Monday, June 14, 2004, 22:56 GMT
I recently heard a word that begins with the letters "abcd" and means one who uses language for fun. Does anyone kow the word I am looking for?
Looking for the right word
Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 01:03 GMT
Nope... I doubt it is a real word.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 03:05 GMT
Maybe I heard it wrong when the man spelled it out for me-I was in awe. Any idea what the word might be if it just began with the letters "AB"?
Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 17:29 GMT
I searched it in my PC dic .
AB (air base)
military station for the Air Force, one of the centers for Air Force training and operations.
AB (air base)
military station for the Air Force, one of the centers for Air Force training and operations.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 17:49 GMT
AB...solutely no idea without any further information or clues!
AB...ility to assist hindered without these.
AB...jectly sorry, Pat :-(
AB...ility to assist hindered without these.
AB...jectly sorry, Pat :-(
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 00:16 GMT
Thanks Anyway.
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 06:43 GMT
There's a French word "abécédaire" where abcd is pronounced but I doubt it's your one!
Tom 
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 11:19 GMT
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 11:19 GMT
There's an English word "abecedarian".
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 11:48 GMT
Cheers, Tom! I have just looked it up....interesting. Thinking on its meaning, it's quite logical really. You learn such a lot in this forum. Thanks
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 13:07 GMT
abecedaire ~ abecedarian!
That was to be expected! Is there anything English hasn't stolen from Latin/French?
That was to be expected! Is there anything English hasn't stolen from Latin/French?
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 13:15 GMT
Dear Might Mick:
In Spanish we say "abecedario" and in Catalan "abecedari" Are you sure we stole it from French and that it doesn't come from some common Latin source? As you can see both the Catalan, Spanish and English endings are closer to Latin than the French one.
In Spanish we say "abecedario" and in Catalan "abecedari" Are you sure we stole it from French and that it doesn't come from some common Latin source? As you can see both the Catalan, Spanish and English endings are closer to Latin than the French one.
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 13:33 GMT
LOL! Latin/Catalan/Spanish/French. I put everything else in front of French... happy? ;)
When I see words with "aire" and "arie" French endings, I assume the words are the same in English with "ary" and "arie" endings.
Seriously though, it's obvious that more English words come through French and Latin. A dictionary's etymology section will vouch for that.
When I see words with "aire" and "arie" French endings, I assume the words are the same in English with "ary" and "arie" endings.
Seriously though, it's obvious that more English words come through French and Latin. A dictionary's etymology section will vouch for that.
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 16:42 GMT
Might Mick:
I know that isn't your case but I know France and the French very well. It is quite usual for them to feel they are the first heirs of the Latin Empire and that its Latins sisters are slightly lower down on the scale. Many Spaniards also fall for this. After all, I'm Catalan and we've been buggered by both the French and the Spanish throughout our history. So why shouldn't I stay apart? Minor (meaning less people speak them) Latin languages such as Romanian, Catalan, Occitan or Sardinian don't even exist for the French Establishment. So, why should I worry? The French Government is against recognition of Catalan as an Official European language (it is an official language in Spain) because they're all frightened because 250.000 Catalan speakers live in French Catalonia and might ask for the same. The Spanish Government has found strong opposition from the French in Brussels. By the way, you'd be surprised at how many borrowings English has from Latin languages others than French. And you'd also be surprised at how many Latin words have been introduced directly from the source. That, after all, is the greatness of the English language who, obviously, almost lost its language to French in the Middle Ages.
I know that isn't your case but I know France and the French very well. It is quite usual for them to feel they are the first heirs of the Latin Empire and that its Latins sisters are slightly lower down on the scale. Many Spaniards also fall for this. After all, I'm Catalan and we've been buggered by both the French and the Spanish throughout our history. So why shouldn't I stay apart? Minor (meaning less people speak them) Latin languages such as Romanian, Catalan, Occitan or Sardinian don't even exist for the French Establishment. So, why should I worry? The French Government is against recognition of Catalan as an Official European language (it is an official language in Spain) because they're all frightened because 250.000 Catalan speakers live in French Catalonia and might ask for the same. The Spanish Government has found strong opposition from the French in Brussels. By the way, you'd be surprised at how many borrowings English has from Latin languages others than French. And you'd also be surprised at how many Latin words have been introduced directly from the source. That, after all, is the greatness of the English language who, obviously, almost lost its language to French in the Middle Ages.
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 18:03 GMT
Enlgish language, which and not who. After all, we're supposed to use proper English.
Friday, June 18, 2004, 06:24 GMT
Jordi:
I'm not surprised how many borrowings English has from Latin languages other than French because I'm aware of how much more English is "multicultural" than Latin languages. This explains why it has 4 times the vocabulary of French - you can regularly find 4 words to describe 1 fundamental idea (like a natural phenomenon we don't need a Latin word for). E.g. 'twilight' makes the following 4 redundant: 'dusk', 'nightfall', but from Latin: 'crepuscle', 'crepuscule'(French). That's a total of 5 words for 1 "grassroots" idea. Maybe there are more with non-Latin and non-Germanic roots.
But it's not just from Latin languages. E.g. Consider American Indian languages which gave us our words for fruits and veggies, 80-85% of which originated from America.
From my point of reference, French is the first language I think in when prejudging cognate words because I don't speak any other Latin languages. So belittling them or putting French on a pedestal isn't me or necessarily anyone French (same goes for the Spanish and others from their perspective). However, the fact remains that most English words come from French after Latin.
I'm not surprised how many borrowings English has from Latin languages other than French because I'm aware of how much more English is "multicultural" than Latin languages. This explains why it has 4 times the vocabulary of French - you can regularly find 4 words to describe 1 fundamental idea (like a natural phenomenon we don't need a Latin word for). E.g. 'twilight' makes the following 4 redundant: 'dusk', 'nightfall', but from Latin: 'crepuscle', 'crepuscule'(French). That's a total of 5 words for 1 "grassroots" idea. Maybe there are more with non-Latin and non-Germanic roots.
But it's not just from Latin languages. E.g. Consider American Indian languages which gave us our words for fruits and veggies, 80-85% of which originated from America.
From my point of reference, French is the first language I think in when prejudging cognate words because I don't speak any other Latin languages. So belittling them or putting French on a pedestal isn't me or necessarily anyone French (same goes for the Spanish and others from their perspective). However, the fact remains that most English words come from French after Latin.