LL-L "Etymology" 2005.07.23 (01) [E]

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Roger Hondshoven <roger.hondshoven at pandora.be>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2005.07.21 (12) [E]

Re: lieveheersbeestje

In East-Brabant the pretty little thing is called /livrake/, litt.
'liefvrouwke'.

Roger Hondshoven

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From: Utz H. Woltmann <uwoltmann at gmx.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2005.07.22 (07) [E]

Ron wrote:

> Oh, and then there is _rakker_ (<Racker>) meaning 'scoundrel' ...
>
'Racker' we  use for a little boy in the same way like 'Buttje(r)',
which was discussed some weeks ago in this forum . 'Scoundrel' I would
translate into LS by 'Schubberjack'.

Regards
Utz H. Woltmann

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

Tach, Utz!

That looks like an interesting, albeit transparent semantic shift in your 
(Bremen?) dialect: a word for "scoundrel" came to mean "boy" (and -- hey! --  
I resent that stereotype!), and another word for "scoundrel" had to be used. 
At least this is what I assume happened.

In the majority of Low Saxon dialects that have _rakker_ (<Racker>) it means 
"scoundrel" and the like.  Lindow gives the following glosses in his 
dictionary: _Schinder, Henker; Schurke, Flegel, Halunke, Schelm; (heute 
häufig wohlmeinend, bes. zu Kindern), Schalk, drolliger Wicht_.  So it seems 
to have started off as meaning "torturer," then "scoundrel," then 
"prankster," then "droll guy," and then "naughty or cheeky child."  In your 
dialect it then became simply "child."

Now, this leads me to further etymologize _rakker_ (<Racker>) as being 
related to English "rack," namely the torturer's rack (i.e., a contraption 
for physical torture), although I can't think of expected *_rak_ (*<Rack>) 
occurring in Modern Low Saxon.

Related words:

rakkerey (<Rackeree>): hard/dirty labor

rakke(r)n (<racke(r)n>): to do hard physical labor, to do grunge work, to 
slave

af-rakke(r)n (<afracke(r)n>), sik ___: (id.)

rakker-tuyg (<Rackertüüg>): gang (of "heavies"), ragtag company

Arthur, is there any chance of Gothic _raka_ being related to all of this?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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