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stranger
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stranger
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"Eleemosynary" sprang back into popularity when Senator Sam Ervin posed this sarcastic question to John Ehrlichman, a White House flunkie who claimed large amounts of cash were funneled to the Watergate burglars out of compassion:
"Well, I have always thought that if a political institution or committee enacted the role of an eleemosynary institution, it would, like the Pharisee, brag about it on all opportunities, and so you agreed with me that a Doubting Thomas might think that this money was routed in this clandestine way. not only to keep it secret but also to keep these people that were receiving the monev secret?"
Murray Stone, Westerose, Alberta
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, welcome back, Barrister Stone! Long time no hear from! Hope you've been doing okay all this while.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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eleemosynary .
To me it seems like a long word for alms. Any connection, great experts of this board? "Alms for the poor"?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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as Anu mentions, eleemosyna is Latin for alms. link
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Gee, as I specilally went to the site map for this post to see if Anu mentioned it and still overlooked it, I can only conclude the scrabble game càn be dangerous. (not to think of other dreadful possibilities)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Any connection [with the Latin word alms]?
Yes, the English word is a borrowing from the Latin which in turn was borrowed from the Greek: Old English ĉlmesse < Late Latin eleēmosyna < Greek ελεημοσυνη (eleēmosunē) 'pity, charity' < ελεημων (eleēmōn) 'pitiful' < ελεος (eleos) 'pity'. The etymology of the Greek word is uncertain, but it may be related to Old Icelandic jálmr 'noise'.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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We had an aquaintance called Jalmar; he was noisy.
Did you one sec. ago change the text through using HTML + UBBC code? that was weird to see happen.
' jálmr '? That would be the noise of the coin in the old whatever metal cup? Oh no. There would be lamenting to draw attention.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Did you one sec. ago change the text through using HTML + UBBC code?
Well, it's more than a second ago now, but yes, I constantly and consistently forget to change the editing mode. I don't have time right now, but I wondered if German jammern 'to wail; lament' is related.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Yes it is. Jammeren (Du) and jammern (Ger) is to wail, to lament.
Oh you mean to ' jálmr '.. pff.. when does vacation start?
Anyway , concerning alms this is interesting to me as the word aalmoezenier must descend from it:
almoner
"official distributor of alms on behalf of another," c.1300, from O.Fr. almosnier (12c.), from V.L. *almosinarius, from L.L. elemosinarius (adj.) "connected with alms," from eleemosyna "alms" (see alms).
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Yes it is. Jammeren (Du) and jammern (Ger) is to wail, to lament.
Oh you mean to ' jálmr '.. pff.. when does vacation start?
Anyway , concerning alms this is interesting to me as the word aalmoezenier must descend from it:
almoner
"official distributor of alms on behalf of another," c.1300, from O.Fr. almosnier (12c.), from V.L. *almosinarius, from L.L. elemosinarius (adj.) "connected with alms," from eleemosyna "alms" (see alms).
Words like jammeren and jammern, etc. always remind me of the jaberwocky (Carroll). Frippen on the jim jam and all that": I believe is the incantation of the wizard in Wizard of Id. Love the nonesense words.
Last edited by LukeJavan8; 06/28/09 02:46 AM. Reason: typo
----please, draw me a sheep----
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