Fossil words (meaning, quote, similar)

[bjh]

^
Smite that anvil or smite evil. Whichever.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by bjh

^
Yes, some surnames have fossils in them for sure. However, not all syllables are true fossils. In the case of -yer, -er is a generic suffix that refers to someone performing an action. In the case of law and saw, both common words, the -y- was simply inserted as a byproduct of pronunciation. Try saying lawer or sawer.

Walker, Fuller and Tucker all represent the same job, someone who washed and beat wool to clean and soften it to get it ready for further processing.

Walker came from walking or treading on the wool. I know that sounds ridiculous, but read on. They put the fleece in water and walked on it.

The Full- in Fuller is an import from a French term.

Tuck means to tire or wear something (or someone) out. It's in the modern expression: I'm all tuckered out.

I wonder if this has anything to do with..... I mean Tuck- rhymes with...

Nope, I already knew that!

I have a last name that was an "occupational" name in merrie olde England and originally comes from French. It's a fairly common name. Coincidentally, it somewhat relates to what I now do for a living.

[bjh]

I call dibs on being the next smarty-pants to post in this thread.

Dibs is an old word for a die or a jack.

[bjh]

days of yore - an old word for year

[bjh]

Halloween comes from "All Hallow's Eve." The eve of all that's holy, the day before "All Saint's Day."

Hallow means holy, ex. hallowed ground. Basic English hallowed was replaced by Frenchified saints for the November 1st date that follows.

The ending -een has lost it's apostrophes, from evening to even' to e'en' to -een.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by bjh

The ending -een has lost it's apostrophes, from evening to even' to e'en' to -een.

Which reminds me of another fossil word for that time of day: eventide.

[bjh]

eggnog - nog is an old word for a stong beer or ale *burp* Skyooz me.

[bjh]

gadabout - to wander around, the modern sense especially is someone running around for fun

The jury is out on where gad- comes from. Some say gad came from goad, like a shepherd using a staff to goad the sheep forward. I suspect gad may be related to the verb go.

[Fred314X]

How about spake?

[zugor]

When's the last time anyone here was at a shindig?

Have you ever been ensorcelled?

Ever been accused of being a flibertygibbet?