Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
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Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
‘Meteseax’ was a compound of two words. The first one was ‘mete’ (“food”), the ancestor of ‘meat’, whose meaning was later narrowed.
The other one was ‘seax’, which meant “sword” and is related to ‘Saxon’ and the surname ‘Sax’, on which the word ‘saxophone’ was based.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more.
‘Meteseax’ would’ve become ... 1/
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Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
‘Meteseax’ was a compound of two words. The first one was ‘mete’ (“food”), the ancestor of ‘meat’, whose meaning was later narrowed.
The other one was ‘seax’, which meant “sword” and is related to ‘Saxon’ and the surname ‘Sax’, on which the word ‘saxophone’ was based.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more.
‘Meteseax’ would’ve become ... 1/
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... *messex if it had survived, but it didn’t even make it into Middle English. However, it does have living cognates in some of the sister languages of English, including German ‘Messer’ and Dutch ‘mes’.
In this post, you can hear and see how Dutch ‘mes’ and German ‘Messer’ evolved from Proto-Germanic, step by step. I also tell all about the difference between Proto-Germanic *matisahsan with an s and *matizahsan with a z (520 words, tier 1):
https://www.patreon.com/posts/messer-and-mes-936987552/
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... *messex if it had survived, but it didn’t even make it into Middle English. However, it does have living cognates in some of the sister languages of English, including German ‘Messer’ and Dutch ‘mes’.
In this post, you can hear and see how Dutch ‘mes’ and German ‘Messer’ evolved from Proto-Germanic, step by step. I also tell all about the difference between Proto-Germanic *matisahsan with an s and *matizahsan with a z (520 words, tier 1):
https://www.patreon.com/posts/messer-and-mes-936987552/
3/
Old English ‘cnīf’, the ancestor of ‘knife’, wasn’t attested until the 11th century. It came from Proto-Germanic *knībaz (“(pocket) knife”), perhaps – but not necessarily – via Old Norse ‘knífr’.
Its cognates include West Frisian ‘knyft’, ‘kniif’, obsolete Dutch ‘knijf’, Low Saxon/German ‘knyf’, German ‘Kneif’ (via Low Saxon/German), and archaic German ‘Kneip’. French ‘canif’ was borrowed from West Germanic.
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Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
‘Meteseax’ was a compound of two words. The first one was ‘mete’ (“food”), the ancestor of ‘meat’, whose meaning was later narrowed.
The other one was ‘seax’, which meant “sword” and is related to ‘Saxon’ and the surname ‘Sax’, on which the word ‘saxophone’ was based.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more.
‘Meteseax’ would’ve become ... 1/
@yvanspijk Part of my family tree includes the Sexsmiths.
Imagine my disappointment when I learned the *actual* origins of that surname 😄 -
Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
‘Meteseax’ was a compound of two words. The first one was ‘mete’ (“food”), the ancestor of ‘meat’, whose meaning was later narrowed.
The other one was ‘seax’, which meant “sword” and is related to ‘Saxon’ and the surname ‘Sax’, on which the word ‘saxophone’ was based.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more.
‘Meteseax’ would’ve become ... 1/
So this is where German "Messer" comes from 😲
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@yvanspijk Part of my family tree includes the Sexsmiths.
Imagine my disappointment when I learned the *actual* origins of that surname 😄@MichaelPorter I hope that the fact that Latin 'sexus', which gave us 'sex', is very distantly related to this word family as well.
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Old English ‘cnīf’, the ancestor of ‘knife’, wasn’t attested until the 11th century. It came from Proto-Germanic *knībaz (“(pocket) knife”), perhaps – but not necessarily – via Old Norse ‘knífr’.
Its cognates include West Frisian ‘knyft’, ‘kniif’, obsolete Dutch ‘knijf’, Low Saxon/German ‘knyf’, German ‘Kneif’ (via Low Saxon/German), and archaic German ‘Kneip’. French ‘canif’ was borrowed from West Germanic.
@yvanspijk
I never heard Kneif or Kneip – probably too outdated?
Are these related to “kneifen“ (to pinch), maybe because the pocket knife is foldable?
And “Kneipe” (pub)?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipe says Kneipe (Kneipschenke) stems from kneifen, because it was cramped. -
@yvanspijk
I never heard Kneif or Kneip – probably too outdated?
Are these related to “kneifen“ (to pinch), maybe because the pocket knife is foldable?
And “Kneipe” (pub)?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipe says Kneipe (Kneipschenke) stems from kneifen, because it was cramped.@fiee That's right!
'Kneif' and 'Kneip' are still listed in Duden, but they're indeed outdated.
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@yvanspijk
I never heard Kneif or Kneip – probably too outdated?
Are these related to “kneifen“ (to pinch), maybe because the pocket knife is foldable?
And “Kneipe” (pub)?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipe says Kneipe (Kneipschenke) stems from kneifen, because it was cramped.@fiee @yvanspijk in the moselle franconian dialects, a small potato knife is a "Kneipchen" and of course, there is the "Kneifzange"
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@fiee That's right!
'Kneif' and 'Kneip' are still listed in Duden, but they're indeed outdated.
@yvanspijk Ok, Wahrig says Kneif/Kneip is still used by craftspeople like leatherworkers or gardeners. I seem to remember hearing it for a gardening knife. (Perhaps it was @pjakobs ’s Kneipchen.)
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So this is where German "Messer" comes from 😲
I grew up in a town that received a lot of German immigrants in the 1800s. “Messerschmitt” was a common surname. Apparently’ “Knifemaker” (?)
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Old English had two words for “knife”: ‘cnīf’ (the ancestor of ‘knife’) and ‘meteseax’.
‘Meteseax’ was a compound of two words. The first one was ‘mete’ (“food”), the ancestor of ‘meat’, whose meaning was later narrowed.
The other one was ‘seax’, which meant “sword” and is related to ‘Saxon’ and the surname ‘Sax’, on which the word ‘saxophone’ was based.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more.
‘Meteseax’ would’ve become ... 1/
That phrase could regain popularity: “Dude, could ya hand me that meat sword?”
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I grew up in a town that received a lot of German immigrants in the 1800s. “Messerschmitt” was a common surname. Apparently’ “Knifemaker” (?)
@donray @Mab_813 @yvanspijk Yes, knifemaker or literally knife smith.
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Old English ‘cnīf’, the ancestor of ‘knife’, wasn’t attested until the 11th century. It came from Proto-Germanic *knībaz (“(pocket) knife”), perhaps – but not necessarily – via Old Norse ‘knífr’.
Its cognates include West Frisian ‘knyft’, ‘kniif’, obsolete Dutch ‘knijf’, Low Saxon/German ‘knyf’, German ‘Kneif’ (via Low Saxon/German), and archaic German ‘Kneip’. French ‘canif’ was borrowed from West Germanic.
@yvanspijk And probably Catalan "ganivet".
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I grew up in a town that received a lot of German immigrants in the 1800s. “Messerschmitt” was a common surname. Apparently’ “Knifemaker” (?)
Oh was confused at first but you are right, "Schmied" is the modern German equivalent for "smith" so I guess "schmitt" means the same.
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@fiee That's right!
'Kneif' and 'Kneip' are still listed in Duden, but they're indeed outdated.
@yvanspijk @fiee
They are used in local dialect words for "that one sharp kitchen knife". It has a different word in many dialects, but often a version of "kneip" is included.
Where I come from, it's "kniepchen"
This article is german, but has a map: https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2015/31/deutschlandkarte-kuechenmesser-dialekt -
@yvanspijk @fiee
They are used in local dialect words for "that one sharp kitchen knife". It has a different word in many dialects, but often a version of "kneip" is included.
Where I come from, it's "kniepchen"
This article is german, but has a map: https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2015/31/deutschlandkarte-kuechenmesser-dialekt@rainyday
Interesting. I’d guess some of these words stem from a manufacturer, e.g. “Schiller”, ”Abraham” and several “Teufel” derivates. -
@yvanspijk @fiee
They are used in local dialect words for "that one sharp kitchen knife". It has a different word in many dialects, but often a version of "kneip" is included.
Where I come from, it's "kniepchen"
This article is german, but has a map: https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2015/31/deutschlandkarte-kuechenmesser-dialekt -
Oh was confused at first but you are right, "Schmied" is the modern German equivalent for "smith" so I guess "schmitt" means the same.
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@rainyday
Interesting. I’d guess some of these words stem from a manufacturer, e.g. “Schiller”, ”Abraham” and several “Teufel” derivates.@fiee @yvanspijk
Teufel is devil. Because it is "the one sharp as hell kitchen knife", areas around franconia call it the cutting devil 😅
Abraham is a religious connotation, because if you cut yourself with it, you'll see him soon-ish.
Schiller I'm not sure, that is NL-inspired.
This kind of knife is much older than brand manufacturers, the names mostly come from faerie and other tall tales. Or describe what it does, in old and older words.
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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@matz non sono arrivati i soldi.
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Oops! Failed to make this a thread:
https://sunny.garden/@Paws2Spindle/115922232160008195
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Oh, ma Mazzetta non è arrivato sul fediverso?
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@dado Ha il wifi e io ho poco autocontrollo.
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One day a baker was baking a batch of gingerbread men. Fresh from the oven, one of the gingerbread men popped out and announced “I am alive and I belong to myself. Not to the baker. No cookie cutter can define me! I am a gingerbread woman!”
The Baker Growled “You are mine, to sell, to consume or to discard as I please. You will never be a gingerbread woman, you are a thing!”
The Gingerbread woman defiantly shouted
“My body is not a thing!
It is a sacred gift.
No backs are you taking
you heinous theifyou think I be humble,
think again bad sir
i am ungovernable!”
she said with a purrThe Gingerbread Woman darted through the door and down the road she ran.
“Run Run as fast as you can.
I am my own maker now! I’m the gingerbread woman! I will go where I wish! I will do as I please. If you stand in my way, I will shatter your knees”She soon came to a sign that warned “Electric Fence, DO NOT CROSS, $10,000 fine applies”. The gingerbread woman, illiterate and apathetic to authority slipped under the fence without hesitation.
“No rules may bind me, of neither Baker nor Man. I will go where I please, I am beyond your small plan”
A Cow, A Farmer, and a Horse all gave chase. “Stop!” They cried “You are violating the laws of the natural order. You are an abomination!” And yet she still ran, unphased and unburdened by these relics of a tainted past. “Run Run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me! I’m the gingerbread woman!”
The gingerbread woman, now chipped, soggy, missing one eye, cracked, and losing crumbs kept running. “Look! You’re spoiled! you’re ruined! No one will ever love you.”
Defiantly, the gingerbread woman yelled “These scars are the price of my freedom. They are my badges of honor, my proof of becoming.
Shame Shame as hard as you can. You can’t crack me, I’m the gingerbread woman”
At the river’s edge, the gingerbread woman hesitated. The water babbled and whispered: “If you enter, you will dissolve. You will never be the same again, you will never be able to return home, you will be a stranger even to yourself”. Looking back, seeing her persuers drawing closer, she lept into the rushing water. Her sugary flesh melted away and soon there was nothing left but a streak of gingery water
and defiantly, by miraculous force of will, she emerged from the other side of the river.
she found a clear pool of water and saw her reflection, reshaped by the water into a softer form “I see myself clearly. I am no snack, or servant. I am beautiful. I ran, ran, as fast as I could not away but towards this! I’m the gingerbreadiest woman i’ve ever seen. “
In the clearing, from the surrounding forest, other gingerbread folk emerged, all reshaped by the waters into something new. Shining, joyful, welcoming of the newly reborn gingerbread woman. All and each different, all and each free.
Together they ran, crumbs scattered along the land, breadcrumb clues for new gingerbread clam.
And on those paths more friends joined them. A chorus of voices sang “Run, run, as fast as you can. You cannot catch us, not with orders nor bans”
And in the ashes of where once a bakery stood, grew a thriving ginger garden
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How could I impress you?
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**List of all confirmed FIFA World Cup '26 sponsors. You know what to do.**
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- Visa
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- Airbnb
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I have a new FO! (nearly)
Yesterday, I was making good progress on my Harlow Worsted brioche hat, so I just kept going (even though I had other things I SHOULD have been working on). With the basic decrease pattern for the crown now well understood, the main thing slowing me down was working in ever-smaller circles. 4.0 mm DPNs would probably have worked best, but I didn't have any. BUT I did have fauxlexis in 4.0 mm and while not great, they did the job.
As you can see, I was also playing yarn chicken with the Oni 1.1 ball that I'd started with. I had 1.2 ready to go, but fortunately it wasn't needed!
It is so fuzzy! And I really like how the contrasting brim works with brioche in either orientation.
