From: Rick McCallister
Message: 62404
Date: 2009-01-08
--- On Wed, 1/7/09, The Egyptian Chronicles <the_egyptian_chronicles@...> wrote:
, , ,
>
> 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
pujar, also puyar can mean "to goad" as with a cattle prod. This seems to be a transitory meaning between the ancient and present meanings