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the worthless word for the day is: clemmed
[fr. ME forclemmed, pinched with hunger] /klem'd/
UK dial. hungry; famished
"'All this hanging around's fair clemmed me.'"
- Reginald Hill, Death Comes for the Fat Man (2007)
one of my readers was paying attention and tried making a connection to Yiddish verklempt/ferklempt. I did find one source which gave klempt as a variant spelling, but then said it was in Wigan use - this is a Celtic place-name, and I can't in good conscience make any connection between Celtic and Yiddish...
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OED (B&M) does say clem, 'pinched with hunger,' is related to MHG klemmen. It also says that its distribution in English dialects makes it possible that it is from ON.
Addendum:
I don't understand; you're saying that since the coincidental spelling klempt is used in an English town the name of which may be of Celtic origin you suspect that there may be no relation between an English word and a Yiddish word? I haven't been keeping track, but I'd be willing to bet thay haven't spoken much Celtic in Wigan for almost 1500 years.
Last edited by Faldage; 01/16/09 02:01 AM.
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not at all - I'm saying *I* can't make the connection, with my limited resources.
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I guess my question is why you should feel a need to make a connection between Celtic and Yiddish.
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English clemmed is related to German verklemmen, Yiddish farklemn, and Old English beclemman ( link). Though Wigan may have a Celtic etymology, I don't see what Celtic placenames have to do with an English word of Germanic origin. make a connection between Celtic and YiddishFWIW, they are related because they are both Indo-European languages.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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We got the expression : je klem eten of drinken.Zij eet zich klem aan chocola.
So: She eats herself "klem" on chocolate.
Or: He drinks himself "klem" on genever.
But this means eating or drinking to the limit. I can't find the origin either but it is old and still common everyday speech.
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so,
clemmed/klempt - overcome with hunger
verklempt/ferklempt/faklempt/etc - overcome with emotion
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