"fellow" = "A black man"
Jonathan Lighter
wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Wed Apr 6 00:05:23 UTC 2011
Frankly I'm unpersuaded that this was ever an actual "meaning" of "fellow."
It seems to me that the word may have been used frequently following
"Negro," etc., but to my way of thinking, "fellow" would not have *meant* a
"black men" unless people were saying such things as,
"I came around the corner and I met a fellow."
"Really? What would a black man be doing here at Harvard in 1750?"
At best, the connotations of "fellow" in the appropriate era may have been a
little more heavily weighted toward black men than, say, those of "chap,"
but I'd be hard put to defend *defining* "fellow" as a black man. OED offers
only two citations. Neither of them compels the definition.
JL
On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 1:46 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: "fellow" = "A black man"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Might your analysis of advertisements merely reflect the fact that black
> men
> were being advertised for sale, and white men weren't?
>
> DanG
>
> On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 1:11 PM, 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: "fellow" = "A black man"
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > At 4/4/2011 05:33 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
> > >Why would "fellow" in these examples be defined as anything more than a
> > >euphemism for "man" or "person", especially when it is taking modifiers
> > such
> > >as "Mulatto" or "Negro"?
> >
> > I think my previous message also answers Dan's question. In EAN,
> > there is just one advertisement (over its 130-plus-year time span)
> > where "fellow" takes the modifier "white". There are thousands where
> > it takes the modifier "Negro", "mulatto", or "black". (Admittedly,
> > when no modifier/description was present, the presumption was
> > "white", so "fellow" without a modifier would refer to a white -- but
> > necessarily of the unesteemed lower classes (see OED, 10 a, b, c): a
> > white of the middling classes was a "man" or a "woman".)
> >
> > (For "white fellow", I have -- I think properly -- excluded
> > quotations where "fellow" is itself a modifier, as in "white fellow
> > citizens". These are instances (as the OED says) of "attrib. and
> > Comb. C1. appositively (quasi-adj.)", specifically "c. (with n. of
> > relative signification.) Denoting a person or thing that stands in
> > the designated relation to the same object as another; Also
> > <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/69097#eid4596719>fellow-citizen n.".)
> >
> > A little more research in EAN -- advertisements with:
> > British fellow -- 0
> > English fellow -- 0 (eliminating the 1 false positive)
> > Irish fellow -- 1 (eliminating the 2 false positives;
> > more frequent is "Irishman" -- 1,340 hits)
> > yellow fellow -- I did not attempt to count among the 278
> > hits. Some persons are called a "Negro" and then physically
> > described as a "yellow fellow". "Brown fellow" also appears (but in
> > only one ad, 5 appearances) to describe skin color.
> >
> > Joel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >DanG
> > >
> > >On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 5:13 PM, 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: "fellow" = "A black man"; also "secesh' noun & adj.
> 1862;
> > and
> > > > "nub" 1728
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > The 1989 OED's earliest citation for "fellow" = "A black man. U.S.
> > > > Obs." (sense 10.d) is from a 1753 advertisement: "Run away a Mulatto
> > > > Fellow named Anthony. Whoever takes up said Fellow shall have Three
> > > > Pounds Reward."
> > > >
> > > > There are many citations in Early American Newspapers, both earlier
> > > > than 1753 and near the 1860 date of the OED's only other quotation,
> > > > from Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms.
> > > >
> > > > 1) The earliest (EAN Search finds) is:
> > > >
> > > > 1716 -- Boston News-Letter; Date: From Monday November 12, to Monday
> > > > November 19, 1716; Issue: 657; Page: [2]; Col. 2.
> > > >
> > > > A Likely young Negro Fellow, who has been Five Years in the Country,
> > > > to be Sold ... and to be seen at Mr. Robert Howard Merchant, his
> > > > House in Clark's Square Boston.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 2) The following, like the OED quotation, uses both "Negro fellow"
> > > > and "fellow" unqualified:
> > > >
> > > > 1728 -- New-England Weekly Journal [Boston]; Date: 12-09-1728; Issue:
> > > > XC; Page: [4]; Col. 2.
> > > >
> > > > Ran-away ... a Negro Fellow named Primus, about 25 years of Age, a
> > > > tall likely Fellow, speaks good English, & can read well, has a Scar
> > > > on his right Cheek & a nub on the second joynt of his Thumbs.
> > > >
> > > > [Scar on right cheek and nub (OED 2.a. "A small knob or lump"? Or
> > > > perhaps more likely 2.b. "A stump, stub, or remnant; something cut
> > > > off short or imperfectly grown", although this sense is dated from
> > > > a1834?) on both thumbs -- perhaps signs of mutilation for past
> > > > transgressions?]
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 3) "Mulatto Fellow" appears earliest in:
> > > >
> > > > 1733 -- American Weekly Mercury [Philadelphia]; Date: From Thursday,
> > > > July 5, to Thursday July 12, 1733; Issue: 706; Page: [4].
> > > >
> > > > RUN away ... from the Plantation of William Byrd, Esq; at the Falls
> > > > of James River, in Virginia, a Mulatto Fellow ... Whoever shall
> > > > return him ether to the said William Byrd, Esq; at Westover aforesaid
> > > > or to his Overseer, Mr. George Booker, at the Falls of James River,
> > > > shall have Ten Pounds Reward, and reasonable Charges.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 4) "negro fellow" appears latest in:
> > > >
> > > > New-Hampshire Patriot [Concord]; Date: 12-09-1839; Volume: VI; Issue:
> > > > 271; Page: [2].
> > > >
> > > > Horrid Murder.---As one of our citizens, Mr. Fullenwider, on Tuesday,
> > > > was at his plantation, at the High Shoals of the Catawba, he noticed
> > > > a negro fellow on a horse, fording the river. ... Loncolnton N.C.
> > Banner.
> > > >
> > > > {Our "citizen" is a Mister; our "negro" is a fellow, later in the
> > > > article referred to only as "Abner".]
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 5) "mulatto fellow" appears latest in:
> > > >
> > > > Barre [Massachusetts] Gazette; Date: 05-09-1862; Volume: 28; Issue:
> > > > 42; Page: [1];
> > > >
> > > > Let me kiss him for his mother---A secesh anecdote.---As the last of
> > > > the rebel prisoners were entering the jail on Tuesday, a big mulatto
> > > > fellow from a neighboring slaughter house, who was making his way
> > > > through the crowd of spectators, was somewhat jostled in the
> > undertaking.
> > > >
> > > > [This fellow is later in the article referred to only as a
> > > > "darkey". For those curious, "secesh" (here A.b, "Secession",
> > > > equidates the OED's earliest quotation. Later the article refers to
> > > > "The secesh dame", which is one year later than the OED's earliest
> > > > quote for "secesh" as an adj.]
> > > >
> > > > Joel
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >
> > >
> > >------------------------------------------------------------
> > >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list