[Ads-l] most important unresolved English etymologies?

[Shapiro, Fred]

I suggest looking at the article titled "Etymology Unknown: Toward a Master List of Words of Obscure Origin," published in American Speech, Summer 1981 issue, pp. 146-148.

Fred Shapiro
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, February 6, 2026 4:17 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: most important unresolved English etymologies?

Pop quiz [is that one of them?]
Long ago I asked a similar question, and one of the then more skilled responders, Doug Wilson, advised to pay attention to the list discussions.
Given that my memory is limited, and (boring story) I lost some old emails, and the available archives may not be complete or accurately searchable, what say ye, if you care to venture, are a few of the chief remaining English word origin puzzles?

Stephen G

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