Wordsmith Talk		About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us

Active Topics

Active Posts

Unanswered Posts

Search

Advanced

You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org » Forums » (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) » Words with unusual etymologies » Cordwainer Register User    Forum List        Calendar     Active Topics     Search     FAQ

Topic Options #65395 - 04/13/02 09:01 AM Cordwainer Fiberbabe old hand Registered: 01/12/01 Posts: 771 Loc: Portland, Oregon This one was new to me - I ran across it in yesterday's newspaper, in an article discussion a craft council show I'm going to attend this weekend. If you trust the US media to get etymology right (), then here it is, most of the context preserved: "They are not cobblers, although they don't balk at that description. Cobblers repair shoes and, in times past, would even reuse leather from worn shoes to make a smaller pair of 'new' shoes, [the artist] said. A cordwainer, by contrast, is someone who works with new leather. Now virtually obsolete, the term derived from cordovan, a fine-grained leather originally made in Cordova, Spain." Maybe the etymology doesn't qualify as particularly unusual, but I found it an interesting word that might be worth some discussion! Top #65396 - 04/13/02 10:32 AM Re: Cordwainer of troy Carpal Tunnel Registered: 10/17/00 Posts: 5400 Loc: rego park interesting.. i remember looking up Cordavan once.. since it is commonly used to define a color of shoe leather, a dark redish brown, and i wondered why.. Webster's NW, says: Cordavan, 1) of Cordova, Spain, 2) made of cordavan and goes to define cordovan as "fine grained, colored leather, or shoes made from the same. Griffin's shoe polish no relation come in the color cordovan as i recall, Kiwi shoe polish, has red, and ox-blood, but not cordovan (at least in US) (AKA imelda) _________________________ my other obsession Top #65397 - 04/13/02 10:33 AM Re: Cordwainer wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 Dear Fiberbabe: "Cordwainer" interests me in that it indicates the "v" in Cordova used to be pronounced like a "w". I have encountered a similar example in the name of a Boston doctor, Dr. Janeway. A book on genealogy said that name was derived from family of Italian merchants who settled in England very early, and were from Genoa, the name being originally "de Genove" Top #65398 - 04/17/02 10:15 AM Re: Cordwainer Flatlander addict Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 428 Loc: Cape Cod, MA, US The excellent sci-fi author Harlan Ellison uses the pseudonym Cordwainer Bird, particularly for TV work, especially when the director/producer/network makes a hash out of his screenplay (as they are wont to do). He's described the task of writing for television as about as thankless as making shoes for birds -- hence the name. Top #65399 - 04/17/02 02:45 PM . Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/12/00 Posts: 3409 Top #65400 - 09/13/02 11:11 AM not very important, just for completeness... wofahulicodoc Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/06/01 Posts: 3793 Loc: Worcester, MA I recall reading stories written in the Fifties by Cordwainer Smith (_Scanners_Live_in_Vain_, to name one). Thought nothing of it at the time but perhaps it was another pseudonym. Top #65401 - 09/13/02 11:21 AM Re: not very important, just for completeness... wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858 From 1950 to 1966, stories appeared in mainstream science fiction magazines by an author named "Cordwainer Smith". From the first to the last, these stories were acclaimed as among the most inventive and striking ever written, and that in a field specializing in the inventive and the striking. Their author was a very private man who did not want his real name to be known because he did not want to be pursued by SF fans. It was only after his death in 1966 that more than a handful of people knew that "Cordwainer Smith" was in real life Paul M. L. Linebarger. Top Previous Topic Index Next Topic Preview Hop to: General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Moderator:  Jackie  Print Topic Switch to Threaded Mode View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts Forum Stats 8430 Members 16 Forums 13688 Topics 209819 Posts Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM Newest Members supermatthias, prabakaran, sce, Eva, sylviasuper 8430 Registered Users Who's Online 2 registered (Tromboniator, jenny jenny), 44 Guests and 1 Spider online. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters (30 Days) LukeJavan8 87 jenny jenny 62 wofahulicodoc 60 endymion6 50 Rhubarb Commando 37 BranShea 32 Faldage 15 Buffalo Shrdlu 15 zmjezhd 13 teepee 11 May Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Board Rules · Mark all read Default StyleBlackNTanDrabeBayGooG_v2infopoprounded_cornersSlatesnowsunny_dropshadowthebluesTouch_Of_Greyubbthreadsubbthreads-dark Contact Us · Wordsmith.org · Top

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

© 2013 Wordsmith