Re: [tied] Celtic Jutland

>> >Yes, okay, that's true. But if the names were as recent as medieval
>> >Hansa times or the Dutch golden age, you would think that the
>> >etymology was easier to figger.
>>
>>Both are not implausible (Kwade Gat, and Skager Rak), though it's
>>perhaps difficult to be sure (esp. KwadeGat>Kattegat). But, to
>>stay in the nautical area, even less certain etymologies happened
>>in that short time, eg, French "matelot" comes (Hanse times?)
>>from medieval Dutch "matte-noot" ("sleeping-mate") and had
>>even the time to come back into Dutch as "matroos". Marc
>
>This is what I heard: In olden (well at least Viking ages) when on a
>sea journey you were responsible for your own provisions. People
>would group to buy provisions according to their means, and one with
>whom you were in the same "food group" would be a "maat-noot", food-
>mate (cf Swedish mat "food", Eng meat (which once meant food in
>general). Torsten

Ah? Well, why not? My etym.dictionary says: "mat" (cf.Engl.doormat) =
sleeping mat of sailors; medieval Dutch "matte" = sleeping place; "noot" as
in "vennoot, genoot(schap)" = mate, peer, comrad; hence "mattenoot" =
sleeping-mate. This seems to explain better the short "a" of "mattenoot".

Marc