LL-L "Etymology" 2002.03.30 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 30.MAR.2002 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Etymology"

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Etymology
>
> Wow!  So it *has* been used!
>
> What about *_wonn(in) steid_ then, analogous to archaic Flemish
> _woonste_ and Low Saxon (Low German) _waanstee(d')_?  Would it be
> understood, and has it ever been used?

I'm suspicious about the over-use of the word "steid" in
Scots. To me, the emphasis in Scots here is on "fastness"
as in the Scots word "steidy" (=Eng. "steady"). Thus I
would think of "steid" as meaning a "foundation", and
indeed when an archeaological dig reveals the markings of
houses and churches on the ground, I would think of these
as the "steids" of those buildings. The only thing I can
find in the SND to contradict this is that a "steid" can
be used to refer to a collection of farm buildings. In
may own dialect this would be called a "mains", however
(probably originally plural, now used as if singular).

So *_wonn(in) steid_ seems very unlikely for actual usage,
I think.

The use of "steid" as in "Wabsteid" these days seems to me
to be a literal translation of English "site" to Scots
"steid", but it fails to capture the spirit of the thing.
"Wabsteid" does tend to suggest the idea that the site is
very much "under construction" and probably not worth a
visit for a while yet  :)

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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