"hamburg" = hamburger (was electric = "electric power")

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, Doug !  My long guessing slump is at an end !

For now.

JL

"Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Douglas G. Wilson"
Subject: Re: "hamburg" = hamburger (was electric = "electric power")
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>I wonder if there were originally two full forms, "Hamburger steak" and
>"Hamburg steak."

Wonder no more.

Raw number of examples at N'archive, unverified:

"hamburg steak" / 'hamburger steak" / "hamburgers"

1881-1890: 32 / 3 / 9
1891-1900: 171 / 32 / 18
1901-1910: 779 / 292 / 94
1911-1920: 2183 / 1058 / 112
1921-1930: 2123 / 1412 / 559
1931-1940: 1495 / 609 / 3479
1941-1950: 370 / 402 / 8445
1951-1960: 145 / 651 / 19218
1961-1970: 98 / 621 / 21403
1971-1980: 148 / 884 / 20247
1981-1990: 44 / 498 / 6953
1991-2000: 9 / 644 / 7323

"Hamburgers" of course will include references to Hamburg natives, but at a
glance this seems important only in the earliest decade above.

-- Doug Wilson


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