Heard on trash TV: Britspeak

[Paul Johnston]

It surprised me , too, to see "burd(e) (usual ME spelling, indicating that there was once a front rounded vowel in it, unlike regular "bird" < OE bridd) in medieval texts from Gloucestershire to Lancashire.  The usual etymologies suggested are either from OE gebyrde "high-born", or what I personally suspect, a metathesized form of OE bryd "bride".  I'm sure American "chick" may have reinforced it, though.

Paul Johnston
On Jan 8, 2012, at 11:47 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Heard on trash TV: Britspeak
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 5:25 PM, Paul Johnston <paul.johnston at wmich.edu> wrote:
>> _"bird"_ … _medievally old_ ...
>
> Well, that gives the lie to my claim, since ca. 1948, that it's a
> rip-off of "chick"! :-)
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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