[Ads-l] fewmet

[Benjamin Barrett]

Thank you for the follow-up. This must be a difference between the OED and the website, and the meaning in the OED it seems should be updated. BB

> On 24 Mar 2016, at 04:39, Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> It is in the OED. It's marked as "Obs. or arch." and defined as "The =
> excrement (of a deer). rare in sing."
> 
> It's also in the Middle English Dictionary: "fumes (n.) [ OF =
> fum=C3=A9es.] Excrement, dung (of a game animal, specif. of the hart).
> 
> Regarding the magical animals, Wikipedia actually says: "In fantasy =
> fiction and role playing games, fewmets are the droppings of dragons or =
> other mythical creatures." I don't know how prevalent this sense is, but =
> it may be the word has gained a second life in fantasy and RPG.
> 
> My first, and only, encounter with the word was in Harvard Lampoon's =
> "Bored of the Rings": the line, IIRC, is "The fewmets have met the =
> fire." (I read T.H. White ages ago, but I don't recall the word.)
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf =
> Of Benjamin Barrett
> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2016 12:29 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: fewmet
> 
> Fewmet is not on the Oxford Dictionary site. Wiktionary =
> (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fewmet =
> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fewmet>) and Wikipedia =
> (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewmets) both have it, the latter saying =
> that fewmets are the droppings of dragons or other magical creatures. My =
> recollection is that I learned it from T. H. White=E2=80=99s =
> =E2=80=9CThe Once and Future King,=E2=80=9D which is quoted in the =
> Wikipedia article.
> 

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