Fortochka/Was ist das?

[John Dunn]

It seems to depend which version of Wikipedia you believe.   I followed up the link given by Alina Israeli and discovered that while both French Wikipedia and the infinitely more respectable Larousse derive French vasistas from the German Was ist das?, English Wikipedia considers this a folk etymology, without, however, proffering an alternative.

Some more thoughts on fortochki:

That splendid tome 'Fred Markham in Russia' (by William H.G. Kingston, London, n.d., but probably the late 1850s) gives the following description of the phenomenon (p. 93):
If the air was [sic] allowed to get in between the two windows, the glass would become permanently covered with frost.  To prevent this, a glass panel, which opens at both ends, is introduced between the two windows, and through this the room is aired.   
While you try to work that out, you may wish to note that in the same chapter the author notes that 'We find the Russian language perfectly unpronounceable.'

I also found 'casement' in some older dictionaries.  While presumably justifiable with regards to the means of opening, it is highly misleading as far as the function is concerned.  I doubt if Jane Eyre ever had the pleasure of living in a house equipped with fortochki.  

Finally, I would advise Charles Mills's students that the practice of inter-fenestral refrigeration needs to be exercised with some care.  I used this trick while living in the высотное здание  of МГУ,  but found it disconcerting to discover that the egg I proposed to fry for my breakfast was actually frozen.

John Dunn.

________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Jules Levin [ameliede at EARTHLINK.NET]
Sent: 03 February 2011 00:30
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Fortochka

On 2/2/2011 5:43 AM, John Dunn wrote:
> Aleksandrov's 1885 dictionary gives 'vasistas', which, although implausible and probably inaccurate,  should, at least, please the Pushkinisty among us.
>
> John Dunn.
>
Isn't the whole question Wass ist dass?

Jules Levin

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