabble. And here’s what I saw:

Origin:
1605–15; < It rocchetta, dim. of rocca distaff (with reference to its shape) < Goth *rukka

See that? Distaff! We call them “rockets” because they’re shaped like old-school spinning tools! There’s always a little more old tech in our new tech than we realize, and language is some of the oldest tech around.