Fwd: Re: gymnick

[Laurence Horn]

>Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 21:13:39 -0400
>To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>From: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
>Subject: Re: gymnick
>Cc:
>Bcc:
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>At 8:42 PM -0400 5/31/10, George Thompson wrote:
>>A letter to the Morning Courier & New-York Enquirer (October 8,
>>1831, p. 2, col. 4) puffing a gymnasium in the city, from "one who
>>has long experienced the benefits of its exercises", is signed "A
>>Gymnick".
>>
>>The OED has two meaning for this word: 1: a synonym for the
>>adjective "gymnasic", as in "the gymnic games"; 2: a synonym for
>>the noun "gymnastics", as in "Provided it would not impair thy
>>strength,..which these gymnics inordinately taken are apt to do."
>>
>>Here it is used to mean "one who performs gymnastic exercises",
>>which include pole-vaulting, quoit pitching and the parallel bars.
>>
>Seems like it should also be able to mean 'nudist', given its etymology.
>
..and in fact it can.  Googling "gymnic" + "nudist" pulls up quite a
number of helpful hits.  "Nude", "naked", and "gymnast" are, of
course, all cognates.

LH

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