LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 22.SEP.2000 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Matthew McGrattan [matthew.mcgrattan at bnc.ox.ac.uk]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 21.SEP.2000 (01) [E]

> Regarding "blackguard" I always imagined that it applied to the roguish
> character of members of the Black Guard.  However, this appears to have
> been mere fantasy, and a connection with the scullery is more likely.

According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(1913)(http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict3&Database=web1913) the meaning
of blackguard does come from "black guard" - it says:

Blackguard \Black"guard\, n. [Black + guard.]
     1. The scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a
        nobleman's household, who, in a removal from one residence
        to another, had charge of the kitchen utensils, and being
        smutted by them, were jocularly called the ``black
        guard''; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army.
        [Obs.]

              A lousy slave, that . . . rode with the black guard
              in the duke's carriage, 'mongst spits and dripping
              pans.                                 --Webster
                                                    (1612).

i.e. the servants became blackened while "guarding" the kitchen utensils.

Thanks,

Matt

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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Etymology

Re: blackguard. Chambers Etymological Dictionary has "1535, kitchen help;
1736, scoundrel".

Re: Nim (the game). I've seen the name "Nimmo" in a Hungarian book. Sandy
said: >The player to take the last object loses (and a player who knows the
mathematical secret of the game can always win ...).<
To be strictly accurate the game can also be played so that the player who
takes the last object wins, and in both cases a win is only guaranteed if
the person in the know sets up the game in one of a restricted set of ways
(not randomly) and plays second.

Re: child. "cild" in OE but origin of that seems to be unknown.

Re: Michael's words which have lost their original meaning, another
"religious" word of impeccable OE credentials is "bless" - originally "to
mark with blood". "Cretin" is from Fr. "crétin", from "chrétien"
(Christian): the US pronunciation, because it's identical to "Cretan", is
confusing for a BE speaker. We say "crettin".

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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