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I'm reading Don Quixote, the Oxford edition, and ran into the word "omecils" (probably plural)- to which there is no explanation in the book itself, nor have I been able to find its definition online. The Google results only show me the exact passage I read on the book. Here is the segment:
"Peace," said Don Quixote; "where hast thou ever seen or heard that a knight-errant has been arraigned before a court of justice, however many homicides he may have committed?"
"I know nothing about your omecils," answered Sancho, "nor in my life have had anything to do with one; I only know that the Holy Brotherhood looks after those who fight in the fields, and in that other matter I do not meddle."
I can assume the word means "vocation" (or vocations in this case?), but I wouldn't know. Perhaps it's a mispronunciation of something? perhaps it's a word Cervantes coined and the translation left it as it is?
Well, this forum never disappoints me, so I'm turning my question to you... is "omecils" a word? what does it mean?
Last edited by Logwood; 10/31/05 11:12 PM.
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my first thought was that it was just Sancho mis-hearing and mis-pronouncing "homicide", but then it could also be something that means "court of justice".
but then, I'm probably just tilting at windmills...
formerly known as etaoin...
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It ain't in the brick and mortar OED and it ain't in my simple little tatterdy Dover Spanish dictionary, my Cassel's Spanish dictionary, nor my diccionario usual, neither. I'm going with cygni first guess. I think Sancho Panza was the type that would pretend to understand what a non-word meant.
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like the man said, homicides =? omecils to Pancho's ear.
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Yes. Imagine if you will that Sancho Panza is from Kentucky and Don Quixote is from Boston.
Last edited by consuelo; 10/30/05 06:12 PM.
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Quote:
Yes. Imagine if you will that Sancho Panza is from Kentucky and Don Quixote is from Boston.
long as Sancho don't go new-kyu-lah...
formerly known as etaoin...
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-Calla -dijo don Quijote-. Y ¿dónde has visto tú, o leído jamás, que caballero andante haya sido puesto ante la justicia, por más homicidios que hubiese cometido?
-Yo no sé nada de omecillos -respondió Sancho-, ni en mi vida le caté a ninguno; sólo sé que la Santa Hermandad tiene que ver con los que pelean en el campo, y en esotro no me entremeto.
In the Spanish Quixote, "omecillos" is not quite a mishearing of "homicidios" on Sancho's part, but a then-existing corrupted form of "homicidios" which is listed as rare in the current Academic dictionary. So it may be that the translator chose to trim "omecillos" to something somewhat English-looking ("omecils") and leave the reader to interpret it as Sancho's mis-hearing or as an alternative word for "homicide". The only slight problem with the "mis-hearing" option is that "omecils" in English does not seem to sound much like "homicides". The two Spanish forms ARE very close in pronunciation. 
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so omecillos means homicide? (or at least, it used to?)
formerly known as etaoin...
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Yep. Omecillo means homicide. I guess it would be a lower register than cultured homicidio .
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so we're just catching red fish, eh?
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