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Joined: Mar 2002
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Nothing sad about spotting and counting "Stobbies" and "Nobbies" (Norbert Dentressangle lorries, French competitors, boo hiss) on a long Motorway trip*, Jo!
I've brought this in from FoaB’s post on the “would you steak your life on it” thread as that has become rather long and this is really a diversion from it.
Dentressangle, now there’s a name to conjure with. I’ve only ever seen it on the trucks. What does it mean? It must mean something, such a grandiose name can't be simply a random collection of noises. Whenever I see one I start trying to think what an English equivalent might be. This should be my chance to solicit some views.
It could be that Dent is from tooth or does it come from D’entre which could mean “from between”, or perhaps the “sang” is blood or “angle” is, well, angle. Then again I seem to remember hearing that Angleterre meant land of angels because the people had fair hair, but angel is “ange” isn’t it? And anyway I’m not so sure we had fair hair in those days, whenever they were. That’s always puzzled me too. Can anyone shed light on my darkness? Or am I just unreasonably obsessed with this name…its probably a Belgian name anyway…(Disappears offstage muttering followed by a bear).
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
such a grandiose name
Yes, David, it is a goody.
I reckon (without any evidence) that the derivation is from d'entre = "from between" and sangle = "strap, saddle, girth"
So Dentressangle = "from between (the) saddle(s)"
This doesn't make much sense at first glance, but in English we talk about the saddle of a hill, so perhaps it's a geographical reference?
Have to ask Norbert if his ancestors were born in the French equivalent of "The Valleys" for instance.
Are you around belM ? Does this look plausible to a French speaker?
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
We (my wife and I) every couple months or so ride about 30 miles north to a little town in southern Pennsylvania where there is a really good farmers market. We frequently see trucks on the roads (2 lane roads for the most part) which are painted with the legend "Wolf Eggs". It took a while to figure out that there was a large chicken farm run by someone named Wolf.
As for other strange names, you frequently encounter hereabouts trucks painted orange which have a trailer attached with a branch grinder/chipper. The trucks bear the name Asplundh, which is a company which does tree trimming and removal. Have never seen that anywhere else and no idea what nationality or language it may be.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
>The trucks bear the name Asplundh, which is a company which does tree trimming and removal. Have never seen that anywhere else and no idea what nationality or language it may be.
It looks vaguely Swedish/generic Scandinavian to me. In silviculture country where I grew up, a Husky is a Swedish-made chainsaw, not a dog. That's what makes think perhaps Asplundh is another Swedish name.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
In reply to:
This doesn't make much sense at first glance, but in English we talk about the saddle of a hill, so perhaps it's a geographical reference?
Isn't a saddle a low-lying, flattish area between two hills--like a plateau between two hills--but not as low-lying as a valley?
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
I'd agree with you, Dub-dub. From my fell-walking days (saddle-y gone, now) we would talk about walking up from the valley to the saddle and then down into the valley beyond, or possibly use it as an easy route to gain height before scrambling up the remaining scarp of one or other of the mountains either side.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
I've seen those Asplundh trucks here in Kentucky too. We had one come and remove a tree that had been knocked over by a tornado when I was a kid. I always thought the name sounded like a sneeze.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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There is a live webcam on this site; if you can get to it you can see Doyle Saddle. It's the area between the rightmost sharp peak and the rounded top on the far right. http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/lab/
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
to coin a phrase -- they have branches everywhere!
An Asplundh truck trimmed some branches on our large sycamore tree a year or so ago (only because the electricity company was worried about the overhead power lines).
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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"Carl Hjalmar Asplundh left his native Sweden in 1882..." http://www.asplundh.com/history.htm
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