Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
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 » angle Register User Forum List Calendar Active Topics Search
FAQ
Topic Options ![]()
#83551 - 10/14/02 04:03 PM angle
![]()
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 13858 It occurred to me to wonder how "angle" came to mean to fish. It seems to have been
based on word for "hook".
angle (v.) - "to fish," 1496, from O.E. angel (n.), related to
anga "hook," from I.E. *ank- "to bend." Figurative sense is
recorded from 1589.
angle (n.) - "intersecting lines," c.1380, from L. angulus
"corner," cognate with from Gk. ankylos "bent, crooked" (see
ankle).
Top
#83552 - 10/14/02 05:41 PM Re: angle
![]()
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 6296
Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... I suppose the bent or angled fish leading to the angler sounded better than calling the angler a hooker, huh?
Top
#83553 - 10/15/02 06:36 AM Re: angle
![]()
Carpal Tunnel
![]()
Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 13653 AHD confirms and notes that both are from PIE ank-. Interesting that one is through Greek, Latin and Old French, not coming into English until Middle English and the other has been with us since before the beginning.
Top
#83554 - 10/15/02 09:07 AM Re: angle
![]()
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 13858 Dear Faldage: The modern fish-hook is a marvel of metal working, that cannot be very old
I wonder what primitive fish-hooks were like.
Top
#83555 - 10/15/02 10:40 AM Re: angle
![]()
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 13858 Hey, Faldage, look at what I found when I finally used right search words:
http://www.mustad.no/history/hook_history.html
These hooks could have been taken by the very big fish that would have been
plentiful in ancient times.
Top
Moderator: Jackie
Forum Stats 8421 Members
16 Forums
13686 Topics
209718 Posts
Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM
Newest Members janbra, junebug, Stephen A, fgjhgjk, Nora Francis
8421 Registered Users
Who's Online 0 registered (), 26 Guests and 2 Spiders online. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters (30 Days)
LukeJavan8 83 jenny jenny 65 wofahulicodoc 47 endymion6 41 BranShea 35 Rhubarb Commando 29 Buffalo Shrdlu 19 Jackie 16 zmjezhd 16 Faldage 14
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 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
Previous Topic
Index