[Ads-l] blizzard, an early interdating

Stephen Goranson goranson at DUKE.EDU
Wed Apr 6 14:20:30 UTC 2022


OED has blizzard, n. from
1829 Virginia Lit. Museum 16 Dec. 418   Blizzard, a violent blow.
But OED omits the following perhaps=important text in this [Dec. 16] entry [by Robley Dunglison (1798-1869)]:
perhaps from Blitz [Germ.] lightning. Kentucky.

1830, May 6, Thursday, Baltimore Patriot [Am. Hist. Newsp.] 1/5 my elipses
The Corporal Dodge Family
From a late Indiana paper....
"In the early settlement of Kentucky,  some Indians crossed the Ohio....
[the Corporal fled]....and when the enemy was out of sight, fired his gun at them
....he swore he gave them a blizzard​....

1834-1836 Davy Crockett, three uses:  took/take/give a blizzard

1842 Vicksburg, Mississippi [newspapers.com]​ [talk over matter, with a "Dutchman"] take a blizzard [overwhelming argument]

1887 Rosenzeiting [GB] an article in German from Hamilton, Ohio by George Beck [Bock?] on how to protect roses during snowstorms, blizzards, but spelled:    ....denn unsere Blitzards.... Dieses Blitzards.... Blitzards....

More details if interested: A. Liberman's Etymology Bibliography has 40 entries; Oxford Etymology blog on the -ard suffix; Allen W. Read in American Speech was primarily interested in the snowstorm usage, but notes the blizz use in 1700. Anyone who finds that pronunciation may merit a pizza delivered by Blitzen?

Stephen Goranson
https://people.duke.edu/~goranson/
Stephen Goranson's Home Page<https://people.duke.edu/~goranson/>
Stephen Goranson. goranson "at" duke "dot" edu. Jannaeus.pdf. My paper on the history of Alexander Jannaeus as the Qumran- and Essene-view "Wicked Priest" and Judah the Essene as the "Teacher of Righteousness" (3 August 2005 [revised 12 January 2006]; 34 pages), "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene ". Dura-Europos.pdf "7 vs. 8: The Battle Over the Holy Day at Dura-Europos"
people.duke.edu






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