LL-L "Etymology" 2008.03.21 (03) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 21 March 2008 - Volume 03
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From: jonny <jonny.meibohm at arcor.de>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology"

 Dear Lowlanners,

yesterday evening I learned (once again ;-)) a nice new word which I suppose
to be of Low Saxon or Low Franconian origin: _lurig_ in the sense of E:
'being in low spirits'; G: 'niedergeschlagen', 'maddelig'...
It was used by a friend of mine who is a bit capable of Low Saxon but has
spent the greater part of his life in the Westphalian area (city of
Dortmund).

Could this _lurig_(*) stand in any connection with E: 'low'? If yes it
should be cognate with G: 'lau', meaning E: 'balmy', 'tepid'.
Does a word like this occur in any western, i.e. Flemish or Dutch dialects?

Allerbest!

Jonny Meibohm

(*) In our Low Saxon we know a word _lurig_ too but here in the meaning of
G: 'scheel' ("lauerig"); E: '[to look] askew'.

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

Jonny,

I know *lurig as* 'sultry', similar to *bruddig* but less severe and less
negative, more in the direction of 'balmy'. See for instance in the last
verse of Klaus Groth's song about the mill (
http://lowlands-l.net/groth/moel.htm):

*Do weer ik noch kleen,
Nu bün ik alleen,
Wull weet, ob de Ol dar noch steit?
De Luch is so luri, –
Dat Leed is so truri:
** Gottlof, dat de Mœl doch noch geit!*

I was little then,
And now I'm alone.
Who knows if the old man is still there?
The air is so sultry.
The song is so sad.
Thank God, the mill's still running there!

For 'sad', 'depressed', 'listless', etc., I know and use *slurig*, which in
some dialects and in some contexts can also mean either 'suspiciously' or
'slovenly' as an adverb.

I wonder if someone confused *lurig* and *slurig*.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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