Matches in Harvard for { <http://id.lib.harvard.edu/aleph/006503679/catalog> ?p ?o. }
Showing items 1 to 28 of
28
with 100 items per page.
- catalog abstract "Folk etymology, that charming process of word formation that substitutes a familiar sound or idea for an archaic one ('rod-iron' for wrought iron), has worked overtime in our fields, forests, and gardens. Samuel Johnson and a lot of others thought gooseberry derived naturally from the fact that its sauce commonly accompanied a roast goose; later etymologists discovered that it earlier had been called a groseberry, after the French groseille, and that there was nothing anserine in its background except wishful tinkering. Similarly, asparagus was, and often still is, called 'sparrow-grass', and for nearly two centuries the cucumber bore the bovine name of 'cowcumber' ... The dandelion is a straightforward phonetic rendition of French dent de lion, or 'lion's tooth.' It's curious that, while we borrowed a French expression based on the weed's appearance, the French settled for a name related to quite another characteristic. The French word is pissenlit, which reflects the diuretic properties of the dandelion roots that used to be dried, ground up, and mixed with coffee. In fact, pisse-abed is given as an English alternative by John Gerarde in his 1597 Herball, or General Historie of Plants, and pissabed salad, containing dandelion greens, was once popular in the United States.".
- catalog contributor b9062985.
- catalog created "c1996.".
- catalog date "1996".
- catalog date "c1996.".
- catalog dateCopyrighted "c1996.".
- catalog description "Fables and Folklore -- What's the Usage? -- Politics and Other Shades of Practice -- English as a Sub-Language -- Ghosts, Holy and Otherwise -- Once Upon a Hippocratic Oath -- Words for All Seasons -- Oddities and Endities.".
- catalog description "Folk etymology, that charming process of word formation that substitutes a familiar sound or idea for an archaic one ('rod-iron' for wrought iron), has worked overtime in our fields, forests, and gardens. Samuel Johnson and a lot of others thought gooseberry derived naturally from the fact that its sauce commonly accompanied a roast goose; later etymologists discovered that it earlier had been called a groseberry, after the French groseille, and that there was nothing anserine in its background except wishful tinkering. Similarly, asparagus was, and often still is, called 'sparrow-grass', and for nearly two centuries the cucumber bore the bovine name of 'cowcumber' ...".
- catalog description "Includes bibliographical references and index.".
- catalog description "The dandelion is a straightforward phonetic rendition of French dent de lion, or 'lion's tooth.' It's curious that, while we borrowed a French expression based on the weed's appearance, the French settled for a name related to quite another characteristic. The French word is pissenlit, which reflects the diuretic properties of the dandelion roots that used to be dried, ground up, and mixed with coffee. In fact, pisse-abed is given as an English alternative by John Gerarde in his 1597 Herball, or General Historie of Plants, and pissabed salad, containing dandelion greens, was once popular in the United States.".
- catalog extent "xii, 244 p. ;".
- catalog hasFormat "Wordplay.".
- catalog identifier "0802077528 (pbk.) :".
- catalog isFormatOf "Wordplay.".
- catalog issued "1996".
- catalog issued "c1996.".
- catalog language "eng".
- catalog publisher "Toronto ; Buffalo : University of Toronto Press,".
- catalog relation "Wordplay.".
- catalog subject "422 20".
- catalog subject "English language Etymology.".
- catalog subject "English language History.".
- catalog subject "English language Usage.".
- catalog subject "PE1574 .C59 1996".
- catalog tableOfContents "Fables and Folklore -- What's the Usage? -- Politics and Other Shades of Practice -- English as a Sub-Language -- Ghosts, Holy and Otherwise -- Once Upon a Hippocratic Oath -- Words for All Seasons -- Oddities and Endities.".
- catalog title "Wordplay : origins, meanings, and usage of the English language / Robertson Cochrane.".
- catalog type "History. fast".
- catalog type "text".