LL-L "Etymology" 2002.07.24 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 24.JUL.2002 (07) * 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: "Luc Hellinckx" <luc.hellinckx at pandora.be>
Subject: Bloke : Etymology

Beste leeglanners,

The "prehistory" of bloke seems to be obscure indeed. Therefore, some
"guessing" :

1) bloke - "fellow," 1851, slang, of unknown origin, perhaps from Celt.
ploc
"large, stubborn person." (excerpt from
http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/b4etym.htm)

2) Maybe the word has been derived from a family name like "(De)
Blo(c)k",
"Bloch"...(and the like). This group of family names is widespread in a
region roughly situated between Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp (see for
yourself and type "De Block" at
http://geonome.metaphor.be/cgi-bin/geonome.pl).
The distribution probably spills over the border into Zeeland. It's a
name
that was primarily given to men with a tough, "square", stocky build,
because they resembled "een blok hout" (D), "a block of wood". Medieval
executioners sometimes also got this nick-name because one of their main
tools was a log that was attached to the criminal's feet.

I wouldn't immediately rule out the latter possibility (a name becoming
a
noun), because "Yankee" for example is basically also derived from a
diminutive form of "Jan, Johannes" (D) (Jen(ne)ke in Frisian, Henk(ie)).
Another example (in Dutch) is the word "lommerd" meaning "a pawnshop"
(or a
financial bank during the Middle Ages).
"Lommerd" (D), "Lombaert" (Flemish family name), "Lombard Street" (E) <
"Lombard" (French) < "Lombardo" (Italian) < "Longobardus" (Latin), which
in
its turn was the latinized name of the Germanic tribe of the
"Longobards"
(full circle *s*, folks with long beards apparently).

These ancestors of "(De) Blo(c)k" would then have to be traced back to
England (and not to "New England" of course *s*).

Greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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