LL-L 'Etymology' 2006.10.08 (04) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 08 October 2006 * Volume 04
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From: Luc Hellinckx [luc.hellinckx at gmail.com]
Subject: LL-L 'Etymology'

Beste John,

You wrote:

> > I wonder if any of you can enlighten me about something that has been puzzling me
> > for a week or two. I answered a question on an online quiz that asked the meaning
> > of the Dutch word _peer_ ; I naturally answered that it meant simply 'pear', the
> > name of the fruit. This was of course correct, but in addition the writer of the
> > quiz mentioned that the word is also used colloquially in Dutch to mean 'a
> > fellow' or 'chap'; I have never come across this usage, even though he mentioned
> > that it was very common. I know that _peer_ can also mean 'a lightbulb', and even
> > 'glass phial', such as the ones that doctors dispense vaccines from, but 'chap'?
> >  
> > Can any of my fellow Lowlanders elaborate for me? If the word is really used in
> > this sense, then is it dialectal and restricted to a particular geographical
> > area? And could you provide a couple of examples of how it is used, and suggest
> > why it came to be used in that sense?(It puts me in mind of Cockney expressions
> > such as _me old fruit_, and even the French term of enderment _mon petit choux_
> > [my little cabbage!]! Though you have to be careful with Cockney that you are not
> > dealing with half of a Rhyming Slang couplet!).
> >  
> > This matter has been nagging at me for a few weeks now, and I can't seem to find
> > any pointers in Dutch dictionaries, so any help would be much appreciated.
> >   
>   
Quite true..."peer" also means "fellow" in colloquial Dutch. "Toffe
peer" is a combination you get to hear quite regularly, meaning "nice
guy". Whether this is the same word as "Peer" < Peter, "Pië" (B) or
"pee" (B) meaning "guy", I don't know. But I doubt it; I rather think
the latter has something to do with "père", French for father. Neither
do I think that the English word "peer" (somebody who is equal in rank)
can be connected with any of these words...peer < par (Latin), e.g. "to
be on a par with something/somebody".

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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From: Luc Hellinckx [luc.hellinckx at gmail.com]
Subject: LL-L 'Etymology'

Beste Heather,

You wrote:

> > How far down the North/South divide can one mark the use of
> > Sonnabend/Samstag?
> >   
>   
I published the map on myspace:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=117344633&imageID=1259072481

On the next picture you can also see how far "wednesday", "woensdag" or
"gu(de)nsdag" stretched into Germany around 1940:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=117344633&imageID=1259082858

Sorry for the visual quality...if anybody wants a more detailed map,
just send me an email.

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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