freten by sowe

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/2/2008 03:04 PM, RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:
>I think this comes from {for-} + {eten}, where {for-} is the common PIE
>destructive prefix. Isn't the German distinction a later development from
>Proto-Germanic? I think in OE, "FRÆTAN" just
>meant 'eat up' (cf. "fugeles komen and hit
>fraetan" in the Bible). Of course, birds are not people.

Whence comes "eat like birds"?  Nah -- I don't think of birds as fressing.  :-)

Joel


>In a message dated 3/2/08 2:48:27 PM, hwgray at GMAIL.COM writes:
>
>
> > Whoa! Now, I'm *really* glad that I didn't get out of the car while
> > pigs were loose! But, seriously, folks, couldn't "freten" merely mean
> > "eat, of animals," like German "fressen"?
> >
> > -Wilson
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 2, 2008 at 11:56 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > >  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >  Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > >  Subject:      Re: freten by sowe
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  At 3/2/2008 10:08 AM, William Salmon wrote:
> >
> > >  <blockquote type=cite class=cite
> cite="">There's a horrifying line in The
> > >  Knight's Tale about a pig eating a
> >
> > >  child.
> >
> >
> > >  The sowe freten the child right in the cradel...</blockquote>
> >
> > >  I assume "freten" (fressen) rather than (?) "eten"
> > >  (essen) to make it more horrifying?
> >
> >
> > >  Joel
> > >
> > >
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>
>
>
>
>**************
>Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.
>
>(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
>2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
>
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