Heyday

[Dr. Goodword]

• heyday •

Pronunciation: hay-day • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: The peak or zenith of something's development, the stage of its greatest popularity, influence, or prosperity, the prime of its life.

Notes: Today's word is a lexical orphan because it started its English life as an interjection, notorious for having no derivations. It was used to indicate high spirits or passion.

In Play: Today's Good Word refers to the history of things: "It's hard to believe that, in its heyday, Las Vegas was known for performances by the 'Rat Pack'." That includes the history of people: "In his heyday, Grandpa could chop a cord of wood in half a day." Ukraine had not reached its heyday but was well on its way to it.

Word History: In Middle English today's Good Word was merely heyda, an interjection of playfulness, cheerfulness, or surprise. It clearly came from a PIE compound interjection, for we find similar words in many Indo-European languages, such as Dutch heidaar "hey there", German heda "hey, eh?, right?", Danish heida "hey there", Swedish hejdå "goodbye, so long", Serbian hajde "come on!" (with the European J pronounced [y]). The first component of the compound also emerged in English hey, ancient Greek eia "hello", German he "hey, eh? Right?", Old French hay (Modern French eh hey "isn't it?"). Latin hei was a cry of grief, but heia was a joyous interjection. The second component remains a mystery, but it must have started with a [dha], for it reached Old English as [da] which was transformed by folk etymology into day, even though it is unrelated to the English noun.

[Debbymoge]

Swedosh?

While you're on to "...da" words, how about "oofdah"?

[Philip Hudson]

Debbymoge: If one is from Minnesota, one might hear or say "Oofdah." Scandinavian descendants are rife there. A Minnesota friend was married to a Swede. and she sometimes used Swede as a pejorative. When asked her ethnicity she proudly identified herself as a Hanyok, a Czech name for a rascal. Her definition of a Hanyok was someone of mixed Nordic blood. I am proudly 40% Nordic, 40% Celtic, 10% Roman and 10% Iberian. If it were another lineage I would be just as proud. I admire all ethnicities except for the Creme-de-la-creme which I sobriquet as snots. Here in the hinterlands, everyone answers to redneck unless one is a visitor, in which case, she/he is an outlander. Even our Hispanic kin so identify. Back in the day, when I was an ESL teacher, we were a thriving ethnic potpourri. And for all this I am very pleased.

[Debbymoge]

Philip, there are many of Scandinavian descent here as well.
I've asked, but have not been able to get a comprehensible definition of oofdah. Can you help me with that?

I see "Swedosh" still stands. I rather like the sound of it. Makes me think of a smorgasbord... swedish combined with nosh...

[Slava]

On oofdah, though spelled differently (uff da), there is actually a whole Wikipedia page, and here it is.

[Philip Hudson]

Thanks Slava.
Debbymoge: did Slava's post answer your question?

[Debbymoge]

Yes, Philip, and thank you very much, Slava.

"Oy vey" is closer to my ethnic past, so maybe I can learn to use that as a replacement phrase. It has always sounded to me like a pitiful cry, and I don't see myself as needing pity. So perhaps it is a better idea to use uff da, as it has no hangover affect, and if I can to hang onto it, seems a good idea to incorporate it, especially around grandkids.

[Philip Hudson]

I believe "Oy vey" is Yiddish. Are you Ashkenazim Debbymoge?

[Debbymoge]

Philip, by Talmudic law, yes.
Membership in the club is bestowed by the matriarch.

Debby

[Philip Hudson]

Debbymoge: I like you and the Ashkenazim. Yiddish, not so much.

[Debbymoge]

Philip, I relish in what little I know of all the languages I know so little of. (including, increasingly, English)
Yiddish exists in many forms, as you no doubt know. It was the language of the oppressed, their way of hiding in plain sight. There was enough of the local language to allow cover for the many to hear their own, and to write off the strangeness of the rest. It was in some places a code language.
In others, more a dialect, as we have so many of in this country, especially in the hinterlands.
I'm all in favor of survival, and when language plays a part, am always fascinated to catch glimpses of that.

Debby

[Philip Hudson]

Debbymoge: To my mind Spanish is the most beautiful language in the world. I believe it was Carlyle who, when he learned that mariposa was the Spanish word for butterfly, declared Spanish the most beautiful language in the world. I agree with Carlyle. English is the most powerful and amazing language in the world. I like to read German but some of the pronunciation in German sound rather barbaric to me. Yiddish words such as schlemiel make me feel that I have said something nasty when I say it. As for Yiddish otherwise, I understand its origin and respect the Jewish people who created it.

[Slava]

Here's a small sampling of some Yiddish and Hebrew words that have become standard English, including one we use a lot here on the Agora:

https://theweek.com/articles/686190/15- ... ew-yiddish

I'm off to Suggestions now to put that one forward.