S..t is not as pure as a maiden

We have to disappoint those of our readers whose imagination took them along interesting and exotic paths after last week’s column left them to ponder the origins of the cricket term "to bowl a maiden over". Its origin is quite straight forward, innocent and not all that exciting. But not quite the same can be said about some of the stories about the origin of the English word "shit".

For those not all that familiar with the game of cricket, a maiden over is one off which no runs are scored by the batsman. The word "maiden" originates from Old English, meaning young woman or virgin, and the cricket term simply means that the over stayed unspoilt by runs.

From the original meaning of the term, of being virginal, it has also developed to cover something new (first century of runs in cricket or 100th game in any sport), clean or untouched (maiden voyage, achievement or experience).

Before we move on to the subject of the word shit, let us take a quick look at another cricket term – to be bowled out for a duck. This is an abbreviation for the expression to be out for a duck's egg, indicating the large nought (0) recorded on the scoreboard. This expression was first recorded almost in the same period (from the 1860s) as the hat trick discussed last week and which was first recorded in 1858.

A lot of bull

It turns out that the oft, apparently innocent, given explanation of where the word shit originates from, is a load of bull s..t.

There are a few slightly variant explanations going something like this: Certain types of manure used to be transported in the 1800s by ship. In dry form, it weighs much less, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a byproduct is methane gas.

As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles, you can see what could (and did) happen: methane began building up below decks – and the first time someone came below with a lantern, there was an explosion.

For that reason, it became practice that bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them, indicating to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit".

The word, however, is much older than the 1800s, appearing in its earliest form about 1 000 years ago as the Old English verb scitan or scitte, meaning "diarrhoea".

It is also related to words such as science, schedule and shield, all of which derive from the Indo-European root skei-, meaning to cut or to split.

For most of its history, "shit" was spelled "shite" (and sometimes still is), but the modern, four-letter spelling of the word can be found in texts dating as far back as the mid-1700s.

It most certainly did not originate as an acronym used by 19th-century sailors.The term was originally neutral and used without any vulgar connotation.