shouldnt that be "dispensible"
Origination of the word Pawn
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Quite simply. No.
Oxford New American Dictionary::: pawn |pôn|noun ORIGIN late Middle English : from Anglo-Norman French poun, from medieval Latin pedo, pedon- ‘foot soldier,’ from Latin pes, ped- ‘foot.’
Compare with (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)::: Pawnee (1770): a member of an American Indian people orig. of Kansas and Nebraska
An inferior American dictionary cannot possibly be considered the definitive repository and authority on the English language. That is the Oxford English Dictionary. My definition predates the OED by 204 years and predates yours by 525 years.
Oxford New American Dictionary::: peon |ˈpēˌän; ˈpēən|
noun: ORIGIN from Portuguese peão and Spanish peón, from medieval Latin pedo, pedon- ‘walker, foot soldier,’ from Latin pes, ped- ‘foot.’
Compare with pawn (or Pawnee) .
Again with due respect an Amercian dictionary? The Oxford English Dictionary is the bible when it comes to the stewardship of the great English language which we appear to share.
The fact it goes to suggest an acronym without providing any authority therefore renders is suspect. Acronyms in antiquity resulting in modern words are quite rare compared to other etymological sources.
As an etymological scholar I am proposing the acronymal derivation. This predates the OED's definition by 204 years. It is important when repsonding that you read the original post carefully to understand the full meaning. The principle of examining original texts with rigour is well practised in academia.
Upon returning home from WWI until his appointment as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien "for a short period of time" was "employed on the staff of the then still incomplete great Dictionary", the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Philologist and author of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion (two of the greatest works of literature in the English language IMHO) J.R.R. Tolkien later said that he "learned more in those two years than in any other equal period of my life".
My great friend John Simpson would agree with you. His visionary approach has even involved appointing an American as one of his principal editors.
I find both these definitions wholly unbelievable. The true meaning of pawn must surely be the agreement to swap ie pawn your piece for a superior position. this comes from the Cambridge English Dictionary, de facto a more reliable source
I suggest that Beast719 is delusional but at least humorous. I would hate to suggest that our American cousins lack the sublety to recognise a wind up when they see it.
FurryFoot wrote:
I find both these definitions wholly unbelievable. The true meaning of pawn must surely be the agreement to swap ie pawn your piece for a superior position. this comes from the Cambridge English Dictionary, de facto a more reliable source
I suggest that Beast719 is delusional but at least humorous. I would hate to suggest that our American cousins lack the sublety to recognise a wind up when they see it.
The CED? Ha! See that big yellow book with the phone numbers in it. The Yellow Pages I believe. That's your dictionary that is.
Your definition is quite frankly risible.
I quote directly from the text I referred to in my original post White’s – The Cuts of Cuthole and opposition to the new letter in Englyshe:
...so it came to pass that a decree was set to Parliamet to eforce the itroductio of the ew letter (heceforth deemed N). By proclamatio of the Statue by Royal asset it was declared that N have 3 straight lies: two parallel and the third joiig the others at opposite eds. The ew letter must be added at the start of all Eglish proper ames that begi with a vowel or directly after the first sigle vowel otherwise.....
....the people of Ottigham were quite cross but the most militat oppositio, a armed uprising or violet revolt occured amogst the formerly peaceful tribe of the Cuts from the District formerly titled Cuthole in the 'orth....
That's history in the raw that is from the original papers of the time. And this was all before America had even been invented.
Some cuts have too much time on their hads....
"The Oxford English Dictionary is the bible"
And yet you're saying that you have found an instance where it is not correct, that there is a reference predating it. Forgive me, my background is linguistic rather than etymological, but I do believe simple logic defeats yourself.
At any rate, you demonstrate a bias- and therefore a lack of reliability- in your assault upon rival dictionaries. If you want to be taken seriously in academia, and avoid a lot of hard battles, give the evidence a chance to speak for itself.
Very "iterestig ad I do't have a gold". Aachoo !
The OED a Bible ? O M G!
You have way too much time on your hands! Old money I guess.
My etymological studies have led me to a definition that predates the current OED one by 204 years. The lowliest rank on the chess-board which we have come to know today as pawns was first noted in Grey’s letter to Monkhouse 1245 “Prithee thee the merit to use the PAWs wysely (sic) over squar’d board “. In this context we note reference to the lowliest and most dispensable pieces on the board juxtaposed interchangeably against the same most despised and lowest ranking strata of contemporaneous society of the age by use of the Acronym PAW. Extensive studies have revealed this to mean - Peasants And Women. Fowler has demonstrated the phonetic transmogrification of the acronymal form PAW to Poor1from circa 1520.
It was approximately 200 years later with the introduction of the letter N into common usage (See White’s – The Cuts of Cuthole and opposition to the new letter in Englyshe) that we first see reference to Pawn as we know it today. Shown here in the seminal extract from As you like it: Orlando: On Saint Swithen’s day why is thine pawn like thine mother-in-law? Touchstone: Forsooth for I can verily touch it only once in the opening.
1 (The modern usage of poor of course refers to that strata of modern society who by economic factors are excluded from private health-care and/or private education).