LL-L "Etymoly" 2007.07.20 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  18 July 2007 - Volume 08

=========================================================================

From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology"

Dear Heather,


You wrote:
> From: " heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk
> <mailto:heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk>"
> Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.20 (01) [E]
>
> Sandy Fleming wrote
>
> However, none of the sentences you suggested make sense. A person can't
> be a word of any kind! I think to make sense you'd have to say:
>
> "His name was a byword in depravity."
>
> This means that in depraved circles his name was a byword (ie, anybody
> moving in depraved company would recognise it).
>
> Or you could say (and it's an even bigger insult):
>
> "His name is a byword for depravity."
>
> This is like saying people actually mention his name to suggest the idea
> that something or someone else is depraved, by comparing them to him in
> some way.
>
> Of course! I knew the sentences didn't ring true to my ear but I
> couldn't work out what was wrong
> I think its possible origin as being cognate with "Beispiel /
> Beispell" meaning 'an example' makes perfect sense:
> His name was (an example)  of depravity
> The dodo is( an example) of man-made extinction
>
> In which case is it really the case that a person cannot be the
> subject of being a byword
>
> Casanova himself was a byword for lechery
> Casanova's name was a byword for lechery

According to my dictionary, "byword" can mean:

1) proverb
This is probably the oldest meaning of the word. Southern Dutch had this
until at least the beginning of the 17th century. Nowadays, "bijwoord"
(D) means "adverb".

2) epitome, prototype
e.g. He is a byword for laziness. The canals are a byword for Amsterdam.
Apparently, the subject of the byword ("the canals") are no persons.

3) epithet

4) disgrace, ignominy
e.g. Make someone's name a byword.

Today I discovered however that Old English, used the word "bisen" for
"example". I dare not give a trustworthy explanation, all I can come up
with is:

bisen = bi + sen, where "sen" may be cognate with German "Sinn" and
Dutch "zin", both roughly meaning "sense" nowadays, but  probably
"passage, journey" originally.

Examples *s* here:

http://web.ff.cuni.cz/cgi-bin/uaa_slovnik/gmc_search_v3?cmd=formquery2&query=bisen&startrow=1

No doubt that in those days of strict morals, the role of a "lodestar"
was quite important, so Old English even had a verb for "setting an
example", "bisenian". Goes to show. Actually, Dutch has "bijzin" too,
but it was created only recently, merely as a grammatical term for a
subordinate clause.

By the way, contrary to my former belief, "bijspel" (D) was also in use
in Middle Dutch, even as late as 1599. Kiliaan put it on record in his
magnum opus "Etymologicum teutonicae linguae". Yep, in those days,
"teutonic" was not yet synomous with "German" and stood for "language of
the (Dutch) people", as opposed to "Latin".
The Old English version was "bi(g)spell" (parable, fable):

http://web.ff.cuni.cz/cgi-bin/uaa_slovnik/gmc_search_v3?cmd=formquery2&query=bispell+@loose

On a sidenote, this "spell" has nothing to do with Dutch "spel" or
German "Spiel", game. "Spiel" (in Bei-spiel) was a case of
"hineininterpretierung". It is however the same word as "spell", like in
"under a spell", and even "to spell words".

All this leaves me wondering if the struggle between "bispell" (and the
like) and "example" has anything to do with a change in morals in
medieval Europe. Is this the point where the big kahuna comes in and
gives us deeper insight through a metaphor or a parable? "Grasshopper"
off-screen now :-D .

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

----------

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

Thanks, Luc!

> Is this the point where the big kahuna comes in and
> gives us deeper insight through a metaphor or a parable?

Well, Luc, our Kahuna (lowlands-l.net/treasures/kahuna.htm) isn't the
lecturing type. His job is observing and rewarding. When it comes to
philosophy and linguistics, he seems to play his cards rather closely to his
vest. If you ask him such questions he says things like E ho`omakauli`i iho!,
meaning something like "Figure out that piddly stuff yourself!" He
encourages thinking for oneself (Ka ha`ina ma loko "The answer is inside").
He isn't one to put on intellectual airs. (And he isn't really a Lowlander,
as you know.) Before scampering off on a Friday night spree with the likes
of Borat, he referred to the fact that in his language the word for
"example" (mea ho`ohālikelike "thing that is quite similar") and "metaphor"
(`ōlelo ho`ohālike "utterance that is similar") are ua kūkulu (constructed)
while the name for "parable" (nana) is pa`a ("solid," "one piece") and thus
can't be analyzed, by which he seems to imply that parables are older,
culturally more basic and thus more important. Go figure!

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lowlands-l/attachments/20070720/a40dc567/attachment.htm>