Categories: Stories

40+ Photos From The Nor’Easter That Will Show You The Sheer Power Of Mother Nature

Waves crash against the boats docked at MacMillan Pier off Provincetown.

Merrily Cassidy / The Cape Cod Times via AP (Boston.com)

A worker cuts a tree that had fallen on to a house as a storm bringing high winds passes over Kensington, Maryland.

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (AOL.com)

Waves crash against the seawall along Turner Road in Scituate, MA.

(Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images – Time Magazine)

High winds downed a tree onto power lines, blocking the street and damaging a vehicle in Takoma Park, MD. 

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images – AOL.com)

A man heads across flooded E. Squantum Street in Quincy, Mass.

IMAGE: STAN GROSSFELD/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Flooding on Scituate Avenue in Scituate. 

Jonathan Wiggs / The Boston Globe

Hoboken Train Terminal.

TrainSim.Com

A woman gets caught by a wave of heavy seas came ashore in Winthrop, Mass.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

An uprooted tree in Yonkers, NY.

LoHud.com

A Revolutionary War-era ship that surfaced after the storm calmed.The wreck was examined by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and labeled as archeological site ME 497-004.

AOL.com

 

So, Why is it called a Nor’Easter?

While many assume Nor’easter is the name is a product of some kind of Maine lobsterman accent, that’s probably not true. In their book Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, Patricia T. O’Conner, and Stewart Kellerman write:

The word ‘nor’easter’ is a contraction of ‘northeaster,’ a blustery storm with northeasterly winds. The storm has long been associated with New England, but the term ‘nor’easter’ isn’t native to the land of clam chowdah, according to many linguists and a great many coastal New Englanders. The locals, they say, have always pronounced the word by dropping the two r’s, not the th, making it sound something like ‘nawtheastah.’

Instead, “Nor’easter” seems to come from across the Atlantic Ocean. As far back as the Elizabethan period, the English used “nor’” and “nor’east” to refer to compass points.

The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first written usage of “nor’easter” in London in 1837, in a translation of the Aristophanes play The Knights by B.D. Walsh: “Slack your sheet! A strong nor’-easter’s groaning.” The unabbreviated term “northeaster” appeared in print earlier, in the Boston Post-Boy in 1753: “Cap. Savage had a strong North-Easter some Hours before, about 8 Leagues S. W. of the Cape [Florida], in which he carried away his Boltsprit, but happily recover’d it again.”

(Sources: Boston.com and TIME)

Previous 4 of 4

Show comments
Share
Published by

Recent Posts

‘All in the Family’: Norman Lear Created Maude to Have Someone Who Could ‘Destroy’ Archie Bunker

Television characters are created for all sorts of reasons, but when Norman Lear came up…

4 years ago

George Clooney’s Quarantine Endorsement Helps Flowbee Sales Skyrocket

When salons and barbershops started closing, the future of people's hair became uncertain. Some braved…

4 years ago

Remembering The Cast Of ‘Bewitched’ Then And Now 2020

UPDATED 12/15/020 Bewitched originally aired from September 17th, 1964 to March 25th, 1972, and still…

4 years ago

‘Grease’ Will Be Added To The National Film Registry This Year

The popular 1978 musical film Grease will finally be added to the National Film Registry.…

4 years ago

52 Years After Conquering Addiction, Danny Trejo Stars In PSA To Help Others Do The Same

Danny Trejo's rise to stardom began with dubious circumstances. He utilized tricks he learned in…

4 years ago

Sharon Osbourne Has Been Hospitalized For Coronavirus

Sharon Osbourne revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus on social media. She also…

4 years ago