French folk etymology: bleu-jaune

[Mark Mandel]

On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 6:31 PM, Victor <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I find the Swedish legend kind of silly--even as far as this kind of
> legend goes. Given that all the Scandinavian flags are, for lack of
> better word, homographous*
> ...
> *I suppose, alternatives would be "homoschematic" or "homoschemous", but
> these are a mouthful. Another alternative would be "paraschematic", but
> this one is also used differently in linguistic sense. Of course, the
> meaning I am looking for has nothing to do with linguistics. Perhaps I
> can simply go with homologous--that would actually match well with the
> mathematical meaning of the word. Mostly, I am just having fun with
> words. ;-)

There may already be a term of art in vexillology or heraldry.

> But, more to the point, a quick hit on Google points in a completely
> different direction. It seems that "blue-john" was derived from
> "bleu-jaune" and not vice versa. It seems that the crystalline structure
> of the mineral includes bands of yellow and darker color spar, which
> makes it fairly unusual both because of banding and because of the
> apparent blue color, which is not found in fluorite of other origin.
> When one simply looks at the exterior, only the blue color is obvious.
>
> Given that both names have coexisted for some time--certainly for at
> least a couple of hundred years *prior* to either of the Swedish
> films--it stands to reason that this is the correct explanation.

Good find, although I'd still like some more evidence. "It stands to
reason" is a red flag of sorts as an argument. "Of course X is from Y
-- it stands to reason!"

> For more info got to the site
> http://www.bluejohnstone.co.uk/
> Â  Â The form of fluorite unique to Castleton is banded purple and yellow
> or grey and is known as Blue John.

Oh, now I like it even more. This stone is *mine*!:

"Blue John Stone is a rare, semiprecious mineral found at only one
location in the world - a hillside near **Mam Tor**, just outside
Castleton, in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park, England. "

m a m

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