Ever wonder how ordinary things got their names? Me too. Last night as I was washing my hair, I got to thinking about the word Shampoo. I repeated it over and over and it sounded weirder and weirder each time. Shampoo. Sham-poo. Shampoo. Funny word, shampoo.
Who named “it” shampoo? While I was showering, shampooing and shaving my legs, I was thinking about this word, shampoo and it occurred to me that perhaps I could find the origin of the word and also blog about it.
Lucky you, I have done my research.
The word shampoo was first recorded in 1762…..(not really all that long ago considering people have probably been doing it since the beginning of the world and all.)
It comes from the Hindi language of India. The word champo is a verb and means to press, knead the muscles. We use the word the English word “massage”.
1860 was the first recorded time Shampoo was used to mean “wash the hair”.(Gee, he’s just a little thing and he’s already got the hang of it!)
In 1866, shampoo also took the form of a noun meaning the “soap used for shampooing”.
I doubt this will come up in a regular conversation. But, you just never know…. it could make a good conversation starter.
Picture this: You’re at the local PTA meeting sitting next to a stranger. You’ve made initial introductions and the conversation is going no where. You look at the person admiringly and say with sincere interest, “Your hair looks really healthy; what kind of shampoo do you use?” Then you can go into the fact that you are a blogger and read the work of other bloggers and how you just learn so many interesting things as you follow these up-and-coming authors. As the conversation continues, and you find your confidence building, you then mention that you just recently read a fascinating blog about shampoo! Now all you have to do is share the details and before you know it you’ve make a friend.
See, I just helped you make a friend!…….All because I thought the word shampoo sounded funny. It just gives me great satisfaction and joy knowing I am helping people like you all over the world just by telling them about shampoo.
No thanks necessary, “because that’s just the kind of person I am.”