LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 09.SEP.1999 (01)

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From: Jasmin Harvey [jharvey at ucla.edu]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 08.SEP.1999 (01)

Dear Ron en allemaal,

The recent discussions of "stoves" and "small rooms" reminds me of old
stories I've read, where people sit or even sleep in the fireplace, which
is large enough to have a small bench against the side wall.  Apparently a
favorite place of small children and old people, especially in winter.  In
this case, obviously both a small room and a heated space as well as the
(larger) room's heater.  Oh, and the fireplace was in the  main room or
kitchen (often the same thing).

Jasmin Harvey
Germanic Linguistics, UCLA
jharvey at ucla.edu

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Dear Jasmin and other Lowlanders,

Thanks for the interesting comments above, Jasmin.  It could well be that people
once saw fireplaces as quasi-rooms, much like seeing an alcove or nook as such.
So it could well be that its name came to denote the room in which it was
located *as part of the architectural structure*.  This could then have been
carried over to 'stove' once it was invented.  As I see it, early stoves were
nothing more than fireplaces that had come to be enclosed, and they were
architecturally parts of the rooms in which they were located.  In other words,
they used to be built into the room.  Portable stoves were a later development.
Of course, we Lowlanders know the earlier version clad in tiles, especially
those pretty bue-and-white ones.  (See the tiles from my private collection in
the title panel at http://www.geocities.com/~sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/.)

Last night I spoke about this with someone off the List, and she pointed out
that names of important, defining, permanent fixtures oftentimes come to denote
the rooms in which they are located.  One example is "freezer" denoting not only
a freezing device or compartment but also a cold storage room in which freezers
are located.  Similarly, "toilet" and "bath" can denote not only fixtures but
also the rooms in which they are located.

Incidentally, to complicate matters even further, the Low Saxon (Low German)
word for 'stove' for heating (not for cooking, for which /heird/ -> _Heerd_ is
used) is /aaven/ -> _Aven_ ~ _Aben_ ~ _Oven_ ~ _Oben_ (cf. German _Ofen_), which
of course is a cognate for English _oven_, a chamber in which you bake or
roast.  Traditionally the _Aven_ is associated with the concept of "home."  The
expression _achter d'n aven sitten_ (_achter'n Aven sitten_) "to sit behind the
stove" denotes something like "to bide one's time (in a safe and comfortable
place)."  This might also be understood as meaning that one stays away from the
hustle and bustle of the world, and, negatively, that one is not in touch with
the ways of the world, is not very sophisticated.  Of course, this presumes that
a stove is not built up against a wall but has a space behind it.

Regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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