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Posted By: wwh angle - 10/14/02 08:03 PM
It occurred to me to wonder how "angle" came to mean to fish. It seems to have been
based on word for "hook".
angle (v.) - "to fish," 1496, from O.E. angel (n.), related to
anga "hook," from I.E. *ank- "to bend." Figurative sense is
recorded from 1589.
angle (n.) - "intersecting lines," c.1380, from L. angulus
"corner," cognate with from Gk. ankylos "bent, crooked" (see
ankle).

Posted By: Wordwind Re: angle - 10/14/02 09:41 PM
I suppose the bent or angled fish leading to the angler sounded better than calling the angler a hooker, huh?

Posted By: Faldage Re: angle - 10/15/02 10:36 AM
AHD confirms and notes that both are from PIE ank-. Interesting that one is through Greek, Latin and Old French, not coming into English until Middle English and the other has been with us since before the beginning.

Posted By: wwh Re: angle - 10/15/02 01:07 PM
Dear Faldage: The modern fish-hook is a marvel of metal working, that cannot be very old
I wonder what primitive fish-hooks were like.

Posted By: wwh Re: angle - 10/15/02 02:40 PM
Hey, Faldage, look at what I found when I finally used right search words:
http://www.mustad.no/history/hook_history.html

These hooks could have been taken by the very big fish that would have been
plentiful in ancient times.

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