Torsten wrote:
Skeat derives 'push' from Latin pulsa:re.
Why the
-sh then?
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Actually the Classical
Latin pulso~are & pulsus have several meanings:
1 a) To strike with repeated blows, beat the breast
etc., in mourning b) with the feet etc. c) in swimming rowing also in
flying d) hyperb. of something high conceived of as beating upon heavens
.
2 a) to knock on a doer or a gate. b) to knock on
doors (of a building)
3 a) of physical sensations, strong feelings.
b) To hammer at, bang on (the heart), c) to beat wildly,
palpitate
4 a) To strike repeatedly or beat (a musical
instrument). b) to strike (a pipe) in order to stop the holes.
5 a) To assail ( a person, his body, etc.) with blows
beat, assault. b) to attack in a court of law .
6 a) To assail (a wall, town) with siege-engines
batter, bombard. b) transf. of waves, winds etc.
7 (of a sound , sight etc.,) a) To beat upon or
force itself upon (the senses , consciousness etc., ) also to strike ( a place) , I.e. cause to echo. b) to importune ( a
person) with prayers , complaints etc., c) to assail (the heart) with
emotion.
8 a) to impel to a course of action. b) to send on one's
way, send packing: (transf.) to dispel (a feeling)
Pulsus
1 a)The action of beating upon or strike or an instance
of it, b ) (in playing musical instruments , stroke. c) (in
rowing) d) (in galloping, stamping etc.,) e) (of sounds or metal
stimuli) impact.
2 a) to beat or throb ( of heart) , b) the
pulse.
3 a) The action of setting in motion , impulse, thrust.
b) the rousing ( of something) to action stimulation
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PROBLEMS:
None of the above Latin definitions seem to
match the prevailing semantic of the English «push» or even the
current French pousser: «exercer une pression sur une
chose pour la déplacer» i.e. To apply pressure against, for the purpose of moving: To bear
hard upon; to press against something in
order to move it forward or aside.
In addition, the first occurrence in Middle
French: pouce, poussa, poussah dates from
the end of the 14 th c., while the Middle English verb dates a
century earlier from c.1300. This is
strange, since the English push is considered a LW from O.Fr.
poulser «bousculer, heurter», «secouer violemment,
agiter», «poursuivre», «frapper».
Moreover, the French
«pousser» has an added new meaning; that of «growth
of the first bud in spring or small new branch of a tree» :
"Tige de première pousse (Déverbal
de pousser). Première pousse. Pousse qui
se produit au printemps, «petite branche nouvelle d'un arbre».
Le suj. désigne une plante ou une production du
corps] A. −Empl. intrans. 1.
Croître (to grow). L'herbe pousse; les blés poussent; laisser pousser ses
ongles, ses cheveux, sa barbe."
SUGGESTION:
All of these facts point to a
possible convergence of several sources.
One of these sources, rather than
the Latin pulso~are, may have been: poach (1) "to
push, poke," from M.Fr. pocher "to thrust, poke," from O.Fr. pochier "poke out,
gouge," from a Gmc. source (cf. M.H.G. puchen "to pound, beat, knock") related
to poke (v.)
Ishinan