February 23, 2012
Ryan Carbone looks at the origins of the words “cross” and “fit” and finds an unexpected deeper meaning.
Words are powerful. They can be employed in an incalculable number of ways to achieve any number of ends. They can motivate, inspire, make you laugh, make you cry, or cultivate your dreams or crush them.
The power of words, however, rests on our capacity to understand them. The more I thought about this, the more I realized that I have absolutely no idea what a lot of words actually mean. The only way to truly define these words is to look at where they come from. Delve into the origins of words, and you will unlock their vast potential.
So let’s take a look at the word “CrossFit.” Greg Glassman defines CrossFit as “constantly varied high-intensity functional movement.” This definition is certainly adequate in defining what CrossFit is, but an etymological investigation reveals more.