A wine expert with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and a minor in French wonders about the origin of the term sommelier. It shares a root with sumpter, meaning “pack animal.” Sommelier used to refer generally to the person in charge of the...
Whether that bag for personal belongings is a purse, handbag, or pocketbook appears to be less about region than generation. Wally in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, grew up in Philadelphia saying pocketbook, but a Florida acquaintance knew the same sort...