<head>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
/* start of attachment style */
.ygrp-photo-title{
clear: both;
font-size: smaller;
height: 15px;
overflow: hidden;
text-align: center;
width: 75px;
}
div.ygrp-photo{
background-position: center;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-color: white;
border: 1px solid black;
height: 62px;
width: 62px;
}
div.photo-title
a,
div.photo-title a:active,
div.photo-title a:hover,
div.photo-title a:visited {
text-decoration: none;
}
div.attach-table div.attach-row {
clear: both;
}
div.attach-table div.attach-row div {
float: left;
/* margin: 2px;*/
}
p {
clear: both;
padding: 15px 0 3px 0;
overflow: hidden;
}
div.ygrp-file {
width: 30px;
valign: middle;
}
div.attach-table div.attach-row div div a {
text-decoration: none;
}
div.attach-table div.attach-row div div span {
font-weight: normal;
}
div.ygrp-file-title {
font-weight: bold;
}
/* end of attachment style */
-->
</style>
</head>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=Windows-1252 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16440"></HEAD>
<BODY
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<br><br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Dear Hayim,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I don't think that the contemporary Englisch adjective
"droll" is an equivalent of the German noun "Troll".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The Online Etymology Dictionary says about the noun
"troll/Troll":</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0"><FONT
title="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#0066cc face=Arial>troll (n.)</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> </FONT><A
class=dictionary title="Look up troll at Dictionary.com"
href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=troll"></A></DIV>
<DIV>
<DD><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DD></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>"ugly dwarf or giant," 1610s, from O.N. <SPAN
class=foreign>troll</SPAN> "giant, fiend, demon." Some speculate that it
originally meant "creature that walks clumsily," and derives from P.Gmc. <SPAN
class=foreign>*truzlan</SPAN>, from <SPAN class=foreign>*truzlanan</SPAN> (see
</FONT><A class=crossreference
href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0"><FONT
color=#0066cc face=Arial>troll</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> (v.)). But it seems
to have been a general supernatural word, cf. Swed. <SPAN
class=foreign>trolla</SPAN> "to charm, bewitch;" O.N. <SPAN
class=foreign>trolldomr</SPAN> "witchcraft." The old sagas tell of the <SPAN
class=foreign>troll-bull</SPAN>, a supernatural being in the form of a bull, as
well as <SPAN class=foreign>boar-trolls</SPAN>. There were <SPAN
class=foreign>troll-maidens, troll-wives</SPAN>, and <SPAN
class=foreign>troll-women</SPAN>; the <SPAN class=foreign>trollman</SPAN>, a
magician or wizard, and the <SPAN class=foreign>troll-drum</SPAN>, used in
Lappish magic rites. The word was popularized in English by 19c. antiquarians,
but it has been current in the Shetlands and Orkneys since Viking times. The
first record of it is from a court document from the Shetlands, regarding a
certain Catherine, who, among other things, was accused of "airt and pairt of
witchcraft and sorcerie, in hanting and seeing the Trollis ryse out of the kyrk
yeard of Hildiswick." Originally conceived as a race of giants, they have
suffered the same fate as the Celtic <SPAN class=foreign>Danann</SPAN> and are
now regarded in Denmark and Sweden as dwarfs and imps supposed to live in caves
or under the ground</FONT>.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>English "troll" is the same as German
"Troll".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DD> </DD></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The same dictionary says about the adjective
"droll":</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=droll&allowed_in_frame=0"><FONT
title="http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=droll&allowed_in_frame=0
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#0066cc face=Arial>droll</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=highlight><FONT face=Arial>1620s, from Fr. <SPAN
class=foreign>drôle</SPAN> "odd, comical, funny" (1580s), in M.Fr. a noun
meaning "a merry fellow," possibly from M.Du. <SPAN class=foreign>drol</SPAN>
"fat little fellow, goblin," or M.H.G. <SPAN class=foreign>trolle</SPAN>
"clown," ultimately from O.N. <SPAN class=foreign>troll</SPAN> "giant, troll"
(see </FONT><A class=crossreference
href="http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0"><FONT
title="http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#0066cc face=Arial>troll</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> (n.)). Related: <SPAN
class=foreign>Drolly</SPAN>; <SPAN
class=foreign>drollish</SPAN>.</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>English "droll" has its counterpart in German "drollig".
The meanings of "drollig" </FONT><FONT face=Arial>are, according to context:
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#000000>funny,</FONT><FONT color=#000000>
</FONT></FONT><A
href="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/ludicrous.php"><FONT
title="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/ludicrous.php
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#000000 face=Arial>ludicrous</FONT></A><FONT color=#000000 face=Arial>,
quaint, comical, </FONT><A
href="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/bizarre.php"><FONT
title="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/bizarre.php
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#000000 face=Arial>bizarre</FONT></A><FONT color=#000000 face=Arial>,
</FONT><A href="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/strange.php"><FONT
title="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/strange.php
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#000000 face=Arial>strange</FONT></A><FONT color=#000000 face=Arial>,
weird, </FONT><A
href="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/grotesque.php"><FONT
title="http://www.woxikon.de/deutsch-englisch/grotesque.php
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
color=#000000 face=Arial>grotesque</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Greetings,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Fritz</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><TR class=default><TD>
<DIV class=wordContent> </DIV></TD></TR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title="mailto:hayim.sheynin@gmail.com
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
href="mailto:hayim.sheynin@gmail.com">Hayim Sheynin</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 28, 2011 12:51 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A
title="mailto:lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
href="mailto:lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Lexicog] Christmas puns</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN style="DISPLAY: none"> </SPAN>
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>Dear Nick,<BR><BR>The Jews, especially in Ashkenazi tradition, use crackers
during the holiday Purim and also tell dirty jokes, mostly related to a biblical
figure of Haman (see<BR>Book of Esther) and his house.<BR>I suppose "droll" is
(at least linguistically) an equivalent of German Troll.<BR>It is interesting,
that in some dialects of Russian, e.g. in Vologda dialect,<BR>the word
<I>drolia</I> [drolja] means "sweetie". This might be derived from common
Indo-European heritage.<BR><BR>Best,<BR>Hayim<BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 5:18 PM, Nicholas Miller <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A
title="mailto:nick.miller@czech-translation.com
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
href="mailto:nick.miller@czech-translation.com">nick.miller@czech-translation.com</A>></SPAN>
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid" class=gmail_quote><U></U>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff"><SPAN> </SPAN>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P><U></U></P>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Very droll as we would say back home in the
UK.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Suitable for Christmas
crackers, where jokes are typically droll (with an ironic
intonation), though among these some are smarter than the
average...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Incidentally it's somewhat droll that one derived origin
of 'droll' means 'a fat little man' (<FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN name="hotword">Middle</SPAN> <SPAN
name="hotword">Dutch), presumably rather an amusing
one.</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN name="hotword">Do any other
nations/languages feature 'bad' jokes as a kind of tradition? The cracker is a
fascinating thing, a bad joke, a naff hat and a crappy plastic toy with a
little bang when you pull it. Where did such irony
originate?</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN name="hotword">Nick
Miller</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=im>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=3><FONT face=Arial><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN
name="hotword"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 6:33 AM, Dr. Fritz Goerling <SPAN dir=ltr><<A
title="mailto:fritz.goerling@yahoo.de
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
href="mailto:fritz.goerling@yahoo.de"
target=_blank>fritz.goerling@yahoo.de</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid">
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid" class=gmail_quote><U></U>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff"><SPAN> </SPAN>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P><U></U></P>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri><A
title="http://www.jokeschristmas.com/Christmas-Puns/
STRG + Klicken, um Verknüpfung zu folgen"
href="http://www.jokeschristmas.com/Christmas-Puns/"
target=_blank>http://www.jokeschristmas.com/Christmas-Puns/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5"><B></B> </DIV></DIV>
<P></P></DIV>
<DIV style="COLOR: #fff"></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
<P></P></DIV>
<P></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<P></P></DIV>
<DIV style="COLOR: #fff"></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
<P></P></DIV><!-- end group email -->
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<br>
<br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<div width="1" style="color: white; clear: both;"/>__._,_.___</div>
<!-- Start Recommendations -->
<!-- End Recommendations -->
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<img src="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97476590/grpId=11682781/grpspId=1709195911/msgId=5338/stime=1325088969" width="1" height="1"> <br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<br>
<div style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 77%; border-top: 1px solid #666; padding: 5px 0;" >
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional <br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJnNWc5N2htBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNjgyNzgxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwOTE5NTkxMQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNzdG5ncwRzdGltZQMxMzI1MDg4OTY5">Change settings via the Web</a> (Yahoo! ID required) <br>
Change settings via email: <a href="mailto:lexicographylist-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email Delivery: Digest">Switch delivery to Daily Digest</a> | <a href = "mailto:lexicographylist-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change Delivery Format: Fully Featured">Switch to Fully Featured</a> <br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbWY5MWluBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNjgyNzgxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwOTE5NTkxMQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocGYEc3RpbWUDMTMyNTA4ODk2OQ--">
Visit Your Group
</a> |
<a href="http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">
Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use
</a> |
<a href="mailto:lexicographylist-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe">
Unsubscribe
</a>
<br>
</div>
<br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<div style="color: white; clear: both;"/>__,_._,___</div>
</BODY></HTML>