A beast, the lusetan or ounce?

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Serves me right for not checking OED's "ounce, n.2". Thanks to
Charles, Jim, and Joel for the simultaneous corrections. (Everyone's
on top of their game as usual around here!)

--Ben


On 7/14/06, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: A beast, the lusetan or ounce?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Except that "ounce" is an old and respected name for a lynx.  OED2,
> from 13..; and the often-quoted 1592 Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's
> Dream "Be it Ounce, or Catte, or Beare, Pard, or Boare with bristled haire."
>
> Joel
>
> At 7/14/2006 04:16 PM, you wrote:
> >On 7/14/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> >>On 7/14/06, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > What word today is lusetan, as in "the beasts of the country are
> >> > bears, lusetans or ounces [etc.]", from 1720?
> >>
> >>OED gives "luseran" as a variant of "lucern", an archaic term for the lynx.
> >
> >So it would follow that "ounces" is a possible misprint/scanning error
> >for "lynces"/"linces".
> >
> >
> >--Ben Zimmer
> >
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