Etymology
There are many assertions as to the use of the name flamenco as a musical term (summarized below) but no solid evidence for any of them. The word was not recorded as a musical and dance term until the late 18th century. Others have drawn an image of the Flemish courtiers of Carlomagno from the word, or Charles I of Spain, who were known for their florid and exaggerated displays of courtesy at Court at a time when the native aristocrats patronised Gitano players and performers, more ready to satirize the despised but powerful incomers than any other. "Flama" in Spanish means flame or fire, and "enco" or "endo", is a suffix which means a quality-of, or having a-similarity-to, or pertaining-to.
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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)