LL-L "Etymology" 2008.03.07 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 07 March 2008 - Volume 02
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From: Maria Elsie Zinsser <ezinsser at icon.co.za>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2008.03.06 (05) [E]

Hi all,

And of course the name Thiessen is a typical Mennonite Plaut surname as
Matthysen is a typical Afrikaans surname.

Regards,
Elsie


In Germany, the related surname variants Thies and Thieß are not uncommon.
They are pronounced [tʰi(ː)s] (SAMPA [t_hi(:)s]), as though spelled "Teess"
in English.

I wonder if they emanated from the Rhenish area.

I believe the original Low Saxon version of the given name is (Mathias >)
Mathies ([maˈtʰias] > [maˈtʰiːs] > [ˈmatis]). This one also serves as a
surname. Middle Saxon spelling includes Mathys, etc.

The endearing version of the first name in Low Saxon (corresponding to
English Matt and Matts) is Matten ([ˈmatn̩]), sounding a bit similar to
English "mutton." This endearing variant is the name of the hare that tries
to learn to dance: http://lowlands-l.net/groth/matten.htm

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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

Thanks, Elsie.

And then there's the variant with Middle Saxon or Middle Dutch spelling:
Thyssen.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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