Germanic only

A discussion of word histories and origins.
frank
Lexiterian
Posts: 129
Joined: Sat May 07, 2005 6:25 pm
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Contact:

Postby frank » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:51 am

Edit: sorry, i hadn't read the previous mails which cover the same points while writing this one.
b dude has a point, there is no way to tell whether a very basic word has been borrowed from latinate into germanic or vice versa, such as 'cat' and 'two.'
Oh, quite often (but indeed not always), there is a way to tell! And in the case of the word 'cat', it can be substantiated that it is certainly not a Germanic word originally, but a loan from, or rather via, (Late) Latin. 'Late' because a few very typically Germanic sound changes didn't work at that moment anymore. I read about two possible origins, viz. a Celtic or a North-African origin for the word.
"i drove my wagon off a cliff with our ugly friend as the lights went out all over my little town. I can not understand why writing only in Germanic words is so hard. if the words have sister words in Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, German, then they are from the good old English tongue, before it was undone by the Gauls."
- Germanic: via Latin, prob. from Celtic. ;-)

Frank

PS: I hope this is not regarded as nitpicking. I just love to look up these kinds of things. And as written before, i wouldn't like to write even a short "Germanic-only" note in my (Germanic) native tongue Dutch. :-)

badandy
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:25 pm
Location: fresno, california
Contact:

Postby badandy » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:45 am

[quote]Oh, quite often (but indeed not always), there is a way to tell! [/quote]

I understand that there exists such a thing as language reconstruction, and ways to discover previous forms, and cat, admittedly was a bad example. Maybe if the word was bird or fish we could all agree :wink:
but 'two,' is neither Germanic or Romance or Slavic, etc. and at the same time it is all of the above. its not exclusive to any of these and neither is the word German or Deutsch or Allemagne.
Habentne Gallinae Talones Acerbos?

badandy
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:25 pm
Location: fresno, california
Contact:

Postby badandy » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:47 am

i just realized i dont know how to use the quote box. if someone could help me thatd be greeat. dont want to appear as too much of a newbie
Habentne Gallinae Talones Acerbos?

Brazilian dude
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1464
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Botucatu - SP Brazil

Postby Brazilian dude » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:01 pm

Just hightlight the text you want to quote and press quote and a new window will open where you can post. However, I normally just put the text encircled by (quote) (/quote) (where a [ should be used for a (.

Brazilian dude
Languages rule!

tcward
Wordmaster
Posts: 789
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: The Old North State

Postby tcward » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:57 pm

badandy, Katy and I responded to your quote problems in another thread. She rightly suggested you check your profile settings, so that "Always allow BBCode:" is set to Yes.

It looks like your replies have the "Allow BBCode" option unchecked.

-Tim

badandy
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:25 pm
Location: fresno, california
Contact:

Postby badandy » Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:43 pm

thanks a lot tim n katy! i guess i didnt see the previous one
Habentne Gallinae Talones Acerbos?

malachai
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:35 pm

Postby malachai » Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:03 pm

but 'two,' is neither Germanic or Romance or Slavic, etc. and at the same time it is all of the above. its not exclusive to any of these and neither is the word German or Deutsch or Allemagne.
No, "two" is Germanic in origin.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=two

It's related to the word for "two" in Romance, Slavic, and other IE language branches, because they all descend from the same PIE root.

Ferrus
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 99
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:33 pm
Location: Birmingham, UK

Postby Ferrus » Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:29 am

But i agree, Gaul is from Gallia and Germany is from Germania.
We use the Roman's name because the Germanic word for the Germans, Deutsch - meaning 'people' - has already been utilised in the appellation Dutch.

Still, it makes more sense than the French and Spanish Allemand, named after a specific tribe.

sluggo
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval

Postby sluggo » Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:29 pm


Still, it makes more sense than the French and Spanish Allemand, named after a specific tribe.
Not to mention the Anglish...!
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!

User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Postby gailr » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:53 pm

Not to mention the Anglish...!
Darn their eyes!

Ferrus
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 99
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:33 pm
Location: Birmingham, UK

Postby Ferrus » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:26 am


Still, it makes more sense than the French and Spanish Allemand, named after a specific tribe.
Not to mention the Anglish...!
Although there is a degree of logic there - English being but the first half of 'Anglo-Saxon' - although the Jutes (as usual) are ignored.

Actually... after having studied this in some depth it is questionable whether such labels have much meaning beyond the political circumstances that were to later create them as written culture emerged too.

User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Postby gailr » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:56 am

Although there is a degree of logic there - English being but the first half of 'Anglo-Saxon' - although the Jutes (as usual) are ignored.
On this side of the pond, Ferrus, we prefer to downplay any alleged historical contributions of the Jutes and the Hemps...
-gailr

sluggo
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval

Postby sluggo » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:35 am

On this side of the pond, Ferrus, we prefer to downplay any alleged historical contributions of the Jutes and the Hemps...
-gailr
:lol:
I can knot even string a clever retort to that one.
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!

Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:09 pm

Not to mention the Anglish...!
Darn their eyes!
Why? Have they come unravelled?
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:36 pm

On this side of the pond, Ferrus, we prefer to downplay any alleged historical contributions of the Jutes and the Hemps...
-gailr
:lol:
I can knot even string a clever retort to that one.
Let's just say that the Authorities are afraid they will all go up in smoke ...
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee


Return to “Etymology”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest