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[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear Forum:

In Glenski's recent post entitled "Is Teaching English a Profession?", I alluded to an etymology dictionary that I often use, and thought some of you might find it useful.

Let me preface this by saying that I teach English in Russia, where students often ask really difficult questions about vocabulary and grammar. So...the link below is intended only for serious "nerds" of English; those EFL teachers among us who want to know more than just the standard dictionary definition. eg, where a particular word comes from, how it was used originally, and how it may have evolved into something completely different over time.

Ok. Here's the link:

www.geocities.com/etymonline/index.html

Have fun with it

RegardsFromTheFrozenTundra,
Kent

PS: If you think this may be too boring or too academic for you, just take a quick look at the etymology of the word "feisty", for a good laugh. For those too busy to look for themselves, it originally meant "stinking, farting dog".

[Roger]

Dear Kent,

a welcome tip, thank you! I am quite interested in etymologies.
Unfortunately, I cannot access geocities from China.

Lucky me, I have got an OXFORD, a Kluge Deutsches Etymologisches Woerterbuch and a Paul RObert Dictionnaire etymologique pour la langue francaise.

The word 'feisty' intrigues because of its pronunciation, but my OXFORD cannot enlighten me as to its exact origin! It claims it is from 'feist, meaning 'small dog'" Hilarious!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Roger,

Sorry about your problems accessing geocities from China

Ok, here it is: everything you ever wanted to know about the word "feisty" ... and a few things you probably didn't want to know.

First ...the modern definition, courtesy of wordsmyth.net: an adjective which means spirited, quick-tempered, determined, quarrelsome or touchy

Here now, the etymology, courtesy of the link in my original post:

feisty - 1896, Amer.Eng. from feist "small dog," from fice, fist Amer.Eng. 1805 "small dog," short for fysting curre "stinking cur," attested from 1529, from M.E. fysten, fisten "break wind" (1440), related to O.E. fisting "stink." The 1811 slang dictionary defines fice as "a small windy escape backwards, more obvious to the nose than ears; frequently by old ladies charged on their lap-dogs."

So Roger, maybe we should all think twice now before referring to our dear old grandmother as a "feisty old woman". She might have one of these dictionaries too.

Warm regards,
Kent

[Roger]

Kent,
I loved your reply, dude! Just the right mix of erudition and amusement! That is what popularising an acadmic subject is all about! Thanks a lot!

Will in future never again use 'feisty' in reference to any old ladies - my grandmothers both can no longer 'break wind' anyway!