LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.04 (02) [E]

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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.01.31 (03) [E]

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

Mair Northumbriana stuff, Ah'm afreod. Deek at wot ye did by poppin in,
Glenn? But wuh leek ye anyha.

I'm wondering about the name of the Northumbrian river Wansbeck and if there
might be any connection with Wandsbek, now a part of Hamburg, Germany,
formerly a part of Holstein and thus under Danish administration at one
time.

Wandsbek (formerly spelled "Wandsbeck") got its name from a river (or
rivulet) now known as "Wandse", in the Middle Ages as "Wantesbeke," meaning
"border/boundary rivulet/creek," which used to define one of the territory's
boundaries.

As I said, I wonder if there is a connection between the two rivers, if this
was a name Angles or Saxons took with them from the European continent.

Any ideas or clues?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron


Well, the earthwork of "Wansdyke" is contracted from "Woden's Dike" or
ditch; possible similarity here?

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

Thanks, Paul.

This sounds interesting on various levels, and it makes me wonder if the
etymology of Wandsbek is a hard and fast one.

The other interesting thing is the "dike" v "ditch" thing that you made pop
up again. Really not all that surprisingly, both go back to the same source.
(You dig a hole, you make a mound ...) Hence you get Low Saxon *dyk* (*Diek*)
meaning either 'dike' or 'pond' and Old English *dīc* meaning 'wall' or
'ditch'. German has *Teich* for 'pond' and *Deich* for 'dike', the latter
being a partly phonologically adapted Saxon loan in late Middle German,
hence the *d-*. (Common West Germanic **d-* > German *t-*)

On a different note, I was curious about Scots *tamshie* 'turnip', which
Sandy and Tom brought up. According to the handy *Dictionary of the Scots
Language* (http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/):

[Prob. orig. a children's deformation of *Turmet *or Eng. dial. form *tummit
*with dim. -*Sie *ending.]

Under "Turmit":

Also *turmet*, *turmut *(Uls. 1910 C. C. Russell People and Lang. 28); *
turmaet*, -*maek *(Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Sc. forms of Eng. *turnip *(Ayr.
1923 Wilson D. Burns 191; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai; Slg., em.Sc.(b),
wm., sm., s.Sc. 1973). Sim. forms are also found in Eng. and Ir. dial.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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