LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.27 (02) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 27 November 2009 - Volume 02
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From: clarkedavid8 at aol.com
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.26 (02) [EN

 think if you write 3.14 on a piece of paper and hold it up to a
mirror, you'll see exactly why this letter was chosen to represent the
constant!

Does anybody know of any similar derivations for well-known terms?  :)

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/


Apparently the Latin name Ulysses came from a Roman misreading of the Greek
letters spelling Odysseus (probably on a pot).

David Clarke

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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
 Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.26 (02) [EN]

From: Sandy Fleming
<sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk<http://uk.mc264.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk>
>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.24 (01) [EN]

I think if you write 3.14 on a piece of paper and hold it up to a
mirror, you'll see exactly why this letter was chosen to represent the
constant!

Does anybody know of any similar derivations for well-known terms?  :)

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/

That pre-supposes that:
a)   the term was first coined in English, so it would sound like "pie";
b)   it was first used after the introduction of decimal notation so it
could be expressed as 3.14....etc.

Neither is true; a likely source is that it is the first letter of Perimeter
(in Greek), and it was always expressed a fraction with 22/7 as the closest
estimate, long before decimal notation was invented.

The Egyptians thought it had to be 3.  It clearly wasn't when they measured
it, so they deduced that it must be a Divine 3 that the Gods used, rather
than mere mortal 1-2-3 that we use.  This we call "The Wisdom of the
Ancients".

Paul

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From: Jonny <jonny.meibohm at arcor.de>
 Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.26 (02) [EN]

 Hi, Sandy,

>>I think if you write 3.14 on a piece of paper and hold it up to a
>>mirror, you'll see exactly why this letter was chosen to represent the
>>constant!

But it is a 'pie', isn't it?

 Allerbest!

Jonny Meibohm
Lower Saxony, Germany

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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
 Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.26 (01) [EN-NDL]

Given that Cortez's legendary interpreter "Dona Maria" was fluent in both
Nahuatl and at least one Mayan language, it's hard to see why there was
any confusion really.  Perhaps she hadn't got the hang of Spanish at that
stage?

Paul

•

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