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 4 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
But try to buy Marmalade in Seville. Marmalad(e?) in Spanish means jam or jelly. If you ask for orange jam (marmalade do naranjas) you just get that "be nice to the poor stupid tourist" smile that says you're not making sense. Apparently the bitter Seville orange my mom made marmalade from is not una naranja at all but has a completely different name and preserve they make from it also has a different name from marmalade. I guess it is not just English that gets itself in a twist.

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
Originally Posted By: The Pook
Interesting word 'misled' - when I saw it written I used to think it was pronounced 'Migh-zuld' (as in miserly).



Pook! We are twin souls, LOL! Here are some others that stumped me, some well into my adulthood:

rendezvous: I read "ren-dez-vus" in my mind, and knew it had a synonym, "ron-day-voo", but I never put them together until I heard someone read aloud what I saw written... yikes!

miniseries: Okay, misled by the lack of a hypen, I read this as "min-IZ-er-ees". Don't ask!!! What was I thinking?!?!

emeritus: Lacking, again, the sound/symbol connection taken for granted with more common words, I saw this as "em-er-ITE-us", I suppose going from "dermatitis", or something similar.

I guess I have a weird combination of visual/audio thinking. :0)

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
Originally Posted By: Zed
But try to buy Marmalade in Seville. Marmalad(e?) in Spanish means jam or jelly. If you ask for orange jam (marmalade do naranjas) you just get that "be nice to the poor stupid tourist" smile that says you're not making sense. Apparently the bitter Seville orange my mom made marmalade from is not una naranja at all but has a completely different name and preserve they make from it also has a different name from marmalade. I guess it is not just English that gets itself in a twist.


Jam is "mermelada" in Spanish. What we call "marmalade" (which, by the way, can be any fruit jam, but we have narrowed it in the US) would be "mermelada de naranja". I haven't been to Sevilla, but possibly it simply isn't commercialized. As Americans, we practically demand that anything we ever try and like be commercialized and offered for sale down the street! In most of the rest of the world, many many foods are prepared in homes, and no one would dream of buying them, even if they could. Perhaps this is the case with the "mermelada Sevillana", made only at home and not sold anywhere. Just a theory... :0)

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
Originally Posted By: twosleepy
Originally Posted By: The Pook
Interesting word 'misled' - when I saw it written I used to think it was pronounced 'Migh-zuld' (as in miserly).



Pook! We are twin souls, LOL! Here are some others that stumped me, some well into my adulthood:

rendezvous: I read "ren-dez-vus" in my mind, and knew it had a synonym, "ron-day-voo", but I never put them together until I heard someone read aloud what I saw written... yikes!

miniseries: Okay, misled by the lack of a hypen, I read this as "min-IZ-er-ees". Don't ask!!! What was I thinking?!?!

emeritus: Lacking, again, the sound/symbol connection taken for granted with more common words, I saw this as "em-er-ITE-us", I suppose going from "dermatitis", or something similar.

I guess I have a weird combination of visual/audio thinking. :0)


Actually many older Tasmanians seems to pronounce emeritus the way you do.

A friend of mine used to pronounce 'awry' as OR-ee.

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pook- I thought there were two girl's names, Penelopey and Penelope to rhyme with cantalope. Not to mention those two diseases noomonia and puhmonia.
Maybe min-IZ-er-ees was an editorial thought associated with misery?

Twosleeepy - thanks I was too lazy to look up the correct word mermelada. The stuff made with Seville oranges is certainly available in Seville stores but its name includes neither of the words mermelada nor naranja which made asking for it difficult. The fruit which are too bitter to eat as fruit are not considered oranges but have a different term just as we have for tangerines or kumquats.

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
Then there is the oft mispronounced 'adversaries', which should be said AD-v'ss-rees but many people say it ad-VERS-a-rees.

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Originally Posted By: The Pook
Then there is the oft mispronounced 'adversaries', which should be said AD-v'ss-rees but many people say it ad-VERS-a-rees.


oy. AD-ver-sare-ees


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Originally Posted By: twosleepy
What we call "marmalade" (which, by the way, can be any fruit jam, but we have narrowed it in the US) would be "mermelada de naranja".


I allus thought that marmalade was made from a citrus fruit and there had to be bits of rind in the final product.

Lemme go look it up:

AHD says "especially citrus fruits."

Edit: Thanks, eta. Shoulda oughta proofed

Last edited by Faldage; 03/12/08 11:17 AM.
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
gotta a nextra ] in there, Fald.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
Originally Posted By: Faldage
Originally Posted By: twosleepy
What we call "marmalade" (which, by the way, can be any fruit jam, but we have narrowed it in the US) would be "mermelada de naranja".


I allus thought that marmalade was made from a citrus fruit and there had to be bits of rind in the final product.

Lemme go look it up:

[url]http://www.bartleby.com/61/68/M0116800.html]AHD[/url] says "especially citrus fruits."


I always thought it had to be orange, but such is not the case. As you wrote, "especially", not "always", which is indicative of usage, not actual meaning.

Try this one: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marmalade This indicates that the origin of the word had to with quinces, not a citrus fruit! The quince connection appears in all the sources I checked, including your Bartleby's. :0)

Page 4 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,322
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 517 guests, and 0 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 10,535
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