I have a question concerning the Grinch. In the e-mail it says that it was just a word Dr. Seuss made up, and yet, according to my Larousse: grinche, adj (Helv) grumpy, grouchy. The "Helv" means it is Swiss French.

I find this to be quite a coincidence. Does anyone have more info on how he might have come up with his name?

my bet is that he "borrowed" it.

As usual, tsuwm's suggestion sounds correct.

As usual, tsuwm's suggestion sounds correct.

idem ['nodding' e]

Yup. I'll bet he thought "grinch" sounds just like a vile old miser.

What other words sound like what they mean, at least to your ear? Or sound like they don't mean, like hoi polloi, which always sounds like it should mean the upper crust rather than we of the unwashed masses.

Disagree, Sparteye, m'dear. I believe he indeed borrowed it... his last name is Geisel (which means "hostage" in German, but that's neither there nor here, nor here nor there, funny things are everywhere!) and who knows? His parents may have very well been Schweizers.

Good question you've posed. Let me think on it.

Sparteye asked What other words sound like what they mean, at least to your ear?

Vulgar, since you asked.

What other words sound like what they mean, at least to your ear?

spit.

crunch.

slither.

btw, there's a word for that... is it onomatopoeia??

Somewhat related, during the recent chat with Wendalyn Nichols, the editorial director for Random House Reference, she noted that the word "enervate" is commonly misused, because it just *sounds* like it should mean 'to fill with energy'. OTOH, that's not exactly onomatopoeia; it's more akin to word association (enervate-energy). I wonder if there's a word to describe that phenomenon? tsuwm, oh master-of-useless-words? can you help?


~b

she noted that the word "enervate" is commonly misused, because it just *sounds* like it should mean 'to fill with energy'. OTOH, that's not exactly onomatopoeia; it's more akin to word association (enervate-energy). I wonder if there's a word to describe that phenomenon?

Pseudomatopoeia?

"Tintinabulation"
Edgar Allen Poe "the Bells" (I think)

wow>Tintinnabulation

Now THAT's interesting - in Hebrew, we have a word that sounds exactly like what it means - and it could be easily used as wow's word above -

L'TZEL'TZEL - which is the verb for "to ring" (the bells) - as in telefon sheli l'tzel'tzel (my telephone 'is ringing').



Shoshannah

Dear bridget96: re: spit

spit or [Chiefly Brit.] spat, spit4ting 5ME spitten < OE spittan, akin to Dan spytte: for IE base see SPEW6
1 to eject from within the mouth
2 to eject, throw (out), emit, or utter explosively !to spit out an oath

The Superintendent of the Mass Public Health Biologic Labs was Danish, and he said jokingly that Danish was not a language, it was a throat disease.

It does sound as though the Danish origin of "spit" might very well have been ononmatopoeic.

In reply to:

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Disagree, Sparteye, m'dear. I believe he indeed borrowed it...

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Sorry to be dense, but about what do we disagree? I think he saw or heard "grinch," and thought, "Hey - that sounds just like a vile old miser. I'll use it." I think that's what you think too, yes?

Sparteye,
Silly moi: I thought you said he'd made it up to sound like a vile old miser! (don't ever ask me to work in a courtroom )
(apologies on the misreading)

Blubber

Sorry, I've just come across "penguin hoosh" in another thread, and it brought this word into my mind. I'm sure I can think of better ones...

Dear Marianna: I think the second part of penguin hoosh is onomatopoeic for the regurgitation I would be unable to restrain.