DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Stanley]

You're right David but I quite like 'First Nation' because it is accurate. (Mind you, they were not a nation but an association of tribes....) That link is a good one!

[Tripps]

Yes - but when she was reminded that these tribes were not actually a "Nation" in any sense of the word, and spent much of the time fighting each other in a particularly vicious manner, she said ' ah yes but they lived in violent times - look at the Spanish Inquisition.'
I think perhaps that qualifies as the logical fallacy of false comparison.

[Stanley]

I was once on a reservation on the Nevada plateau sat having a conversation with a very old native American. He recommended I read a book called 'A History of the Indians of the United States' by Angie Debo. (This was an acceptable description when it was written) I checked with my mate Bob Bliss and it is still regarded as a standard work. I got it and read it and it changed my perception entirely, my version was the Hollywood one. The old bloke was fascinating and we had a long conversation in which he made a direct comparison between the clearances in Scotland and the removal of the tribes to reservations. One of those chance meetings that changes everything!

[David Whipp]

Epicycloidal:

In geometry, an epicycloid is a plane curve produced by tracing the path of a chosen point of a circle — called an epicycle — which rolls without slipping around a fixed circle. It is a particular kind of roulette.

Spirograph comes to mind.

[Stanley]

Funnily enough, it was Johnny’s daughter's Spirograph that re-ignited his interest in ornamental turning in the early 1950s.

[Stanley]

I love stumbling over archaic words. In Smiles on James Watt I came across a reference to the fact that when he went into his attic workshop he donned a 'surtout'. Not a word I recognised so straight to Webster where I found it was a description for a close fitting long coat, particularly a frock coat. In the case of Watt it seems to have been what we now call a warehouse coat. It originate straight from the French sur (over) and tout (all) so it's an early term for what we now call an overall. I suppose this is s 'onesie' these days.

[Bodger]

Stanley, heres a word to sometimes describe what you are doing
http://obsoleteword.blogspot.ie/2006/01/lunting.html

[Stanley]

Actually no Bodge. I only smoke when I am stationary and can fully appreciate the exercise! Besides, it would involve doing two things at once and any fule no that men are incapable of doing that.....

[Stanley]

I was struck by the word 'upholstery' yesterday. What a cumbersome term! I looked for the origin but itg is obscure, seems to be connected to 'uphold' in the sense of maintaining condition. A strange one!

[Stanley]

Husband, a common word but it struck me yesterday so I looked it up. Webster says it comes from ME, 'hus' for house and 'band' or 'bondi' meaning to dwell. So originally it was just house-dweller but became used as master of the house.

[plaques]

A phrase I've heard a couple of times recently. " He's worth a bob or two". How long will it be before nobody knows what a "bob" is?

[Stanley]

Half a dollar, Joey, tanner, florin, Bradbury and half a bar. All terms my generation used.

[Bodger]

Honolulu penny, this was a coin where Brittanias trident wasn't resting on the floor but appeared to be on her lulu

[PanBiker]

On the Georgian and early Victorian pennies I think Bodge, didn't think you were that old.

[Stanley]

I looked Lulu up on the web and found some surprising meanings.....

[Tripps]

Just heard Judge Judy use the word 'kvetching'. Never heard of it so I looked it up seems it is of Yiddish origin, and means to 'whine or complain - often needlessly' . Good addition to the repetoire I think.

[Belle]

I got caught up in a debate over the plural of Hippopotamus with a twenty year old the other day, they insisted the plural was hippopotamuses, and I, hippopotami.
in the end I googled it and got a graph that showed the usage of these two plurals, the one I was using was the most common from the early 1900s to 1990 then for some reason, the young man's version took over. I say some reason, I suspect it was what he was taught at school, he kept telling me my version was Latin and his English. Now I do feel old, knowing that the language I speak is obsolete!

[Tripps]

It's actually from Greek rather than Latin, so I doubt the suffix -i can be right. Hippo - horse Potamus - river. Similar to Mesopotamia - between two rivers. Hippodrome also comes to mind.
I don't know any Greek grammar but that might indicate a plural of hippopotamia?

[Stanley]

That brings to mind the zoo keeper who wanted to send a message to say that he needed two X 1 mongoose. He tried Mongooses and Mongeese but neither looked right. His eventual message was " Send one mongoose. PS, please send another one with it".

[chinatyke]

It's actually from Greek rather than Latin, so I doubt the suffix -i can be right. Hippo - horse Potamus - river. Similar to Mesopotamia - between two rivers. Hippodrome also comes to mind.
I don't know any Greek grammar but that might indicate a plural of hippopotamia?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hippopotamus

Merriam-Websters say it is a LATIN word derived from Greek: hippopotamos, alteration of hippos potamios, literally, riverine horse
First Known Use: 1563. Therefore because it is Latin the plural is hippopotami, but there is also a modern version adopted by common useage and this is hippopotamuses.

Are there still Grammar Schools teaching Latin? It was compulsory learning for us at Colne Grammar for a minimum of 3 years.

[Tripps]

I did Latin for five years and got an O level, in similar circumstances to you I'd guess. Found it very difficult. I didn't look anything up when I posted - just gave my quick thoughts, and personal view - I think that's the charm of this site. Anyone can do a google. That said - I'm struggling to understand how a word derived from Greek, and not recorded until 1563 can be described as Latin.

[Belle]

As I told this young chap it's roots are Greek, the Latinisation will have come when the Romans conquered the Greeks, and it will have been brought in to our language when the Romans arrived here! Nice that words track history, or used to , the "muses" ending strikes me as just dumbing down, and sadly it wipes out the story of the word and it's travels from one nation to another.

[plaques]

Honolulu penny, this was a coin where Brittanias trident wasn't resting on the floor but appeared to be on her lulu

Not resting on her penny but on her farthing.

[chinatyke]

The word farthing has just struck me, did that come from fourthing (one fourth) same as thirding and Riding?

[Stanley]

According to Webster, yes, you're right. I had a friend who lived in a small development of new houses at the end of a long lane. They were called 'The Farthings'