From the World Wide Words newsletter:
“The original Saturnalia was a Roman mid-winter festival held in the middle of December, starting on the 17th in the modern calendar (or the 25th in the Roman one). It lasted for seven days and was a period when excess was encouraged: the shops were closed, gambling was permitted, presents were exchanged, slaves were given licence to speak their minds and join in the fun, and generally joy was unconfined. The holiday began with a sacrifice to the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn (Latin “satus” means sown), whose day it was.
…The name of Saturn has also given us “Saturday” (”Saturni dies” in Latin, the day of Saturn) and “saturnine”, gloomy, dark featured, dull, and moody - a description that sits oddly with the revelry of his annual festival. But the medieval alchemists identified Saturn with the element lead and astrologers with slowness and gloom.”
Also see…
“ZUGZWANG…familiar to every serious chess player. It’s from two German words: “zug”, to move, and “Zwang”, a compulsion or force. It’s a chess position in which a player must move but in which any move he makes will only make his position worse. Much like real life, really …”
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