Zing!
Ginger [Late Old English gingifer, gingiber conflated in Middle English with Old French gingi(m)bre, both from medieval Latin gingiber, zingeber from Latin zingiber(i from Greek ziggiberis from Pali singivera from Dravidian: cf. Tamil inci ginger, ver foot (Sanskrit srngavera infl. by srnga horn from its antler-shaped root).]
I like to think that zingeber means carrying zing. It doesn't, but I'd like to think that. Getting back to reality, I do like that we can trace ginger about as far back as any word in English.
In other news, my sister and I each pronounce crayons with one syllable: crans. The OED doesn't agree starting a second syllable with a schwa. I think it might be more of a duration of the sound that ellides the second syllable. I'm not too worried though.
I like to think that zingeber means carrying zing. It doesn't, but I'd like to think that. Getting back to reality, I do like that we can trace ginger about as far back as any word in English.
In other news, my sister and I each pronounce crayons with one syllable: crans. The OED doesn't agree starting a second syllable with a schwa. I think it might be more of a duration of the sound that ellides the second syllable. I'm not too worried though.
Labels: ginger, pronounciation
posted by Daniel @ 3/12/2007 10:44:00 PM
2 Comments:
At March 15, 2007 6:07 PM,
Wishydig said…
So you're saying that when you say "crayons" is rhymes with bans, fans, and pans?
I'm going to have to ask for a recording of you and your sister pronouncing these words.
At March 22, 2007 2:26 PM,
Daniel said…
Yes. Actually what brought it up with Marcy and me was that we were talking about the myriad "crans" that the Ocean Spray people have implemented as a prefix.
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