origin story

Rather pleased with this new knowledge, we garnered a bit of insight into the etymology of company names and brand identities (see also) and learned that the first web mail, e-mail accessible via the internet from any computer with one’s log-on credentials, was called Hotmail for its inclusion of the initialism for Hypertext Mark-up Language and originally stylised as HoTMaiL. Acquired by Microsoft, those domain addresses are now supported by Outlook servers. The graphics card manufacturer NVIDIA comes from the Roman concept of invidia, envy in the sense of “looking upon” with the evil eye and feeling objectified and offending. There are aspirational, folk etymologies attached to legacy brands as well, like with MG Cars, from Morris Garages, now under new ownership that tout the label as “Modern Gentlemen.”