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Matti Lamprhey
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:51 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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"Brian {Hamilton Kelly}" <bhk@dsl.co.uk> wrote...
| Quote: | paul@scazon.com "Paul Burke" wrote:
Mike Barnes wrote:
ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the
first day of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about.
Context matters.
OK which day IS the first day of the week then?
You wouldn't need to ask that question, if you spoke Greek. Their
names for Monday, ..., Thursday mean, literally, Second, ..., Fourth.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday fall outside this pattern.
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There's something not quite right with that.
Matti |
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Nick Wagg
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:59 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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"Brian {Hamilton Kelly}" <bhk@dsl.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20050616.0044.60228snz@dsl.co.uk...
| Quote: | On Wednesday, in article <3haiksFg78nnU1@individual.net
You wouldn't need to ask that question, if you spoke Greek. Their names
for Monday, ..., Thursday mean, literally, Second, ..., Fourth. Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday fall outside this pattern.
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Ahem. If Monday is "Second", then shouldn't Thursday be "Fifth"? |
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Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:31 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Thursday, in article
<d8rbh1$fqr$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk>
naw@transcendata.com "Nick Wagg" wrote:
| Quote: | "Brian {Hamilton Kelly}" <bhk@dsl.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20050616.0044.60228snz@dsl.co.uk...
On Wednesday, in article <3haiksFg78nnU1@individual.net
You wouldn't need to ask that question, if you spoke Greek. Their names
for Monday, ..., Thursday mean, literally, Second, ..., Fourth. Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday fall outside this pattern.
Ahem. If Monday is "Second", then shouldn't Thursday be "Fifth"?
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Errm, yes. The Greek names, transliterated into semi-phonetic English
are Dheftera, Triti, Tetarti, Pembti. So if Monday==Second then Sunday
(Kyriaki==Lord's) must be the first day of the week.
For completeness, Saturday==Savvato~=Sabbath, and Friday==Paraskevi.
I've never worked out the etymology of that latter: no Helenophone will
tell me any meaning other than "Friday", although I have met it as a
[female] proper name[1]. At a guess, it might be something to do with
"against the hidden", although I've no concept of what that might imply.
[1] Hmm, circularity detected; if "Friday" can be a girl's name, so too
can "Thursday Next" (Jasper Ffoorde's heroine).
--
Brian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk
"Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu
le loisir de la faire plus courte."
Blaise Pascal, /Lettres Provinciales/, 1657 |
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:56 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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At 22:31:31 on Thu, 16 Jun 2005, Brian {Hamilton Kelly} <bhk@dsl.co.uk>
wrote in <20050616.2131.60251snz@dsl.co.uk>:
| Quote: | For completeness, Saturday==Savvato~=Sabbath, and Friday==Paraskevi.
I've never worked out the etymology of that latter: no Helenophone will
tell me any meaning other than "Friday", although I have met it as a
[female] proper name[1]. At a guess, it might be something to do with
"against the hidden", although I've no concept of what that might imply.
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Something to do with dress-down day?
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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Nick Wagg
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:49 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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"Brian {Hamilton Kelly}" <bhk@dsl.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20050616.2131.60251snz@dsl.co.uk...
| Quote: | On Thursday, in article
[1] Hmm, circularity detected; if "Friday" can be a girl's name, so too
can "Thursday Next" (Jasper Ffoorde's heroine).
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Tuesday Weld? |
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Matthew Huntbach
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:26 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Wed, 15 Jun 2005, Mike Barnes wrote:
| Quote: | My wife and I differ in our understanding of the term too,
so we always try to disambiguate the situation by saying
Friday of next week, say, or this coming Friday.
I'm surprised to hear you (and someone else in this thread, I think)
admitting this difference. In my household and circle of friends, "next
Friday" means the Friday of next week. No question about it.
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How can it possibly mean this? Surely it's far more logical for it
to mean "the next day that is a Friday". Although my wife disagrees ...
Matthew Huntbach |
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Mike Barnes
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:41 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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In uk.culture.language.english, Matthew Huntbach wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 15 Jun 2005, Mike Barnes wrote:
My wife and I differ in our understanding of the term too,
so we always try to disambiguate the situation by saying
Friday of next week, say, or this coming Friday.
I'm surprised to hear you (and someone else in this thread, I think)
admitting this difference. In my household and circle of friends, "next
Friday" means the Friday of next week. No question about it.
How can it possibly mean this? Surely it's far more logical for it
to mean "the next day that is a Friday".
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Logical? This is *English* we're talking about, dammit.
| Quote: | Although my wife disagrees ...
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There's your answer.
--
Mike Barnes |
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