LL-L "Idiomatica" 2009.08.22 (03) [EN]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 22 August 2011 - Volume 03
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From: Hellinckx Luc luc.hellinckx at gmail.com
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica"

Beste Theo and Mike,

After this dark summer (lousy weather, Norwegian crusader, London riots and
5 deaths last weekend at a music festival here in Belgium), it seems another
"Summer of Love" has finally started ;=)

Theo, you wrote:

 There was a word in Dutch we used, but it got obsolete: from everyday-use
it moved direction high-romantic and poetic.

This word was regular in older dutch; and in old-saxon, i.e. in the Heliand,
it was 'minnion' =  to love.

My guess is that 'minne' got out of use, because it was one of the 'typical'
terms in the texts that were considered to be mystic writings.


In my dialect, "minne" is still used in at least three cases:

   - "iets in der minne regelen", said when two persons had an accident (or
   another conflict) and they want to settle things between themselves, not
   involving third parties, in a "loving" spirit so to speak
   - "een minneken" is the name for a fur collar, either attached to a coat,
   or hanging loose...it hugs your neck, is soft and warm...just like your
   darling ;=)
   - minneke-poes, is the traditional pet name for a cat...no doubt because
   cats are also considered pretty huggable (the French word "minette"
   semantically coincides, affectionate girls and kittens, but is
   etymologically different)

And! Interesting, the Dutch word "minnekijn" probably lives on in English
"minx", which used to denote a pet dog, later on an attractive girl. "Minx"
could be a short form of obsolete English "minikin" < Dutch "minnekijn"
(darling).

In this area our two latest topics "aandacht" en "liefde" almost merge,
because the original meaning of aandacht is "aan-denken" and "aandenken" is
also the oldest meaning of "minne". "Minne" is cognate with English "mind",
the one who is on your mind, is the one you're giving attention. In Southern
Dutch "Ik zie u geerne", the "geerne/gaarne/gern" literally expresses that
you yearn for her/him. "To yearn" and "geerne" both express this feeling of
"begeren" (D).

Mike, as for Sanskrit स्निह् (snih-) changing its meaning drastically, when
used in a causative form (to love > to kill), now that really deserves some
reflection. Could the idea be that if you impose your love on somebody, you
are already killing at the same time the "charm" of the other person? Could
a Jainist interpretation of karma have something to do with this intriguin
phenomenon (intent being very important).

Thanks for pointing out that pyār means love, it reminds me of a wonderful
song that Asha Bhosle sang in the movie "Shalimar", "Mera pyar Shalimar",
covered by "Secret Chiefs 3" a couple of years ago.

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx, Halle, Belgium

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