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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread #5431 08/19/2000 10:44 AM Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 3,409 Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 3,409 Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Is this the ultimate paradox? #5432 08/19/2000 12:00 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Interesting, Max! Did Anu list this one under the theme, words that are their own antonym? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Is this the ultimate paradox? #5433 08/20/2000 5:41 PM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,094 Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... Jazzoctopus old hand Jazzoctopus old hand Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,094 Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... I'd like to know what a hippopotamus has to do with long words. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Is this the ultimate paradox? #5434 08/21/2000 2:54 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass what does hippopotamus have to do with long words? why, nothing. the affix does conjure up the image of whopping big though, as does the other affix monstro-, when attached to a word that already refers to big words. -ron obvious Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Is this the ultimate paradox? #5435 08/21/2000 9:25 PM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,094 Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... Jazzoctopus old hand Jazzoctopus old hand Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,094 Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... If "hippo" means big, and "pot", related to potable, means water, then that would make sense to me that hippopotamus, roughly translated, means "big water animal". In German, though, hippopotamus is Nilpferd, which basically just means "horse of the Nile". . . Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Is this the ultimate paradox? #5436 08/22/2000 4:20 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta Bingley Carpal Tunnel Bingley Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta Unfortunately for your theory, Jazzoctopus, hippopotamus comes from the Greek hippos = horse and potamos = river. Hippopotamus therefore equals river horse. Quite close to the German in fact. Presumably the Ancient Egyptians knew about hippopotami before they knew about horses. Did they call horses land hippopotami? Bingley Bingley Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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