(...) DUPLO is like "double" or "duplicate" or "duplicity" -- i.e. 2x, which is how much bigger LEGO DUPLO bricks are compared to LEGO SYSTEM bricks. (Well, 2x in each of 3 dimensions, anyway.) SCALA was originally used for a line of LEGO jewelry (...) (24 years ago, 18-Oct-00, to lugnet.general, lugnet.duplo, lugnet.scala)
(...) I always assumed that "Scala" was based on the word Scale. The figures and models seem geared towards a roughly real-world scale (as opposed to say, minifig scale... in which cars are never wide enough for two people to sit side-by-side). Tony (24 years ago, 18-Oct-00, to lugnet.general, lugnet.duplo, lugnet.scala)