Saxon

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Dr. Goodword
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Saxon

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:27 pm

• Saxon •


Pronunciation: sæk-sên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, proper

Meaning: 1. A member of the Germanic tribe that joined with the Angles and Jutes in the 5th century to conquer Britain. 2. The language of these people. 3. A native or resident of present-day Saxony.

Notes: For a proper noun, Saxon has a rich derivational family. Saxondom refers to the region occupied by Saxons, and Saxonic and Saxonish are the adjectives. Saxonism refers to the preference of Anglo-Saxon words over borrowings, and a Saxonist is either a specialist in Anglo-Saxon or an adherent of Saxonism. To Saxonize (Saxonise) a word is to Anglicize (Anglicise) it.

In Play: Today's Good Word is often encountered as part of a compound: "In 1066, when the Normans invaded England, they were the most hated people by Anglo-Saxon population." When used alone, it usually refers to the language: "I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls/The burial ground God's-Acre! It is just;" (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "God's Acre" Longfellow's Poetical Works, 1893).

Word History: Today's Good Word was not a Saxon word but borrowed from French Saxon, handed down from Latin Saxo, Saxonis "Saxon", presumably based on saxum "(piece of) stone". Saxum traces its origin way back to PIE sek-/sok- "to cut" (X=[ks]), which we find in Latin secare "to cut", securis "axe", and secula "sickle", section(n) "a cutting, section", Old English seax "knife", Modern English sickle, Russian and Serbian sekira "axe", and Russian sech' "to cut up; whip". Without the E vowel we find English scythe and German schneiden "to cut". Apparently, the relation between pieces of stone and cutting dates back to the late Stone Age (3000 BC), when people were still using stone tools and weapons. We see the same origin in British place names, like Wessex, Sussex, Middlesex. Saxophone is an eponym of Belgian Charles Joseph Sax, its inventor. The surname Sax comes from the same source as Saxon. (Now for a grace note of gratitude to Wordmaster William Hupy for finding the fascinating history of this word and sharing it with us.)
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Debbymoge
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Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:15 pm

Re: Saxon

Postby Debbymoge » Fri Jun 02, 2023 10:58 am

One of my favorite words, one that I have little or no opportunity to use but love the sound of...
saxifrage.
I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
Shakespear

bbeeton
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Posts: 547
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Location: Providence, RI

Re: Saxon

Postby bbeeton » Fri Jun 02, 2023 11:48 am

Debby -- Just plant some in your yard, or if you don't have a yard, in a window box. Very pretty flowers, and nice ground cover in other seasons. Then, when someone asks, you can tell them what it is, and hear yourself pronounce "saxifrage".

Regarding unembellished "saxon", I remember hearing it referring to a heavy, tightly-woven fabric suitable for upholstery.

Debbymoge
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Posts: 303
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:15 pm

Re: Saxon

Postby Debbymoge » Sat Jun 03, 2023 4:28 pm

Thanks for the suggestion.
After living here for about 12 years, I'm finally in the position of establishing the yard as something other than a free-for-all taken over by alien invasive dune grass planted by the government, only too late regretted by same.
Know offhand if it grows in plain old salty dune sand?
I'm trying to go "native".
I can strenuously recommend a book that has just come out, written by Nancy Lawson, Wildscape: trilling chipmunks, beckoning blooms, salty butterflies, and other sensory wonders of nature.
It's an eye-opening view of interactions between nature and humans, and an expose of how much most of us don't know and never thought about, eminently readable and enjoyable.
If anyone does read it, please let me know what you think...

Debby M
I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
Shakespear


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