LL-L "Lexicon" 2009.10.29 (01) [EN]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 29 October 2009 - Volume 01
lowlands at lowlands-l.net - http://lowlands-l.net/
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From: "DAVID COWLEY" <DavidCowley at anglesey.gov.uk>
Subject: What English Could have been ...

Dear Lowlanders,

How We'd Talk if the English had WON in 1066 - Some info. on this new
book was sent out a few weeks ago ...

The subject is getting some 'mainstream' attention in the UK, having
been on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme earlier this week. I'm told they
had good audience feedback. Here is a link to the discussion (scroll
down to the 8.25 slot):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8327000/8327225.stm

Hardly time to begin to get into the subject, but a very welcome break
nonetheless!
Am sure you'll be interested to see a few words updated from Old
English originals to get a taste for the breadth of the subject (this
from something a local newspaper asked for):

Ten Eycatching Words updated from Old English:

Firstly, some that leap out as saying what they mean:

1. Afterfollower, meaning successor. Updated from Old English
æfterfylgere. Related word updates are afterfollowingness =
succession, and a verb, to afterfollow
2. Bookly, meaning  literary. Updated from Old English boclic. Updates
of other words give moonly, sunly, waterly and folkly, meaning lunar,
solar, aquatic and public.
3. Workful, meaning active, industrious. Updated from Old English
weorcful.
4. Wordhoard, meaning  vocabulary. Updated from Old English wordhord.
Funny that an Anglo-Saxon hidden wordhoard is out at the same time as
the amazing Anglo-Saxon hidden goldhoard from near Lichfield!!

A few that are a little harder:

5. Forebusy, meaning preoccupy. Updated from Old English forebisegian.
‘Forebusied with a seekness’ means ‘preoccupied with an
enquiry’.
6. Outgang, meaning   departure, exit. Updated from Old English utgang.
Compare words like ‘gangway’ and ‘gang-plank’.
7. Wayleet, meaning  junction. Updated from Old English wegglæte. So,
when driving on the A38, you’d see signs showing which outgangs took
you to wayleets for Derby, or wherever.

Some can look unfamiliar, even a bit wacky:

8. Frith, meaning  peace. Updated from Old English frið. A frith
middliand is a peace mediator.
9. Onwield meaning authority. Updated from Old English onweald. We’d
be talking about Derby’s Stowly Onwield instead of Local Authority!
10. Ore, meaning honour, respect, favour. Updated from Old English ar.
Are also related updated words orefastness and oring, both meaning
‘respect’ – take your pick!

•

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