Re: [tied] Re: Wuz

At 8:06:33 AM on Thursday, July 15, 2004, tgpedersen wrote:

>>>> To the best of my knowledge the word is completely
>>>> isolated even within N.Gmc., unless one assumes that it
>>>> belongs with <vada> 'to wade', which is already pretty
>>>> conjectural and also requires a semantic development
>>>> that could not reasonably be assumed elsewhere.

>>> Ordbog over det danske Sprog has a 'vasse' "wade", fig.
>>> "move clumsily, as if wading through water", dialectal
>>> and loaned from Norwegian. There goes your
>>> 'conjectural'.

>> No. 'Conjectural' here referred to the proposed
>> relationship, not to the existence of the word. I already
>> knew about Norwegian <vasse> 'to wade'; its existence is
>> the only reason even to consider the possibility of a
>> relationship in the first place.

> Tsk-tsk.
> And presumably the reason you didn't mention it in the
> first place.

Why bother? As far as I'm concerned, it has little bearing
on the point that was actually at issue, namely, why one
wouldn't spend much time on <vass> 'reed' in etymologizing a
Dutch place-name. I gave you the one outside possibility of
a relative of which I'm aware and pointed out why, even if
it were legitimate, it wouldn't be particularly helpful to
you; that seemed quite adequate for a brief answer to a
question that it hardly seemed necessary to ask.

>>> Second, if we assume the root is Nordwestblock,

>> I'm not likely to; I'm not persuaded that the term is
>> meaningful.

> Good for you; if you were, you'd have to read a lot of
> stuff in German that none of your colleagues would have
> ever heard about;

Considering that my colleagues are mathematicians, I'm sure
that you're right.

> Mencken is a much more enjoyable read.

Was. I use him for reference and haven't reread him in
years. Routinely read stuff in German, though.

Brian