Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#124239 03/01/04 02:03 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
of troy Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
TEd posted about glom-- (and thanks Grapho-- i never thought about glom being at the heart of conglomerate!)
this week PBS had a special on cows (and all the dairymen refered to the herd as cows, and all the beef men had herds of cattle!)and they pointed out the word SPREE, (as in a shopping spree) comes from scot's english for a cattle raid!

how about a word spree-- as we find and explore all the fun words that have come into common english from scotish english?


#124240 03/01/04 02:16 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
J
veteran
Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
Latin con- 'with, together' + glomero 'to wind into a ball' (fr. glomus, glomeris 'ball; dumpling; skein; hank'). Probably not related to glom.


#124241 03/01/04 02:50 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Helen, you sent me running (well, hobbling maybe) for my Pocket Scots Dictionary. It has spree, spry as an adj. meaning 1. spry, or 2. neat, smartly dressed; and as a verb meaning "smarten up". From the same page:
spue, spew verb 1. spew. 2. of a pudding burst, split open Shetland NE 3. of liquid, smoke, etc flow, pour (out etc), billow out.
noun 1. spew 2. (a puff of) smoke now Shetland Angus. 3. a retch.
spuin fou full, especially with drink, to the point of vomiting.

puddin(g) 1. a kind of sausage made from the stomach or guts of a sheep, pig, etc. oatmeal, onions, seasoning, etc.
2.puddins guts (of people or animals)
3. a stupid or clumsy person
keep the puddin het keep the pot boiling

From the pudding page:
puggie(1) 1. a monkey 2. contemptuous term for a person now Perth
as fou as a puggie extremely drunk
lose one's puggy lose one's temper

puggie(2) 1. marbles a hole into which the marbles are rolled 2. the bank, jackpot or pool in a game of cards etc. WCentral

Helen! Here's one you may want to look further into:
purls small balls of sheep or rabbit dung

For purl, I was directed to pirl, which says:
pirl, purl verb1. twist, twirl, coil, curl; roll, whirl 2. in football etc drive (the ball) with quick light strokes or kicks, dribble NE 3. stir, mix, poke (a fire) Shetland NE 4. spin, whirl round, rotate; swirl, eddy. 5. fumble. 6. move or work idly or half-heartedly now NE
noun 1. a curl, twist, coil. 2. a knot of hair, a bun. 3. an eddy or swirl, a ripple, gentle breeze
pirlie adjective curly, curled, twisted Now S
noun
anything very small.
pirlie pig a circular, earthenware money box.




#124242 03/01/04 02:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
From AHD

spree

PRONUNCIATION: spr
NOUN: 1. A carefree, lively outing. 2. A drinking bout. 3. A sudden indulgence in or outburst of an activity. See synonyms at binge.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps alteration of Scots spreath, cattle raid, from Irish and Scottish Gaelic spréidh, spré, cattle, wealth, from Middle Irish preit, preid, booty, ultimately from Latin praeda. See ghend- in Appendix I.
WORD HISTORY: A spending spree seems a far cry from a cattle raid, yet etymologists have suggested that the word spree comes from the Scots word spreath, “cattle raid.” The word spree is first recorded in a poem in Scots dialect in 1804 in the sense of “a lively outing.” This sense is closely connected with a sense recorded soon afterward (in 1811), “a drinking bout,” while the familiar sense “an overindulgence in an activity,” as in a spending spree, is recorded in 1849. Scots and Irish dialects also have a sense “a fight,” which may help connect the word and the sense “lively outing” with the Scots word spreath, meaning variously, “booty,” “cattle taken as spoils,” “a herd of cattle taken in a raid,” and “cattle raid.” The Scots word comes from Irish and Scottish Gaelic spréidh, “cattle,” which in turn ultimately comes from Latin praeda, “booty.” This last link reveals both the importance of the Latin language to Gaelic and a connection between cattle and plunder in earlier Irish and Scottish societies.



#124243 03/01/04 03:10 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Neat, Dr. Bill--thank you!


#124244 03/01/04 04:56 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Berlin stands on the Spree river, but I guess there's no connection. Is there? Any of our German speakers know where the river name comes from, perchance?


#124245 03/02/04 12:21 AM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
where the river name comes from

They stole it from the Scots, of course!



#124246 03/02/04 03:51 AM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
They stole it from the Scots, of course!

Leave it to those clever and resourceful Scots to figure out how to steal a river.



#124247 03/02/04 07:17 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
And where did it come from? The source, of course.


#124248 03/02/04 12:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
J
veteran
Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
Interesting about spree: "Perhaps alteration of Scots spreath, cattle raid, from Irish and Scottish Gaelic spréidh, spré, cattle, wealth, from Middle Irish preit, preid, booty, ultimately from Latin præda" 'booty'. As for the river Spree, it might be of Slavic or Germanic origin ultimately.


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 435 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5