LL-L "Etymology" 2004.08.26 (10) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 26.AUG.2004 (10) * 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) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: Etymology

John Feather wrote:

> An interesting discussion about linguistic change got cut off. We were
> considering how the phrase "break a leg" might have arisen from a Hebrew
> phrase with a completely different meaning. John Baskind seemed to be
> arguing that phonetic similarity was not a sufficient basis for semantic
> shift. But this is an empirical matter, not a theoretical one.
<...>
> The best example I can think of at the moment is the
> occasional interpretation of Span "mano a mano" as "man to man". Here, of
> course, the phrase is assimilated to an existing English phrase but it's
not
> hard to imagine the same thing happening in some other case.
>
> Can anybody think of better examples in any relevant pair of languages,
> excluding deliberate jokes?

I can think of another non-Lowlandic example, also a Hebrew-derived one that
reached German via Yiddish and Rotwelsch (a now extinct "jargon" used by
various socially marginal people):

(gut)betucht
'monied', 'well-heeled', 'well-off', 'well-to-do'

German speakers tend to attribute to it an original meaning like
'(well-)dressed', '(well-)attired', derived from _Tuch_ 'cloth', 'fabric',
'material', thus 'well-dressed' = 'well-off'.  However, _betucht_
([b@'tu:xt]) goes back to Hebrew _bĕtūăħ_ (Modern _betuach_) בטוח 'secure',
pronounced [b@'tu at x] in Yiddish.

A classic example in German is _wo der Bartel seinen/den Most (her)holt_,
denoting originally something like a source of quick wealth or illicit gain,
nowadays "which side one's bread is buttered on."  It, too, goes back to
Hebrew and seems to have been derived via Rotwelsch from earlier (Western?)
Yiddish.  To German speakers it sounds like "where Bart (< Bartholomäus =
Bartholomew) gets his/the cider (from)."  _Bartel_ goes back to Hebrew
_barzel_ ברזל 'iron' > Rotwelsch 'crowbar', 'jemmy'/'jimmy', and _Most_ goes
back to Yiddish _mo'es_ from Hebrew (originally Aramaic?) מעות / מאות?
_ma'oth_ 'small coins' > Rotwelsch 'money', 'cash', 'loot', 'booty', 'haul'
(continued by itself as _Moos_ in German, being homophonous with _Moos_
'moss').

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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