• ananym •
Pronunciation: æ-nê-nim • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A word spelled backwards, as draw is the ananym of ward (and vice versa).
Notes: Ananym is a peculiar word; its pronunciation is identical to that of anonym "an anonymous person". Perhaps this is why many dictionaries do not recognize it. No adjective has been proposed, either. Following the examples of other 'nyms, the adjective should be ananymous, though it sounds a bit odd. Apparently, no one has been brave enough to commit themselves to an adjectival form in print.
In Play: Before Theodore Geisel became Doctor Seuss, he published several children's books under the name Theo LeSieg, an ananym of Geisel. Back in the 50s a very popular tonic was Serutan, which was touted in commercials as Nature's spelled backwards. Intentional or not, the popular French bottled water, Evian, is naive spelled backwards. The best, however, is the name of the Welsh town where the action of Dylan Thomas's famous radio play, "Under Milkwood", takes place. Llereggub looks very Welsh with its initial double L but it is, fact, "bugger all" reversed.
Word History: Today's Good Word comprises Greek ana "up, throughout, back(ward)" + onyma "name". Greek onyma, of course, comes from the PIE root nomen "name". This same root went on to become German Name, English name, Latin nomen, Russian imya, imeni, and Old Irish ainm "name", which may be the source of English moniker. (God must love dogs a lot since their name is an ananym of His, a thought suggested by the Old Stargeezer of the Alpha Agora. Thanks, Larry.)
ANANYM
- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
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ANANYM
"As the Doctor's on vacation, I took the medication" and saw that this was the Good Word for today:
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- Lexiterian
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in regards to the aside on God and Dog
There are also the bumper-sticker-quality pronouncements:
'Dog is dead', and 'Dog is dyslexic' (seen on a 1970s era VW van, along with another: 'Save the Whales - Harpoon a Fat Dude')
Ananyms? Well...
'Dog is dead', and 'Dog is dyslexic' (seen on a 1970s era VW van, along with another: 'Save the Whales - Harpoon a Fat Dude')
Ananyms? Well...
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- Lexiterian
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in regards to the aside on God and Dog
There are also the bumper-sticker-quality pronouncements:
'Dog is dead', and 'Dog is dyslexic' (seen on a 1970s era VW van, along with another: 'Save the Whales - Harpoon a Fat Dude')
Ananyms? Well...
'Dog is dead', and 'Dog is dyslexic' (seen on a 1970s era VW van, along with another: 'Save the Whales - Harpoon a Fat Dude')
Ananyms? Well...
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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There is a legend, immortalized in a poem by O Henry, that when tamales were introduced to Austin, Texas, all the cats disappeared. I think the name of the poem is "The Revenge of Don Jose Caldron" but I do not have it at hand. My library is upstairs and I am too lazy to climb the stairs right now.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Thanks. It saved me a trip to the second floor. I had forgotton how politically incorrect it was. I am not Hispanic myself but I have uncountable niece, nieces and daughters-inl-aw who are. I can bear the slur of Gringo from all of them. Also my pastor, the greatest pastor in the world, is Hispanic. Now is now and them was then.
Do you know the real etymology of Gringo? There are so many folk etymologies that it is hard to find the real one. Gringo is simply Mexican Spanish for Greek. We sometimes say "It's Greek to me," when we don't understand someone. Gringo is not an assault on us Gringos. It is an insult on our pristine and perfect English language. "Ah, no liarse." (in Tex Mex).
Do you know the real etymology of Gringo? There are so many folk etymologies that it is hard to find the real one. Gringo is simply Mexican Spanish for Greek. We sometimes say "It's Greek to me," when we don't understand someone. Gringo is not an assault on us Gringos. It is an insult on our pristine and perfect English language. "Ah, no liarse." (in Tex Mex).
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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This may be one, but it is the first I heard, and hold to it:
Irish were building the railroad across the south
and at night gathered around the fire with their pints
and singing. One of their favorite songs was
Green, grow, the Grasses ho.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Grow_the_Rushes,_O
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.co ... rushes.htm
It sings like Partridge in the Peartree, and the repitition
over and over caused the Latinos to call them Irish
"gringo's' from the song.
Irish were building the railroad across the south
and at night gathered around the fire with their pints
and singing. One of their favorite songs was
Green, grow, the Grasses ho.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Grow_the_Rushes,_O
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.co ... rushes.htm
It sings like Partridge in the Peartree, and the repitition
over and over caused the Latinos to call them Irish
"gringo's' from the song.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Thought griego was Sp for Greek, but Tex-Mex variations I find difficult to keep up with. The problem I see with reen grow the lilacs is the second r dropped out. The problem with it's Greek to me is I don't know of a any Greek encounters with Mexicans. Why would their hoi polloi even know there werre Greeks?
pl
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Griego is the Spanish word for Greek. Greco was the word for Greek the Spanish gave to the famous painter. Gringo is Tex-Mex and I think also Mexican for Greek. I did not know any Greeks as a child but I did know the expression, "It's Greek to me." The expression is also used by the Spanish in much the same way as we use it. Since the North Americano were as inscrutable to the Mexican as the Asian is said to be to us, they would naturally call us Gringos.
Gringo from the song "Green Grow the Rushes" is a folk etymology. I do not know any time the Irish built a railroad across the Southwest. The first intercontinental railroad was not across the Southwest. Many Irishmen did build it, as did Cantonese (from west to east).
In the Mexican-American war, American soldiers did wear green uniforms when they invaded Mexico. "Green Grow the Lilacs" was also a popular song at that time. Both of these are folk etymologies for Gringo. “Green Grow the Rushes” and “Green Grow the Lilacs” are totally different songs.
I believe Gringo predates intercontinental railroads and the Mexican American war. I have a book on the effects of the Mexican American war on the American English language, and on the Mexican language.
Gringo from the song "Green Grow the Rushes" is a folk etymology. I do not know any time the Irish built a railroad across the Southwest. The first intercontinental railroad was not across the Southwest. Many Irishmen did build it, as did Cantonese (from west to east).
In the Mexican-American war, American soldiers did wear green uniforms when they invaded Mexico. "Green Grow the Lilacs" was also a popular song at that time. Both of these are folk etymologies for Gringo. “Green Grow the Rushes” and “Green Grow the Lilacs” are totally different songs.
I believe Gringo predates intercontinental railroads and the Mexican American war. I have a book on the effects of the Mexican American war on the American English language, and on the Mexican language.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
- Slava
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Here's what etymonline has to say on the matter of gringo:
1849, from Mex.Sp. gringo, contemptuous word for "foreigner," from Sp. gringo "foreign, unintelligible talk, gibberish," perhaps ultimately from griego "Greek." The "Diccionario Castellano" (1787) says gringo was used in Malaga for "anyone who spoke Spanish badly," and in Madrid for "the Irish."
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Slava: Thanks for the etymonline reference. It sounds authoritative and correct. Does the first date, 1849, indicate gringo's introduction in print to English? If so, I can see how some folk etymologies refer to the Mexican American War.
The "Diccionario Castellano" source from 1787 gives the date I have read in other places for the introduction of the word, with nearly its present meaning.
Where do the Irish come into the picture? Were they mocking my cherished, but unlettered, Irish language? The ill-fated Spanish Armada of 1588 washed a lot of Spanish warships to the northwest coast of Ireland. (The English chased the Spanish north over Scotland and then west and southwest to Ireland where storms broke up the Spanish ships.)
Since the Irish and the Spanish were primarily Catholic, there was refuge for the shipwrecked Spanish sailors in Ireland.
We get some Irish names from Spanish names in this encounter. Martin comes to mind immediately. Also we get some Spanish blood and some Moorish blood infused into the Irish in this event. When I was a lad, the Catholic priest in our town, who was a good personal friend of mine, had the great old Irish name of Kennlough. He had the black curly hair and flashing black eyes of a Moorish Spaniard. The single women I knew wished he hadn't taken the vows of chastity. He would have been an excellent catch. I had a working associate with an Irish name who looked almost African, as some Moorish Spaniards did. He traces his ancestry to the Armada.
The "Diccionario Castellano" source from 1787 gives the date I have read in other places for the introduction of the word, with nearly its present meaning.
Where do the Irish come into the picture? Were they mocking my cherished, but unlettered, Irish language? The ill-fated Spanish Armada of 1588 washed a lot of Spanish warships to the northwest coast of Ireland. (The English chased the Spanish north over Scotland and then west and southwest to Ireland where storms broke up the Spanish ships.)
Since the Irish and the Spanish were primarily Catholic, there was refuge for the shipwrecked Spanish sailors in Ireland.
We get some Irish names from Spanish names in this encounter. Martin comes to mind immediately. Also we get some Spanish blood and some Moorish blood infused into the Irish in this event. When I was a lad, the Catholic priest in our town, who was a good personal friend of mine, had the great old Irish name of Kennlough. He had the black curly hair and flashing black eyes of a Moorish Spaniard. The single women I knew wished he hadn't taken the vows of chastity. He would have been an excellent catch. I had a working associate with an Irish name who looked almost African, as some Moorish Spaniards did. He traces his ancestry to the Armada.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
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