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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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