LL-L "Etymology" 2002.05.09 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 09.MAY.2002 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Jorge Potter" <jorgepot at caribe.net>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.05.07 (03) [E]

Dear Lowlanders,

I didn't mention the following earlier, because I was sure others would
say it and it's all pretty trivial.

Regarding "slee:"

The biblical references given here on the website are rendered in
English as "set one's teeth on edge," in Luther's German as "Zaehne
stumpf geworden," and Spanish "tener dentera."

The only one of these that pleases me is the Spanish. I can remember, as
a
monolingual American, bored silly by school, concentrating on the
blackboard and what I would feel if I rubbed my fingernail on it. Then I
would ponder about how there was no word for it in my language for such
an important concept, how a language must provide its speakers with a
word for everything without resorting to paraphrase and who screwed up?

When I learned Spanish, it was with joy and relief that I learned that
they did have a word and it was "dentera" and it felt right for the
concept. It is of course derived from "diente" = "tooth."

When I experience this sensation, there is a large component in my upper
back. So a perfect word should imply that, too.

Yours from PR

Jorge Potter

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