Re: CONLANG Digest - 21 Feb 2004 to 22 Feb 2004 (#2004-52)

Philippe Caquant scripsit:

> Silhouette ? My etymological dictionnary mentions:
> "silhouette, 1759, du nom du controleur general E. de
> Silhouette".
Indeed.  His name is a francification of the common Basque surname
Zilhueta, which means something like cave dweller, or someone who lives
near caves.

It came to be applied to the then-new style of portraiture by cutting out
outlines of faces on black paper by a strained metaphor:  "a la Silhouette"
meant at the time "on the cheap" (because of de Silhouette's notoriously
penurious policy on pensions for nobles) and thus "in outline only".

> As to anchovies, "1546, de l'espagnol
> anchoa, emprunte au grec aphue, par l'intermediaire du
> bas latin *apiuva; mot mediterraneen". I like this
> idea, "Mediterranean word". Anyway, Basques don't live
> on Mediterranean borders...
True, but the Strait of Gibraltar is no barrier to maritime exchange.

--
But you, Wormtongue, you have done what you could for your true master.  Some
reward you have earned at least.  Yet Saruman is apt to overlook his bargains.
I should advise you to go quickly and remind him, lest he forget your faithful
service.  --Gandalf             John Cowan <jcowan@...>