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OP On perusing some literature for hamstring pull treatment (ouch!)I encountered this:
>The origin of the word "hamstring" comes from the Old English "hamm," meaning thigh. "String" refers to the characteristic appearance and feel of the tendons just above the back of the knee.<
So how and when did ham evolve to come to mean exlusively pork, when it originally applied to any kind of thigh? And, so, in Old English did they say "cow hamm", pig hamm", lamb hamm," etc. Did the randy youth of the those times say, "methinks the lady has nice hamms!"?
>The power advantages of strong hamstrings have been known for a long time. In times past, a sword wielding knight
would disable an opponent by a slice across the back of the thigh. Cruel masters were known to have severed the hamstrings of domestic slaves or prisoners in order to make escape less likely. The origin of the term "hamstrung", meaning to have been crippled or held back, is derived from these practices.<
Has anyone ever heard or used the term "hamstrung"? I seem to recall an old, brief mention of this here as a Brit-ism?
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hamm, hamstring, hamstrung
WhitmanO'Neill 02/09/04 03:46 AM ![]()
Re: hamm, hamstring, hamstrung
TEd Remington 02/09/04 12:41 PM ![]()
Re: hamm, hamstring, hamstrung
dxb 02/09/04 01:18 PM ![]()
Re: Shakespear and Bacon
maverick 02/09/04 03:58 PM ![]()
the 19- and 1640s
AnnaStrophic 02/09/04 04:26 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
dxb 02/09/04 04:49 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
belMarduk 02/09/04 05:11 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
Faldage 02/09/04 05:32 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
belMarduk 02/09/04 05:54 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
Faldage 02/09/04 06:09 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
Buffalo Shrdlu 02/09/04 06:25 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
sjmaxq 02/09/04 06:40 PM ![]()
Re: the 19- and 1640s
Faldage 02/09/04 06:53 PM ![]()
Re: blank space...
Buffalo Shrdlu 02/09/04 07:02 PM ![]()
Re: Shakespear and Bacon
Capfka 02/09/04 07:28 PM ![]()
Re: hamm, hamstring, hamstrung
jheem 02/09/04 02:51 PM ![]()
Re: addendum
jheem 02/09/04 03:44 PM ![]()
Re: hamm, hamstring, hamstrung
Flatlander 02/09/04 07:29 PM
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