Re: Try

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel J. Milton" <dmilt1896@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Carl Hult <datalampa@> wrote:
> >
> > Try is one of my favourite words and a mysterious one. According to
> > www.etymonline.com try is a french word:
> >
> > c.1300, "examine judiciously, sit in judgment of," from Anglo-Fr.

trier

> > (c.1290), from O.Fr. trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from
> > Gallo-Romance *triare, of unknown origin.
> >
> > http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=try
> >
> > I don´t doubt any of this but isn´t there any knowledge of this word
> > before the 13th century?
> >
> > /Carl Hult
> ******
> Buck's "Synonyms":
> ME 'trie', NE 'try', in earliest use "separate the good", "sift",
> etc. (as still in "try out fat") fr. OFR 'trier' "separate", this
> prob., (despite Prov. 'triar') fr. VLat '*tritare' (It 'tritare' "rub
> down, puverize, cut into small pieces", formerly also "thresh grain"),
> this fr. Lat 'terere', pple. 'tritus' "rub" and also "thresh".
>
> Seems reasonable.
> Dan
>

E. Klein's 1967 "Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English
Language" rejects this (actually offering nothing instead):

ME. trien, 'to select', fr. AF. trier, fr. OF. (= F.) trier, 'to set
apart, select', a word of doubtful origin. Its derivation fr. VL.
*tri:ta:re, 'to rub down', freq. of terere, 'to rub, thresh, grind' - as
suggested by most philologists - must be rejected not only because of
the great difference in meaning between L. terere and F. trier but
also because of phonetic reasons (VL. *tri:ta:re could not have become
triar in OProvenç.)

It would also probably be useful to check what French etymological
dictionaries say. Anybody has one? :)

Marek