duel roll

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Feb 15, 2008, at 7:41 PM, Larry Horn wrote:

> At 5:22 PM -0800 2/15/08, JAMES A. LANDAU Netscape. Just the Net You
> Need. wrote:
>>
>>
>> ... OT:  If I remember correctly, "canola" or "Canola" is an
>> acronym for
>> "Canada oil low-acid"---MWCD11 says "a rape plant of an imporved
>> variety having seeds that are low in erucic acid".
>>
> Given "Mazola" (maize + -ola, corn oil), Saffola (safflower + -ola)
> and no doubt other -olas, I wonder if there's any reason to believe
> "Canola" is really an acronym, as opposed to "Can[adian] + -ola", as
> I was maintaining earlier today.  Unless of course all the -olas come
> from "...oil low-acid", but somehow that seems unlikely.  -ola just
> seems like a natural candidate for a commercial-Latinate rendering
> (rending?) of 'oil'.

fwiw, NOAD2 gives CANada + -OLA the oil suffix (noting that the oil
was developed in Canada), while AHD4 gives CANada + Oil + Low + Acid.

arnold

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