LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.16 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 16 February 2008 - Volume 02
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From: Diederik Masure <didimasure at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]

or maybe (?) with "recht", scandinavian "rett"?

Diederik

Ron and all,

This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about the
"lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech:  "to ret up" meaning
(in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a
house.  My first wife was Ostfries on both sides of her parental line
and they used the expression when they weren't speaking Ostfries
straightaway.  My current wife is black Irish on both sides and they
use the same expression.  Now, indeed, they are from Pittsburgh PA and
this may reflect what is referred to as "Pennsylvania Dutch" influence.

What is the Low Saxon root of this expression or am I completely wrong
in my thinking about it?  Is it related to HD "aufraffen"?

Thanks all,

Ron Veenker

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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at scotstext.org>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]

> From: Ronald Veenker <veenker at atmc.net>
> Subject: Etymology
>
> Ron and all,
>
> This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about
> the
> "lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech:  "to ret up" meaning
> (in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a
> house.  My first wife was Ostfries on both sides of her parental line
> and they used the expression when they weren't speaking Ostfries
> straightaway.  My current wife is black Irish on both sides and they
> use the same expression.  Now, indeed, they are from Pittsburgh PA and
> this may reflect what is referred to as "Pennsylvania Dutch"
> influence.
>
> What is the Low Saxon root of this expression or am I completely wrong
> in my thinking about it?  Is it related to HD "aufraffen"?

In modern Scots we say "tae redd up", meaning the same thing. The word
"redd" here goes back to old Scots.

As a noun, "redd" in Scots means "debris" or "rubbish" (hence the verbal
form), and you might hear, for example, "That's a lot o redd," meaning
"That's a load of codswallop".

Sometimes I wonder about this word being related to English "rid" or
"ready", but it's difficult to see the connection. The English terms
don't seem to have the noun forms meaning "rubbish" the way Scots does.

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/

---------

From: Utz H. Woltmann <uwoltmann at gmx.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.02.15 (01) [E]

Ronald Veenker wrote:

>
> This may be too trite for comment, but I have always wondered about the
> "lowlands" idiom that has crept into US speech:  "to ret up" meaning
> (in my family's usage) "to quickly straighten up" a room or part of a
> house.

Dear Ronald,

may be it is related to 'redd'. The following entry I found in
Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry:
redd
Pronunciation:
\ˈred\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
redd·ed or redd; redd·ing
Etymology:
Middle English (Scots), to clear, perhaps alteration of ridden — more at rid
Date:
circa 1520
transitive verb
chiefly dialect : to set in order —usually used with up or out
intransitive verb
chiefly dialect : to make things tidy —usually used with up

Best regards
Utz H. Woltmann
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