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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Maybe potable came to mean safe to drink back when rivers were clean enough to drink from? Hence river water was safe to consume as opposed to sea water which didn't go down so well. Just guessing.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I wonder if feather and fledge are related etymologically, since both are related to flying.
I haven't been able to find any confirmation. Can you?
Edit: I looked ;up "fledge" in AHD, and it gives as first meaning, to take care of a young bird
until it is ready to fly. That reminded me of German word "pflegen" meaning to take care of.
I wonder what the roots of "pflegen" are.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
A very intersting linkage, indeed--thanks, Helen. But--what on earth does "zero-grade form" mean, please?
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Jackie: Of troy posted 10. O-grade form. Letter capital O, not zero. Meaning the
words starting p followed by o.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Feb 2002
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
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Okay, now I know what an o-grade word is, too--thanks, Dr. Bill. Um--so, a zero-grade word is, like, the first one? In a series, I mean? Like in England where the first floor is the zeroth floor?  EDIT Yi! In the time it took me to write the above, the whole post I was responding to vanished! Wee-oo-EE-oo...
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
PIE roots generally have an e in them somewhere.
For example, the root for liberty is leudh-. The O grade form would replace the e with an o giving us *loudh-; the zero grade form would dispense with the e entirely giving us *ludh-
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Joined: Oct 2000
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
Like in England where the first floor is the zeroth floor?
Eh? Does this mean that USns call what we call the "Ground Floor" the First Floor, with what we have marked on a lift as a "G" marked on a USn lift by a "1"?
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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USns call what we call the "Ground Floor" the First Floor
You got it, wot?
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
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Precisely. And the French call it the rez-de-chaussez, as I recall, though I never looked up the literal meaning.
A rare US building will have both, but usually there are extenuating circumstances, such as the building being built on a hill so both floors are on the ground...
But in general, in the US, when you walk off the street and onto an elevator you have gotten in at the first floor, which is also the ground floor, and may have either a "G" or a "1" on the button. (As well as the mandated star to tell you that's where the exit to street is.)
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