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#11
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, DVH wrote:
Regatta, from Venetian The enquiries I did in april showed that "regata" derives from Latin "re-captare" i.e. "to catch again" or "to CAPTure again". Is there a reason you think it's not derived from "rigare"? Many reasons. One is that a verb "rigare" does not exist as a standalone intransitive verb, except in the idiomatic expression "rigare diritto". As a transitive verb, it means "drawing or carving lines or grooves on a sheet of paper or other material". Another is that the alternance i - e is not a typical italian - venetian alternance (like e.g. c - g). So my ear would never associate "regata" as an alteration of "rigare". On the contrary "regata" may look like the feminine participle past of a verb "regare" which does not exist at all (the verb for "make a regat(t)a" is "regatare"). Last but not least because I found the etimology "re-captare" around, and it looks plausible to me. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is a newsreading account used by more persons to avoid unwanted spam. Any mail returning to this address will be rejected. Users can disclose their e-mail address in the article if they wish so. |
#12
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, Ariadne wrote:
Spelling in English is not so regular. We spell "sonata" But "sonata" is a perfectly legitimate italian word ! There are many cases of italian words which alternate "uo" and "o" (open o !), with the "o" form being preferred in Tuscan or central-italian vernaculars. Yes, nowadays almost nobody will use the verb "sonare" and everybody will prefer "suonare" (to sound), with participle "suonato", and the substantive "suono" (sound). But Tuscans may use it, and the term could be found in literature until 40 or 50 years ago. But the musical term "sonata" was "frozen" as such a lot of time ago, and is the only proper form. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is a newsreading account used by more persons to avoid unwanted spam. Any mail returning to this address will be rejected. Users can disclose their e-mail address in the article if they wish so. |
#13
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
schrieb
The sausage dogs my aunt had couldn't tackle a large mouse, let alone a badger. Don't underestimate the courage of those "sausages" - which used to be bigger than most of today's breeds. But they weren't supposed to tackle badgers, but only to drive them out of their burrows - hence the short legs! Jochen |
#14
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
"Giovanni Drogo" schrieb
Last but not least because I found the etimology "re-captare" around, and it looks plausible to me. My German etymological dictionary says it derives from "riga", venetian origin, 18th century. We spell it "Regatta" over here too, by the way. Jochen |
#15
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
"Jochen Kriegerowski" wrote in message ... "Giovanni Drogo" schrieb Last but not least because I found the etimology "re-captare" around, and it looks plausible to me. My German etymological dictionary says it derives from "riga", venetian origin, 18th century. Which would come from the Latin "regula" and ultimately from rex? We spell it "Regatta" over here too, by the way. Jochen |
#16
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
Miles Vaches wrote:
On 27 Nov, 14:04, "Road_Hog" wrote: "Miles Vaches" spammed the ... Snipped a load of spam. So Bill Tong, which you are because you use the same email address any particular reason you are spamming this group under another sock puppet alias? yes, its called 'culture'....... ;-) Culture is a word derived from the Greek 'culture', meaning: to have an itchy arse. |
#17
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:32:59 -0000, "Gerald Oliver Swift"
wrote: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main...bowords126.xml When I set out to write a study of the history of words, I thought I had a decent grasp...... • 'The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English' by Henry Hitchings (John Murray Publishing, £16.99) is available from Telegraph Bookshop for £14.99 + £1.25 p&p. To order, call 0844 871 1515 or go to books.telegraph.co.uk The author of this (sad) piece probably never even thought to look at these two sites:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...foreign_origin http://www.krysstal.com/borrow.html Or to have posted it in alt.usage.english ... -- ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#18
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On 27 Nov, 17:41, didgerman wrote:
Miles Vaches wrote: On 27 Nov, 14:04, "Road_Hog" wrote: "Miles Vaches" spammed the ... Snipped a load of spam. So Bill Tong, which you are because you use the same email address any particular reason you are spamming this group under another sock puppet alias? yes, its called 'culture'....... ;-) Culture is a word derived from the Greek 'culture', meaning: to have an itchy arse. ...... 2 things Road_Hog has learnt today..... |
#19
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:20:58 +0100, "Jochen Kriegerowski"
wrote: schrieb The sausage dogs my aunt had couldn't tackle a large mouse, let alone a badger. Don't underestimate the courage of those "sausages" - which used to be bigger than most of today's breeds. But they weren't supposed to tackle badgers, but only to drive them out of their burrows - hence the short legs! Jochen Reminds me of the two old ladies discussing their dogs. "I've got two dachshunds", says one of them, "A dog and a bitch." "Oh!", says the other, "What happens when the bitch is on heat?" "Simple - I put her upstairs." "But how does THAT stop the dog getting at the bitch?" "Even simpler - have you ever seen a dachshund trying to get upstairs with a hard-on?" (I'll get me coat :-)) Keith (formerly of Bristol UK) now moved to Berlin/nach Berlin umgezogen |
#20
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A-Z of English words with surprising origins
On Nov 27, 11:24*am, Miles Vaches wrote:
snip ad You missed one - WTF. As in "WTF has this got to do with rugby?" Oh, and you failed to include "spam". UD |
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