#74190
06/29/2002 4:18 PM
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Discipline (A). A scourge used by Roman Catholics for penitential purposes.
"Before the cross and altar a lamp was still burning, and on the floor lay a small discipline or
penitential scourge of small cord and wire, the lashes of which were stained with recent blood."
- Sir W Scott: The Talisman. chap. iv
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#74191
06/29/2002 4:20 PM
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Discord means severance of hearts (Latin, discorda). It is the opposite of concord, the coming together
of hearts. In music it means disagreement of sounds, as when a note is followed by another which is
disagreeable to a musical ear. (See Apple.)
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#74192
06/29/2002 4:23 PM
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Dispute (2 syl.) means, literally, to "lop down" (Latin, dis-puto); debate means to "knock down" (French,
débattre); discuss means to "shake down" (Latin, dis-quatio); object' is to "cast against" (Latin,
ob-jacio); contend is to "pull against" (Latin, contendo); quarrel is to throw darts at each other (Welsh,
cwarel, a dart); and wrangle is to strain by twisting (Swedish, vränga; Anglo-Saxon, wringan).
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#74193
06/29/2002 4:25 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Distemper means an undue mixture. In medicine a distemper arises from the redundancy of certain
secretions or morbid humours. The distemper in dogs is an undue quantity of secretions manifested by a
running from the eyes and nose. (Latin, dis-tempero, to mix amiss.)
Applied to painting, the word is from another source, the French détremper (to soak in water), because
the paints, instead of being mixed with oil, are mixed with a vehicle (as yolk of eggs or glue) soluble in
water.
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#74194
06/29/2002 4:33 PM
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Divine Pagan (The). Hypatia, who presided over the Neoplatonic School at Alexandria. She was
infamously torn to pieces (A.D. 415) by a Christian mob, not without the concurrence of the Archbishop
Cyril.
One of the few female scientists of antiquity.
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#74195
06/29/2002 8:04 PM
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Doff is do-off, as "Doff your hat." So don is do-ou, as "Don your clothes." Dup is do-up, as "Dup the
door" (q.v.).
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#74196
06/29/2002 8:27 PM
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Dorset Once the seat of a British tribe, calling themselves Dwr-trigs (water-dwellers). The Romans
colonised the settlement, and Latinised Dwr-trigs into Duro-triges. Lastly came the Saxons, and
translated the original words into their own tongue, dor-sætta (water-dwellers).
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#74197
06/29/2002 8:30 PM
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Doss A hassock stuffed with straw; a bed - properly, a straw bed; whence the cant word for a
lodging-house is a dossingken. Dossel is an old word for a bundle of hay or straw, and dosser for a straw
basket. These words were common in Elizabeth's reign. The French dossier means a "bundle."
Doss-house (A). A cheap lodging-house where the poorer classes sleep on bundles of straw. (See above.)
In the New Review (Aug., 1894) there is an article entitled "In a Woman's Doss-house," which throws
much light on the condition of the poor in London.
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#74198
06/29/2002 8:57 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Dovetail Metaphorically, to fit on or fit in nicely; to correspond. It is a word in carpentry, and means the
fitting one board into another by a tenon in the shape of a dove's tail, or wedge reversed.
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#74199
06/29/2002 9:11 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Doxy A baby; a plaything; a paramour. In the West of England babies are called doxies.
I somewhere a long time ago read that "doxie" meant a prostitute who solicited sailors
on the docks as they disembarked. The only support I could find for this is below:
1839
Marriages at Stepney Church
The author casts a satirical eye on wedding customs, as practised
at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, in 1839: an unfortunate young couple
caught by the bride's parents, couples married en masse, tars and
doxies and bigamous marriages. The source of the article was not
given.
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#74200
06/29/2002 9:24 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Drake means the "duck-king." The old English word end means a duck, and end-ric becomes 'dric,
drake. Similarly the German tauber-rich is a male dove, and ganse-rich, a male goose, or gander.
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#74201
06/29/2002 10:24 PM
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Druid A chief priest (Celtic, der, superior; wydd, priest or instructor). In Taliesin we read, Bûm gwydd
yngwarth an (at length I became a priest or wydd). It was after this period that the wydds were divided
into two classes, the Der-wydds and the Go-wydds (Druids and Ovidds). Every chief had his druid, and
every chief druid was allowed a guard of thirty men (Strabo). The order was very wealthy. (Not derived
from the Greek drus, an oak.)
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#74202
06/29/2002 10:30 PM
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Dublin (the Irish dubh-linn, the "black pool"). The chief part of the city stands on land reclaimed from
the river Liffey or the sea
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#74203
06/29/2002 10:34 PM
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Ducat A piece of money; so called from the legend on the early Sicilian pieces: Sit tibi, Christe, datus,
quem tu regis, istë ducatus (May this duchy [ducat-us ] which you rule be devoted to you, O Christ).
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#74204
06/29/2002 10:37 PM
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Ducks and Drakes The ricocheting or rebounding of a stone thrown from the hand to skim along the
surface of a pond or river.
Somebody mentioned this pastime a couple days ago. Was it you,IP?
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#74205
06/29/2002 10:40 PM
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Dude A masher. One who renders himself conspicuous by affectation of dress, manners, and speech.
The word was first familiarised in London in 1881, and is a revival of the old word dudes (clothes). We
have several derivations, as dudder, one who sells dress-pieces; duddery, a rag-shop; duddle, to wrap up
warmly (Halliwell), etc. It is not of American origin.
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#74206
06/29/2002 10:42 PM
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Dudgeon (The). The handle of a dagger, at one time made of box-wood root, called "dudgeon-wood;" a
dagger with such a handle. Shakespeare does not say, "and on the blade o' the dudgeon gouts of blood,"
but "on the blade and dudgeon . . ," both blade and handle.
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#74207
06/29/2002 10:44 PM
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Duds Old clothes, tattered garments (Gaelic, dud, a rag; Dutch, tod; Italian, tozzi). A dudder or dudsman
is a scarecrow, or man of straw dressed in cast off garments to fray birds; also a pedlar who sells duds or
gown-pieces. (Compare the Greek duo, to put on [clothes]; Latin, in-duo, to clothe.)
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#74208
06/30/2002 2:57 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8 |
wwh wrote (in some other post, but I'm too lazy to wade through them all to find the right one just now):
>> quarrel is to throw darts at each other (Welsh, cwarel, a dart) <<
which raises two questions I'd like to know more about:
1. There are precious few words in English from Welsh. More examples please!
2. WHY has there been so little borrowing from Welsh to English? The nations in question are not exactly at opposite ends of the earth!
Cheers, Ch.S.
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#74209
06/30/2002 3:39 PM
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Dear Grump: Maverick, who left when Keiva committed his dastardly deed (along with 40 others)
was our only Welch knowledgeable contributor. I am sure there are dozens of words taken from
Welch that give no clue as to their origin. One that comes to mind is "crowder" an ancient
word for "fiddle player" that I have seen as a family name. I'll look for some more. Thanks for
the suggestion.
PS: here is a URL to Worldwidewords.com that might interest you:
[url]www.quinion.com/words/articles/welsh.htm]/url]
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#74210
06/30/2002 5:40 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jun 2002
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wwh wrote:
>>Maverick, who left when Keiva committed his dastardly deed (along with 40
others)<<
Being new here, I have no idea what this means or what the dynamics on this list are... I have a feeling I'm about to find out PDQ...
Thanks, wwh, for the URL (Quinion, on Welsh words)
Ch.S.
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#74211
06/30/2002 5:45 PM
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>"I'm about to find out PDQ..."
ain't sayin' nuthin'
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#74212
06/30/2002 5:59 PM
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Keiva: you were banned from AWADtalk for starting a flame war and refusing to quit.
You got re-instated by threatening to sue Wordsmith. You are contemptible.
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#74213
06/30/2002 6:05 PM
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Dear Grump: here is another URL about Celtic languages: http://member.rivernet.com.au/manxman/Celts/languages.htmIf it doesn't work when you click on it, use edit,copy,,,,,edit,paste
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#74214
06/30/2002 7:13 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
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why are you surprized? Being new here, I have no idea what this means or what the dynamics on this list are... I have a feeling I'm about to find out PDQ...hardly anyone comes to a bulletin board with out reading a few posts.. and there have been many expressing our desire for keiva to leave, and why. and yesterday, the same comment was post 3 times in your kill two bird with one stone thread.. so why you are playing dumb ? i am a bit edgy.. every time there is a flare up, and there are flare ups because Keiva who was banned, and forced his way back by threats and extortion, is still posting here a whole bunch of 'new' posters appear... and start threads, and add to threads, and play dumb... and wonder what is going on.. and ask 'innocent questions' and up starts the flames again.. your question sets my teeth on edge. (of course i could be wrong, and time will tell...) keiva complained in time past that many of the long time posters were rude and drove away others... but he has single handed driven away 30+ old time people and almost as many new ones.. some of us die hards remain, and refuse to let his evil prevail.. every time he posts, we remind him, he is not wanted here. but don't believe me.. read for yourself what Anu Garg had to say. http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=72021&page=2
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#74215
06/30/2002 7:14 PM
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Echidna (E-kid'-na). Half-woman, half-serpent. She was mother of the Chimæra, the many-headed dog Orthos, the hundred-headed dragon of the Hesperides, the Colchian dragon, the Sphinx, Cerberos, Scylla, the Gorgons, the Lernæan hydra, the vulture that gnawed away the liver of Prometheus, and the Nemean lion. (Hesiod.)
I wonder how this name came to be applied to the spiny anteater of Australia.
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#74216
06/30/2002 7:45 PM
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Edhilingi The aristocratic class among the Anglo-Saxons; the second rank were termed the Frilingi; and the third the Lazzi, (Anglo-Saxon, ædele or edele, noble; free-ling, free-born. Ricardo says of the third class, they were the "unwilling to work, the dull" - quos hodie lazie dicimus.)
The etymology of 'lazy' which I never heard of before.
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#74217
06/30/2002 7:54 PM
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Effrontery Out-facing, rude persistence, and overbearing impudence. (Latin, ef-frons, i.e. ex-frons, out-face.)
The behaviour of Keiva in continuing to post in AWADtalk, where he is not welcome.
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#74218
06/30/2002 8:15 PM
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Eleven (Anglo-Saxon, ændlefene, aend = ain, lefene = lef, left). One left or one more after counting ten (the fingers of the two hands). Twelve is Twa lef (two left); all the other teens up to 20 represent 3, 4, 5, etc. + ten. It would seem that at one time persons did not count higher than twelve, but in a more advanced state they required higher numbers, and introduced the"teen" series, omitting eleven and twelve, which would be enteen and twateen.
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#74219
06/30/2002 8:31 PM
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Posts: 2,605
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Echidna (E-kid'-na). Half-woman, half-serpent. ... I wonder how this name came to be applied to the spiny anteater of Australia.American Heritage Dictionary:echidna: [animal] having a spiny coat, slender snout, and an extensible sticky tongue used for catching insects. Also called spiny anteater. ETYMOLOGY: Latin, adder, viper, from Greek ekhidna, from ekhis.Picture at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/images/animals/echidna.jpgThe echidna is one of only two species in a very exclusive group of mammals called monotremes, the other being the platypus. Itself an interesting word.
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#74220
06/30/2002 8:50 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
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Keiva: Now matter how you post, you cannot cnange the fact that you used extortion to obtain re-instatement after being banned for starting a flamewarand refusing to stop adding fuel to it. You are contemptible. See what Anu Garg had to say…. http://
wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=72021
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#74221
06/30/2002 8:52 PM
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Posts: 2,605
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P.S. With all due respect, I question the etymology I just quoted for echidna.Another source, http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/e1etym.htm, something similar, including I.E. *angwhi- "snake, eel." However, it also has the following entry: echinoderm - 1835, from Mod.L. Echinodermata, from Gk. ekhinos "sea urchin," originally "porcupine, hedgehog" + derma (gen. dermatos) (emphases added) And that echidna pictures certainly resembles a porcupine, does it not? or the type of sea urchin pictured in the link below: http://www.humboldt.edu/~natmus/NorthcoastNature/Tidepools/purple-urchin.jpg
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#74222
06/30/2002 8:53 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Keiva: you are very much unwelcome to post in AWADtalk.
You were banned for starting a flamewar, and refusing to
stop adding fuel to the fire. You were base enough to use
phony threats of a lawsuit to intimidate Wordsmith enough
to have him re-instate you. You are unpeakably contemptible.
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#74223
06/30/2002 9:59 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Eliminate (4 syl.). To turn out of doors; to turn out of an equation everything not essential to its conditions. (Latin, e limine,out of doors.)
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#74224
06/30/2002 10:05 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Emblem is a picture with a hidden meaning, the meaning is "cast into" or "inserted in" the
visible device. Thus, a balance is an emblem of justice, white of purity, a sceptre of sovereignty.
(Greek, en-ballo, which gives the Greek emblema.
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#74225
06/30/2002 10:08 PM
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Embryo means that which swells inside something (Greek, en-bru'o, which gives the Greek embruon);
hence the child in the womb; the rudiment in a plant before it shows itself in a bud;
an idea not developed, etc.
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#74226
06/30/2002 10:10 PM
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Emmet contracted into Ant thus, Em't, ent, ant (Anglo-Saxon, æmete).
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#74227
06/30/2002 10:44 PM
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Emolument Literally, that which comes out of the mill. (Latin, e-mola.) It originally meant toll on what was ground
And I know it only as fancy term for salary.
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#74228
06/30/2002 10:55 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Empyrean According to Ptolemy, there are five heavens, the last of which is pure elemental fire and the seat of deity; this fifth
heaven is called the empyrean (from the Greek en-pur, in fire). (See Heaven.)
"Now had the Aln ighty Father from above,
From the pure empyrean where He sits
High throned above all height, bent down his
eye." Milton: Paradise Lost, iii. 56-58.
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#74229
06/30/2002 11:09 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Enfilade (French) means literally to spin out; to put thread in [a needle], as enfiler une aiguille; to string beads by putting them on a thread, as enfiler des perles. Soldiers being compared to thread, we get the following metaphors: to go through a place as thread through a needle - to string artillery by placing it in
a line and directing it against an enemy; hence, to scour or rake with shot.
I think this explanation is a bit off. From Military Medicine I remember that enfilade means to have a
file of column of the enemy in a line, with our artillery in line with it, so that instead of "killing two birds
with one stone" it may be possible to kill hundreds of the enemy because aiming is so easy, and shots
both high and low will hit target.
I am reminded of old timer who boasted of shooting a couple dozen starlings that were on a telephone line
perfectly enfiladed so that just about every pellet of his shotgun shell hit a bird. Starlings were very much
hated in those days for driving away more desirable songbirds.
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