Etymology
The term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps.
In Norway, it is referred to as a lårhøne (thigh hen), in Sweden lårkaka (thigh cookie), and in France as a crampe (cramp) or claquage (if the muscle is torn). In Portugal, it is known as a paralítica, roughly translated to "paralyzer". In Brazil it has become known as "tostão" or "paulistinha". In Japan it is known as komuragaeri (こむら返り?), which is literally "cramp in the calf". In northeastern Italy, it is commonly called a lopez, while in the northwest it is called vecchia (old woman) or dura ("hard one" or "tough one"); in the south of the country, instead, it is called morso del ciuccio (donkey's bite). In some areas of central Italy, it is called opossum. In Israel it is called Regel Etz which means wooden leg. It is called chaca (rat) in the Chamorro language of Guam and the Mariana Islands..
Read more about this topic: Charley Horse
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)