LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.31 (13) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 31.OCT.2002 (13) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Lexicon"

> From: ezinsser at icon.co.za <ezinsser at icon.co.za>
> Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.30 (06) [E]
>
> Hi all,
>
> Yes Ron, it is true that "the taboo replacement word then became tabooized
> itself and also
> came to be used as a swerword." [sic]

I think this may be what happened with "cock". My impression
is that the word was once used to mean what we now say as
"thingmy" or "whatnot", so that a "ballcock" was a "ball-
thingmy" and a "haycock" was a "hay-thingmy", ie it was used
to designate objects that people couldn't think of a word for.

So it would have originally been used for the penis as a
euphimism by people who were too bashful, or too proper,
to use an existing word for it.

Presumably this is a different word from that for a male
bird, unless there's a connection I don't see.

We have a number of usages of this word in Scots some of
which I don't think occur in English. A couple that come
to mind are:

cock-laird: a small land owner.

cock (verb): to set at an raised angle (and a die which
lands "cocked" so that the throw is void is said to have
"come up cockles" or we might just say "it's cockles").

Does anyone know what the word refers to in the name of
the tune "Cock o the North"? Does anyone know any words
to this tune other than the "Auntie Mary had a Canary"
type of doggerel?

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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