LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 10.AUG.1999 (01)
Lowlands-L Administrator
sassisch at yahoo.com
Tue Aug 10 14:47:53 UTC 1999
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L O W L A N D S - L * 10.AUG.1999 (01) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic
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From: Muhammed Suleiman [suleiman at lineone.net]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 09.AUG.1999 (03)
Dear Joe,
with regard to your observation:
> .....one hears (or did) in the
> South expressions like "he glom(med) onto it." I have never seen this
word
> in print except as Scots: "glaum," grasp, seize, understand. Is this
> possibly a by-form of gaum?
I think a connection between the two is unlikely, both on
phonological and morphological grounds. The primary meaning of the word
glaum/glom is 'to snatch at', or 'to make threatening gestures' [ The New
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, where, incidentally, it is not marked as
being limited to Scots.] or 'to steal or grab' [ibid., marked as colloquial,
chiefly US]. Curiously, the earliest occurrence of glaum it records is
during the period 1770-1799, so it may have originally been current in
Scotland.
Now, it has become obvious that the primary meaning of the
Scandinavian root _gaum_ of _gaumless_ is 'attention', 'understanding', and
so on.The words you mention, however, seem to have the primary semantic
sense of 'physically grasping',
a sense which is very easily transfered to that of 'to capture the meaning
of something', and therefore 'to understand.' In English, we routinely speak
of 'grasping the meaning', and in Dutch one of the usual words for 'to
understand' is _begrijpen_, which is cognate with the English word '(to)
grip'.
Incidentally, Sandy's suggestion that metathesis occurred,
converting _gaum_ into _gorm_, also seems untenable, since the -r of Old
Norse _gaumr_ is a case ending, and this would almost certainly have been
lost before the word entered English/ Scots.
However, having dismissed the question of glaum/ glom being
cognate with gaum-less, I would like to raise the question of just where
this word originates. The OED is completely noncommital on the matter, not
even offering any suggestions.
Can anyone out there suggest an etymology for glaum/ glom ?
Regards / Groeten
M Suleiman
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From: Muhammed Suleiman [suleiman at lineone.net]
Subject: Back to the smoking chimneys
Dear Lowlanders,
I fear that amidst talk of rapprochements between
Central Asian languages and Japanese on the one hand, and the etymology of
_gaumless_ on the other, my request for comments on the Scots 'benediction'
_Lang may your lum reek_ must have fallen by the wayside.
I am particularly interested in any suggestions as to the origin of the word
_lum_, meaning 'chimney'. Sandy mentioned the Welsh term _llumon_, having the
same meaning. Strange to say, this Welsh word could very plausibly have its
origins in the Latin word _lumen_ (light), and I can't seem to come across any
cognates in Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic or Manx. I know, of course, that Welsh
was once the language of at least a large part of western Scotland, and the word
might have entered Scots from there, but it is curious that - given the meagre
lexicographical means at my disposal just now- I don't seem to be able to find
any cognates in Cornish or Breton.
Can anyone suggest any further origins for this word, or indeed any other uses
of it in the various Lowlands languages? And does anyone know any parallel
expressions in their respective tongues?
The meaning, to reiterate is, 'Long may your chimney smoke!', i.e. 'Long may you
be prosperous!'
Which sentiment I would like to wish you all,
M. Suleiman
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From: Richard L Turner [fr.andreas at juno.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 09.AUG.1999 (03)
Hello.
A prudish American pipesmoker I, and yes it is too a tin of pipe-tobacco
*if* it is pocket-sized. "Prince Albert" tobacco was formerly packed in
pocket-tins as well as cans, as were "Velvet" and "Kentucky Club" and
many other less noxious mixes. Alas for "Flying Dutchman"! I would give a
pretty penny for just another tin of it! I smoked it as a boy and now I'm
reduced to smoking inferior stuff since I smoked the can
(non-pocket-sized) I inherited from my wife's grandfather, the late Frank
"Dixie" Walker of the Detroit Tigers and the New York Giants (back when
they won the Pennant). It was old, but still good.
As for "glom," I've heard it my whole life both from Appalachians and
from Southerners. Are we sure it's not used in Wessex too? :) Now,
there's a nice aromatic... "Wessex", I mean. A little hot burning, but a
matchless smell.
As an aside, I was sitting at breakfast last week and heard a local
farmer talking about the tassles on his corn. He said [tQs'l] and not
[t{s'l]. I may make a brief and un-scientific survey of that down at the
Kodak Trade Center, home of horse-tack, groceries, car parts, PVC pipe
and a pretty good hotdog. I'll let you know.
+Fr Andreas Richard Turner
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