"dudo", 1840, meaning ???

[Baker, John]

        Is there any chance that it's the Spanish word dudo, doubt,
which I understand is a dice game?  That would certainly mesh with the
italicization, although perhaps this newspaper also italicized ordinary
English slang words.

        "Duds" is an old slang term, but I would think that "booze,"
which dates to the 14th century, would also have a claim as the slang
word with the greatest slangevity (though OED tags it as colloq., not as
slang).


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Laurence Horn
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 1:54 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "dudo", 1840, meaning ???

At 12:41 PM -0500 6/23/11, Cohen, Gerald Leonard wrote:
>Not at all likely to be "dude."  My guess is it's a misprint for
>"duds" (clothes),
>and this was the term used by the women when the police or reporter
showed up.
>---- G. Cohen
>

--a particularly impressive word, showing up in 15th and 16th c.
slang compendia and having remained as a slang word ever since.
Can't think of any rival to its status for slangevity.

LH

>_____________________________
>
>From: Original message from George Thompson, Thu 6/23/2011 12:27 PM:
>
>      *Mayhem*. -- On Friday evening three black wenches residing at 40
>Wooster st. . . . , got into a wrangle about some *dudo* claimed as the
>common property of the trio.    ***
>      Morning Courier & New-York Enquirer, June 8, 1840, p. 2, col. 3
>
>My notes don't make it explicit that the "dudo" (which was italicized)
was a
>person, specifically a man, but presumably so.
>Can this be connected with the word "dude", not recorded until about 40
>years later?
>GAT
>George A. Thompson
>
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