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Pooh-Bah
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Is there a connection between the French "méchant" and the English "mechanic," esp. "mechanicals" as in "tradesmen?"
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
Is there a connection between the French "méchant" and the English "mechanic," esp. "mechanicals" as in "tradesmen?"
I woudl have thought the connexion was obvious - the way tradesmen charge is VERY naughty.
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when I was in engineering school (lo these many years ago), it was generally agreed that I had a mechanical* approaching zero, asymptotically speaking.
*aptitude, that is
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I don't think so.
Mechanic derives from the Old French mecanique which derives from the Latin mechanicus and the Greek mekhanikos, which derives from the Greek mekhane (machine, device) which somehow descended from the Indo-European magh- (which meant Volkswagen parts).
Méchant (evil, wicked, mean, insufficient or spiteful) derives from the Old French meschéante (unlucky). The Dictionnaire de L'Académie française (1835) is useful on usage but useless on etymology.
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Pooh-Bah
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Thanks, FS. btw, do you know if there is a good French etymological dictionary?
Interesting usage, tswum -- and surprising (specific) application!
Does the board offer a way to print topics, or individual posts directly, anyone?
Last edited by inselpeter; 11/06/05 02:15 PM.
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Quote:
Does the board offer a way to print topics, or individual posts directly, anyone?
there's a Print Topic button down near the bottom left of the page.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Pooh-Bah
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Thanks again, FS. The Académie dictionary is also online, if I understand rightly, but I haven't tried to figure it out, yet.
Thanks, eta,
It could be just me, or maybe it's me, but while often find the button to print a post, I can almost never find the button to print a whole thread.
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So it is, but it's the 8th edition.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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"mechanicals" as in "tradesmen?" What do you mean? I don't think I've ever heard mechanical used as a noun.
meschéante Oh--miscreant!
mis·cre·ant (mĭs'krē-ənt)
n.
1. An evildoer; a villain.
2. An infidel; a heretic.
[Middle English miscreaunt, heretic, from Old French mescreant, present participle of mescroire, to disbelieve : mes-, wrongly, not; see mis–1 + croire, to believe (from Latin crēdere).]
From Gurunet.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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My online Shakespeare glossary defines "mechanicals" (yes, with an 's') as "working-men".
Seems like an outlandish archaic word to me, as I haven't seen it in any other dictionaries.
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Pooh-Bah
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>>What do you mean<<
Oh, that beloved blubberer Bottom is one, that ass-headed lover of goddesses.
Archaic: Yes, but I saw it used recently somewhere or other, though, for life of me, I can't think where. And not to refer to drawings, either.
8th edition: and which are they up to now?
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I think I have seen mechanicals in pretty old science fiction to mean robots. Perhaps in translations of some Eastern European SF. And for some reason I am thinking here Czech writer(s) but that's a LONG time ago.
TEd
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The word "robot," I am given to understand, was indeed originated by a Czech writer, one Karel Kapek, in his play R.U.R., which stood for "Rossum's Universal Robots." I even read it once, a long day ago.
Asimov came later.
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Quote:
Asimov came later.
And gave us "robotics".
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Pooh-Bah
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Quote:
The word "robot," I am given to understand, was indeed originated by a Czech writer, one Karel Kapek, in his play R.U.R., which stood for "Rossum's Universal Robots." I even read it once, a long day ago.
Asimov came later.
See drudgery for an interesting historical note.
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I even read it once, a long day ago.
Me, too, but The War with the Newts was better.
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Quote:
Quote:
The word "robot," I am given to understand, was indeed originated by a Czech writer, one Karel Kapek, in his play R.U.R., which stood for "Rossum's Universal Robots." I even read it once, a long day ago.
Asimov came later.
See drudgery for an interesting historical note.
And Josef for another.
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