LL-L "Etymology" 2002.05.07 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 07.MAY.2002 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: niels.winther at dfdsseaways.com
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.05.07 (01) [D/E]

Muriel wrote:
Dutch _slee_ in _sleedoorn_ and the adjective meaning "blunt" appear to
have different origins. The noun _slee_, also meaning 'prune', is
cognate with English _sloe_ , German _Schlehe_, and Swedish _slån_, all
deriving
from a Proto-Germanic root _*slaihwo:n_. .... The adjective _slee_
"harsh,
dull, slow", on the other hand, is related to English _slow_  (Old
English
_sla:w_) and Swedish _slö_ (cf. Old Norse _sljo:r_) and derives from
Proto-Germanic _*slaiwa-_.

So even though the noun and the adjective are homonyms and _sleedoorns_
might make your teeth _slee_ (I never tried them), there is no
etymological
connection.
----------------

Muriel, as I see it, there are two contradictory meanings of the
adjective
<slee> in Dutch and apparently in Low Saxon as well.

1. loom, moe, stomp, bot: dull, slow, tardy, inert, dilatory, missing
it's
goal.

2. wrang: astringent, making your teeth dry and making your mouth
contract.

Astringency is often described as sourness or bitterness, but it is a
taste
by itself, very forceful, very impressive and also including a certain
dryness. Even a cautious tasting of a sloeberry is enough to make your
mouth contract involuntarily. In short there is nothing dull, slow or
dilatory about astringency. As the sloeberry is the mother of all
astringency, I see only this possible connection for the second meaning.
I
suggest that you cautiously taste the sloe (before the frost). Once is
enough. You won't forget.

niels.

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

slow < Old English _slâw_ 'sluggish'
sloe < Old English _slâ(h)_ "ultimately from an Indo-European word
       meaning "bluish," which is also the ancestor of English
       _livid_ ..." (Encarta Dictionary)
livid < "15th century. Directly or via Old French from Latin
       _lividus_, from _livere_ "to be bluish in color." Ultimately
       from an Indo-European word that is also the ancestor of English
       _sloe_." (Encarta Dictionary)

(Merriam-Webster give similar explanations.)

I really do not see how 'sluggish' and 'bluish' can be connected, unless
_slâw_ is derived from _slâ(h)_, in which case the supposed morpheme
_-w_ would need to be accounted for.

I wrote:

> Old High German: slêha ~ slêwa
> < Germanic: *slaihwôn
>
> Cf. Slavic 'plum':
> Proto-Slavic *_sliva_, Ukrainian (/slïva/) _slyva_, Russian (/sljíva/)
> _sliva_, Belarus (/sljíva/) _sliva_, Bulgarian (/slíva/) _sliva_,
> Macedonian (/slíva/) _sliva_, Serbo-Croatian (/Slj``iva/) _{s`'}ljiva_,
> Polish (/sjliva/) _{s'}liwa_, Czech (/sliiva/) _slíva_, Slovak (/sliva/)
> _sliva_, Upper Sorbian (dim. /slov(a)+ka/) _slowka_, Lower Sorbian
> (/sliva/) _sliwa_, Polabian (/slaivå/) _slaivo_.

'Slow" is _Prunus spinosa_ "spiny/thorny plum" in Latin, _prunelle_
"little plum" in French (< _prune_ 'plum').  Note also Latvian
_dzelonplûme_ "spiny/thorny plum."  In Russian, the fruit is _plod dikoj
slivy_ "fruit of the wild plum," and the plant is called _tjorn_
(related to 'thorn'?).  (Similar in Belarusian and Ukrainian.)

'Slow' may also refer to Native American plums (_Prunus alleghaniensis_
and _Prunus americana_).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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