mercredi, septembre 14, 2005

words fascinate me

Kate told me how American cowboys got "Yeehaw!" from hija on Saturday.

Harry brought up coleslaw last night at dinner. His theory: col ("cabbage" in Spanish). Mine: kohl ("cabbage" in German). Turns out we were both (sorta) right:
The term arose in 1794 as a partial translation from the Dutch term "koolsla" meaning "cabbage salad". It was commonly called cold slaw in England until the 1860's when "cole" meaning cabbage was revived. "Cole" originated from the Latin colis meaning "cabbage", and is the source of the Dutch word as well. The term coleslaw is a late 19th century term, which originated in the United States.
Here's more on language, and words that are borrowed/ come into a language from another:
Calque
Loanword
Anglicism

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