Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
wwh #167178 03/25/07 03:43 AM
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1
P
stranger
Offline
stranger
P
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1
I'm new at this, but I remember seeing an explanation of the origin of 'kibosh' a long time ago, I don't remember where, but it seemed at the time to be a fairly respectable source. Their explanation was that, way back when, in a law court, if the judge was about to pronounce a sentence of death, he ceremonially laid a square of black linen over his wig before he spoke. This was in the British Isles, could have been Ireland, Scotland, Wales, or England itself. That square of black linen was called the 'kibosh' or death cap.
Regards, Pearliemay

pearliemay #167181 03/25/07 10:16 AM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Hi there!

On former page the links give already the informtion you asked for. Al anwers give no full clearity.

kibosh
1836, kye-bosk, in slang phrase put the kibosh on, of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. Looks Yiddish, but origin in early 19c. English slang seems to argue against this. One candidate is Ir. caip bháis, caipín báis "cap of death," sometimes said to be the black cap a judge would don when pronouncing a death sentence, but in other sources identified as a gruesome method of execution "employed by Brit. forces against 1798 insurgents" [Bernard Share, "Slanguage, A Dictionary of Irish Slang"]. Or it may somehow be connected with Turkish bosh (see bosh).

(from Online Ethymology Dictionary.)Don't ask me what Meta -words mean.

BranShea #182638 02/15/09 05:00 PM
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2
here's a thread that looks dead. Re-enliven it, let's.
We say kye-bosh and the other day there was an old
British movie on a classical station in which the judge
put a black cloth over his wig. I wondered what that meant,
and now I have a fairly good idea,by reading this site.
It is amazing how much one can learn, we from each other.
Thanks for having me!


----please, draw me a sheep----
BranShea #183747 03/20/09 09:42 PM
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2
Originally Posted By: BranShea
Hi there!

On former page the links give already the informtion you asked for. Al anwers give no full clearity.

kibosh
1836, kye-bosk, in slang phrase put the kibosh on, of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. Looks Yiddish, but origin in early 19c. English slang seems to argue against this. One candidate is Ir. caip bháis, caipín báis "cap of death," sometimes said to be the black cap a judge would don when pronouncing a death sentence, but in other sources identified as a gruesome method of execution "employed by Brit. forces against 1798 insurgents" [Bernard Share, "Slanguage, A Dictionary of Irish Slang"]. Or it may somehow be connected with Turkish bosh (see bosh).

(from Online Ethymology Dictionary.)
Quote:
Don't ask me what Meta -words mean.


I'm not sure what a 'meta word' is either, but ZUBENELGENUBI, might be one.
Accents on the ben and nu syllables: it is a star in the constellation Libra.

Last edited by LukeJavan8; 03/20/09 09:43 PM.

----please, draw me a sheep----
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
There is only one online dictionary entry, Google gives a lot.
Main Entry: meta-word
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a word describing another word; by extension, a word in a computer program that means something other than its literal meaning, esp. that is part of the programming language
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
Cite This Source

Zubenelgenubi Nice star

BranShea #183765 03/21/09 01:32 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
> ZUBENELGENUBI

Obi-Wan Kenobi's cousin?


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
You'll never be the true astronomer neither. Sigh.
But you can sing.

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
ZUBENELGENUBI

Interesting word. It's from Arabic, as are many astronomical terms. There are two other stars in Libra that begin with zuben (< Arabic al-zuban 'the claw').
  • alpha Librae, Zubenelgenubi 'southern claw' (< al-zuban al-janubiyy)
  • beta Librae, Zubeneschamali 'northern claw' (< al-zuban al-shamaliyyah)
  • gamma Librae, Zubenelakrab 'scorpion's claw' (< al-zuban al-aqrab)


[Addendum: Arabic janub 'south' < janaba 'to turn aside' is cognate with Hebrew ganebh 'to steal' and Yiddish ganef 'thief' (link)]

Last edited by zmjezhd; 03/21/09 02:22 PM.

Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #183782 03/21/09 05:58 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
If you click 'stars' in that site you can see that half of Arabia is in the sky. Wonderful site . stars

BranShea #183783 03/21/09 05:58 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Originally Posted By: BranShea
You'll never be the true astronomer neither. Sigh.
But you can sing.


what? Star Wars ain't true astronomy?


but thanks! :¬ )


formerly known as etaoin...
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 397 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5