Comments on: Dr. Hurlbutt ponders a peculiar suffix http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/ Archelaus takes a relentlessly upbeat look at operating a small greeting card business in Washington, DC. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:02:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-35553 Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:17:54 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-35553 Thank you, Carol! I am much obliged to you. As it turns out, "a term of endearment for a beloved person" is the older meaning, which the OED traces back to 1648, while it is able to document "a small sweet thing" no earlier than 1840. Thank you, Carol! I am much obliged to you. As it turns out, “a term of endearment for a beloved person” is the older meaning, which the OED traces back to 1648, while it is able to document “a small sweet thing” no earlier than 1840.

]]> By: Carol http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-35545 Carol Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:57:52 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-35545 "Sweetling" is a word with the basic meaning of something small and sweet, not often used now in its original sense. I have heard it used as a term of endearment, however, generally by people who are fans of fantasy novels and Renaissance fairs. “Sweetling” is a word with the basic meaning of something small and sweet, not often used now in its original sense. I have heard it used as a term of endearment, however, generally by people who are fans of fantasy novels and Renaissance fairs.

]]> By: Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-33532 Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:58:15 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-33532 Here's another one formed from an adjective: <i>feebling</i> [1891], meaning a feeble person, a weakling. Here’s another one formed from an adjective: feebling [1891], meaning a feeble person, a weakling.

]]> By: Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-14758 Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:02:17 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-14758 <i>Grayling</i> [1450] is a silver-gray freshwater fish. The word is thus another example of <i>-ling</i> being attached to an adjective. Later [1819] <i>grayling</i> also came to refer to a butterfly with gray undersides to its wings. Grayling [1450] is a silver-gray freshwater fish. The word is thus another example of -ling being attached to an adjective. Later [1819] grayling also came to refer to a butterfly with gray undersides to its wings.

]]> By: Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-6161 Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:21:31 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-6161 <i>Easterling</i> [1534] is an archaic word for someone from the East. It was most often used specifically for German merchants of the Hanseatic League but could also be more generic and was sometimes even used to mean members of the Eastern Church. The OED rejects the theory that <i>sterling</i> [1297] derives from <i>Easterling.</i> It describes the word as being of "uncertain origin" but suggests that the "most plausible explanation is that it represents a late O[ld]E[nglish] <i>*steorling,</i> 'coin with a star' (f. <i>steorra</i> star), some of the early Norman pennies having on them a small star." Easterling [1534] is an archaic word for someone from the East. It was most often used specifically for German merchants of the Hanseatic League but could also be more generic and was sometimes even used to mean members of the Eastern Church.

The OED rejects the theory that sterling [1297] derives from Easterling. It describes the word as being of “uncertain origin” but suggests that the “most plausible explanation is that it represents a late O[ld]E[nglish] *steorling, ‘coin with a star’ (f. steorra star), some of the early Norman pennies having on them a small star.”

]]> By: Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/02/09/dr-hurlbutt-ponders-a-peculiar-suffix/comment-page-1/#comment-4473 Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:45:59 +0000 http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=272#comment-4473 Reportedly, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/6608130/Stanley-Ellis.html" rel="nofollow"><i>wreckling</i></a> is (or was) used in Lincolnshire to mean the "runt" of a litter of piglets. Reportedly, wreckling is (or was) used in Lincolnshire to mean the “runt” of a litter of piglets.

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