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Having enjoyed your words of German origin I still have slight misgivings concerning "gegenschein" which I cannot find in any dictionary (Duden, Wahrig, Paul). No native speaker (of those who where not fast enough to avoid me) has ever heard of this word. It might be Austrian (v. "abseil"). Lucky Mr Quinion being on leave you are the obvious victim: The current German word is "Gegenlicht" - Is there the slightest chance of finding out where "gegenschein" is from or when it entered the English language?
Thanks.
Hans-Hermann Diestel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hello HH.
I'm afraid I don't have an answer for your question; I just wanted to welcome you to the Board.
Stick around though, we do have several members who a whizards at finging word ethymologies.
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stranger
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Thanks for your welcome, actually it should have been "gegenschein" (my mistake). Anyway, I'd be grateful for any piece of information.
HH
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addict
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According to German Wikipedia, Gegenlicht is a photographic term for a light source in front of the camera - not the same thing. If you read the German Wikipedia entry for Zodiakallicht, it uses gegenschein correctly and there is even a redirect to there - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gegenschein
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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welcome HHDiestel and well whizarded Myridon
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Welcome indeed, Herr Diestel! I thought you might like to know that wsieber (a member here) is a native speaker of German. You can send him a Private Message, if you like.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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In Hebrew, this is called the "Amud Ha Shachar," the "column of dawn." It has some bearing on law, but I never knew it was an actual something, and I've never seen it.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
In Hebrew, this is called the "Amud Ha Shachar," the "column of dawn." It has some bearing on law, but I never knew it was an actual something, and I've never seen it.
Does it mark the beginning of the daytime?
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stranger
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Thanks for the broad hint - it never crossed my mind to look up "gegenschein" in Wikipedia. Having wrestled with Gegenlicht all my photographer's life (amateur, of course) it never dawned gegenschein could mean anything else. Still, I have never heard the term, though definitely interested in astronomy (amateur, of course). Now I know, thanks to you.
Hans-Hermann
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stranger
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My Hebrew after decades of non-use being almost non-existent I seemed to remember a fast of a similar name. The dictionary proved you right on both counts: It is a wee time before sunrise and it is part of the Jewish law (halacha). Having learnt my lesson ocncerning gegenschein I tried google and came across a certain Rabbi Doniel Neustadt (http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5761/balak.html)
who explains it a lot better than I ever could.
haslacha to you - spelt with an s » success, succesful outcome
Hans-Hermann
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