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#208123 11/27/12 04:37 AM
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Jackie Offline OP
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My son is going to be wearing a kilt to be in a friend's wedding (oh, this is going to be SO photo-worthy!).
How did a kilt come to be called that, please?

Jackie #208125 11/27/12 06:35 AM
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It's from a verb in Middle English kilten 'to tuck up'. It's from Scandinavian, Old Icelandic.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #208129 11/27/12 01:10 PM
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Then to tuck up your kilt would be a redundancy?. Any relation between quilt and kilt?

BranShea #208130 11/27/12 02:12 PM
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Quilt comes ultimately from Latin culcita, 'mattress'.

Jackie #208135 11/27/12 05:33 PM
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To tuck up must be akin to the biblical "to gird one's loins".
The long robes worn in that era would prevent haste, thus
to pick up the hems of the robe and tuck them in to the
belt to free the lower legs from obstruction so movement
could be quicker.


----please, draw me a sheep----
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"to gird one's loins".

Gird (< ME girden < OE gyrdan 'to gird, bind round; L. cingere') is related to girdle. The concept behind girding is to encircle or put on a belt. Loins weren't the only things being girded in the Old Testament: cf. Lev VIII.7. And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound [it] unto him therewith.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
BranShea #208137 11/27/12 06:05 PM
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Any relation between quilt and kilt?

Nope (see Faldo's reply for etymology) just a happy coincidence.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #208141 11/27/12 06:56 PM
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Thanks for the research.


----please, draw me a sheep----
Jackie #208188 12/01/12 05:35 AM
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Jackie Offline OP
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Thanks, all! zmjezhd, I was going to ask you what men who wear a kilt are tucking up, but I reckon Luke answered that.

zmjezhd #208562 12/31/12 05:28 PM
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> put the ephod upon him

Yes, very curious - since I gather this word comes from the Hebrew meaning 'to put on', it looks suspiciously like a translation error, doesn't it?

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