Etymology
The exact origin of the word Ghoti is unknown. It is presumed that the word was derived from Bandyaghoti. The Bandyaghotis were a section of Rarhi Brahmins who migrated from Bardhaman to eastern Bengal, where they were referred as Ghotis. Gradually, the people of western Bengal became collectively known as Ghotis. Another presumption is that the Bandyaghotis brought the sacred ghat with them along with their Shaligram to the eastern Bengal. For this reason they were known as Ghotis or the people who bring ghat.
Read more about this topic: Ghoti People
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“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)
“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)