Re: About the origin of a few romanian words....

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rau Eugen <eugenrau@...> wrote:

>
> On 5/9/09, Berzovan Alexandru <prince_of_sarmizegetusa@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Hy to everybody,
> > I would like to ask you about the origin of a few rare Romanian
> > words, and if they might came from Daco-Moesian language. In the
> > Romanian etimological dictionaries I consulted so far, they have
> > "unknown origin", that is an etiquette often aplied to possible
> > Daco-Moesic substratum words...
> >
> > "Momaie" with alternative forms: , with the following meaning :
> > scarecrow, mound made of stons as marking sign, boogeyman, ghost.
> > "Muiama", with the meaning of ghost, or evil spirit, etc, that
> > form i found it highly used in SW Romania only and does not
> > appear in dictionaries. "Momarlan", that is the name of Romanian
> > pastoral population from Jiu Valley.
> >
> > These have a large variety of derivate words also, I hope can be
> > found some possible etimologies
> >
> > with respect,
> > Alexandru
> >
>> Hello,
> I don`t ask myself if daco/moesian or not.I propose you another
> word maybe related
> - Momitze, that`s animal testicles wich in some Balkanic cultures
> are used as say an exotic dish.
> The common element of both words is
> - both are related to something wraped in a bag like scrotum for
> testicles and old mumies wraping or dried skin.
> You know both are related to old,fixed in the past,not necessary
> active, but representing the past and ancestors..That is common for
> momaie,momitze.
> What`s your opinion about this ?
> Your, Eugen Rau

Dansk Etymologisk Ordbog
(I should use a German one but I don't have one)
'mumme v. (old) "mumble, disguise", see mumle [which has no explanation for the "disguise" sense], cf formumme.
...
formumme, older Modern Danish id., borrowed through German vermummen "disguise" from Low German; see mumme.'

cf. mummespil "hypocritical procedure"
http://tinyurl.com/obbbsj

'Mum' of 'keeping mum' "keeping silent" Skeat claims to be onomatopoiec; I'm not so sure. He also has
mummer, a masker, buffoon. (F = Du)
O.French mommeur 'a mumme, one that goes a-mummimg; Cot. = O.Du. mommen, to go a-mumming; cf mom-aensicht, a mommer's mask; Low G. mumme, a mask. The word is imitative, from the sound mum or mom, usrd by nurses to frighten or amuse children, at the same time pretending to cover their faces. Cf. G. mummel, a bug-bear. Der. mummery, O.French mommerie.

mump, to mumble, sulk, beg. (Du.)
A mumper was a cat term for a beggar. = D. mompen, to mump, cheat (Sewel); cf. mommelen, mompelen, to mumble (Hexham). This mump is merely an emphatic form of mum, O.Du. mommen, to say mum, also to mask. Cf. Goth. bi-mampjan, to deride; likewise of imitative origin.'

Skeat's 'imitative' I don't believe, but the distribution is interesting.


Torsten