LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 22.JAN.2001 (02) [E]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 22.JAN.2001 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Dear Lowlanders,

I am going to throw two etymological problems into the arena and would very
much appreciate thoughts and information from you.

(1) English "pea-jacket"
According to the _Concise Oxford Dictionary_, this word, denoting a
sailor's short double-breasted overcoat of coarse woolen cloth, is believed
to be a loan from (Modern?) Dutch, namely derived from _pijjekker_.  The
_COD_ mentions Dutch _pij_ as meaning _coat of coarse cloth_.  My Dutch
dictionaries give the meaning of _pij_ as 'cowl' and that of Afrikaans _py_
as 'cowl' or 'gown'.  In Modern Low Saxon (Low German) we have _Piejack_
['p`i:jak].  It denotes a type of shirt made from thick, coarse linen,
typically striped blue and white/natural.  It tends to have buttoning from
the neckline no farther down than to the middle of the chest, and the upper
and lower parts tend to have contrasting patterns: the stripes running
horizontally in one and vertically in the other.  (I have seen traditional
Dutch and Frisian garments that look similar.)  The _Piejack_ used to be
the traditional work shirt of North German men, especially of fishermen and
sailors.  In recent decades it has made a bit of a comeback in Northern
Germany, especially in coastal areas, both as a tourist souvenir and as a
"North-Germanness" symbol, typically worn by male Low Saxon (Low German)
performers, often complete with an _Elvsailer_/_Elbsegler_, a cap that
resembles a Greek fishermen's hat.  In the olden days, this outfit would be
completed by plain black or navy pants and wooden clogs or slippers with
leather uppers and wooden soles (_holten/hulten Tüffeln_, _Holschen_,
_Klunschen_, _Klotschen_, _Klotzen_, etc.).  In Low Saxon (Low German),
_Pie_ [p`i:] (~ _Pee_ [p`EI]  ~ _Pei_ [p`aI]) alone denotes any wide top
garment made from coarse linen, typically a short work coat or a
traditional-style children's coat.  Does any of you know more about the
etymology of this?  Is it more likely that English _pea-jacket_ comes from
Dutch (from a variety that has not undergone diphthongization of /ii/) or
from Low Saxon?

(2) English "pea(-cock, -hen, -fowl)"
"Pea-" in this word group is assumed to come from Latin _pâvô_ > Old
English _pêa_ > Middle English _pe(-cock)_; cf. Scots _pey(-cock).  Old
Icelandic _pâi_ is assumed to be an Old English loan (_Herkunftsduden_),
but I have a problem believing _pêa_ > _pâi_.  (I assume that Modern
Icelandic _páfugl_ comes from Danish _påfugl_ "_på_ bird".)  German _Pfau_
comes from Middle High German _pfâ(we)_ and Old High German _pfâwo_ (also
varieties, e.g.,_Pau_, _Paw(e)_ in some transitional dialects, Yiddish
_pave_).  Slavic has similar forms, e.g., , Polish/Sorbian _paw_, Russian
_pavlín_.  In Romance, e.g., French _paon_, Spanish _pavón_.  In Europe,
the bird tends to be thought of as "Oriental," traditionally associated
with Byzantium and Persia, and its origin appears to be South Asian,
possibly Indian..  The _Duden_ people assume that the ultimate source of
the European derivations is Greek _taô's_.  Greek /t-/ > Latin /p-/?!
(Farsi has _tâ'ûs_, similar words in other Iranic varieties, also in Turkic
varieties, e.g., Turkish _tavus kushu_ ("_tavus_ bird"), Tatar/Kazakh
_tavys_, Uzbek/Uyghur _tavus_ ~ _tos_, Kyrgyz _tôs_.  And in Mongolic we
have forms like _togys_, _togos_ and _togs_, probably Turkic loans.)  I am
intrigued by the Low Saxon (Low German) form _Pageluun_ [pQ:ge'lu:n].  Why
is there a /-g-/ instead of an expected /-v-/?  I am familiar with v <> g
shifts in Altaic (especially in Turkic and Mongolic), not in Germanic.  And
then there is the _-luun_ part.  How might it have been derived?  I thought
of the word for 'chicken' as a possible source (*_pagel-huun_), but the Low
Saxon word for 'chicken' is _Hoon_ ~ _Hohn_ [ho.Un].  Note that Russian has
_pavlín_ rather than just *_pav_.  Something strange and interesting is
going on here.  Can any of you help?

Thanks.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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