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#193282 09/30/10 08:46 PM
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Just a small question on the subject of marabout. I only knew it to be a bird and in the before worldwar II spelling we wrote it as such. Now it is marabou. The Marabouts must have stolen the word from the marabouts, no?

BranShea #193284 10/01/10 12:14 AM
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Interesting....I don't know the word with the 'T'

but so often 'old' words have redundant letters which are getting dropped now.

like colour>>color

Americanisms.

I try not to let it happen in my writing...the words just don't look as good.

BranShea #193288 10/01/10 12:22 PM
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The birds name came from the Arabic word (via Moroccan dialect to French) mirabūt 'a kind of holy man; also the stork' based on similarities between how the cleric dressed and what the stork looked like. The -t was there and pronounced. Not sure if it got dropped in the French pronunciation.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #193317 10/02/10 05:49 PM
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Yes zmjezhd, these days I look up that part too. mirabūt. Also read that it meant: from Arabic murbi, posted, stationed. Only I suppose the bird was there before the holy man ever was. And they both have a posted stature I suppose.
That's why the 'who took who's word' was funny to think about.

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Only I suppose the bird was there before the holy man ever was.

Sure thing. Not that I meant different, but the word is not that old in English, French, or Arabic.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Edited by Jackie to delete commercial link.

Last edited by Jackie; 04/26/13 07:06 PM.
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Last edited by anddrewlee; 06/01/13 01:34 PM.

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