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[Was'nt there in the Skandinavian and Icelandic tradition this habit of being called such and so's daughter or son for a surname? (Also in Germany and the lowlands) ??]
Still ikn Iceland. The telephone book for the country (!) has listings by first names. Very few people have family names. X Yson and W Qdottir.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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just thinking about names and language and what we called each other before we had surnames.We pretty much called each other by our given names or by nicknames and epithets. If you live in a small community, there is little use for family names. You can get by with John, Little John, John the backer, or John from down the Holler. 
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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In our paper today there was an article that mentioned Dr. Brad Black's Eye Associates. I smiled, imagining the sign outside the place reading Dr. Brad Black Eye Associates...
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Carpal Tunnel
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when did surnames begin to come into play?
Depends on where you're talking about. In England, it was after the Norman invasion. Probably in the 13th century. Started with the nobles, spread to the non-nobles later. just thinking about names and language and what we called each other before we had surnames. Here's a site related to the discussion: http://www.google.com/search?q=History,+Meaning+and+Origin+of+Names&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS387US388&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=AjtnTNLZJcTflgeS16SfBQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CEYQ5wIwCg
----please, draw me a sheep----
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There's a footnote in (if I remember correctly) Hollander's translation of Heimskringla that claims surnames became mandatory in England with the introduction of the so-called "poll tax."
Last edited by beck123; 08/15/10 12:42 PM. Reason: should have read the other posts first
"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous
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Carpal Tunnel
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I am reminded today* that there is (yet another) term which can be applied here: euonym - [from Gk eu, good + onym, name] a name well-suited to the person, place or thing named
*whilst updating the wwftd dictionary, to wit
the worthless word for the day is: euneirophrenia
[fr. Gk oneiros, dream + eu-, good + -phrenia]
/u NI ro FRE ni uh//
rare peace of mind after a pleasant dream
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old hand
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old hand
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http://www.google.com/search?q=History,+Meaning+and+Origin+of+Names&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS387US388&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=AjtnTNLZJcTflgeS16SfBQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CEYQ5wIwCg
google.com?
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Carpal Tunnel
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This google link has given us another panavison page. Amazing. Must travel a long way along the line to find the reply button at the right.
rare peace of mind after a pleasant dream.
A very nice state of mind indeed, though the word will be hard to remember.
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I know we have some Latin speakers in the crowd. Would somebody please translate for me this phrase, which I found in the death record of a distant cousin?
cosus tristissimus, reliquil septem, infantulos
"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous
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Carpal Tunnel
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cosus tristissimus, reliquil septem, infantulos
Are you sure about the first and third words? It might help to know the date of the text.
tristissimus 'very sad'
septem 'seven'
infantulos 'small children'
is there a line (macron or tilde) over the 'o' in cosus?
Is the final letter in reliquil really an 'l' or perhaps a 't'. Are the commas really there in the original?
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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