Re: Push

From: The Egyptian Chronicles
Message: 62394
Date: 2009-01-08

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