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Joined: Feb 2003
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2003
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I was intrigued by the alternate spelling of Dunkirk. There is a small town near here called Albuquerque, and often referred to as "Albukirk." Originally the complete name was La Ciudad del Duque de Alburquerque, hence another nickname, Duke City. The extra 'r' was lost over time. I have the sense that the -kirk part of Dunkirk means church. Does the -erque part of Dunkerque come from the same stem? Would that also apply to Alburquerque?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Hi DLS, and welcome.
I don't know much at all about Flemish, but to start you off:
Dunkerque is the French spelling. Duyn Kerke, in the original Flemish, means church of the dunes. Since church in French is l’eglise, I guess the ‘kerque’ has no real meaning, but has just slid across from 'kerke'. German would be kirche.
I meant to add - you probably know already - there is a town called Albuquerque in Andalucia, Spain
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Albuquerque comes from Latin meaning "white oak". I can't find any connection to "church"
which goes back to Greek "kyriacos" meaning "belonging to the Lord".
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
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I almost choked on my Crystal Light at that one. I'm wondering whence you hail in NM that you would refer to Albuquerque as a small town. Also, have spent considerable time bicycling in your fair state, and have neither heard the Kirk pronunciation nor encountered a reference to Duke City.
TEd
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear TEd: His profile says he's from New Mexico. Maybe he's just not the booster type.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Just another note on the white oak, one of my favorite trees--we have over 30 white oaks in the grove here on the farm.
The botanical name for the white oaks is Quercus alba...Oak white.
Never made the connection to Albuquerque, so this is glad news for me.
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2003
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I'm from Las Cruces, the 2nd largest town in New Mexico. Maybe it was indigestion from the sour grapes.
I don't think bicyclists would say Albukirk or Duke City. They're generally too young for that. You'd have to talk to an old farmer or cowboy or maybe a roughneck to hear it.
Until the city fathers recently decided that the local minor league baseball team needed a spiffier image, the team was called the Albuquerque Dukes. Now they are the "Topes," which I suppose is a reference to the isotopic, glowing aura of New Mexico being the birthplace of the atom bomb.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 11,613 |
Welcome to you, DLS.
the team was called the Albuquerque Dukes. Now they are the "Topes," which I suppose is a reference to the isotopic, glowing aura of New Mexico being the birthplace of the atom bomb.
Oh, that is sick, sick, sick!
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
The coach should be concerned that in a huddle they might go critical.
My dictionary gives three words spelled "tope". None of them seem very apt as a name
for a team.
ope 1
vt., vi.
toped, top4ing 5Fr toper, to accept the stakes in gambling (prob. < ODu topp, touch): E meaning given here is prob. from the custom of drinking to the conclusion of the wager6 [Archaic] to drink (alcoholic liquor) in large amounts and often
tope 2
n.
5Hindi top, ult. < Sans stdpa, a mound, tope6 a Buddhist shrine in the form of a dome with a cupola
tope 3
n.
5< ? Cornish6 a small, gray, European requiem shark (Galeorhinus galeus)
And what in the world is a "requiem shark"? Does it sing a Mass for its deceased victims?
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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 |
Requiem sharks – Family Carcharhinidae Tiger sharks, lemon sharks, bull sharks, the grey reef sharks and the white sharks belong to the family of Carcharhinidae. Requiem sharks have 5 gill openings. Young are born fully developed. They are sleek active swimmers. Includes several dangerous species. I couldn’t find anything convincing regarding the reason for their name. The following comments were made in various places: · Requiem sharks are the most abundant of the sharks, named for their tendency to school near the surface. (Sounds good, but I don’t understand the connection.) · named from the shrieks of their victims. (Very Gothic!) · A "requiem" is a hymn or mass for the dead! This could be a symbolic way of telling us that this is a pretty aggressive shark! (Suspect that this is closest, but although some types of requiem shark are dangerous, some are not.) Here is a link to learn more about requiem sharks: http://www.oceanoasis.org/fieldguide/carcharhinus.html
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