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 1 of 2 1 2
#1865 05/01/00 03:24 PM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3
C
cgblack Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
C
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3
This has been bothering me for over a year. I found a reference to this word from this source: http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict. Definition three (listed below) has a supposed quote from Kipling, although I have searched all online references of Kipling's works and cannot find the source. Has anyone ever seen another reference to this word? Does anyone know what it means? I am assuming it is some sort of animal, but searches through biological and mythological dictionaries have come up empty.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :

Mill \Mill\, v. i.

1. To undergo hulling, as maize.

2. To move in a circle, as cattle upon a plain.

The deer and the pig and the nilghar were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius. --Kipling.

3. To swim suddenly in a new direction; -- said of whales.

4. To take part in a mill; to box. [Cant]




#1866 05/01/00 04:47 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
it's a typo; the nilghai is some sort of antelope -- here's the corrected citation, from The Second Jungle Book:

The deer and the pig and the nilghai were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius, while the Eaters of Flesh skirmished round its edge.

http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/

#1867 05/02/00 10:51 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
J
jmh Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
tsu

OK I'm impressed - how on earth did you know that (or is just something that everyone knows and I've just never realised).


#1868 05/02/00 12:05 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
Depends upon how much of a Kipling fan you are, I suppose. This quote is, if I remember rightly, from 'Letting in the Jungle', where Mowgli sings his Song against Men of how the 'karela, the bitter karela' will cover their homes.

For what it's worth, karela is what we, in the UK at least, call courgettes. I couldn't stand the stuff when I lived in Inida, and I can't stand it here! Along with aubergines (egg-plant, brinjal, or baingan if you're using the Hindi), it is my least favourite vegetable.

cheer

the sunshine warrior


#1869 05/02/00 12:33 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
P
addict
Offline
addict
P
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
The Shorter Oxford gives it as 'nilgai' [earlier 'nylghau'] from Sanskrit nila (blue) + gavi (cow). A large Indian antelope, the male of which is blue-grey with white markings and short horns, the female tawny and without horns.

Cheers
Paulb


#1870 05/02/00 02:30 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>how on earth did you know that

must have been some sort of genetic memory.... I certainly didn't read *that much Kipling as a lad, but when I saw the citation I thought it didn't look quite right, so I started from a 'nilgh' search -- correct spelling in hand made finding the confirming citation easy. (It turns out that Kipling used the word more than once; maybe that's why it stuck.)

BTW, got any hunches as you approach the century mark?
8-)

http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/

#1871 05/02/00 08:04 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
J
jmh Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Shanks

The US for courgette is the italian "zuccini"
as you mention, aubergine is "eggplant"


#1872 05/03/00 01:32 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
Thanks for that. Will scrupulously avoid zuccini if ever I see it on a menu!


#1873 05/03/00 05:34 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
E
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
E
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
The correct spelling is
zucchine (or, rare, zucchini).

Ciao dalla terra delle zucchine
Emanuela


#1874 05/03/00 06:24 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
J
jmh Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Ciao Emanuela

Ok I'll correct my posting to:
zucchini - Italian (zucchine or, rare, zucchini)

(very good with goat's cheese!)

Jo :)

Good to see we're getting so international!



Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
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 (), 444 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 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
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