What I learnt about language today

[Paulclem]

I'm always coming across meanings I hadn't fully understood in English; new words and lots of language trivia. I thought I would open a thread to share what I learn about language.

I learnt something today about the word aesthetic.

I found this definition from the greek.

Greek aisthtikos, of sense perception, from aisthta, perceptible things,

So it's to do with perception in it's root form.

Thus we get the word anaesthetic - not perceiving or not feeling in this case.
I never made that connection before.

[SleepyWitch]

Thus we get the word anaesthetic - not perceiving or not feeling in this case.
I never made that connection before.

me neither, and I took Classical Greek for 3 years in school. just shows how stupid I am.
Good, idea for a thread, Paul.
Let me share some words for bread rolls with people from outside the UK who might not have come across them: bap, batch, bun, .. the list goes on. I don't know about other parts of England, but here in Merseyside, people have discussions about which word to use for what kind of bread roll.
And my favourite: butty (a sandwich). They never tought us that in school in Germany.

[Paulclem]

me neither, and I took Classical Greek for 3 years in school. just shows how stupid I am.
Good, idea for a thread, Paul.
Let me share some words for bread rolls with people from outside the UK who might not have come across them: bap, batch, bun, .. the list goes on. I don't know about other parts of England, but here in Merseyside, people have discussions about which word to use for what kind of bread roll.
And my favourite: butty (a sandwich). They never tought us that in school in Germany.

Yes there are a number of words for bread around the UK. In Yorkshire we used breadcake for batch/bun. In the North East in Sunderland and Newcastle, they used stottie. In Coventry they use the word batch too.

[Veho]

Yes there are a number of words for bread around the UK. In Yorkshire we used breadcake for batch/bun. In the North East in Sunderland and Newcastle, they used stottie. In Coventry they use the word batch too.

We use 'barm cake' in Lancashire.

[Paulclem]

We use 'barm cake' in Lancashire.

Yes - I've heard that too. I used to "cross the border" and play Lancashire teams at Rugby League a million years ago...about.

[Basil]

Don and doff are perfect antonyms of each other because they are contractions of the phrases do on and do off.

I bet everyone already already knew that.

[Basil]

I'm referring to don in the sense of putting on an article of clothing, of course, and not in the sense of, say, your friend Don. Who probably isn't a perfect antonym of the word doff. Or mabe he is; I don't really know the guy.

[Paulclem]

Don and doff are perfect antonyms of each other because they are contractions of the phrases do on and do off.

I bet everyone already already knew that.

Interesting. I didn't know that.

[MarkBastable]

Don and doff are perfect antonyms of each other because they are contractions of the phrases do on and do off.

I bet everyone already already knew that.

Does the OED support that rather satisfying derivation? I'm not saying it's wrong - and I sort of hope it's right - but language is rarely that neat.

Edit: (I just looked at Dict.com, and they reckon it's so...)


While I'm here, a quiz: without looking it up, from which language does the word bistro come?

[SleepyWitch]

While I'm here, a quiz: without looking it up, from which language does the word bistro come?

I thought it was French? But you wouldn't turn it into a quiz if it was something really obvious.
Russian?

[MarkBastable]

I thought it was French? But you wouldn't turn it into a quiz if it was something really obvious.
Russian?

Yeah - Russian, via French. So the next question is - how?

[SleepyWitch]

Yeah - Russian, via French. So the next question is - how?

wow, is it really Russian? how would it be spelled in Russian? I'll let someone else have a go at the "how" of it first. Don't want to make a fool of myself.

[MarkBastable]

wow, is it really Russian? how would it be spelled in Russian? I'll let someone else have a go at the "how" of it first. Don't want to make a fool of myself.

I'm not sure how to render Cyrillic letters here, otherwise I'd show you.

[kiki1982]

Yes, Russian. It means 'quickly', so essentially probably a place which serves you quickly with food.

and this is how it's spelled:

быстро

(ust go to word, put it in there wit insert symbol and then copy paste)

(hoping that my Russian spelling has't got that bad)

[MarkBastable]

Yes, Russian. It means 'quickly', so essentially probably a place which serves you quickly with food.

and this is how it's spelled:

быстро

(ust go to word, put it in there wit insert symbol and then copy paste)

(hoping that my Russian spelling has't got that bad)

The theory is that Napoleon's army picked it up during the Moscow campaign, hearing people and proprietors in bars and inns shouting at the staff, "Bistro!"