In my semi-awake state this morning I half-dreamed of the sentence: Margaret loves margarine.
There is no apparent reason. But I have always wondered why Margarine's [ga] should be pronounced [ja].
I looked up the dictionary to find the words' etymologies.
Margarine comes from the Greek "margaron," which means "pearl."
The name Margaret I assume is the Anglified form of the French Marguerite, which comes from the Greek "margarita," which also means "pearl."
And how about that big shellfish, that produces mother-of-pearl?
It's name is Pinctada Margaritifera. I can't tell what it means.
But the etymology, by definition, should go back beyond its Greek origin! Margaron, Margarita. In what part of these words is hidden the glistening, bewildering, rainbow-like color of the pearl?
