<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">=========================================================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 30 June 2008 - Volume 02<br style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">
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<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(0, 104, 28);">jonny</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:jonny.meibohm@arcor.de">jonny.meibohm@arcor.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"</span><br><div><span><font face="Courier New"><br>Beste Lowlanners,
Reinhard,</font></span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span><font face="Courier New">these days I came
across the word LS _Klu(u)f_,_Klu(u)v_, used in the idiom 'Dat hebb ick oppp'n
Kluuv', G: 'da lauert Gefahr', Northern German dialect: <i>'Das habe
ich auf Sicht'</i>, E: 'I fear sth. could be
dangerous'.</font></span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span><font face="Courier New">I wonder about this
word; the only connection I see could be LS 'klüf-(v-)tig', which could be
translated into G(!): 'raffiniert', 'clever', but E:
'tricky'.</font></span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span><font face="Courier New">Does anyone, in
special our Dutch neighbours, find any further related words which could
give answer about the roots?</font></span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div> </div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New">Allerbest<span>, and thanks in award!</span></font></div>
<div align="left"> </div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New">Jonny Meibohm</font></div><br><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">----------<br><br>From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Etymology<br><br>Hey, Jonster!<br><br></span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Hmm ... I rather assume it comes from </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluuv'</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> (</span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Kluuv</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> ~ </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Kluw</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [kluːˑv] < </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluve</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [ˈkluːve]), dialectical variant of </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klau</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> (</span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Klau</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [klaˑu] < </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klaue</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [ˈklaˑue]) and </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klaaw'</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> (</span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Klaaw ~ Klaw</i><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">[klɒːˑv] < </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klawe</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [ˈklɒːve]). If I remember correctly, Middle Saxon has </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluve</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> ~ </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluwe</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klawe</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">. These are cognates of German </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Klaue</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> and English </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">claw</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">, with the same meaning. A derivation from </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluuv'</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> is </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluven</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'to pick (up from the ground)', 'to glean', and a derivation from </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klau</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> is </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klauen</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'to steal'; cf. German </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klauben</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klauen</i><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;">In the idiomatic phrase you mentioned, I imagine a cat about to pounce or already "playing" with a little furry or feathered victim ...</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 for </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">klüftig</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">, I am not sure if it's derived from </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Kluft</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'abyss' or </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">kluft</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'outfit', 'duds'. I rather suspect the latter, hence in the sense of looking and seeming smart and nifty in a special outfit, then extended to 'smart' generally' and then to 'sharp', 'shrewd', 'scheming', 'sly'. </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Kluft</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> in the sense of 'outfit' started as a Rotwelsch word and goes back to Hebrew קִלּוּף </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">qillûph</i> 'shell', 'pod', probably assimilated to the other <i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Kluft</i><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;">Regards,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Reinhard/Ron</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;">P.S.: If the usual pattern holds and our Pacific Northwest weather drifts over to the European Lowlands, then brace yourselves, folks, for a heatwave is headed your way! For us it's been from unseasonably cool to unseasonably hot. Across the street I can see construction workers slaving away in the sun. Poor guys!</span><br>
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