LL-L "Etymology" 2006.05.01 (10) [E/LS]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 01 May 2006 * Volume 10
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From: jonny <jonny.meibohm at arcor.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2006.05.01 (03) [LS]

Reini,

noch mool weller tou

_Pirks_, _Pööks_

No de Schriivwiis mit 'öö' (de schall woll beter ween) kun dat oppletzt van 
LS: 'Pöker' (hier seggt wi 'Pöter), G: 'Po', E: 'buttocks, bottom' 
avvkomen, in de Meent van '(Lütt) Schieter'.
Wat meynst door tou?

Greutens

Johannes "Jonny" Meibohm

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From: Utz H. Woltmann <uwoltmann at gmx.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2006.05.01 (03) [LS]

Jonny schreev:

> door is mi noch 'n anner Woord inne Mööt komen:
>
> _Pirks_, mag  ween ouk _Pööks_  as Synonym föör eyn lütten LS:
> 'Buttjer', G: 'Bengel', E: 'rascal'. Koomt dat uut dat
> Neddersassische, ellers is dat uut jichenseyn anner Wuddel?

Beste Jonny,

mi dücht, dat is vun Pooks orrer Pöker. Anner Wöör daarför: Aars,
Achtergatt, Achtergestell, Achtersten, Achtersteven, Achterstück, Moors,
Podex.

Kumpelmenten
Utz H. Woltmann

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

[English below]

Jonny un Utz,

Dat mit _Pööks_ (_poeks_ [p9:ks]) un _Pöter_ (_poyter_ ["p9:\It3`] ~ 
["pO:\It3`]) gloyv' ik nich so recht.  Al hebt dey woyrd' annere 
luudstenden: eyn mit 'n eynluud un eyn mit 'n tweyluud.

_Pööks_ mit 'n eynluud het dialekt-varianten mit /-r-/:

_Pööks_ (_poeks_ [p9:ks]) ~
_Pörks_ (_pörks_ [p9:\3`ks]) ~
_Porks_ (_porks_ [pO:\3`ks]) ~
_Purks_ (_purks_ [pU:\3`ks])

Un den ook noch _Pirks_.

Nu givt 't noch 'n anner wourd':

_Porks_ (_porks_ [pO:\3`ks]) ~
_Purks_ (_purks_ [pU:\3`ks])

Un dat beduydt "halv-wussen swyn", wat sachs mit Vransch _porc_ (> Ingelsch 
_pork_) un darüm ook mit "varken" tousamen-hangt.

Folks,

Our Jonny asked about the Low Saxon words _Pööks_ 'little child/boy' in 
connection with what appears to be its East Prussian equivalent _Pirks_.  He 
and Utz guessed that these have something to do with _Pooks_, _Pöker_ and 
_Pöter_ 'derrier', 'butt' (usually with reference to a child's).

I responded by saying that I consider this improbable.  For one thing, 
_Pööks_ (_poeks_ [p9:ks]) has a long monophthong and _Pöter_ (_poyter_ 
["p9:\It3`] ~ ["pO:\It3`]) has a diphthong.  (Yep, bad writing system 
rearing its ugly head again.)  Long monophthongs can have "absorbed" /-r-/, 
while diphthongs can not.  Furthermore, there are indeed dialectical 
variants of _Pööks_ with /-r-/, aside from _Pirks_:

_Pööks_ (_poeks_ [p9:ks]) ~
_Pörks_ (_pörks_ [p9:\3`ks]) ~
_Porks_ (_porks_ [pO:\3`ks]) ~
_Purks_ (_purks_ [pU:\3`ks])

And in several dialects you find this as well:

_Porks_ (_porks_ [pO:\3`ks]) ~
_Purks_ (_purks_ [pU:\3`ks])

It means 'adolescent pig'.

Obviously it is related to French _porc_ (> English "pork"), also to LS and 
Dutch _varken_ 'piglet' and its English cognate "farrow," also to German 
(diminutivized) _Ferkel_ with the same meaning, and outside Germanic with 
words for 'pig', for instance Latin _porcus_, Middle Irisch _orcán_, Kurdish 
_purs_, Lithuanian _par̋šas_, perhaps also slang Latvian _pogainas_ 
'piglet', as well as Manx _ark_ 'piglet', and clearly Scottish Gaelic 
_uircean_... going back to Indo-European *_pork-os_.  There is supposed to 
be a connection with Indo-European *_perk-_ 'to uproot', 'to root', though I 
think it is also possible there is a connection with Sanskrit पर्यस _paryas_ 
'to wallow', but this would be problematic considering वराह _varāha_ 'pig' 
which is obviously related to all the above (cf. Old German _farha_ 
'farrow').

I used to wonder if Low Saxon _Porks_ ~ _Purks_ ~ _Pirks_ goes back to 
another IE language, such as the Baltic language Old Prussian.  But I have 
abandoned this idea, because Old Prussian had already converted old /-k-/ to 
/-s-/, hence _pārsistjan_ 'piglet'.

I do find it peculiar, though, that _Porks_ ~ _Purks_ ~ _Pirks_ exists, 
considering _Farken_ (_varken_) having undergone predictable *_p-_ > _f-_. 
So, perhaps it came from French _porc_, more likely Latin _porcus_.

Kumpelmenten,
Reinhard/Ron 

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