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Ban the user above you!


mnnm1234

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About the archaix.

Banned together with the "Waiter!" thread for making me recall the Mayne Reid's "The Headless Horseman" book (no, not the song) and have it searched and watched on the Gutenberg project webpage to get an answer to the question from childhood, when they describe a saloon and say that (in Russian translation) "don't call him /inn keeper/ instead of /bar man/ or you are risking to get a bottle in your teeth".

For decades I didn't know, what exactly archaic word you can't use for a barman/bartender, which they hate so much.
And finally I know this.

Quote

fellow, standing or sidling between counter and shelves, ycleped “clerk”—don’t call him a “barkeeper,” or you may get a decanter in your teeth

"Clerk"??? For all treasures and fears of the world I could not have an idea to call a bartender "clerk"...

And what's even more weird, what's bad in the word "barkeeper"???

But even weirder is the word "ycleped", which I could not even imagine existing and being English.
(Like another such pearl, "akimbo").

Of course, google gave me an answer, too.

Quote

y·clept

  (ĭ-klĕpt′) or y·cleped (ĭ-klēpt′, ĭ-klĕpt′)

v. Archaic
A past participle of clepe.

[Middle English icleped, from Old English geclepod, past participle of gecleopian, to call : ge-, verb pref.; see kom in Indo-European roots + cleopian, to call.]

So, "y-" is of same origin as the Deutsch "ge-", to make participles from verbs, and obviously came from that funny Olde English letter looking like "3" for /j/, /zh/, and /g/ (strange, why not also /mkw/).

But "yclept" as "called"?...

***

So, banned. Just banned.

Edited by kerbiloid
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Unbanned because @kerbiloid made me have to think and follow that which made my head hurt.

Finally I believe the word means to assign a name to. Like when you are born your parents give you your name. e.g "This is our new daughter Maria.

 

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