LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 17.AUG.2000 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 17.AUG.2000 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Dear Lowlanders,

Reading through "Hark-Ye!" in Sandy's "Previews"
(http://scotstext.org/Factual/Sermons/harkye.asp, see LL-L: "Online resources"
LOWLANDS-L, 17.AUG.2000 (01) [E/S]) during my second breakfast break, I once
again stumbled across the Scots word _couthie_ or _couthy_ (_It wis the guid
auld Doric; it wis their ain couthy words._).

Of course, my assumption is that it is based on *_couth_, the theoretically
existing opposite of _uncouth_ in English.  Among my friends and me there is
the jocular use of "couth" (usually in a sarcastic sense, e.g., "Thanks! How
couth!" in response to socially inappropriate behavior), and we used to assume
that there was no such official word in Modern English.

Now my question:

I know that, as indicated in a few dictionaries, _couth_ in the senses of
'knowledgeable' and 'suave' is a fairly recent back-formation of _uncouth_.
But is _couth_ in any English or Scots dialect still seriously used as the
opposite of _uncouth_, namely in the original sense "(socially) appropriate" <
"(socially) recognized" < "in accordance with known customs" < Old English
_cuð_ (< _cunð_) 'known', which must be related to Scots _ken_ 'to know', Low
Saxon (Low German) _kennen_ 'to know', and Low Saxon _kunnd_ ~ _kunnt_ past
participle of _könen_ 'to be able to"(?)?

Thanks.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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