#billard cue

There is a nice French word for standing in line waiting for something: »queue«. In the French origin it means »tail« and in the past it would even describe a »penis« (12th century). It derives from the Latin dialectal word »coda« which means »tail«, too.

»Queue« is a cool example on how the Germanic languages adapt loan words into their own system. 

• TheEnglish language adapted the complete word without changing the spelling, BUT totally changing the pronunciation.
• TheSwedish language adapted the complete word as well, though it doesn’t look like the origin. To maintain the French pronunciation, they changed the spelling.
• TheGerman expression for »the line you stand in waiting« is »Warteschlange« and literally translated means »waiting snake«. There is no verb in the German language like in English »to queue« or in Swedish »att köa«. In German you have to say you »stand in snake« or »wait in snake«. But Germans also know the word »queue«, it is a »billiard cue«.

Trivia:
Did you know that queueing is not normal at a bus stop in Germany? While the first person that arrives at a bus stop in Sweden or in England establishes the queue, there is no similar behavior in Germany. When a bus arrives at a stop, all people run towards the entrance, irrespective of the order of appearance at the stop. The Germans have a very cool name for the picture that establishes, when everybody runs towards the door. They call it »human bunch of grapes« (Menschentraube = knot of people).

Pronunciation for Queue in French,Queue in English,Kö in Swedish,Billard Queue in German,Warteschlange in German und Menschentraube.

Ref.: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=queue