<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">===============================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 03 February 2010 - Volume 03<br style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a></span><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="gI"><span class="gD" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Brooks, Mark</span> <span class="go"><<a href="mailto:mark.brooks@twc.state.tx.us">mark.brooks@twc.state.tx.us</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="gI">LL-L "Etymology" 2010.02.03 (01) [EN]<br><br>Paul asked: “That's another curiosity - spud. Anybody know where it comes from, and if it's used for "potato" outside Britain, Australia and New Zealand?”<br>
<br>I don’t know where the word comes from, but, I know it and use it in the USA.<br><br>Mark Brooks <br><br>----------<br><br></span><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2"><span>From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>></span></font></p>
<font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" size="2">Subject: Etymology<br><br>Paul,<br><br>The basic meaning of "spud" </font><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">seems to be "something short and stumpy". Surprisingly (to me and probably to you as well), its use in reference to potato was first recorded in New Zealand!</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="margin-left: 40px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Spud</b><br>c.1440 "small or poor knife," of uncertain origin probably related to Dan. <span class="foreign">spyd</span>, O.N. <span class="foreign">spjot</span> "spear," Ger. <span class="foreign">Spiess</span>
"spear, lance"). Meaning "spade" is from 1667; sense of "short or
stumpy person or thing" is from 1687; that of "potato" is first
recorded 1845 in New Zealand English.<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="margin-left: 40px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=spud&searchmode=none">http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=spud&searchmode=none</a><br>
</div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The Online <i>Oxford English Dictionary </i>says the origin is obscure, and it lists these meanings:<br></span><ul style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li>A short and poor knife or dagger. <i>Obs.</i></li><li>An iron head or blade socketed on or fixed to a plough-staff. <i>Obs.</i></li><li>A digging or weeding implement of the spade-type, having a narrow chisel-shaped blade.</li>
<li>A digging fork with three broad prongs.</li><li>A small instrument with enlarged end used in ocular and other surgery.</li><li>A chisel-like implement used to remove the bark from timber</li><li>A short or stumpy person or thing.</li>
<li>A potato. <i>slang and dial. </i><br><b>1845</b> <a href="http://dictionary.oed.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/help/bib/oed2-w.html#e-j-wakefield" target="oedbib" color="#002653"><font color="#002653">E. J. W<small>AKEFIELD</small></font></a> <i>Adventure in N.Z.</i> I. xi. 319 Pigs and potatoes were respectively represented by ‘<i>grunters</i>’ and ‘<i>spuds</i>’. <a name="50234843q42"></a><div class="qt">
<b>1860</b> <i>Slang Dict.</i> 225 In Scotland, a spud is a raw potato; and roasted spuds are those cooked in the cinders with their jackets on. <a name="50234843q43"></a><b>1868</b> <i>Good Wds.</i> Xmas No. 6/1 My..neighbour stretched out his hand to help himself to ‘spuds’. <a name="50234843q44"></a><b>1898</b> <i>Westm. Gaz.</i> 6 Oct. 7/2 Three-quarters of a pound of meat and a pound of bread are the rations, spuds and pudding being thrown in.</div>
</li></ul><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">So it looks to me as though "spud" in the sense of "potato" started outside America, was then transported to North America (possibly by Scottish and/or Northern English immigrants) and then became obsolete outside North America.<br>
<br>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;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Seattle, USA</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
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