From: tgpedersen
Message: 56299
Date: 2008-03-30
>They said that too.
> At 11:23:22 AM on Sunday, March 30, 2008, tgpedersen wrote:
>
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott"
> > <BMScott@> wrote:
>
> >> At 8:00:40 AM on Sunday, March 30, 2008, tgpedersen wrote:
>
> >> [...]
>
> >>> Dansk Etymologisk Ordbog:
> >>> lange "the codfish species Molva Vulgaris" [ ie. "ling"
> >>> http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_762509212/ling.html
> >>> ] ODa., No. id. Sw. långa, ON langa, side form Germ. Länge,
> >>> Dui. leng, ling (whence Fr. lingue), Engl. ling, der. from
> >>> 'lang' ["long"]
>
> >>> Somehow I doubt that last piece of information.
>
> >> It seems to be a widely-held view, and there's no obvious
> >> objection.
>
> > We have always done it this way, and we have never received a
> > complaint before.
>
> ... because there's no apparent basis for a complaint.
>No one denied that it was a long fish.
> >> AHD4 s.v. <ling>: ME, possibly of LG origin, with a
> >> reference to a PIE root *del-(1), where a stronger
> >> assertion is made: that it's from ME <lenge, ling, ling>,
> >> from a LG source akin to Dutch <lenghe, linghe>, 'long
> >> one', from PGmc *langitho:.
>
> > That well-known fish, the 'length'? Haha, funny man.
>
> 'Ling possesses a long slender body that can reach 2 metres
> in length' (Wikip. s.v. <Common ling>).
>
> 'The ling has long, slender body and a distinct beard on the
> lower jaw. ... The ling can reach a length of 2.2 meters.'
> (The Marine Fauna Gallery of Norway,
> <http://www.seawater.no/fauna/Fisk/lange.htm>)
>
> The pictures show a long, slender, rather eel-like fish for
> which 'the long one' seems quite appropriate.
>
> >> Incidentally, ON <langa> was borrowed into OIr as <langa>.Oddly enough, so did the Baltic Finns, Est. tursk. Therefore it must
>
> > The obvious objection is that there is no reason why the
> > Irish should borrow a name for that fish from the
> > Scandinavians.
>
> They also borrowed ON <þorskr> 'codfish', as <trosc>.
>