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Dodge

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:39 am
by tcward
As I dodged the fallen tree limbs and various other debris on this morning's work commute, following on the heels of some morning thunderstorms, I began to wonder about the origins of this interesting word:
dodge
1568, origin and sense evolution obscure, perhaps akin to Scottish dodd "to jog." Meaning "person's way of making a living" is from 1842. Baseball's Dodgers so called from 1900, from trolley dodgers, Manhattanites' nickname for Brooklyn residents, in reference to the streetcar lines that criss-crossed the borough.
I guess Dicken's "Artful Dodger" in Oliver Twist was named for his knack at making a living...

Then I started thinking of all the -dge (and -ge) ending words in English, and how unusual that is: budge, smudge, lodge, midge, nudge, stooge, fudge...

Anyway, 'dodge' is an interesting word!

-Tim

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:43 am
by KatyBr
Don't forget the "get out of____"
I love the __dge words and oc the ____gh, words, they are so, so, English.

Katy

Re: Dodge

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:52 am
by M. Henri Day
...

Anyway, 'dodge' is an interesting word!
I'm with you there, Tim, but find the adjectival form dodgy even more fascinating....

Henri