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Register Log In Wordsmith Talk Forums (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) Words with unusual etymologies Grail
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Though I learned the word "grail" from books I read when I was quite young, I never thought
until just now to look it up, to learn its pedigree. I was surprised to find it derives ultimately
from "krater'
Grail
5ME graal < OFr < ML gradalis, flat dish, cup < ? VL *cratalis < L crater, mixing bowl: see CRATER6 Medieval Legend the cup or platter used by Jesus at the Last Supper, and by Joseph of Arimathea to collect drops of Jesus‘ blood at the Crucifixion: the quest for the Grail, which disappeared, is treated in Malory‘s Morte Darthur, Wagner‘s Parsifal, etc. Also Holy Grail
the quest for the Grail, which disappeared, is treated in Malory‘s Morte Darthur, Wagner‘s Parsifal, etc.
One can't leave Monty Python out of this equation, can one?
Ni!
formerly known as etaoin...
The grail and Morte D'Arthur made me think of The Questing Beast Glatisant, so I did some questing and offer a link for those who may be interested.
http://www.employees.org/~pcorless/pendragon/glatisant.txt
This was the most informative of all the links I found.
I also came across references to the Lancelot-Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Quest for the Holy Grail legends - all new to me; looking in Amazon I was distressed by the prices for a translation of these works. I am amazed at not having come across them before. I have a good copy of Mallory but these predate him, seem to be better written than Geoffrey of Monmouth's even earlier work, and I lust after them!
I was distressed
Does that mean you were also disheveled?
I was quite tidy, but I was less than stinctly gusted. Ummm, not sure that's right.
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