Gism (1901): a second thought

[Wilson Gray]

When I was in grade school, ca.1943, a classmate once used
"[gIzm]pipe" for "windpipe." He was ridiculed to the extent that he
didn't use it again. Back in the day, "gism" [dZIzm] in any meaning
was unknown. I eventually learned of its existence, in the "semen"
meaning, by reading exotic literature, ca.1960. It remains a literary
term for me.

-Wilson

On 10/18/07, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Gism (1901): a second thought
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >----------
> >
> >E. D. Gillespie, _A Book of Remembrances_ (Lippincott, Philadelphia,
> >1901): p. 33:
> >
> ><<This so amused my mother and her sister, that on repeating the
> >story to my grandmother she instantly wrote these verses: / ... /
> >"Now, mother, when we wish to soar / And cut a dash at 'Bellespore,'
> >/ You will repeat some vulgarism, / What we call nectar you call gism.">>
> >
> >----------
> >
> >This verse, ostensibly quoted from E. D. Gillespie's mother, would
> >have been written around 1800, I think. The context: a bookish girl
> >had claimed that her sister had gone out to read poetry ("Night
> >Thoughts"), but their unpretentious mother had spoiled the illusion
> >by saying that the girl had gone out to get "a mess of poke".
> >
> >I don't know what "Bellespore" means ("Belle Espoir"?).
> >
> >What does "gism" mean here?
>
> What pronunciation is expressed by "gism" here? Is this isolated
> ca.-1800 word /gIzm/ or /dZIzm/?
>
> If it's /dZIzm/ (like "jism") it's surely reasonable to _try_ to
> relate it to the "jism" later used for "spirit"/"vigor" or so and for "semen".
>
> But what if it's /gIzm/?
>
> Then one might attempt an association with dialectal
> "gizzen"/"gizzern"/"gizzem"/etc. = "gizzard"/"throat", right? SND
> shows "gizzern" with variants. DARE shows "gizzle" = "goozle" =
> "goozlem" = "guzzle" = "throat". Also "goozlum" = "viscous food such
> as a sauce, gravy, or pudding ...".
>
> IF there was a word (ca. 1800) pronounced /gIzm/ meaning "gravy" or
> so, it would explain the "gism" in the above quotation. But how (if
> at all) would one relate it to the later "gism"/"jism"? Is a /g/ >
> /dZ/ mutation explainable/believable?
>
> Also note "gizzard" (in HDAS, etc.) with sense similar to "jism"/"jasm".
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.15.0/1077 - Release Date: 10/18/2007 9:54 AM
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org