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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2 |
how does todays word PERPEND track from to weigh thoroughly (latin) to spin (indo-european)!??? and then,
from that, penthouse and pansy??
can someone help with the connectedness here?
i am a newbie at this...is it obvious?
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500 |
Off the top of my head I can't help you with penthouse (though someone here will do that, never fear!) but if you get from "pend" (to weigh) to "penser" (Fr. to think, to weigh things mentally) to "pensee" ( "thought" with an accent aigu, which I don't know how to make on my keyboard) it's just a little hop to the Anglicized "pansy" - ta-da! Which is why pansies are for thoughts in the language of flowers.
Welcome to AWADtalk, ginax.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
hi gina, welcome to the house of pendere...
I think what's important in Anu's description is the word ultimately. there are several steps between to "weigh heavily", and penthouse, for example. steps that he doesn't mention. perhaps that we'll perpend them?
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Yes, welcome aBoard, Gina. (eta, I like that appellation SO much better than my mental pronunciation--thank you.) I am not a language expert, but sometimes I can look things up. Encarta dictionary gives:
PER
adverb
for each one: for each one ( informal )
[14th century. From Latin. Ultimately, from an Indo-European base meaning “through, forward,” which is also the ancestor of English for1, pro, and pre-.] http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861724901/per.htmlWhoa--take a look at this additional def. from Infoplease:
per•pend
Pronunciation: (pűr'pund), [key]
—n.
a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall. Also,parpen,perpent.Also called through stone. http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/perpendDang--despite the above making me think of parapet, there's no connection, acc'g. to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English:
parapet
/parrpit/
• noun 1 a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony. 2 a protective wall or bank along the top of a military trench.
— ORIGIN French, or from Italian parapetto, ‘chest-high wall’. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/parapet?view=uk
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall ~ Jackie
Not just stones. In a nine inch thick brick wall the bricks that run crosswise to the length of the wall, that is they are placed at right angles to the stretcher course (which runs paralell to the length of the wall) are also called perpends - or they used to be anyway.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
I have some perpendicular bricks in the wing walls on my house. How much nicer to call them "perpends" than "those sticky-outy bricks."
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