LL-L "Etymology" 2004.08.28 (04) [E]

Sat Aug 28 16:55:12 UTC 2004

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From: john feather <johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Etymology

Ron wrote about "dude". I am puzzled by The American Heritage® Dictionary's
views. It's hard to imagine significant numbers of Easterners going to the
rural West on vacation in the 1870s. Besides, the OED can't trace it back
before 1883 in NY City and it was only later that it acquired it's "Western"
meaning. "Dude ranch" for a vacation destination isn't attested until 1921.

The Penguin "Dictionary of Historical Slang" gives the US and 1883 as the
source and then says (in its rather odd style): "Where the etymology is a
mystery, but the occasion known to be the Aesthetic craze of ca 1882-7, it
is perhaps permissible to guess at DUD influenced by _attitude_, the
semantic transition being aided, maybe, by the dial. v.i. _dud_, to dress."
Tracing to "dud" rather than the widely-used "duds" seems a bit odd. It
would be interesting and highly relevant to know in what dialect "to dud" is
used.

How about a jokey "doed up" for "done up"? But is this US? The DHS doesn't
even record this phrase in this meaning in the UK but perhaps not "slangy"
enough.

In it's original sense the word was anglicised soon after 1883. The current
UK use presumably comes from the California surfer-slang usage which emerged
ca 1970. Another case where the pared-down etymologies found in smaller
dictionaries could be misleading.

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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From: john feather <johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Etymology

Re: te allen tijde

I thought I'd pass on the results of an updated search of AltaVista set to
Worldwide and All Languages, this time including "ter ..".

ten allen tijde          32,900
ten allen tijden          1,970
ten allen tijd                  75
ten alle tijde            48,000
ten alle tijd                  218
ten alle tijden          44,900
te allen tijden            1,630
te allen tijde          179,000
te allen tijd                  371
te alle tijden                378
te alle tijde                  556
te alle tijd                     13
ter alle tijden               106
ter alle tijde                  90
ter alle(n) tijd                 0
ter allen tijden               13
ter allen tijde                 22

Thus 16 out of the 18 theoretically possible variations which can be formed
from te/(r/n), alle/n, tijd/e/n can actually be found in this "database". To
clarify the point, these are not just variations which turn up in newspapers
and speech: some are from legal documents such as conditions of sale.

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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From: Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2004.08.27 (11) [E]

>I wonder if anyone has any idea where the American slang term _dude_ comes
>from.

There is no generally accepted origin. The word is first attested in 1877
AFAIK, but it may have existed earlier. The usual early meaning (still
common) was "fop" or "dandy" or "overly fastidious or fashion-conscious or
effete man".

Gerald Cohen believes that "dude" is derived from "Yankee Doodle" in the
perennial song. I believe that this is very likely true. The song "Yankee
Doodle" is about a dandy; in fact the song lyrics include (in the repeated
chorus) "Yankee Doodle dandy".

Here is a passage showing "Yankee Doodle" in appropriate context from the
relevant epoch with meaning similar to "dude" or "dandy": _Burlington
[Iowa] Weekly Hawkeye_, 5 April 1879: p. 6, col. 4: [Reprinted from _Boston
Herald_] <<Julian Hawthorne came home from Italy when a very small boy. He
wore long curls, and the Concord boys plagued him in the usual tough way of
boys. They called him "Sissy" and "Yankee Doodle," and finally they
ridiculed the poor lad till he petitioned for a barber to cut off his
locks.>> (quoted by Sam Clements).

-- Doug Wilson

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