Re[2]: The word "loon" (was: Re: [tied] Re: Also an Austro-Asiatic

At 1:53:47 AM on Thursday, November 10, 2005, Patrick Ryan
wrote:

> From: "glen gordon" <glengordon01@...>

>> Patrick:

>>> It is 'loon' rather than your ignorantly misspelled
>>> "lune".

>> Actually, the basis of the word "loon" is "lunatic"
>> which is naturally related to the French word "lune",
>> the implication being that crazy people are driven
>> to madness by way of the moon.

> 'Loon' is derived from 'loon', a bird with a call that
> sounds like a crazy laugh.

Although <loon> 'a crazy person; a simpleton' is from the
bird appellative, it's also quite likely that the sense
development was influenced by <loony> 'lunatic' (noun and
adj.), which is from <lunatic> and hence related to French
<lune>. (And I'm amused to discover that there's an archaic
English <lune>, used only in the plural to mean 'fits of
frenzy or lunacy; mad freaks or tantrums'.)

Brian