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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
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Barmecides: a very interesting word, helen, that I recently had occasion to research. The Barmecides were apparently a group of people (I'm unsure whether it was an ethnic group or a social caste), and the phrase "barmecide feast" comes from the tale in the arabian nights, to which dr. bill provided a link. In that tale a rich barmecide purported to serve a sumptuous meal to a beggar. He set a fine table and talked volubly of the wonderful food and wine the two of them were eating and drinking together -- all of which was illusory, for in fact the plates and glasses were completely empty. I discovered this phrase years ago in reading the play Lysistrata, and specifically the scene in which a young wife teases her husband with unfulfilled promises of assignation. How's that for delicate phraseology?  In my translation, the gentlemen comments, "A veritable feast of Bamedcides," and the footnote solemnly informs the reader that such was "a feast at which no food is served." Other translators more pithily render the husband's remark as, "The only thing getting laid here is the table." For years, until I recently looked it up, I'd assumed that the term in my Lysistrata translation referred to a feast-custom among the ancient greeks at the time of that play. EDIT: You can find further information in the links noted in the post at http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=61061
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
enthusiast
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Joined: Apr 2002
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An aside: that young wife in Lysistrata is named "Myrrhine", and according to one source found by google, her name is a take-off of the ancient greek word for vagina.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Here is a list of words of Arabic origin. Let's see if you can add any.
admiral, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, algebra, algorithm,
alkali, almanac, amalgam, aniline, apricot, arsenal,
arsenic, artichoke, assassin, aubergine, azure, borax,
cable, calibre, camphor, candy, cannabis, carafe, carat,
caraway, checkmate, cipher, coffee, cotton, crimson,
crocus, cumin, damask, elixir, gauze, gazelle, ghoul,
giraffe, guitar, gypsum, hashish, hazard, jar, jasmine,
lacquer, lemon, lilac, lime, lute, magazine, marzipan,
massage, mattress, muslin, myrrh, nadir, orange, safari,
saffron, samizdat, sash, sequin, serif, sesame, shackle,
sherbet, shrub, sofa, spinach, sugar, sultana, syrup, talc,
tamarind, tambourine, tariff, tarragon, zenith, zero
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
To add to wwh's list:
How 'bout ottoman?
Mark Twain (our dear Sam Clemens) had the most amazing ottoman in his front hall. I saw it on a tour in Hartford where one of his houses was right across the lawn from Harriet Beecher Stowe's. Twain's ottoman looked like a big stuffed artichoke.
Barmecides regards,
WW
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Alcohol's all well and goood, but how about the elixir of love? And didn't we once discuss "a norange", coming from an Arabic form I now fergit? There must be loads more, from the centuries when Arabic scholars led the world in the sciences and mathematics and astronomy... And there was an interesting (if not *entirely convincing) article in TVR a while back - lemme see if I can find it.... http://www.vocabula.com/VRJUNE01salloum.htmedit: oopsie, sorry Bill - somehow I missed your listing of elixir on first reading! ok, I have just seen this (which being a googlehound you have probably already seen, but!)...
http://users.erols.com/zenithco/Introl2.html
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear mav: those were a couple super extra good links. It will take me quite a while to digest the long one.
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
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Seems to me I read somewhere that there is a tribe of cannibals who consider sesamoids treats. Actually, I didn't read that anywhere, but it always sounds a little bit better than, "I just made that up."
TEd
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Ted, I think I read about that same group of cannibals. I read they also relish naviculars dipped into a concoction like chocolate sauce many from cahla-cahla beans.
I also made this up.
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