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#120172 01/16/2004 1:44 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
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wwh
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Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
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In WWI, doughboys had bandages to wind about lower leg
called "puttees". I wonder if from same root. It is not.

puttee

SYLLABICATION: put·tee
PRONUNCIATION: p-t, pt
NOUN: 1. A strip of cloth wound spirally around the leg from ankle to knee. Often used in the plural. 2. A gaiter covering the lower leg. Often used in the plural.
ETYMOLOGY: Hindi pa, from Sanskrit paik, from paaka, bandage, ribbon, from paa, strip of cloth.



#120173 01/16/2004 2:51 PM
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veteran
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Since puttee has an Anglo-Indian origin, I wondered what they used to call those puttee like things that European soldiers wore in the 17th and 18th centuries. I had to look it up: gaiters. (And with a side trip into spat from spatterdash.) I was also curious about the origin of the Sanskrit pat.t.i in the etymology. Turns out to be cognate with Greek pelte: 'small shield (of leather without a rim)' and Old Church Slavonic plat'no 'linen'. From the root *pel- 'to cover, veil, wrap; skin, hide, pelt, fur; cloth, fabric'.


#120174 01/16/2004 4:13 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Well, so much for my memory; I thought we had discussed the word spats before but couldn't find the origin. But wow gave it to us:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=22759



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