LL-L "Etymology" 2007.10.14 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  14 October 2007 - Volume 02
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Arthur Jones <arthurobin2002 at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.10.13 (08) [E]

Hi Lowlanders,

and thanks for solving a puzzle for me. In finishing up the manuscript of
the book, "Children of the Flood; New Songs for Ancient Gothic Voices", for
publication, I was repeatedly asked how the Goths and other early Germanic
tribes managed to gather huge armies in view of their frequent heavy losses
in battle. The answer, I thought, lay partly in their high birth rate.
Now, our Ron has confirmed this. Ron schreev, van gisteren, dat:

"...In early German verb formation, the suffix /l/ added a frequentive or
iterative aspect, as in "many a frequent (small) action"....e.g., jiggle;
juggle; piddle; handle; stumble; giggle; hobble; bumble; and dribble".

To think that our ancestors made special "frequentive" verb forms to express
their fervent and urgent expressions of love. In fact, if we follow that
sequence our Ron has set forth above, we pretty much have our answer.
They were just like us, except perhaps more so.

Thus ensuring that large numbers of young warriors were always available for
raiding parties.

But I especially like the "jiggle", "handle" , and "dribble" bits. I'll bet
they were also the keys to high birth rates.

Arthur
ARTHUR A. JONES

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

There you have it, folks: vintage Arthur.

One shudders to consider the possibility of him reading these etymological
tea leaves if we extended the list of such verbs, adding for instance
"cuddle," "fondle," "tickle," "grapple," ...

Befuddled,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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