Nik Taylor wrote:
>Christophe Grandsire wrote:
>> :))))))))) <rolling on the floor from laughter> Anybody knowing enough
Japanese
>> for an etymology of this new Japanese martial art Savate (te is "hand",
but what
>> about sava - a misreading for saba or sawa probably :) -). :))))
>
>Well, _saba_ means "mackerel", and _sawa_ translates as "swamp, marsh,
>pond". So, Mackeral-Hand or Swamp-Hand. :-)>
So, _sabate_ [saBate]? would involve hitting your opponent with a fish.
Shades of the Pythons!!
As for "sawa"-- that's interesting. Ml/Ind. sawah (< *sabaq) means 'rice
paddy (flooded field)'. Some have claimed that the Japanese got
rice-culture from Austronesian people (an AN substrate in Jap.? I've never
seen convincing evidence).