LL-L "Etymology" 2005.03.30 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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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: jonny <jonny.meibohm at arcor.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2005.03.29 (03) [E]

Hi, Kevin, Henno and Ron,

probably we've got it "pan-saxonally"!

"dat leut":

Henno:
> sheltered from wind: "het ligt in de luwte",
> or "it leit yn 'e lijte"

Kevin:
> English also uses "alee" to mean "sheltered from the wind; on or
> toward
> the leeward side".

Ron:
> So the root is /löü-/, and this /öü/ very often corresponds to /ei/ in
> other dialects, /öü/ tending to be the result of labial assimilation (as
> in _keym_ ~ _koym_ 'came'), but not necessarily so.

I forgot to explain, that some of my posted words (but all of them from our
region) had been collected and written down by no-native people, eg.
teachers and pastors. Not in "archaic" times- this above example is from
about A.D. 1930.

After having found the Saxon roots I would probably spell/pronounce it this
way: "dat lee[i]t"- "... somewhat on the lee-side of the wind", and it could
happen I'll find someone amongst my own people who still remembers.

It's a real great and wonderful experience for me to "re-discover" almost
forgotten words of my own language with Your help! That IS Lowlands-L!

And thanks, too, to all those other people having sent their issues to my
"Lexicon-" and "Klopp-"-topic.

Greutens, thanks and sincerely

Johannes "Jonny" Meibohm

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

Moyen, Jonny, Lowlanders!

> It's a real great and wonderful experience for me to "re-discover" almost
> forgotten words of my own language with Your help! That IS Lowlands-L!
>
> And thanks, too, to all those other people having sent their issues to my
> "Lexicon-" and "Klopp-"-topic.

I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for all concerned when I say it's been *our*
pleasure, Jonny, just as it is to have you on board.  Thanks to you for
presenting such interesting material.  After all, everyone on the List
benefits from the responses you get, and this is the beauty of pooling and
sharing information and resources.  In a word: that's what it's all about.

Talking about etymology ... Lately I have been wondering about the origin of
the very "to conk," as in "to punch" or "to hit," apparently earlier "to
punch on the nose."  I've asked several native speakers of American English,
and they felt that its use in their dialects is limited to the expressions
"to conk (someone) over/on the head" and "conked out" ("passed out (due to
extreme sleepiness or exhaustion)").

For a while I wondered if it originated in American English and might be of
African origin, but it is well spread to other dialects and has wider
semantic application in some of them.  According to the _Oxford English
Dictionary_, its origin is nebulous, and it seems to go back to the early
19th century.  I guess the most likely origin is the noun "conk," related to
"conch" (Lat. _concha_, French _conque_ < _conche_), which at one time could
refer to "nose," hence "to punch on the nose" likely to be the original
meaning.  Does anyone have a better theory?

Kumpelmenten,
Reinhard/Ron

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