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Man, ain't nobody even mentioned the fact that "wimple" has a twin word, "guimpe". Just like "William" and "Guillaume". And "ward" and "guardian". All thanks to the Norman conquest, I guess. But whose idea was it to invite Norman?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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What language is guimpe, please, birdfeed?
Nancyk, I have a vague memory that's telling me your spelling of cornette is right, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I tried cornet (yay, Onelook--thanks again, tsuwm) and found in the Infoplease Dictionary (I added the bolding.):
—n.
1. Music.a valved wind instrument of the trumpet family.
2. a small cone of paper twisted at the end and used for holding candy, nuts, etc.
3. a pastry cone, usually filled with whipped cream.
4. Brit.a conical wafer, as for ice cream; cone.
5. a large, white, winged headdress formerly worn by the members of the Sisters of Charity.
6. a woman's headdress, often cone-shaped, usually of delicate fabrics and having lappets of lace or other material, worn by women from the 14th to the 18th century.
7. a pennant or flag used for signaling in a navy.
8. (formerly) the officer who carried the colors in a troop of cavalry: the cornet of horse.
I am wondering if it is related to coronet or cornice.
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"What language is guimpe, please, birdfeed?"
It's English. And one of its meanings is the same as wimple.
Thus speaks American Heritage Dictionary 4th ed.,"French, from Old French guimple, from Old High German wimpal."
Thus suggesting what I've always suspected, that if you leave words unattended in the dark long enough, they will multiply.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks, Jackie, for your list. Here's what I found on MW that does include Nancy's spelling of cornette: Etymology: Middle French cornette, from corne horn (from Latin cornu) + -ette
1 also cornette a : a woman's cap or headdress varying in style from the 15th through the 18th centuries and usually made of delicate materials with lappets of lace or ribbon b : a lappet of such a headdressI would expect that although the name of the originally horn-shaped hat of these three centuries with its various styles fell largely out of use, the specific term for the sisters' headpiece remained because it is such a--to say the least--distinctive bit of headgear. Hats are very common among women in the South anymore unless for very festive occasions, such as your own derby, J.  In the North I'd expect hats to be more commonly seen because of the weather.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thus suggesting what I've always suspected, that if you leave words unattended in the dark long enough, they will multiply. !
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addict
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Thanks, WW and Jackie. Since the Daughters of Charity originated in France, they used the French -ette spelling for their headdress. All of the hospital archive material spoke of "cornettes" so I didn't think twice about the spelling, much less look it up. And, WW, your comment about wearing hats up north because of the weather provoked an amusing mental picture of the aforementioned cornette on a blustry, snowy winter day. Flying nuns, indeed!
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old hand
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old hand
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Quoting from of troy: "so old habits are almost a history of fashion!"
Yes Helen - and they Die Hard 2.
stales
sorry all, couldn't resist!
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>Yes Helen - and they Die Hard 2.
[chopped liver emoticon]
TEd
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