"Trolling" for "Trawling": An Eggcorn?

Wed Aug 1 15:15:32 UTC 2007

Yeah, trolling and trawling have been the same thing for a long time. Could
have started as eggcorn, but also could be troll from French "troller" and
trawl from Dutch "tragelen" as cited in some dictionaries. Could also be
variations in spelling (maybe stemming from pronunciation, like cuss and
curse) of which two took hold. That troll is also a fellow under a bridge
(from Norse) and a type of singing (troll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa la
la la la...) may be confusing but is not relevant.
DAD

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Joel S. Berson

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<font size=3>OED2 has for troll (v):<br>
 V. 13. Angling. intr. To angle with a running line (? orig. with
the line running on a ‘troll’ or winch); also (trans.) to fish (water) in
this way; spec.  a. to fish for pike by working a dead bait (usually
on a gorge hook) by a sink-and-draw motion;  b. (trans. and intr.),
to angle with a spinning bait: = spin v. 12a, b;  c. in U.S. and Sc.
use (perh. through association with trail or trawl), to trail a baited
line behind a boat. Also fig.<br>
   In quot. 1606 perh. confused with trawl.<br>
[Citations form 1606 to 1984.]<br><br>
Joel<br><br>
At 8/1/2007 07:44 AM, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">A friend of mine who is an
English professor at the University of<br>
Pennsylvania posed this question:<br><br>
"Since when did the verb 'trawling,' borrowed from (or having the
same<br>
root as) ships and fishing, become 'trolling,' as in trolling for
votes,<br>
or for campaign dollars, or for justifications for going to war,
etc.?<br>
What does a hairy monster living under a bridge have to do with<br>
in-gathering?"<br><br>
Any comments?  Is this an eggcorn?<br><br>
Fred Shapiro<br><br>
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