h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I read somewhere , years ago , that a friend came upon Pythagoras who was moodily drawing a right-angled triangle in the sand of a beach with his toe . Sensing P's mood , the friend said to him : * That perpendicular line is you . The base line is your wife . The joining line is another man who is having an affair with her *

Pythagoras went home , beat his wife , and never discovered the theorem.

So, originally, 'invent' would have meant something closer to our 'discover', while 'discover' was more like to reveal?. That's really interesting, the way words change their meanings. Like 'girl' used to mean any child, which could have got confusing whem the meaning started to change

Yes, forgot e-pistle

I wonder how many people have discovered/accidentally invented something & not realised its importance?

If girl was used for any child, how did they denote the gender?

'a girl in Chaucer's day was once any young person, whether male or female.' I think they had other words (lad, lass etc) if they wanted to be specific, while girl was more general, like child or teenager nowadays.
Just guessing though

So *a girl called Ben* might be a boy

__________________

Goods and Services

Does anyone know why/how/when the word _goods_ came to mean (roughly) tangible stuff for sale?

Also, any good (as in better than mediocre) etymology sites?

Google has lead me to dozens of sites in search of "goods and services" etymolgy OR "origin of the phrase" OR "you name it, I've tried it" - all without success, which is why I'm here

six7s

There was a rough patch in the evolution of christian doctrine beginning in the mid to late 18th century that led to all sorts of nonsense about work ethics and such.

Among the consequences was a clerical fascination with the words god and good. If goods are achieved by hard work, then hard work was good and nearer unto god. Any 'good' (material object) achieved or received () without due effort was not a 'good' but an object of avarice tainted by the touch of the devil.

This is not of course the origins you were searching, but rather a warning that this diversive and lingering interpretation of goods being-the-rewards-of-hard-work might colour some replies.
Not mine of course because I figger it's all good. Even god is good. But some see them as being actually sinonymous.

~jwf~

I find this a pretty good resource: http://www.etymonline.com/

By the time Anglo-Saxon started being written down "god" (good) already had the meaning of property or wealth in addition to the primary meaning of "good" (as opposed to bad). It would be a challenge to trace connotations back much further than that.

In German it is certainly the same word. (waiting for that link to build up - no doubt it will reveal the connection)

So the German word for "good" as in "the opposite of bad" is "gut"

The German word for "goods" as in "merchandise" is "Güter".

The word for credit is "guthaben"

Had a look at the link - it doesn't give much connection to the German except to say that the word "god" (with a long "O") is of Old English origin.

Interesting the entry two above "good" - it defines "goo" as "thick porridge".

Blue porridge?

"Blue porridge?"

Could be useful. It woad be easier to see how much sugar had been sprinkled on it.

"It woad be easier" was that on purpose?

>> ...was that on purpose? <<

When anhaga asked a similar question about one of my better 'bon mots' in another thread I was tempted to recommend the works of John Lennon as a foundation course for understanding many of the apparent smeling pistakes he might enounter at hoottoo. But I had too much respect for the man's obvious intelligence and education to think I could say anything without potentially offending.

Here however, in this thread about the language and its usage, here amid linguistic scholars of all ilk and age, where the quest for literacy and understanding is paramount and egos are left at the door, I feel again that kneed to assure my fellow Canuck (he hates that word) that if looks like a duck and walks like a duck it's probably O'marka Daffy.

~jwf~

"It woad be easier" was that on purpose?

No, it was on porridge.
(I'm still trying to impress Clare.)

okay, okay. I'm just too serious.

>> okay, okay. I'm just too serious. <<


Don't worry we'll sassoon fix that!

~jwf~

I've an erie feeling that this could run a long time.

hang on, in might be a wilde ride





I'll get my coat

That we should come to puns on the Brit Eng thread! Have you no principals?

He started it, Miss!

*principals*