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3-Sandwich

The nation’s favourite lunchtime snack gets its name from the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Mon-
tagu. The story goes that 250 years ago, the 18th-century aristocrat requested that his valet bring
him beef served between two slices of bread. He was fond of eating this meal whilst playing card
games, as it meant that his hands wouldn’t get greasy from the meat and thus spoil the cards.
Observing him, Montagu’s friends began asking for “the same as Sandwich”, and so the sandwich
was born. Though people did eat bread with foods such as cheese and meat before this, these
meals were known as “bread and cheese” or “bread and meat”. The sandwich is now the ultimate
convenience food.

4-Quarantine

The word “quarantine” has its origins in the devastating plague, the so-called Black Death, which
swept across Europe in the 14th century, wiping out around 30% of Europe’s population. It comes
from the Venetian dialect form of the Italian words “quaranta giorni”, or “forty days”, in referen-
ce to the fact that, in an effort to halt the spread of the plague, ships were put into isolation on
nearby islands for a forty-day period before those on board were allowed ashore. Originally – at-
tested by a document from 1377 – this period was thirty days and was known as a “trentine”, but
this was extended to forty days to allow more time for symptoms to develop. This practice was
first implemented by the Venetians controlling the movement of ships into the city of Dubrovnik,
which is now part of Croatia but was then under Venetian sovereignty. We now use the word “qu-
arantine” to refer to the practice of restricting the movements, for a period of time, of people
or animals who seem healthy, but who might have been exposed to a harmful disease that could
spread to others.

5-Palace

The word “palace” is another English word with origins in Rome. It comes from one of Rome’s
famous ‘Seven Hills’, the Palatine, upon which the Emperor resided in what grew into a sprawling
and opulent home. In Latin, the Palatine Hill was called the “Palatium”, and the word “Palatine”
came to refer to the Emperor’s residence, rather than the actual hill. The word has reached us via
Old French, in which the word “palais” referred to the Palatine Hill. You can see the word “Palati-
ne” more easily in the form “palatial”, meaning palace-like in size.

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