Curriculum
Have you ever asked or been asked, “How often does this course run?” or “When will this course run again?” Why do we talk about a course ‘running’?
The word course comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kers (to run) which is also the source of the Latin word currere (to run) from which comes the Latin word curriculum (a course of events).
The word curriculum is also related to Latin curricle (carriage, chariot) and Latin carrus (a four-wheeled vehicle, from which comes the word car). Perhaps this is why automotive instructors talk about their carriculum. (The Latin word for a carriage or cart maker; i.e., a cartwright, is carpentarius. The Latin word for a carpenter is a lignarius, from lignum = tree. But, I digress.)
Today, curriculum means the courses offered by an educational institution or a set of courses constituting an area of specialization. The earliest written record of the word curriculum used in this way is from 1633.
The term curriculum vitae was first used in 1902 to name a job search document. Vitae comes from the Latin vita, meaning life, and vitalis, meaning ‘of life’ (not the hair oil). A curriculum vitae is ‘the course of a life’.
A curriculum document is the summary of a course of events. Just as when curriculum workers prepare a curriculum vitae they do not include every single event and detail of their life, so also when they prepare a curriculum document they do not need to include every single piece of subject matter content.
Oh, by the way, speaking of running and racecourses, did I mention that PIE kers is also the origin of the word horse? Yes, the words course and horse (and curriculum) are distant etymological cousins.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
The word course comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kers (to run) which is also the source of the Latin word currere (to run) from which comes the Latin word curriculum (a course of events).
The word curriculum is also related to Latin curricle (carriage, chariot) and Latin carrus (a four-wheeled vehicle, from which comes the word car). Perhaps this is why automotive instructors talk about their carriculum. (The Latin word for a carriage or cart maker; i.e., a cartwright, is carpentarius. The Latin word for a carpenter is a lignarius, from lignum = tree. But, I digress.)
Today, curriculum means the courses offered by an educational institution or a set of courses constituting an area of specialization. The earliest written record of the word curriculum used in this way is from 1633.
The term curriculum vitae was first used in 1902 to name a job search document. Vitae comes from the Latin vita, meaning life, and vitalis, meaning ‘of life’ (not the hair oil). A curriculum vitae is ‘the course of a life’.
A curriculum document is the summary of a course of events. Just as when curriculum workers prepare a curriculum vitae they do not include every single event and detail of their life, so also when they prepare a curriculum document they do not need to include every single piece of subject matter content.
Oh, by the way, speaking of running and racecourses, did I mention that PIE kers is also the origin of the word horse? Yes, the words course and horse (and curriculum) are distant etymological cousins.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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