Thread: "Get on someone's case"

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

And I would guess (but possibly I'm mistaken) that this one might be related to костёр, "a bonfire/campfire"? (Compare with English "to rake/haul someone over the coals" = ругать)

It's a very interesting verb, especially for the English native speakers, because it came from another verb "кастить" (the first meaning is "to soil/dirty"). Possibly, it's close to the English verb "to cuss", because it has the same root (cuss = кас). "Касть" is an ancient word, it means "filth, garbage etc".

Originally Posted by Paul G.

It's a very interesting verb, especially for the English native speakers, because it came from another verb "кастить" (the first meaning is "to soil/dirty"). Possibly, it's close to the English verb "to cuss", because it has the same root (cuss = кас). "Касть" is an ancient word, it means "filth, garbage etc".

Well, "to cuss" (упротреблять мат) originated simply as a dialect pronunciation of "to curse" (проклясть) But the etymology of "curse" is a bit mysterious --it goes back to Old English (with the same basic meaning of проклясть), but apparently no one has traced the origin further than that. It would be very interesting to know if there's an ancient connection between "curse" and "касть"!

Also, I wonder if either the English "curse" or the Russian касть has any connection to Greek kakos (плохой) or to Latin cacare (испражняться).

P.S. The name of the traditional caganer figurines in Spanish folk-art comes from the same root as Latin cacare, and Russian какашка: