ArcaMax

As the spring semester ends, many teachers are frantically rushing through the curriculum as if they were driving little chariots at breakneck speed. That's apt, because the word "curriculum" derives from the Latin word for a small chariot.

The Romans called a full-sized chariot a "currus," from "currere," the Latin verb meaning "to run." "Currere" also sprints through the English words "course," "current" and "courier."

But then some Roman hot-rodder devised a smaller, lighter chariot that became known as a "curriculum," literally, "small chariot." This vehicle soon proved so popular that the course it sped around became known as a "curriculum." (Today, this would be like changing the name of the Indianapolis Speedway to "Prius Hybrid.")

During the Renaissance, when classical terms and culture were being revived, Scottish scholars saw a connection between the Romans' chariot track and the rigorous round of training they required of their students. (This is one of the first-known examples of circular reasoning.)

Soon these demanding dons were calling their course of study a "curriculum." By the 1600s, "curriculum" had become a general term for the academic offerings of a school or college.

(Question: Would a series of classes about a legendary Roman chariot course be called a "curriculum curriculum"?)

Another college-related word rooted in Latin is "orientation." As many of you know, the orientation of first-year university students has become a week-long extravaganza, with get-acquainted activities such as kickball games, trust exercises and waiting in line for three hours to register for courses.

The Latin verb "oriri" meant "to rise," so its noun form, "orient," was soon being used to refer to the east, the place where the sun rises. During the Middle Ages, most European churches were built with their longitudinal axes pointing east toward Jerusalem. So "orient" came to mean "to face or point to the east."

But eventually the meaning of "orient" expanded to mean "the positioning of an object in relation to the compass points," whether that object was facing east or not.

Similarly, the Latin verb "occidere" meant "to fall," so western areas where the sun "fell" (set) came to be called "the occident," and soon this term was being used to denote western Europe and North America.

This explains why a college in the western U.S. (Los Angeles) is named "Occidental," though its new students presumably experience "orientation," not "occidation."

========

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Copyright 2025 Creators Syndicate Inc.