LL-L "Etymology" 2004.08.30 (09) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 30.AUG.2004 (09) * 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: Jan Strunk <strunk at linguistics.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2004.08.30 (07) [E]

Hello,

> I had written that _dudeldop_ doesn't seem like Lowlands Saxon (Low
German).
> Wrong!  I found that _dudeldop_ (<Dudeldopp> ['du:dldOp]) *is* used, along
> with the variant _dudendop_ (<Dudendopp> ['du:dndOp]).  I'm not quite sure
> what to make of this _dop_ part.  Derived from Dutch or Frisian _dop_
> perhaps, 'husk', 'shell', '(cylindrical, hollowed) stop' ... ?  Well,
there
> is Eastern Friesland LS _döpke_ (<Döppke>) 'bowl of a tobacco pipe',
> corresponding to _döyvke_ (<Dööfke>, <Döövke>) in other dialects, which
> might remind you of _douv_ (<doof>) 'deaf' > 'stupid'.  Perhaps _dudeldop_
> is just a case of meaningless alliteration, or it could be a case of more
or
> less complex inter-variety loaning and reanalysis.

Well, in Ruhr-German we have the old word "Pitschendopp" used for a whipping
top.
A top which is kept spinning by whipping it.
Maybe even etymologically related to English "top" in this sense?
Moreover, you can also call people "Döppen" or "Döppkes" with diminutive
plural.

As can be seen in the following two examples from Elke Heidenreich:

Un gesund kannet aunnich sein, die aam klein Döppkes, im Alter hamset alle
And healthy can=it also=not be the poor little ??? in=the old.age
have=they=it all

anne Bandscheibe, un wer is dann widder dran, de AOK.
on=the intervertebral disks and who is then again on the AOK.
'And it can't be healthy either, the poor little fellas, when old age comes
they all have problems with their intervertebral disks and then it's the
AOK's turn
again. (speaking about olympic athletes)

AOK is an abbreviation for Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen = "Local Medical
Insurance Plan"

Sie - ich weiß noch, wie datt so kleine Döppkes waan
You  I know still how it so little children were
'I still remember when they were still very small children.'

"Döppen" is also used to denote "eyes", cf.
http://www.ruhrgebietssprache.de/lexikon/doeppen.html

Guedgaon!

Jan Strunk
strunk at linguistics.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

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

Moyen, Jan!

Good to hear from you.  So where does our reverent Meister Johann reside
these days?  Still in California or back in the old Ruhrpott?

> Well, in Ruhr-German we have the old word "Pitschendopp" used for a
whipping
> top.
> A top which is kept spinning by whipping it.
> Maybe even etymologically related to English "top" in this sense?
> Moreover, you can also call people "Döppen" or "Döppkes" with diminutive
> plural.

Hmm ... That could very well be a link with this "cylindrical" thingymabob.
As a corresponding form of _dop_ (<Dopp>) I would expect *"dop" in English.
The only such word I can think of is "dop" in South African English,
denoting cheap, bad liquor, apparently loaned from Afrikaans.

As I said earlier, I don't doubt one bit that English "top"  and Scots _tap_
are cognates of Lowlands Saxon (Low German) _top_ (<Topp>):

   (1) top, summit, (upper) end, tip
   (2) hair tip
   (3) (hair) braid, pigtail

Cf. German:
   (1) Spitze, Gipfel, Wipfel
   (2) Haarende
   (3) Zopf

(Cf. also related German _zupfen_ 'to pick', 'to pull', 'to tug' objected
that are pointed or can be pulled into points, such as fabric or hair.)

So, a _top_ in LS and English is basically a "point," and the toy called
"top" in English fits in with that, having a point, albeit below when the
toy goes into action.  According to the _Herkunftsduden_, the word may have
first meant just 'point' (as seen in meanings 2 and 3), thereafter extended
to '(upper) point.'

Incidentally, a play top -- both the whipping and humming kinds -- are
called _küysel_ (<Küsel> ['ky:zl]) or _krüysel_ (<Krüsel> ['kry:zl]) in
North Saxon dialects, corresponding with the verbs _küyseln_ (<küseln>
['ky:zln]) or _krüysel_ (<krüseln> ['kry:zln]) 'to spin', 'to gyrate' (cf.
German _Kreisel_).

I know that Dutch and Afrikaans also have _top_ in the sense of "upmost
point."  What about play tops and pigtails, though?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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