<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">=========================================================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 16 February 2008 - Volume 02<br style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">
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=========================================================================<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(200, 137, 0);">Diederik Masure</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:didimasure@hotmail.com">didimasure@hotmail.com</a>></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]<br><br></span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
or maybe (?) with "recht", scandinavian "rett"? </span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Diederik</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Ron and all,<br><br>This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about the<br>
"lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech: "to ret up" meaning<br>(in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a<br>house. My first wife was Ostfries on both sides of her parental line<br>
and they used the expression when they weren't speaking Ostfries<br>straightaway. My current wife is black Irish on both sides and they<br>use the same expression. Now, indeed, they are from Pittsburgh PA and<br>this may reflect what is referred to as "Pennsylvania Dutch" influence.<br>
<br>What is the Low Saxon root of this expression or am I completely wrong<br>in my thinking about it? Is it related to HD "aufraffen"?<br><br>Thanks all,<br><br>Ron Veenker</blockquote><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">----------</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 96);">Sandy Fleming</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:sandy@scotstext.org">sandy@scotstext.org</a>></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]<br><br></span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">> From: Ronald Veenker <</span><a style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" href="mailto:veenker@atmc.net">veenker@atmc.net</a><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">> Subject: Etymology</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="Ih2E3d">><br>> Ron and all,<br>
><br>> This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about<br>> the<br>> "lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech: "to ret up" meaning<br>> (in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a<br>
> house. My first wife was Ostfries on both sides of her parental line<br>> and they used the expression when they weren't speaking Ostfries<br>> straightaway. My current wife is black Irish on both sides and they<br>
> use the same expression. Now, indeed, they are from Pittsburgh PA and<br>> this may reflect what is referred to as "Pennsylvania Dutch"<br>> influence.<br>><br>> What is the Low Saxon root of this expression or am I completely wrong<br>
> in my thinking about it? Is it related to HD "aufraffen"?<br><br></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">In modern Scots we say "tae redd up", meaning the same thing. The word</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">"redd" here goes back to old Scots.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">As a noun, "redd" in Scots means "debris" or "rubbish" (hence the verbal</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">form), and you might hear, for example, "That's a lot o redd," meaning</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">"That's a load of codswallop".</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes I wonder about this word being related to English "rid" or</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">"ready", but it's difficult to see the connection. The English terms</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">don't seem to have the noun forms meaning "rubbish" the way Scots does.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" color="#888888"><br>Sandy Fleming<br><a href="http://scotstext.org/" target="_blank">http://scotstext.org/</a></font><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">---------</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
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From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(0, 131, 145);">Utz H. Woltmann</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:uwoltmann@gmx.de">uwoltmann@gmx.de</a>></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]<br><br></span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="Ih2E3d">Ronald Veenker wrote:<br>
<br>><br>> This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about the<br>> "lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech: "to ret up" meaning<br>> (in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a<br>
> house.<br><br></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Dear Ronald,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">may be it is related to 'redd'. The following entry I found in</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Merriam-Webster:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Main Entry:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">redd</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Pronunciation:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">\ˈred\</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Function:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">verb</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Inflected Form(s):</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">redd·ed or redd; redd·ing</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Etymology:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Middle English (Scots), to clear, perhaps alteration of ridden — more at rid</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Date:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">circa 1520</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">transitive verb</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">chiefly dialect : to set in order —usually used with up or out</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">intransitive verb</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">chiefly dialect : to make things tidy —usually used with up</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Best regards</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" color="#888888">Utz H. Woltmann<br><br>
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