LL-L "Etymology" 2004.02.28 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 28.FEB.2004 (01) * 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 <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Dear Lowlanders,

Here's another Middle Saxon ("Middle Low German") loan in English
(apparently not in Scots), though the folks at the Oxford Dictionary aren't
quite sure about it and if it is from the "Middle" period:

QUILL:
(1) large feather; (2) hollow stem of a feather > (a) (feather) pen (for
writing with ink), (b) (feather) plectrum, (c) (feather) toothpick; (3)
porcupine spine; (4) curled-up piece of cinnamon or cinchona bark.

< (Middle) Saxon _quiele_

If this word survived in a Modern Lowlands Saxon ("Low German") dialect, I
would expect it to be *_kwyle_ (*<Kwiele> ~ *<Quiele> *['kwi:le]) or *_kwyl_
(*<Kwiel> ~ *<Quiel> *['kwi:l]).  However, I am not aware of any such word.
Is anyone else?  I cannot find any such word in the language varieties of
our precious Saxonized neighbors to the north either, nor in Dutch and
Afrikaans, two of the Franconian cousins of Lowlands Saxon.  In Dutch I
would expect *_kwijl_, but such a word does not seem to exist in this sense,
and "quill" is rendered as _pen_, _schacht_ or _stekel_.  In Afrikaans I
would expect *_kwyl_, but again, this does not seem to be used in the sense
of "quill," and _skag_ (pl. _skagte_), _pen_ and _stekel_ are used,
depending upon context.  W. Frisian has _pin_ ~ _pinne_ and _stikel_.

In Modern Lowlands Saxon, these correspond to _schacht_ ([Sax(t)]) ~
_schecht_ ([SEx(t)]) 'thin stick', 'switch', 'crop', _pen_ (<Penn> [pE.n])
'writing instrument', 'pen', 'quill', and _stekel_ (<Stekel> ~ <Stäkel>
['ste:kl] ~ [stE:kl]) 'spine', 'prick', 'quill'.  Obviously, _pen_ is
related to English "pen" and to Scots _pen_, derived from Old French
_penne_, which goes back to Latin _penna_ 'feather'.  Scandinavian, too, has
_pen_ for 'pen', Icelandic _penni_.

(By the way, in ModLS, _pen_ and _penning_ (< Old Saxon _penning_) also
means 'penny', _Pfennig_, etc., with cognates in pretty much all Germanic
languages and beyond.  This word group appears to be related to "pawn.")

The generic word for "feather" in ModLS is _vedder_ (<Fedder> ['fEd@]) ~
_verrer_ (<Ferrer> ['fEr@]) ~ _veller_ (<Feller> ['fEl@]) ~ _veer_ (<Feer>
[fe:@] ~ [fE:@]), obviously related to Dutch _veer_, Afrikaans _veer_, W.
Frisian _fear_, English "feather," and Scots _fe(a)ther_ ~ _fedder_.

In ModLS there is another word for "feather": _pose_ (<Pose> ['po:ze]) ~
_poos'_ (<Poos> [po:.z]).  It tends to be used in idiomatic expressions or
in certain contexts denoting use.  Idiomatically, it occurs in _in dey
posen_ ("in(to) the feathers") 'in bed', 'to bed', and _uut dey posen_ ("out
(of) the feathers") 'out of bed'.  A _pose_ or _poos'_ may also denote a
fishing lure (the thing that floats on the water and is supposed to look
like an insect), originally one made from or with feathers.  Finally, but
perhaps most importantly, it denotes "quill" in the sense of "writing
feather."  I believe that at one time _pen_ and _pose_ could be used for the
same thing.  Nowadays, many people use _pen_ generically for "(any sort
of)writing instrument," pretty much the way English speakers use "pen."  I
think _pose_ ~ _poos'_ is used specifically for (1) "writing quill" and for
(2) "(metal) nib of an ink pen or fountain pen."  The now old-fashioned type
of metal nib together with the (usually wooden) handle or stem to which it
is attached (still used in Western calligraphy) is called _posensteyl_
(<Posensteel> ['po:zn,stE.Il], containing _steyl_ 'stalk', 'stem', '(long)
handle'), and I have heard and read this used with reference to any sort of
ink pen.

I have heard _Pose_ used in German to denote a fishing lure, but I am not
sure if this is general Standard German or just North German dialect.  I
believe the standard term is _Schwimmer_ ("swimmer").

Now, I have no idea where this _pose_ comes from, and I cannot find any
cognate in related languages.  Does any of you have any idea?  Might it have
anything to do with French _pose_ and _(a)poser_ in the sense of "(to)
place/position (deliberately)," in which case I would suspect _pose_ in LS
to have begun in the sense of "fishing lure (made with feathers)"
(placed/positioned in a way to attract fish) and then "spilled over"
semantically.  This is merely a wild guess, of course.  Might it have been
borrowed from a (now extinct) Slavonic language variety, such as Polabian?
However, in that case I expect something like *_pe(e)r(e)_ or *_pier(e)_ in
LS, from West Slavonic *_pjero_ 'feather' (which is also used in reference
to pens), assumedly an Indo-Erupean cognate of the Germanic "feather" group
of words.  --  These are just wild guesses, obviously.

Any piece of relevant information would be appreciated.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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