I step into Starbucks, and there’s a sign in the parking lot. Why rollerblades? After all, blade means ‘blade’? If it came down to it, rollerblades should be something like a circular saw. Started figuring it out. Turns out, roller skates were originally called inline skates, but then the commercial company Rollerblade appeared and eventually became a generic trademark, like Pampers, Xerox, marker pen, Thermos, Play-Doh, or escalator.
But actually, the term Inline Skates exists, and it means any skates, and the company Rollerblade still exists. Interesting, did it influence the fact that its name was on the sign?
And what about the Russian name “коньки”? Is it a diminutive of “horse”? Yes 🙂 According to one version, like little horses, they carry you across the ice: ancient skates were decorated with a horse’s head at the front. According to another version, the name comes from the fact that the first runners were usually made from animal bones, most often horses.
It seems you speak in Russian, and only when you contemplate do you realize that ‘horse’ and ‘skates’ are related words.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 