Quick(lime) to point out.

[Joel S. Berson]

At 1/6/2010 12:39 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>At 12:25 PM -0500 1/6/10, Eric Nielsen wrote:
>>I don't want to beat a slow horse, but I think the concept of "quick" found
>>in a mason's quicklime means something other than fast. It's lime with a
>>vital principle. Or has this already been discussed?
>I expect that would be related to the "quick" of "quicksand", which I
>assume also goes back to the 'lively, animate(d)' sense of the
>adjective.

More seriously than my previous message, the OED has the following,
which suggests a different "vital principle" for "calx viva":
1600 R. SURFLET tr. C. Estienne & J. Liebault Maison Rustique V.
viii. 670 It will be good to spread quicklime vpon the plowed
ground..the haruest after it is more plentifull, then after anie
other dung that a man can inuent.

Joel

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