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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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it should be
happy land, I suppose
- or a land full of cats, perhaps {wink] - same thing, really.
How about terrapin? (or should that only have one "r"?)
A water animal with an earthy name???
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and how it would be "promissed land"? terra promissa? :)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks for calling my attention to "terrapin", RC. My dictionary says it is derived from
an Algonquian name.
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stranger
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stranger
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Here is another one- terra sigillata. It is a slip (fine clay particles in suspension) used to decorate and seal ceramic ware. Probably one of the earliest glazes.
And then there's Terre Haute (close but no cigar)which I think is high ground and at a premium in central Indiana
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"Here is another one- terra sigillata. It is a slip (fine clay particles in suspension) used to decorate and seal ceramic ware. Probably one of the earliest glazes. "
And what language is that, "terra sigillata"? I've spent a lot of time talking about terra cotta, and terra what ain't cotta yet, and picking terra out of my teeth, washing it out of my clothes, and brushing it out of my hair. I have a pottery studio, and have often wondered how to pronounce the g in "sigillata". Different potters follow different faiths on that one. I sidestep responsibility by never saying it in polite company. Which, that's easy, since I'm almost never in it.
It's also interesting to me that the term "terra cotta" has a connotation of being brown, or reddish brown. Obviously not all pottery uses brown clay, or there wouldn't be "terra alba" for pipe clay. I wonder what the white earth is they're using for pipe clay. Porcelain? Kaolin? Are pipes usually white?
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"there is a relationship with biscotto = bis - cotto ( cookie) which literally means cooked twice."
Like "Zwieback", which means exactly the same in German. And biscuit. The interesting thing is, and here we are back at clay again, is that in Britain, pottery that has been through the first firing (necessary before the application of glaze) is called "biscuit ware" ("bisque" in North America), even though it's been baked only once. I assume they're using the word "biscuit" to refer to the hardness, rather than how many times it's been baked.
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old hand
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old hand
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Well, a glance at my Italian dictionary assures me that "sigillato" = "sealed" (and because it's terra the adjective must agree in gender, so you have sigillata). In Italian a g followed by an i is pronounced like a j in English (as in jerk, juice, jealous). So if you want to remain true to its roots, use "see-jeel-LAH-tah". However, imported words often change pronunciation (much to the chagrin of those of us who know the original language) so it's also perfectly legitimate to adjust the pronunciation to whichever is easiest for an English-speaking tongue.
In summary, use whichever pronunciation you like. But if you were in Italy you'd have to say it as above in order to be understood.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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It's also Latin. Probably wouldn't change the pronunciation* but the meaning might be a bit different. The on line Latin Dictionary and Grammar aid says that sigillatus, -a, -um means adorned with small figures.
*Unless you want to be classical.
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stranger
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stranger
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At the pottery studio where I work it's just called 'terra sig'.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
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