Cranberries

[R. Rankin]

I was once told, can't remember by whom, that it was a Mr. Crane who
domesticated them.  Actually, maybe all these explanations are right.  It
depends on what k/tran meant in common Germanic.  And I'm the wrong person to
ask about that.

The question for Siouanists, then, is what does *htak- mean?

Bob


----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan H. Hartley" <ahartley at d.umn.edu>
To: <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 6:44 PM
Subject: Re: Cranberries (Re: ho 'circle')


> Koontz John E wrote:
>
> > That makes sense, though I kind of wonder what the modifier might be.
> > Sort of like "cranberry" in English, though there etymologists actually
> > know what a cran is.  (For those who haven't had Introduction to
> > Linguistics or a similar course where this initiation secret was revealed,
> > 'cran' = 'bog', and 'cran' as such is attested in some English or
> > neighboring Germanic dialects, e.g. Scottish.)
>
> Just checked American Heritage, Random House, and OED, and they all
> agree on a (probably Low) German word like kraanbere 'cranberry,' lit.
> 'crane-berry.' Cf. also Sw. tranbär, Da. tranebaer 'cranberry' < trana,
> trane, 'crane.' I'm open to persuasion though!
>
> Alan
>
>