pons asinorum] \panz-a-se-nor-em, -nor-\ noun [NL, lit., asses' bridge, name applied to the proposition that the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal] (1751)
: a critical test of ability or understanding; also : stumbling block © 1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

here's an interesting exchange I had with a Dutch subscriber:


I think that your interpretation of 'pons asinorum' is not quite right. In Dutch, an ezelsbruggetje is a little trick to remember something, in particular by making a connection with something unrelated. For instance, if you have difficulty remembering the difference between stalagmites and stalactites, you might think of mammary analogies and you will never forget that stalactites are the hanging variety.

are you saying that 'pons asinorum' means a memory aid? I don't find that sense anywhere... hold on a minute whilst I check OED2...

pons asinorum (= bridge of asses): a humorous name for the fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid*, from the difficulty which beginners or dull-witted persons find in ‘getting over’ or mastering it. Hence allusively.

my def'n follows AHD (a problem that severely tests the ability of an inexperienced person), which M-W approximates as "a critical test of ability or understanding" and glosses as a "stumbling block". [this seems to lose the aspect of inexperience; while the 'dull-witted' attribute has a pollitically incorrect issue that may well be lost in the ongoing OED update (which we may live to see, as I believe they're currently in the Ns] (correction, Os)

*regarding the base angles of an isosceles triangle(?)


Please understand that I don't claim to have any particular education in classical languages, linguistics, etymology or whatever... What I claim is this:

1. In modern Dutch, ezelsbruggetje (little bridge of asses/donkeys) does indeed mean memory aid.

Of course, the meaning of the expression may have changed in the course of time, I'm not familiar with its etymology. If there is a connection with Euclides, probably only an elderly person specialised in history of mathematics would know this. I've a background in mathematics, but I've never encountered the expression in that sense before.

2. I'm confident that in German, Eselsbruecke also means memory aid.

3. In the standard Dutch dictionary (Van Dale), I could find pons asinorum and it said ezelsbrug, and an ezelsbrug is explained to be a memory aid.

Maybe we changed the meaning of ezelsbrug in the course of centuries time and dragged the Latin translation along?


any comments? jheem.. Faldage..?