LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 20.SEP.2000 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 20.SEP.2000 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Michaël COENCA [michael.coenca at culture.gouv.fr]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 20.SEP.2000 (01) [E]

>There are lots of words in modern English which have lost their first
>meaning. I just came across Greek "martyr", a witness. There are lots of
>others in the religious field: vicar, curate, rector, angel, demon.

Er - yes, most interesting, but as a matter of fact I was just talking
about the Saxon words in English. We must remain Lowlands-pertaining ...

There is an expansive discussion about "barn" = "child" ; but can someone
explain me why the original word in English for "leg" disappeared ? In
Dutch it's "been", in German "Bein", and I don't remember exactly but I'm
sure in Swedish the source is the same.
English seems to be the only language (to my knowledge) to have lost the
"been" track ...
So what gives ?!

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Michael COENCA - Paris, France

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

Michaël,

You wrote above in response to the posting by John Feather (whom you failed to
credit):

> >There are lots of words in modern English which have lost their first
> >meaning. I just came across Greek "martyr", a witness. There are lots > of
> >others in the religious field: vicar, curate, rector, angel, demon.
>
> Er - yes, most interesting, but as a matter of fact I was just talking
> about the Saxon words in English. We must remain Lowlands-pertaining ...

Your attitude as a (new) subscriber is certainly exemplary.  Also, I realize
that you are after Germanic, specifically Saxon, words in English.  However,
please bear in mind that non-Lowlandic, non-Germanic elements in Lowlandic
language varieties are not off-topic, since they belong to the languages that
have adopted them, and most of them have been "nativized" (i.e., adapted to
the recipient languages).  So, in this light I feel that John was certainly
right in his choice of examples, even that that was not specifically what you
wanted.

> but can someone
> explain me why the original word in English for "leg" disappeared ? In
> Dutch it's "been", in German "Bein", and I don't remember exactly but > I'm
> sure in Swedish the source is the same.

It didn't disappear.  You are merely dealing with semantic shifts.  As far as
I know, the English cognate of Dutch _been_, Low Saxon _Been_ ~ _Bein_, etc.,
is "bone" (Middle E. _bon_ < Old E. _bân_).  "Leg" started off as a North
Germanic (Viking) loan (< Old Norse _leggr_ = /leg+r/) at a later point in
time.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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