pseudo-etymology of "news"

[George Thompson]

Sorry, folks, for the various blunders here.  I posted this last night, evidently at a time when I would better have been tucking myself into bed.

The chief blunder is to have forgotten to give the source of the NEWS etymology: its the Morning courier & New-York Enquirer, April 23, 1842, p. 3, col. 2.

There's an explanation for how this came with a post from 2001, and a very pretty story it is, too, but I won't go into it.  Just another blunder by a little sleepy-head.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:44 pm
Subject: pseudo-etymology of "news"
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> do we collect historic false etymologies here?  they are quite as
> fascinating as eggcorns, really.  Some time ago I gave you the
> etymology of "humbug" from a fraud named Homberg, if I recall.
>
> Well, wanted or not, here's another:
>
> Origin of the word "NEWS"  [it's not connected with "news" -- it
> refers to the four compass points, North, East West and South, from an
> emblem carried by early newspapers.]

This last point isn't true, either, I don't think, at least of NYC and Boston papers.
>
> GAT
>
> George A. Thompson
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>

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