LL-L "Etymology" 2002.10.19 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 19.OCT.2002 (04) * 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: robert bowman <bowman at montana.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.10.16 (01) [E]

As a footnote to the OK discussion, this appeared in the 18 Oct New York
Times:

"October 18, 2002
By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Allen Read, the Expert of 'O.K.,' Dies at 96

Allen Walker Read, a playful prospector of the American
tongue who hunted down the source of words like Dixie and
Podunk, phrases like the almighty dollar and, most famous
of all, those ubiquitous initials, O.K., died on Wednesday
at his home in Manhattan. He was 96.

A longtime English professor at Columbia University , he
demolished a host of theories about the origin of O.K., an
Americanism adopted by virtually every language and one of
the first words spoken on the Moon. The original source was
not a misspelling by Andrew Jackson or a Choctaw Indian
word or a superior brand of Army biscuit or a variety of
other possibilities.

Rather, its first known published appearance with its
current meaning came in The Boston Morning Post on March
23, 1839: "o.k. - all correct." It appeared at a time when
initials, preferably of misspelled words, like "oll
korrect," were the fad. "K.Y." meant "no use" ("know
yuse"), but that did not catch on.

Mr. Read solved the "O.K." mystery in a series of articles
in American Speech in 1963 and 1964, causing "much gnashing
of teeth by other etymologists, who had themselves lusted
for the laurels of `O.K.,' " according to an article by
Michelle Stacey in The New Yorker in 1989. "

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From: Theo Homan <theohoman at yahoo.com>
Subject: etymology: could YOU help me?

Etymology: could YOU help me?
Are there any kind persons between us that would think
about etymology-connections/origins of these Dutch
words:
1] paling
2] puin
3] koorts.

Conc. 1: Does 'paling' also occur in [orig.] saxon?
['Aal' is common-germanic.]

Conc. 3: Especially 'koorts' has my warm interest.
This word also occurs in saxon. [There is an overall
tendency to use for 'koorts' a word that expresses
'heat'].

vr. gr. Theo Homan

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Theo,

I have never come across *_Pa(h)ling_ ~ *_Po(h)ling_ for 'eel' in Lowlands
Saxon (Low German) and also did not find it in any dialect-specific dialect
dictionaries at hand.  However, I would not be surprised if it did exist in
some dialects.  I would probably assume that the word is related to _paal_
'pole', 'stake' (which does exist in LS), either because of the shape of the
creature or because eel traps tend to be anchored at stakes or poles.

I cannot think of any LS cognate of Dutch _koorts_ 'fever'.  The usual word
is _Fever_ ['fE.Iv3`] (pronounced like BBC English "favour") ~ _Feber_
['fE.Iv3`] (neut., uncountable).  It can also be referred to as _Fresen_
['frE.Isn=] ~ _Freren_ ~ _Freern_ [frE.I3`n] ~ _Frerent_ ~ _Freernt_
[frE.I3`nt] (neut., uncountable, lit. "freezing," i.e., feeling cold due to
fever).  A bout of fever may be referred to as _Schuur_ [Su:3`] ("shower,"
masc. ~ neut., pl. _Schuren_ ~ _Schuurn_ [Su:3`n]), the same word being used
for a rain shower (not a shower in the bathroom, which is _Duusch_).

I cannot think of a LS cognate of _puin_ 'rubble' either.  I would expect
*_Puun_.

Sorry ... I wasn't any help, can only express my solidarity with your sense
of mission to get to the bottom of these mystery words.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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