LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 09.SEP.1999 (02)

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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Etymology

Belated thanks to Jim Gretch for his advice on "can of tobacco".

But "can" = "buttocks" really is American. Ref: Barbara Stanwyck (as
"Sugarpuss O'Shea"), "Ball of Fire" (Howard Hawks, 1942): "They threw me out
on my can." (Well, it was on TV this morning.) I don't think this usage is
British.

The OED and Duden don't agree with Ed Alexander on "stove" being a cognate
of "stow". There is an old form "stow(e)" meaning "stove" but it is simply a
homonym of  "stow" in the normal sense, or that's what the OED seems to say.

There is an interesting sort-of parallel in "camera", which ultimately
derives from Latin "camera", a vaulted room, presumably via the phrase
"camera obscura", meaning literally "dark room". I wonder what the
historical evidence is for the transfer of meaning which creates the modern
sense of  "stove".

Am I right in thinking that Americans tend to use "stove" more commonly than
the British do for the cooking appliance, which we are possibly rather more
inclined than they are to call a "cooker" or "oven"? (Please note all the
qualifications!)

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

What about "range" (a device for cooking several things at the same time), John?

Regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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