What are the origins and differences between these two? Same for Granddad/Grandpa?
Why was there the need for the two different names?
Learn English – Grandma and Nan, origins and differences
etymologykinship-termssynonymsword-choice
Related Solutions
From New Oxford American:
dark horse |ˈdɑrk ˈˈhɔrs|
noun
1 a person about whom little is known, esp. someone whose abilities and potential for success are concealed : [as adj.] a dark-horse candidate.
2 a competitor or candidate who has little chance of winning, or who wins against expectations : a preseason dark horse as the nation's top collegiate football team.sleeper |ˈslipər|
noun
3 a movie, book, play, etc., that achieves sudden unexpected success after initially attracting little attention, typically one that proves popular without much promotion or expenditure.
• an antique whose true value goes unrecognized for some time.
From Etymonline:
dark horse
in politics, 1842, an image from horse racing, in which dark is used in its figurative sense of "unknown."Moonraker is called a "dark horse"; that is neither his sire nor dam is known. ["Pierce Egan's Book of Sports," London, 1832]
sleeper
[...] Sense of "something whose importance proves to be greater than expected" first attested 1892, originally in Amer.Eng,. sports jargon, probably from earlier gambling slang (1856) sense of "unexpected winning card."
Here's some generalizations gleaned from the above:
- dark horses are usually people; sleepers are usually things.
- dark horses are intentionally kept unknown; sleepers are simply not promoted.
- a dark horse might achieve success; a sleeper already has—surprisingly.
- dark horses' limelight often decrescendoes; sleepers' crescendoes.
As to your questions, I'd say they're not quite interchangeable. Knowing their different connotations will likely prove one to be the better word choice.
A dark horse might also be called an enigma, or simply an unknown; while surprise hit, cult classic, and box-office success are other phrases often applied to sleepers.
For the most part, the words are interchangeable. Distinguishing between multiple examples of such things can be aided by their individual connotations:
crack
a line on the surface of something along which it has split without breaking into separate parts
A crack tends to be a visible flaw that can splinter or spider into larger cracks with many smaller, attached cracks. The defining point of a crack is that the cracked object is still together — no matter how tenuous. Often there will not be any visible negative space or hole. Most cracks can be felt by rubbing your finger or hand over it.
slit
a long, narrow cut or opening
The biggest difference between a slit and a crack is that a slit implies some form of opening. Cracks also tend to be on a surface; a slit can be in virtually anything. A stereotypical slit is one that causes some portion of the object to pull apart — large slits can go all the way through to reveal a clean hole.
crevice
a narrow opening or fissure, esp. in a rock or wall
A crevice is typically reserved for very large objects that have been separated into more than one distinct section. A crevice in the earth would be something that separates two plains; a crevice in a wall could very well separate the wall into two pieces. "Narrow" is respective to the larger object. A crevice could be meters wide or only inches. A typical crevice is also very deep.
split
a tear, crack, or fissure in something, esp. down the middle or along the grain
A split more directly conveys an object being split into smaller pieces or a longer top-to-bottom crack. A split could also be used to describe pieces that are no longer attached at all. There is no implication of depth with a split; the importance is the length of the split or how much of the surface remains unaffected.
cleft
a fissure or split, esp. one in rock or the ground
When I think of a cleft I typically envision a V-shaped hole. A "cleft in the rock" is a V cut sideways into a mountain that can provide shelter. The "cleft of the chin" is the middle gap in some people's chins. Depth is important to a cleft but the gap will not go all the way through.
To directly address your example of a flaw in the bottom of a bowl, I would expect crack to be the most applicable. If there is a chunk missing but no thin lines it could be best described by chip:
a small piece of something removed in the course of chopping, cutting, or breaking something, esp. a hard material such as wood or stone
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Best Answer
Etymology
The word nan for grandma is a shortening of the word nana. Both of these words probably are child pronunciations of the word nanny. Etymonline describes this word as originating as a child's word for "female adult other than mother". This is why nanny is used as the word for a caretaker of children (since the 18th century) as well as a grandmother (since the early 20th century). Etymonline also notes that nanna is also a Greek word for aunt.
Grandma has similar origins. The word mama is a child's form of mother. In languages like German and English, the parents of one's parents have the grand- prefix applied to create their names. The original form of grandma was grandmama (18th century, OED). So this is simply the result of applying the grand- prefix to the child word. Then, like ma was derived as a shortening of mama, grandma evolved from grandmama.
As you can imagine, dad and pa/papa are also child words for father.
Why have multiple words
The reason there are all of these names is the same reason why most of us have nicknames for certain people or things based on childhood pronunciations. Whether that means calling your blanket a banky or your sister sessa, most of us form an emotional connection to things from this time period. Even the alternate word for stomach, tummy comes from a child pronunciation. Child language becomes a major part of family life for years, and it makes sense that some words are extended beyond the domain of early childhood development.
We retain these different forms of these words for at least two reasons: (1) each of us gives these words a differing level of significance (who wants to replace the word they use for their loved ones?) and (2) we often have different words for things that we individually use that are appropriate for different registers, e.g. kitty, cat, and feline.