LL-L "Traditions" 2007.06.03 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  03 June 2007 - Volume 06

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From: Paul Tatum <ptatum at blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2007.06.02 (03) [E]

Hello all,
>
> From: Mark Dreyer < mrdreyer at lantic.net <mailto:mrdreyer at lantic.net>>
> Oh, & they call
> a praying mantis 'Gamal Shlomo' 'Solomon's Camel'. Oh, well!
>
> Yrs,
> Mark

As an aside, and probably off-topic for lowlands, but I learnt recently
that Hebrew/Aramaic gamal can mean 'rope' as well as 'camel', hence the
translation (mistranslation?) 'easier for a camel to pass through the
eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven'

TTFN, Paul Tatum

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From: Lee Goldberg <leybl_goldberg at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2007.06.02 (03) [E]

I think the process of deriving Hebrew terms for 'lady bug' and the like
that were suspiciously close to the European Christian terms was exactly as
you described, except that it was usually through the intermediary of
Yiddish (because Hebrew was not a spoken language).  Thus Yiddish Moyshe
Rabeynus kiele ('our master Moses's cow') for 'lady bug'.

(Then again, there might conceivably have been a need to put the word "lady
bug" in a rabbinical court record in Hebrew, for instance, if a husband
being sued for divorce on grounds of cruelty claimed that he was only trying
to kill the lady bug crawling on his wife's face...)

*Ron *wrote:

Mark, I wonder if some of those Hebrew names (except the one for praying
mantis probably) were inspired by European cultural and linguistic
contacts.

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

Thanks, Lee.  I agree with all you said. Sometimes there appear to be
different source languages, such as in the case of the Hebrew word for
"wren".

As for ladybugs, there are definite themes going on throughout Europe:

Reference to non-Christian female deities:
Old Norse: *freyjuhaena*

Reference to Mary:
Calabrese: gaddrinèddra d'à Madònna
Castilian: mariquita
Catalan: marieta
Danish: mariehøne
Dutch: Lieveheersbeestje
English: ladybird, ladybug
German, Modern: Marienkäfer
German, Middle: *Marienvoglein*
Icelandic: maríuhæna
Low Saxon: Mariek
Norwegian, Dano-: mariehøne

Reference to God:
Breton: buoc'hig-Doue
Irish: bóín Dé
Low Saxon: Herrgottskoh
Nissart (Nice Provençal): galineta dòu bouòn Diéu
Russian: Божья коровка

Reference to chickens:
Danish: mariehøne
Icelandic: maríuhæna
Nissart (Nice Provençal): galineta dòu bouòn Diéu
Norwegian, Dano-: mariehøne
Old Norse: f*reyjuhaena
*Low Saxon: Sünn(e(n))küken
Welsh: buwch goch gota

Reference to birds generally:
English: ladybird
German, Middle: *Marienvoglein*

Reference to cattle:
Dutch: Lieveheersbeestje
Irish: bóín Dé
Low Saxon: Herrgottskoh, Maan(d)kalf, Sünn(en)koh
Russian: Божья коровка

References to the sun:
Low Saxon: Sünn(en)käver, Sünn(e(n))küken, Sünn(en)koh,
     Sünn(en)worm, Sünn(en)peerd, Sünn(en)schiener

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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