hmm. i never thought of that. i'll have to ask rob kalin if that was the inspiration. i don't think so.

According to this CNN article: "in a January 2010 interview for Reader's Digest, founder Rob Kalin finally revealed the secret: "I wanted a nonsense word because I wanted to build the brand from scratch. I was watching Fellini's 8 ½ and writing down what I was hearing. In Italian, you say 'etsi' a lot. It means 'oh, yes.' And in Latin, it means 'and if.'"

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-22/living/website.name.origi...

It's also a Greek word, meaning (roughly) "like this".

yes. that's what rob told me too.

I always assumed it was 'etc' as well. Maybe only *nix people assume that because thinking about it, the only time I've ever heard 'etc' pronounced 'etsy' is with reference to the /etc directory.

I thought it was a derivative of "Betsy," connoting a friendly 60something lady knitting scarves.