http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/comment-page-1/#comment-146346 word origins Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:59:18 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=1861#comment-146346 [...] of the world population have no idea how word origins are discovered. To become a professional ...http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/Offence taken: Just how offensive is the word 'pikey'? BBC NewsFormula One commentator Martin [...] [...] of the world population have no idea how word origins are discovered. To become a professional …http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/Offence taken: Just how offensive is the word ‘pikey’? BBC NewsFormula One commentator Martin [...]

]]> http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/comment-page-1/#comment-146132 John Cowan Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:07:20 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=1861#comment-146132 Arrgh. <i>Tri:ce:simus</i>, of course. Arrgh. Tri:ce:simus, of course.

]]> http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/etymology-serendipity-and-good-luck/comment-page-1/#comment-146131 John Cowan Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:57:59 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=1861#comment-146131 Might not <i>pod parom</i> be a Slavic calque of a Germanic coincidence? I;m thinking of the use of <i>-st</i> in German ordinals (<i>dreissigste</i>, e.g.), which looks singularly like the <i>-st</i> of the superlative (<i>fleissigste</i>, e.g.), and is apparently a calque of the Gallo-Roman <i>-iesme</i> that Latin -ISSIMUS and the pseudo-suffix -E:SIMUS in <i>vi:ce:simus</i>, <i>tre:simus</i> had both regularly become. Might not pod parom be a Slavic calque of a Germanic coincidence? I;m thinking of the use of -st in German ordinals (dreissigste, e.g.), which looks singularly like the -st of the superlative (fleissigste, e.g.), and is apparently a calque of the Gallo-Roman -iesme that Latin -ISSIMUS and the pseudo-suffix -E:SIMUS in vi:ce:simus, tre:simus had both regularly become.

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