Piotr wrote:
> given the unclear etymology of both words and the different
> though relatable senses "mother" and "lady". Only non-Germanic
> cognates could help us here. Any ideas, anybody?
I've always thought the standard derivation of "lady" to be
somewhere on a continuum between ridiculous and ludicrous.
lady
[bef. 900; ME ladi(e), earlier lavedi, OE hlæfdige, hlæfdige,
perh. orig. meaning "loaf-kneader" = hlaf LOAF 1 + -dige, -dige,
var. of dæge = kneader (see DOUGH; cf. ON deigja = maid)]
I would relate "lady" to Semitic lamed-dalet-heh La:DaH =
birth, childbirth. In this sense, a lady is a woman
who has previously given birth. So she is usually a mother.
For the semantic sense, compare -parous [< L -parus =
bearing, der. of parere = to bear, bring forth; see - OUS].
She has carried/delivered a "load". Now she is a lady.
The child she bore is called a YeLeD [in Hebrew].
child
[bef. 950; ME; OE cild; akin to Go kilthai = womb]
Israel "izzy" Cohen
izzy_cohen@...