At 4:54:59 AM on Saturday, July 10, 2004, tgpedersen wrote:
> Given (my guess) Germ. *wos- > Freench gueux "beggar;
> uncouth person" > (loan) Dutch geus "beggar",
Petit Robert derives <gueux> from Middle Dutch <guit>
'fripon, fourbe'; the word is first noted in 1452. Dauzat
offers this as one of two possibilities, the other being
derivation from Old French <geuse> 'gorge', from Low Latin
<geusiae> 'joues', of Gaulish origin.
Brian