LL-L: "Etymology" (was "Folklore") LOWLANDS-L, 12.OCT.2000 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 12.OCT.2000 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Folklore

Ron wrote:

>I'm not sure I'm following this correctly.  Now, which one means "medical
finger"?  _Lech-man_.  Right?  So _lech_ refers to medicine then?  And the
ring finger was considered the "medical finger" if I understand correctly.
...  Was it because of that nerve that supposedly runs through the heart?
Of course, nowadays the "medical finger" tends to be the index finger, to
which some of us can attest -- but I'll spare you the . <

I think you've got it right. The quotation was not very clearly written. I
assume "lech" is a cognate of the root of Sw. "läkare", "doctor". Chambers
Dictionary wonders whether the word "leech" (OE "læce") - a doctor or
blood-sucking creature - was originally two different words which fell
together.

I did wonder about all those Romans who were poisoned by their nearest and
dearest and various emperors in need of a cash infusion. Did they stick
their fingers in the things containing the poisons which killed them?

I agree that we should keep Ron's : out of this.

John Feather

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From: niels winther [niels.winther at dfds.dk]
Subject: Folklore

Etymology
-----------------------------------------------------------
niels wrote:
>>> .. _slikke_ is probably an LS loan-word in Danish ..
    But .. _sleg_ in Jutish .. is directly
    inherited from ON _sleikja_ <<<
-----------------------------------------------------------
John Feather wrote:
>> Am I missing something here?
   The application of Occam's razor
   would suggest one source rather than two.
   Duden Herkunftswörterbuch gives "altisländisch"
   'sleikja' as a cognate of 'schlecken'. <<
-----------------------------------------------------------
John, it is true that the shortest distance between two
points is a straight line.
I also agree that the two forms are cognates.
And it is evident that there must be a common Germanic root.
But I would expect something like _slege_ in Danish if it
was inherited. And _slikke_ is very close to the German form.
But then you may be right in the sense that _slege_ could
have been there all the time but a new fashion spelling,
an orthographic loan, played the trick.
And after all Platt was just as prestigious and ubiquitous
in Denmark as English is at present. The Jutish Law was
translated into Platt. The administration of Sleswig and
Holsten was situated in Copenhagen but completely in Platt
for several hundred years up to around 1550.
On the other hand cognates on a detour are not uncommon.
In English there are cognates like _-less_ and _loose_,
the first OE and the latter ON.
Also _choose_ from OE but _choice_ from French/Frankish.
In Danish we get ON loans in English back again en masse.

rgds
niels

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