Re: Wuz

From: Frank Verhoft
Message: 33489
Date: 2004-07-12

<<<BTW My Prof. Visser's Nederlands-Engels Woordenboek only knows of 'waas'
and 'wazig' in the sense of 'mist(y)' etc. but I seem to recall the word(s)
had wider meanings that that?<<<

Visser seems to give only the contemporary meaning of the word 'waas' in
Standard Dutch.
The placename "Wasia" is attested in 868, now called "Waas", or "Waasland".
MidDu "wase", "waes", with the meaning 'mud', 'dry land after eb', 'muddy
land' (modder, drassig land), etc. So, by and large the meanings you gave in
message 33437. More details in the PS, a quote from Verdam's Middle Dutch
Dictionary.

<<<Given (my guess) Germ. *wos- > Freench gueux "beggar; uncouth person" >
(loan) Dutch geus "beggar"<<<

I still fail to see any connection between Germ. *wos > Fr. gueux. > Du
geus.
Btw, also Rey's Dictionnaire historique de la langue française makes the
connection MidDu guit > Fr gueux, in which 'guit' means something as
'babbling', 'joking', 'mocking sb.'. According to P. Giraud gueux is a
doublet of queux, "cuisinier".
(So, maybe the bad reputation of the Dutch cuisine dates back to the times
of Margareta van Parma and councilor Berlaymont. ;-)

Frank

PS.
WASE (waze, waes), znw. vr. Mnd. wase; ags. wâse; fri. weaze; zndl. waas,
o., en als plaatsnaam. Zie Franck-Van Wijk op waas, en vgl. Kluge op (het
verwante) wiese; eng. woozy, "vochtig" (ald.); ook bij het ndl. waas is het
begrip "vocht, vochtig laagje" op den voorgrond gekomen. Waas als plaatsnaam
bet. "met water doorsneden of laag land, beemd", (vgl. hd. aue). Het mnl.
woord heeft de bet. slijk, slik, modder, zooals nog heden fri. weaze. Kil.
wase, Fland. Holl. j. slijck, limus, lutum, coenum.
Aanm. - Van wase is afgeleid het denom. ww. wazen, "baggeren"; z. ald.


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