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#42608 09/28/01 01:21 PM
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nap still has a meaning related to cloth.. Nap is most evident in velvet, or other textured cloth. If you run your hand on velvet, one way is smooth, the other way, (against the nap) you "fight" the smooth texture.
when making a garment, you want to make sure all the peices have the nap running in the same direction.
since nap reflects light differently, the pieces can appear to be different colors if you don't.

for a very long time, it was common to run nap down, that is, if you smoothed a velvet dress starting from the shoulder the hem, you were going with the nap. Nowday, it has become a style to run the nap up.
In Californian, (and NY) velvet dresses with nap running up are called "feel me up dresses" .(girl talk!)

nap is less notable in machine manufactured cloth, with a few exceptions like velvet, and some crepes. in hand woven cloth, any type weave can have a distinct nap. Woolens and silks are more likely to have naps than plant based cloth. so Nap is a term that has to do with how a peice of fabric lies..


#42609 09/28/01 05:44 PM
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An example of confused gender is the Italian word mano = hand. It is declined as if masculine (singular mano, plural mani), but it is actually feminine gender; it takes the feminine form of the articles and any adjectives are declined feminine. As: la mano rossa, le mani rosse. Then there is ala = wing, which is feminine and declined as feminine in the singular but takes the masculine form in the plural, as in the famous operatic aria, L'amor sull'ali rosee.


#42610 09/29/01 03:21 AM
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In reply to:

nap still has a meaning related to cloth


Diapers are usually known as nappies in the UK. Presumably related somehow.

Bingley



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#42611 10/01/01 11:03 AM
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An example of confused gender
and continuing the discussion from I&A on confusion of posters' gender*, (Hyla, Keiva, et al) I too have made this error. In my case, I think it is because I associate names ending in the letter "A" with females (Anna, Belinda, Melissa, and others). In particular there are male names which are feminised by the addition of an "A", Robert to Roberta, Robin to Robina, for example. Spanish (and the other Latin languages I think) has examples of words where the masculine form ends in an "O" and the feminine in an "A" - el niņo, la niņa. So this linguistic prejudice of mine overflows into board handles I'm afraid.

*posters' gender. Is that correct, each poster presumably having only one gender, or should that be "posters' genders" anyway?


#42612 10/01/01 11:43 AM
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Apologies for any confusion my board-name engendered. I trust my postings have clarified.

(BTW, Keiva was the everyday nickname of my grandfather, for whom I was named.)


#42613 10/01/01 12:17 PM
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Keiva offers apologies for any confusion his board-name engendered

Oh I don't think you need apologise, Ken. Firstly, the fault is ours (or at least mine in thought) and secondly, misunderstandings of gender are the basis of many a good farce. I was just trying to place a linguistic basis for the confusion.



#42614 10/01/01 09:12 PM
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Consuelo is one of the irregularities in Spanish. It is a feminine name derived from a verb, as opposed to a noun i.e, Rosa-rose, Concha-shell, or a saint. The verb is consolar, to console. El consuelo n. is what you get from the act of consoling, consolation. It is an act of comforting, accepting that commiseration and a sharing of strength are necessary to one's well-being. Although I know that there must be men out there that are good at consolation, it seems that most women have a greater facility with it, whether it be kissing boo-boos or holding a grief-stricken friend. Men tend to want to fix the problems rather than share the feelings. [running fast to escape flying vegetables-e]Hah! You missed me!


#42615 10/02/01 12:10 AM
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<<Concha-shell,

That would be Conchita, which I was called an Argentinian girlfriend in fun. "What did you call me?!!" she said as she slapped my face in fun. For it means something other than shell in Usuaia. [running to escape the flying cut fig-e]


#42616 10/02/01 12:20 AM
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Well, alright! In Mexico, Conchita is a conchita, no more, no less. Believe me, I learned all my "bad words" from artists, musicians, and college students(remember, adventure is my middle name?). However, I am aware that each spanish speaking culture has their own dialectic naughties, and I can see how conchita leaves itself wide open for that![ducks even lower-flying oysters?!]


#42617 10/02/01 12:25 AM
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conchita leaves itself wide open for ...
I dasn't comment; I merely report, in a blue note.


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