DEAR READER

By LAURA DARGUS

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Dear Reader,

This issue of the Dig is brought to you by the word hot.

"Hot," as in the opposite of cold (e.g., it's really fucking hot out), is derived from the Old English hat and the same Proto-Indo-European root as that of "heat," qai. The association of the word with sexuality dates back to 1500; however, "heat," referencing sexual excitement in animals (e.g., you better wear a rubber in the heat of the moment or this retro porno has me all hot and bothered), didn't make its way to colloquial usage until 1768. Consequently, orgasm (the word, not the sensation) dates back to 1684, derived from the French orgasme and Greek orgasmos meaning excitement or swelling, and organ, to be in heat. It is related to orge, literally meaning impulse, excitement and anger, and draws its roots from Proto-Indo-European -wrog, to swell with strength (as in "Hulk, smash!"). "Hot water" referencing trouble (e.g., Pharmaceutical companies are in hot water over their misleading marketing information or the MBTA is feeling the heat), became popular idiom in 1537. "Refrigeration," from the Latin refrigerationem, defined as the mitigation of heat, dates back to 1471. Refrigerator, a cabinet for keeping food cool, was first recorded in 1824, originally in connection to the brewery trade, apropos, for before refrigeration became commonplace, Steam Beer, the first American beer style was born. "Hot" used as an adjective to describe something exciting, remarkable or very good, (e.g., we have a hot issue this week) made it into the vernacular around in 1895. (It's since suffered overuse by a not-so-hat heiress.)