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Joined: May 2009
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: May 2009
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English is, as we know, a result of mixed linguistic impulses over long periods of time. Old Norse is an easily identifiable one, and also shares older Germanic roots with English. Thus, when I saw the word "maw," as a Norwegian I immediately knew its approximate meaning.
The Old English word "maga" is still current in all the main Scandinavian languages. It is spelled with an 'e' at the end: "mage" (Swedish and Norwegian), "mave" (Danish). It means "stomach, gut" either generally (general non-technical usage) or specifically as the muscular bag near the beginning of the alimentary canal (medical usage). However, to my knowledge it does not connote "mouth" or "throat" in any modern Scandinavian language.
In colloquial Eastern Norwegian the standard Norwegian "mage" is very often pronounced "maga," in both cases with a hard 'g'. Danish pronounciation to my ears is very close to current English spelling, but with two syllables: "mah-wuh." With a hard 'v' something like it is also found in several variants of Norwegian.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
mawIn Old English maga meant 'stomach' ( link), and in Middle English it continued that meaning as well as 'chest, belly, gut; liver' ( link), but there also developed the modern sense in English of 'jaws, mouth'. I don't think that English maw is a borrowing from Old Norse (Old Icelandic). It occurs in other non-Scandinavian, i.e., Western, Germanic languages, such as German Magen 'stomach'.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
'maw' and our Du.'muil', which is a direct translation, could be there be a relation somewhere? zmjezhd ??? The sound is quite similar. 'Muil' in Dutch it is an old uncivilized word for mouth. In The Two Towers, Frodo and Sam, attempting to reach the Black Gate of Mordor, are lost in the eastern Emyn Muil for days until Gollum finds them. Link How do you write the the Norse word for mouth John Aalborg? Welcome.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Jon, welcome aBoard! You're the first (declared) Norwegian we've had!  Branny, good to see you--you've been a bit quiet lately, and I missed you.
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,916 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,916 Likes: 2 |
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
Yes, I'm a bit off the active topics cause I must be active for a while at the 'real' work/fun, art. I keep up reading you though!
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1 |
I'm replying to today's word, KIP. (I don't quite know how to navigate this site yet, but, as a poet, I love it.) Re. the various meanins of "kip": try as I may, I can't see how any of the definitions apply to the 2nd example. The example seems to suggst a finite unit of measure, much more definite than the vague notion of the weight of a bundle of furs. My bundle may be your handfull. Your nap may be a lot heavier than mine, and the same goes for your bed.
Clarinda
Last edited by Clarinda; 01/12/11 03:31 PM. Reason: typo
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
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Welcome Clarinda
It took me a while to navigate. Glad to have you here.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677
addict
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addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 677 |
Kip over here is a sort of slang for a quick, short sleep...like a cat nap...it means a short deliberate nap...power nap I think they are called in America
----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,916 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,916 Likes: 2 |
That is interesting: kip=power nap.
It is also of note that we had that in the anagram game
yesterday.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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