There’s nothing like eating a hot, steaming stew on a cold winter’s day. Some of you may not like the idea of a stew — particularly a school one — and what I’m about to tell you probably won’t change your mind!

 

That’s because, believe it or not, the word ‘stew’ is connected to a terrible disease that causes fever and a rash, and that can be …

 

. . . DEADLY!

 

That disease — called ‘typhoid’ or ‘typhus’ — is a horrible one that still occurs in some countries. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning ‘steam’, referring to the fever caused by the disease, as well as a horrible confusion of the brain. The idea is that steam is inside your head, stopping you from seeing clearly.

But where does ‘stew’ come in, you ask? Well, the Romans borrowed typhus from the Greek and turned it into their own word, extufare, which meant ‘having a steam bath’! The word became ‘stew’ in English, and originally described a public bath or hot tub. Eventually a stew was used to describe food that had been steamed in hot liquid. If you think about it, the steam coming off a plate of hot stew is a little like the steam rising up from a very hot bath (full of water, not meat and vegetables!). But perhaps try not to wash yourself in one.