Re: Indo-European for Uralic speakers

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Ben McGarr" <celteuskara@...>
wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "aquila_grande"

<aquila_grande@...>

> wrote:
> > The "swedish" word for boy (poike) is a loan from finnish

(poika).

> I
> > once talked with a swede that was unhappy about having borrowed
> such
> > an important word, when Norwegians have their own word (gutt).
>
> I wonder is there any link with the pejorative English word "get"
> or "git"?
>
> The meaning is something like "devil" or "swine" or generally an
> unpleasant [but almost always male] person. E.g. "You cheeky

little

> get!" "What's that old git doing, over there?"
>
> Is it known when Poika ended up in Swedish? Gustavus Adolphus'

day,

> or when a load of Finns came to Varmland in modern times, or

older?

>

The Roman called their children 'liberi' to distinguish them from the
other shut-up-and-do-what-I-say members of the household. Cf.
Swedish 'dräng' "farmhand", 'piga' "female do." vs
Danish 'dreng' "boy", 'pige' "girl". Which suggests something about
the relationship between Swedes and Finns. Note also the connotations
of American English 'boy'.
I've seen it suggested that 'poika' was the ultimate source of
English 'boy'.

Torsten