Caucus

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Suzanne from Indianapolis.

Well, hello, Suzanne. What’s going on?

Well, I have a question.

My husband and I have been obsessed with all of the election excitement, and there have been a lot of caucuses or cockey, which may be a separate question about the plural about caucus.

Cockey. I like that.

Yeah, I’m not sure about that.

But our question is, after watching all of these caucuses and everyone talking about how they’re predominated by a lot of white people, is there a relationship between caucus and Caucasian?

Because I’m thinking, well, hello, if there is, of course they’re predominated by Caucasians because that’s a related term.

Now, wait a second here.

Caucuses tend to be held in states that are mostly white anyway, right?

Well, yeah.

Yeah.

Is there a reason that Caucasus are in predominantly white states?

Well, now that I don’t know.

But I can tell you that the words aren’t etymologically related at all.

This is a pair of words that sort of like, you know, they look alike, they sound alike. It’s sort of like bark on a tree and bark from a dog.

They have two different, completely different roots. They just happen to look like maybe they’re related.

The Caucasian part is pretty straightforward. The area known as the Caucasus, the mountains that are between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

In the 19th century, a lot of theorists were suggesting that the race of fair-skinned people must have come from that area. And so Caucasian got associated with fair-skinned people.

The caucus in this country, the political kind of caucus, that word has an origin that we’re not completely sure about.

It’s an Eastern Native American language, though, probably, right?

Like Algonquin or something?

That’s one of the theories, that it comes from a Native American word that means to advise or to talk together, to meet.

But we’re not completely sure that that’s the origin.

It may just come from something called the Caucus Club in the 18th century in Boston.

But the truth is that we can’t say for sure about the origin of the political caucus.

What is clear, though, is that it doesn’t have anything to do with the Caucasian race.

Wow.

Except that there are a lot of them.

Okay, so I think we’re all safe now.

Yeah.

I’m feeling well, because I was worried that there was going to be more tension around this issue, so I’m feeling good about it.

Oh, good.

Good.

Well, I’m glad we could help you out there.

Yeah.

Yeah, so disabuse anybody of that notion if they try to tell you that.

Okay, great.

All right.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Thank you.

Take care.

Bye-bye, Suzanne.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

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