Re: CHAT: postcodes

Quoting Tristan <kesuari@...>:

> Why is it that Americans (and non-English speakers who've learnt American
> English) call mobile phones 'cell phones'? What's the 'cell' in question?
Others have already pointed out the etymology of the word.  Also,
sometimes people use "mobile phone" for a handheld cordless phone
whose base is attached to a regular landline. Cordless phones of
this type were common considerably before cell phones, and so the
confusion would have had to be avoiced in any case with a different
name.

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Thomas Wier            "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics    because our secret police don't get it right
University of Chicago   half the time." -- octogenarian Sheikh Zayed of
1010 E. 59th Street     Abu Dhabi, to a French reporter.
Chicago, IL 60637

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