Kiintoisa on myös sanan juuret ruotsin kielen suota merkitsevässä sanassa ja kantasanassa "fette" eli lihava kun muistaa englannin kielen sanonnan "fat of the land", joka on ollut jo 1600-luvulla käytössä.
Living off the fat of the land
Living off the fat of the land
Meaning
Living well; fed by abundant crops.
Origin
In the 16th century 'the fat' meant the richest, choicest part of something. William Lambarde, in A perambulation of Kent; conteining the description, hystorie, and customes of that shyre, 1576 wrote:
" This Realme... wanted neither the favour of the Sunne, nor the fat of the Soile."
The first citation of the phrase in the 'land' version we now use is the Bible, Genesis 45:17-18 (King James Version), 1611:
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Sana merkitsee myös lihavaa, paisuvaa, vuotavaa ja turpeaa.
Online Etymology Dictionary
fat (adj.) Look up fat at Dictionary.com
Old English fætt "fat, fatted, plump, obese," originally a contracted past participle of fættian "to cram, stuff," from Proto-Germanic *faitaz "fat" (cognates: Old Frisian fatt, Old Norse feitr, Dutch vet, German feist), from PIE *poid- "to abound in water, milk, fat, etc." (source also of Greek piduein "to gush forth"), from root *peie- "to be fat, swell" (cognates: Sanskrit payate "swells, exuberates," pituh "juice, sap, resin;" Lithuanian pienas "milk;" Greek pion "fat, wealthy;" Latin pinguis "fat").
Teen slang meaning "attractive, up to date" (also later phat) is attested from 1951. Fat cat "privileged and rich person" is from 1928; fat chance "no chance at all" attested from 1906. Fathead is from 1842; fat-witted is from 1590s; fatso is first recorded 1944. Expression the fat is in the fire originally meant "the plan has failed" (1560s).
fat (n.) Look up fat at Dictionary.com
mid-14c.; see fat (v.). Figurative sense of "best or most rewarding part" is from 1560s.
Eli kyllä naisen hedelmällisyys ja elämää ylläpitävyys on ollut tärkeää ja sana vittu on alkuperältään edustanut tätä.