LL-L "Names" 2002.01.25 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 25.JAN.2002 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Names

Folks,

I received the following message in response to someone's visit to my
collection of Clara Kramer-Freudenthal's Low Saxon (Low German) stories and
recipes at <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/kramer/>.

===start quote==

From: "stephenr" <stephenr at innernet.net>
To: sassisch at geocities.com
Subject: Clara Kramer-Freudenthal on the Web
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 19:39:22 -0500

I read your 1996 translations and found them most interesting in their
entirely self satifed tone, and charming world view.   Of particular interest
to me was the use of the capitalized proper noun Tiet in the original;
apparently, time or times in the translation.  This is my paternal family
name!  By my family oral tradition it is a "lokwoorden" with ancient Saxon
veiled meaning.  I would appreciate any comment you could make relative to
meaning.  Thank you for your good will!
Stephen

===end quote===

First let it be said that _Tiet_ here means 'time', but it can also mean
'tide'.  Thus, it is a cognate of Dutch _tijd_, Afrikaans _tyd_, Common
Scandinavian _tid_, archaic Icelandic _tíð_, German _Zeit_, etc., all meaning
'time', plus English _tide_, which is derived from Old English _tîd_ 'period
of time', 'season'.

Secondly, _Tiet_ is "misspelled."  This spelling follows the unfortunate
German-based rules that often ignore phonemic reality and are designed to make
Low Saxon look as close to "High" German as possible, in this case rendering
the syllable-finally devoiced /d/ as <t>, because German _Zeit_ has a final
<t>.  The word ought to be correctly written with a final <d>, thus _Tied_
[t{h}i:t], because the plural form is _Tieden_ ['t{h}i:dn=], not *_Tieten_
(cf. correct German _Zeiten_), and in Low Saxon dialects that preserve final
/e/, the singular form of this feminine-gender noun is _Tiede_, as it was in
Middle Low Saxon (usually spelled _tyde_) from which German borrowed the
nautical term _Tiede_ 'tide'.

I doubt that the surname Tiet has anything to do with 'time' or 'tide'.  I
suspect that it is related to what I believe is a Middle German surname:
Tietze or Tietz, which I have been told is derived from the male given name
whose surviving forms are Diederich, Diedrich, Dieter, Dirk, Dereck, Derek,
Till, Tillmann, Tilo, etc., Diederich, Diedrich, Dieter being derived from Old
High German _diot_ 'people' and _rîhi_ 'rich', 'mighty'.

Now, are Tietze and Tietz really Middle German, or are they Low Saxon
Tied/Tiet with genitive _-s_, or do they have anything to do with _diets_,
_duuts_, _duits_, _düütsch_, _deutsch_, _tiutsch_, _tedesco_, etc., for
'German', which are also derived from _diot_ 'people' and its cognates?

However, then there is also the "German" (assumably Low Saxon) surname
_Tiede_.  Hmmm ...

Also, is this name related to German Tieß, Thieß, etc., and Dutch or
Limburgish _Thijs_?

Any input would be welcome.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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