Spelunkers

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Lynn from Rushford, Minnesota.

Well, hello Lynn. What’s going on in Rushford, Minnesota?

Rushford.

Well, spring has finally sprung. We’ve been waiting for it for a long time.

Yay, spring! So what are you going to do to celebrate?

Well, I’m going back to work on the 13th of April.

And so that’s something to celebrate because I don’t go back until the weather gets nice enough to go back to work.

What’s your work?

I work as a naturalist for the state of Minnesota at a cave here in southeast Minnesota.

At a cave? What cave?

Mystery Cave.

Why do they call it Mystery Cave?

Oh, dear. That’s a real long story.

Yay!

But to make it shorter, I guess I’d just say, well, there are a lot of wonderful mysteries in it.

And so if you’re ever out this way, please come visit.

Oh, yeah? You would take us on a tour?

Oh, I sure would.

Show us the stalactites and the stalagmites.

Now, how do you tell the difference between those?

I always forget.

Well, the tights, the stalactites grow from the ceiling,

And the stalagmites grow from the ground up.

And we always say that the stalactites hold tight to the ceiling,

And the stalagmites might reach the ceiling.

Oh, good.

Yeah, you want those stalactites to hold tight, definitely.

Yeah, especially the bigger ones.

Well, interesting.

So do you have a question for us about language?

I do.

Every now and then when I am in the cave with a group of visitors,

I get asked the question, where did the word spelunker come from?

And every place I’ve looked to find an answer,

I have not found anything that makes an awful lot of sense to me.

So I thought, well, you guys would be the ones to ask.

What have you seen so far?

Well, I know the word spielion is the Greek word for cave, and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten.

I don’t know where the lunker part comes from.

I thought it was perhaps German, but nothing I’ve come across says anything about German being involved.

No, no.

But you’re right about the Greek part, and spielologists are people who study caves professionally.

Are you familiar with that term, spieliology?

Well, you say spielunker, right?

I do.

Yeah, that’s interesting because I see that that is an accepted pronunciation in the dictionary.

I’ve always said spelunker myself.

Spelunker goes back to a Latin word, spelunka, which goes back even further to a Greek word.

And, you know, a lot of those Greek words, it’s spelinks.

And there are a lot of weird Greek words that just sound really weird.

And that word eventually found its way into English as spelunker, or as you say, spelunker.

So it simply goes back to the Latin and Greek words for a hollow in the ground like that.

Lynn, have we answered your question satisfactorily?

You have, and I really appreciate that.

Thank you for helping me get to the bottom of it.

And do come visit us if you’re ever out this way.

All right, we sure will.

Thank you so much, Lynn.

Best of luck with the new season.

Thank you.

Okay, bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Well, if you have a question about language, we’re happy to try to get to the bottom of it.

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