Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
Register Log In Wordsmith.org
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
OP >maybe tsuwm shouldn't have thrown it a bone
shouldn't he? I suppose the question that must be begged is: *at the time* (c. 1000 CE) was the eldest son the (sole) heir?
since it's ron that they aren't at all the same thing today.
Originally Posted By: wikipediaPrimogeniture is the common law right of the firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings. It is the tradition brought by the Normans of Normandy to England in 1066. According to the Norman tradition, the firstborn son inherited the entirety of a parent's wealth, estate, title or office. In the absence of children, inheritance passed to the collateral relatives, in order of seniority of the collateral line. [itals. added]
hey, what would a round of hogwash be without a bone of contention?!
the hogmaster™
... which and by the way, depending on whose calendar you go by, the conquest began this week:
From Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac:
~~~~~~~~~
This week, we continue to celebrate the anniversary of the Norman invasion of 1066. It was this week in 1066 that William the Conqueror of Normandy first arrived on British soil. The French-speaking Normans eventually defeated Old English-speaking Saxons at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066 — which had a larger and more pronounced effect on the development of the English language than any other event in history. Within the course of a few centuries, English went from being a strictly Germanic language to one infused with a large Latinate vocabulary, which came via French.
The English word literature comes down from the Old French lettre. In the singular, the word in French refers to a member of the alphabet; when it's plural, it's as broad as it is in our phrase "Arts and Letters," encompassing literature and culture.
The pen with which we write may be mightier than the sword, but it was still a sharp object, at least when it first came into English from the Old French penne, "a feather with a sharpened quill." It was dipped in enque, which surely was spilled sometimes. This Old French word for ink came from a Latin word that described the purple fluid meant for a very specific use: the Roman emperor's official stamp of approval, his John Hancock.
Various genres of English literature derive their names from French roots, some of which ultimately derived from Greek. Poet, for example, we got from the Old French word poete, which entered French from Greek via Latin. In Greek, there's poiein, a verb meaning "to create." And in Greek there is poetes, "maker, poet." In Middle English, "poetry" at first referred to creative literature as a whole.
Tragedy in English is from the Old French tragedie via Latin from Greek tragoidia. The reasoning behind the Greek roots (tragos, meaning "goat" and oide "ode, song") is not entirely clear. On that note, mystery, from Old French mistere, was a word first used in English with the sense of "mystic presence" or "hidden religious" symbolism.
Comedy at first referred in English to a genre of stories in which the ending was a happy one. It also came into Middle English through Old French, via Latin from Greek, where it's a compound of the words "revel" and "singer." Comedian first referred to a person who wrote comic plays, and then — in the late 1800s — developed the sense of a person who stands in front of an audience and tells jokes.
Journal is from Old French jurnal, or "belonging to a day." At first, it was a sort of reference book that contained the times of daily prayers. In the 1600s, it acquired the meaning of "diary" and later became associated with newspaper titles and lent its root to journalism.
Originally Posted By: FauveI'm giving myself .5 of a point for having mentioned M in my original answer and minus 25 points for not having chosen it!
Never mind Fauve, I'm happy with your second best choice. I give you the 25 and you end up 30 points total. Oops.no! 5 of course, 5! If wealth depended on calculating only, I'd been in the poorhouse by now.Code:AnnaStrophic, I miss the boeuf of this lecture, but it's a nice jumpy read.
Last edited by BranShea; 09/26/08 12:34 PM. Reason: miscalculation
That was a good round. Thanks hogmaster and all players.
I now agree that points don't matter, ("love of mountian climbing", geesh!) , until next time.
Yes, it was a good round; a very good round! I add my thanks, also. I remember first reading "arfname" and thinking, "What?!?". It took me several days of mulling to finally come up with something, so thrown was I by "arf". I couldn't think of anything but dog references, and was considering a desperate humor entry. Then, when I read all the offerings, I was blown away by so many different and creative entries. It's humbling to have struggled so much to come up with one, and then to see so many quality ideas. Congrats to all! :0)
I can't speak for anyone else but I generally spend a few days mulling these words over till me subconcious comes up with something reasonable.
the love of mountain climbing Hey--there was nothing wrong with that! There are a LOT of true definitions that are way stranger than this one.
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Moderated by Jackie
Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics Forums16Topics13,913Posts229,426Members9,182 Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now 1 members (A C Bowden), 384 guests, and 10 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days) A C Bowden 21
Top Posters wwh 13,858Faldage 13,803Jackie 11,613wofahulicodoc 10,596tsuwm 10,542LukeJavan8 9,922Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210AnnaStrophic 6,511Wordwind 6,296of troy 5,400
Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith.org