LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.31 (01) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  31 July 2007 - Volume 02

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From: Diederik Masure <didimasure at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.31 (01) [A/E]

I suppose it's not related to "bulgarus", but anyone knows why the Battle of
the Bulge isn't called the B. of the Ardennes or something similar? Anyone
know where this word "Bulge" comes from?

 <<<
As for "bugger," I am most inclined to follow the school of thought that
traces this word back to Bogolism, a Bulgarian-centered collection of
Christian sects that were maligned and denigrated as heretics, and they were
therefore accused of practising all sorts of "inverse" things.  Actually,
the origin of the name is nicely summarized in the Wikipedia:

The name of the movement was *bulgarus* in Latin (meaning "Bulgarian"),
which included Paulicians <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulician>,
Cathars<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathar>,
Patarenes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patarene> and
Albigenses<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigenses>.
It became *boulgre*, later *bougre* in Old
French<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_French>meaning "heretic,
traitor". It entered
German <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language> as *Buger* meaning
"peasant, blockhead" (and went on to English as *bugger*) and the French
term also entered old Italian<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language>as
*buggero* and Spanish <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language>as *
bujarrón*, both in the meaning of "sodomite", since it was supposed that
heretics would approach sex (just like everything else) in an "inverse" way.
The word went on towards Venetian
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice>Italian as
*buzerar*, meaning "to do sodomy" (anal sex between men). This word entered
German again (see reborrowing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reborrowing>) as
*Buserant* and went on to
Hungarian<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_language>as
*buzeráns*, becoming *buzi* around the 1900s, a form still in use as a sexual
slur <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_slur> for male homosexuals.
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