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Pantry??


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old hand
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Basically a kitchen storage room. I assume the pan- is from Latin bread, so it probably started as bread storage. I don't have one, but my grandmother's house had a large pantry which housed flour, sugar, bread, pickles, jams and jellies, etc., as well as dishes. The dish cupboards could be opened either from the pantry or the kitchen. The pantry also offered ready access to the root cellar.

Peter

Jackie #199508 04/30/11 01:49 AM
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I'm with bel and Peter.


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Jackie Offline OP
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Dutch klaphout : klappen, to split, crack Oh, it's Branny's fault, then! wink
Seriously--klappen seems like it could have been onomatopoeic; wood splits with a sharp sound, a clap or a crack.

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I assume the pan- is from Latin bread

Good guess. Middle English pantrie < Old French paneterie 'bread-closet' < panetier 'pantry servant' < pan 'bread' < Latin pānis. It's marvelous how words evolve: for instance butler from bottler.


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Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
It's marvelous how words evolve: for instance butler from bottler.


I'm not sure that I would have guessed that, although it seems obvious enough; I think I knew it somewhen, but had forgotten.

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And bottler, not in the sense of somebody who puts beverages in bottles, but as in the guy with the keys to the cave who's in charge of all those bottles. OTOH, janitor, means the guy in charge of the door (or keys thereof) < Latin janua 'door, house door; entrance'.


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YES...all interesting Zm

I once made the mistake of telling my son, that the pepper grinder was in the 'compliments' cupboard instead of the condiments cupboard and now its a family joke when ever someone goes to get something out of that cupboard, to utter a string of flattering words, when the door is opened!

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Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
I assume the pan- is from Latin bread

Good guess. Middle English pantrie < Old French paneterie 'bread-closet' < panetier 'pantry servant' < pan 'bread' < Latin pānis. It's marvelous how words evolve: for instance butler from bottler.


And in houses of the aristocracy, especially in Britain, did not
the butler keep the bottles to be served in a small closet
somewhere near the green door?


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Candy #199538 04/30/11 08:31 PM
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Originally Posted By: Candy
its a family joke when ever someone goes to get something out of that cupboard, to utter a string of flattering words, when the door is opened!


My family functions on the dark side of this. My wife, who rarely watches movies, once responded to a passing remark about Pulp Fiction in a way that made it clear that she thought we were talking about Newsies. I and our three offspring were helpless with laughter. Now the poor woman can't say anything about any movie without being hit with: "You mean Newsies?" In January I showed up at my daughter's house to stay with my infant grandson for a couple of hours, and made the mistake of announcing myself with, "Nanny Peter is here!" I'm rather afraid that the baby will learn to call me that, because his mother thinks it very clever to remind me of my ill-advised usage.


Last edited by Tromboniator; 04/30/11 08:31 PM.
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