Stoop in DARE

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Tue Sep 25 12:35:42 UTC 2007


Is a "stoop" really a porch? In Saint Louis, a "stoop" is a short set
of usually-limestone steps in the front or wooden steps in the rear
leading to an entryway in the front or directly to a door in the rear.
The entryway is a space large enough for perhaps two to four people to
stand. A "porch" is much larger and may extend across the entire front
or rear of a house, with space for chairs and a swing or a glider or
some such.

-Wilson

On 9/25/07, Barnhart <barnhart at highlands.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Barnhart <barnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Stoop in DARE
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear Nadia,
>
> Welcome back.  Of course, DARE or Wentworth are obvious places to go.  I
> looked in the World Book Dictionary at the etymology (You could use the
> Barnbart Dictionary of Etymology, too, or Merriam Webster's Collegiate,
> for that matter).  The source is Dutch _stoep_.  So, the probable origin
> in spite of its widespread usage, is New Jersey and the Hudson and
> Susquehanna valleys of New York.  Another place to keep in mind would be
> the Dictionary of Americanisms (1952).
>
> Regards,
> David
>
> barnhart at highlands.com
> Lexik at highlands.com
>
>
> American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> writes:
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Nadia Pazolis-Gabriel <nadpaz3 at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject:      Stoop in DARE
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Dear all,
> >
> >A faithful reader of this wonderful listserv until last year, I got too
> >busy
> >with school and work and had to unscubscribe.
> >Today, I'm back on the list to satisfy my curiosity!
> >
> >I am a graduate student in Library Science. In my Reference class, we are
> >currently studying encyclopedias and dictionaries.
> >The teacher asked us a tricky question about the regional use of a word:
> >
> >"Where in the US is the word "stoop" popularly used to mean a porch?"
> >
> >We students all had DARE in mind.
> >Little did we know: There's no volume 5 yet - so, no way to look up the
> >entry for "stoop" - and the entry at "porch" doesn't help much.
> >
> >My husband told me "Oh, in Buffalo we used stoop for porch!"
> >
> >Could someone tell us what DARE would say?
> >
> >Thank you!
> >
> >Nadia Gabriel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >**
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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

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