LL-L "Idiomatica" 2009.04.15 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 15 April 2009 - Volume 08
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From: LUCAS ANNEAR <annear at wisc.edu>
Subject: language use

I've been pondering the last few days to what extent 'stock' and 'stone' (in
any Germanic or non-Germanic languages) are often paired together to create
a phrase.  It started as a discussion of how Tolkien has Treebeard say, in
the Return of the King, chapter Many Partings:  "It is long, long since we
met by stock or by stone."  In this case I think the pair carries the
meaning "anywhere" as well as overtones of duration.  Many believe that this
is echoing a line in the Middle English poem "Pearl": "We meten so selden by
stok other ston"   In Norwegian "over stokk og stein" apparently means "out
of control".  I'm wondering then to what extent 'stock' in the Germanic
languages (perhaps especially in W.Gmc) is an archaic word and how often it
appears in phrases, particularly with 'stone'.

With friendly greetings,
Lucas Annear
Madison, Wisconsin, USA

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