Re: Dutch surnames (scatological warning!)

Paul Schleitwileer wrote:

> If you look at a crowbar, you will notice the cloven end
Surely only the modern iron/steel tool...?

> resembles a 'cow
> foot', which is probably how it came to be called so in
> some languages.
..though I don't disagree with this.

>One of the French terms is 'doe foot'.
Interesting.
(snips)
> Dansk (Danish)
> n. - koben, brækjern
> v. tr. - at bryde/brække op med brækjern
Lars Finsen recently wrote: "In Norwegian, the name for the tool is 'kubein' or,
more commonly nowadays, 'brekkjern'."

I'm wondering if koben/kubein means 'cow bone/leg'? And does -jern mean 'iron'?
thus equivalent to Du. breekijzer (break+iron)??

A crowbar is just a form of lever. Thus I wonder if these "cow-/doe-" forms could
just refer to the bovine/cervine equivalent of the ulna or shin-bone (a nice long
strong straight bone if you lop off the hoof), which in early times could be used
as a lever; perhaps with sharpened end, more like a modern crowbar...???

Something similar in one of my Indonesian languages: the words for "shoulderblade"
and "paddle" are similar (maybe)-- va/vahi-n (posssessed) 'shoulderblade', vahi
'paddle'.  Is it possible that in old times/ "primitive" cultures, the
shoulderblade of some large animal could have been used as a paddle???? It's
possible too, the words are simply homophones :-(

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