LL-L "Etymology" 2004.06.13 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 13.JUN.2004 (03) * 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: John Duckworth <jcduckworth2003 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Etymology

Ron and other Lowlanders,

While we are on the subject of being ill, has anyone any idea where the
Australian slang word _crook_ meaning 'not well in health' came from. It
also seems to have the meaning of 'not working properly' (of machinery and
so on), and even just 'bad'. Since you spent some time in Australia, Ron,
perhaps you have given some thought to its etymology?

I started wondering about why High German replaced the Old High German word
_sieh_ (sick) with New High German _krank.I looked at the history of the
word _krank_ given by Jakub and Wilhelm Grimm in Das Deutsche Woerterbuch
( http://www.dwb.uni-trier.de/index.html ), and there I found an inference
that Scots has a word _crank_, also meaning 'unwell' (and not in the sense
of 'a cranky person' ). I wonder if Sandy or someone else can confirm that.

Also, Ron, is _krank_ used in Low Saxon alongside cognates of _sick_ ?

John Duckworth
Preston, UK

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

Hi, John, Lowlanders!

Happy Father's Day (or what remains of it) to those of you who celebrate(d)
it today!  (Or did I get the date wrong again?)

> Since you spent some time in Australia, Ron, perhaps you have given
> some thought to its etymology?

I have lived there for quite some years, am a naturalized Australian and am
likely, at the very latest, to experience my last sunset there, John.
However, this does not mean that I am an expert in the area of Australian
English, although I often do "research" it and, yes, I *have* given "crook"
in this sense some thought.  Having said this, I hasten to add that others
on the List, Australians and non-Australians alike, may well know more about
this.

In Australian and New Zealand English dialects, "crook" can mean several
things: 'unsatisfactory', 'unpleasant', 'dishonest', 'bad-tempered',
'angry', 'unwell', 'injured', sometimes even 'broken' in the sense of 'out
of order'.  If someone "goes crook" it usually means that he or she gets
angry, disgruntled or ill-tempered, but if he of she "is crook" it tends to
mean that he of she is unwell, ill or sick.  So, all in all, the meaning is
something like "out of sorts" or, more basic, "wrong," "not as it should
be," "abnormal."

In other English dialects, this comes through in the noun "crook" in the
sense of 'rogue', 'swindler', 'criminal', so 'dishonest (person)', "someone
who acts wrongly, thus is (socially) abnormal."

Apparently, in the senses of the above, there used to be dialectal variation
between "crooked" and "crook."  "Crook" came to predominate in Australasia,
while "crooked" came to predominate elsewhere.  In American English you
talk, for instance, about "crooked cops," namely about corrupt police
officers, or about something "crooked" someone (a "crook") has been up to,
namely something illegal or otherwise contrary to regulations or
expectations.

I have a hunch that this "crook(ed)" started off in the sense of "bent."
(Remember the noun "crook" for the bent shepherd's staff, later the bishop's
staff.)  So, something "bent" or "crook(ed)" is not "straight," is thus not
right or normal according to this line of cultural imagery.

Why "crook" instead of "crooked"?  Whatever the reason, I think it's the
same morphological phenomenon as "broken" and "broke."  In most English
dialects, you can say that someone is "broke" if he or she is out of money.
In American dialects you can, to a degree, interchange "broken" and "broke."
Thus, a table leg, for instance, can be "broken" or "broke."

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