As many of you may already know our Managing Director, John O’Mahony, takes a keen interest in etymology; the history of words and their origins. We thought that we would give you a light hearted break with some business terms that you use and their origins. Salary The word Salary comes from the Latin word ‘Salarium’ and its root is sal or ‘salt’. In ancient Rome soldiers were assigned an amount of money to buy salt which at the time was an expensive but essential commodity.   Rob Peter to Pay Paul This expression can be traced back to 17^th December 1540 when the church of St Peter’s in Westminster, London became a cathedral. This only lasted for 10 years as the diocese of Westminster was then placed under the authority of St Paul’s Westminster, and St Peter’s was demoted to a church once again. To add insult to injury St Peters then had to help fund repairs to St Paul’s. Hence why the saying now means to borrow from one source to help fund another.   To Make Ends Meet This term was first used literally at sea. If ropes broke on sailing vessels it was often necessary to make both ends meet, stretching the rope to its limits to tie the two pieces together. The term is now applied to a person who “Succeeds with difficulty” making both ends meet by managing to make their income cover all the bills and to live on the money that they earn.   Money for Old Rope In years gone by when tall ships returned to port some sailors were allowed to claim the lengths of damaged rope to sell for themselves. Although the ships could not use damaged rope they were of use to local traders. As the sailors didn’t have to do anything other than find a buyer they literally got money for old rope. The phrase then came to mean money or reward earned for little or no effort.   Google The name Google is a play on the word ‘googol’ which is a number 1 followed by 100 zeros. It reflects the founders mission to organise an infinite amount of information on the web.   To Pay Through the Nose This word originates from the Vikings invasion of the British Isles in the ninth century. The Danes loved their taxes and implemented them with strict rules anywhere they invaded. An especially high tax they levied was known as the ‘Nose Tax’, and any citizen failing to pay had their nose either slit or cut off completely. Now we use it to imply paying far too much for a good or service.   The S4B Team We are a team of Profit Consultants and Chartered Accountants in Maidenhead who work with you to help ensure your success and fulfil your potential. Send our team an email at [email protected] or call 01628 623444 to see how we can help you.