[off-list] Re: [ADS-L] "fanny", n.4

Arnold Zwicky zwicky at STANFORD.EDU
Sun Dec 16 04:27:21 UTC 2012


On Dec 15, 2012, at 7:59 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> On Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 10:38 PM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Cf. masculine "Roger" and "Dick."
>
> Not to mention "Peter."

and "willy"/"willy", and the family name "johnson", and the full name "John Thomas", etc.

so far so good.  it's my impression that these names were first given by men to their own bodyparts.  what evidence -- especially from names *other* than "fanny" -- is there about who first used female names this way?  did women name their own bodyparts?  did men name women's bodyparts? or what?

i have no point to make here.  just trying to figure things out.

arnold

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