etymological moment
Jun. 3rd, 2004 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ffloOur new lj user ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maffick got me to thinking again, with a comment of hers, about the word "shebang." Googling "shebang etymology," I found this site:
ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY
I like its fundraising approach: "Sponsor 'peace.' Give your boyfriend 'lust.' Show your appreciation for 'candy.' Sponsor a word, and help keep the Online Etymology Dictionary free and open."
The entry for the word in question:
shebang - 1862, "hut, shed, shelter," perhaps an alteration of shebeen. Phrase the whole shebang first recorded 1869, but relation to the earlier use of the word is obscure. Either or both senses may also be mangled pronunciations of Fr. char-�-banc, a bus-like wagon with many seats.
maffick got me to thinking again, with a comment of hers, about the word "shebang." Googling "shebang etymology," I found this site:I like its fundraising approach: "Sponsor 'peace.' Give your boyfriend 'lust.' Show your appreciation for 'candy.' Sponsor a word, and help keep the Online Etymology Dictionary free and open."
The entry for the word in question:
shebang - 1862, "hut, shed, shelter," perhaps an alteration of shebeen. Phrase the whole shebang first recorded 1869, but relation to the earlier use of the word is obscure. Either or both senses may also be mangled pronunciations of Fr. char-�-banc, a bus-like wagon with many seats.
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Re: That website is the bomb!
Date: Jun. 4th, 2004 09:37 am (UTC)I have a feeling I'm going to be tempted to consult the site rather frequently. You may remember: in the broad e-discussion w/Tracy about new dictionaries and online unabridged subscription, I was hardpressed to find a reason we needed access to the etymologies, thinking only that the translators might be able to justify it. M. subsequently made a good case, but we DO work for a non-profit, so we shall see. (Meantime I guess I'll steer M. to this site.)