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You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org » Forums » (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) » Words with unusual etymologies » Strange bedfellows Register User    Forum List        Calendar     Active Topics     Search     FAQ

Topic Options #117221 - 12/07/03 12:39 PM Strange bedfellows shanks old hand Registered: 03/16/00 Posts: 1004 Loc: London, UK Found this on another forum I frequent - 'cretin' is cognate with 'Christian'! I kid you not. Now if that isn't unusual etymology, I don't know what is. I quote from my friend's post: "Cretin" derives from the French which derives from the Latin Christianus a word loosely defined as someone who's stairs don't go all the way to the top. Christianus, of course, is related to the Greek XRISTOS, "annointed one", a translation of the Hebrew MASHIACH (commonly rendered in English as "messiah"). cheer the sunshine warrior Top #117222 - 12/07/03 01:05 PM Re: Strange bedfellows wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 cretin SYLLABICATION: cre·tin PRONUNCIATION: krtn NOUN: 1. A person afflicted with cretinism. 2. Slang An idiot. ETYMOLOGY: French crétin, from French dialectal, deformed and mentally retarded person found in certain Alpine valleys, from Vulgar Latin *christinus, Christian, human being, poor fellow, from Latin Chrstinus, Christian. See Christian. OTHER FORMS: cretin·oid (-oid) —ADJECTIVE cretin·ous (-s) —ADJECTIVE As noted in another thread, a deficiency of iodine in Alpine soils caused by leaching of the compounds of the element from the soils, in pregnant womens diet, results in incomplete development of brain of infant. They are to be pitied. Iodized salt can prevent it. Or availability of seafood. An anomaly to call them "Christians" since they can have no comprehension of religion. And not only Christians should feel pity for them. Top #117223 - 12/08/03 12:45 PM Re: Strange bedfellows Capfka Pooh-Bah Registered: 06/28/02 Posts: 1624 Loc: Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok Although I have no proof, the use of cretin, meaning christian, would likely be a shortening of something like "child of God", in the sense of a "simple" - or intellectually-challenged person. If this is the case, the relationship would seem rather obvious, since the Christian god seems to get both the blame for the bad and the credit for the good ... Top Previous Topic Index Next Topic Preview Hop to: General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Moderator:  Jackie  Print Topic Switch to Threaded Mode View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts Forum Stats 8453 Members 16 Forums 13692 Topics 210111 Posts Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM Newest Members zhangzhen, dene13, MariaAnastasia, MNPrasad, Krysto4 8453 Registered Users Who's Online 1 registered (jenny jenny), 30 Guests and 1 Spider online. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters (30 Days) LukeJavan8 98 wofahulicodoc 71 endymion6 71 jenny jenny 66 teepee 23 Rhubarb Commando 18 Faldage 14 tsuwm 9 anddrewlee 6 Jackie 4 June Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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