(no subject)

[noahgibbs]

Etymology oddities tend to make me happy. Here's one: the etymology of the word cretinous.

Comments

[noirem.livejournal.com]

that's ironic.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

But what I've read is that it goes farther back than that. People in one Swiss village with a high incident of hypothyroidism in children (which, untreated, causes retardation) would treat the retarded kids as labor, as *things,* and the local church leaders implored, "Be nice to them, for they are also Christians." Thus, "Christian" (Cretin) became a euphemism for mentally retarded person, and the word meaning "idiot" grew from there. In some countries besides the US, "cretin" is still used to mean, specifically and in medical documentation, an adult physically/mentally disabled by childhood hypothyroidism.

The name of Chretien, the former PM of Canada, shares that history.

I'm not positive of the "they are also Christians" story, I've heard it someplace moderately, but not absolutely, authoritative. But the rest of the hypothyroidism connection is documented.

Etymology makes you happy. It makes me hot. :)

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Yeah, M-W mentioned the link to hypothyroidism, and I knew that cretin (as you say, like "idiot") was also used to mean a mentally retarded person.

The "be nice to them, for they are also Christians" story is lovely, though. I'll have to remember that one.

Etymology makes you happy. It makes me hot. :)

Heh. Always nice to know that one or another of my obscure hobbies is somebody's fetish. Makes it feel vaguely useful. And now I know that if I want to talk dirty to you, I'll want to do it about tuna and avocados... Both of which have silly etymological stories I enjoy.

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[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Dude, you're making me hungry. You're just the master of unintended consequences today.

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[angelbob.livejournal.com]

I'm making one woman hot and another hungry. Well, at least they're mostly *good* unintended consequences :-)

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[cortneyofeden.livejournal.com]

Etymology and linguistics - brain candy that I need to make a point to get more of.

Between that and starting to understand how a car works and is put together. Well, Happy Happy cortneyofeden brain. :)

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[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Only if you plan to feed me.

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[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Sweet cracker sandwich!

I was reminded, so I looked up the Oxford Etymological Dictionary again. Slightly more literate web searching allowed me to determine that it is, rather, called the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Since Oxford Press also publishes the OED, I was figuring it'd be way out of my price range...

It's $65 on Amazon. Well, that was an easy decision.

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[angelbob.livejournal.com]

True. I'd offer, but I don't think I can offer you a ride to go with that. We're already putting me and ravenslost on the bike, and while you're small, you're not *that* small :-)

[loafoflove.livejournal.com]

Funny. There's a Catholic school near where I grew up called Cretin.