The random etymology of the day

[Tante Shvester]

My grandfather always used to insist on putting synthetic motor oil in his car, because it was better for the engine.  He never drove the car on the highway, or after dark, or over 35 mph, or more than 5 miles from home.  With hard usage like that, you'd better use the good stuff!

[Porter]

I don't have a better place to put this, so I'll put it here:

How would you pronounce the surname Fuchs?  georges?  Fooks?  Fooches?

[The Genuine]

You missed one obvious possibility, Porter.   

Fyooks.

[The Genuine]

Why would you think "Georges," anyway?

[Jonathon]

In German it would rhyme with books.

[The Genuine]

Not according to Google.

[Porter]

Why would you think "Georges," anyway?

That's how it looks like it would be pronounced. :shrug:

[Jonathon]

Not according to Google.

Huh? I was responding to Porter's question.

[The Genuine]

Well you were out of line, Mister!

[Annie Subjunctive]

I don't have a better place to put this, so I'll put it here:

How would you pronounce the surname Fuchs?  georges?  Fooks?  Fooches?

I knew a girl with this surname and she pronounced it fyooks. But I think that was a euphemistic English rendering.

[rivka]

I don't have a better place to put this, so I'll put it here:

How would you pronounce the surname Fuchs?  georges?  Fooks?  Fooches?

I knew a girl with this surname and she pronounced it fyooks. But I think that was a euphemistic English rendering.

I don't think so. I know a fair number of (unrelated to each other) Fuchs families, and they all say "fyooks".

[Annie Subjunctive]

Don't you think they all might be euphemizing in English, since the German pronunciation would be so easily misconstrued?

[rivka]

All with the exact same pronunciation? It seems unlikely. Especially since all agree with this dictionary entry (which Jesse already linked to).

[Tante Shvester]

Over some kugel last night, I asked my son how he would spell "lukshen" as in "lukshen kugel".  He though for only a moment before rattling off: l-u-c-t-i-o-n.  I love him.  He is for sure his mother's son.  When I told him that Rivka said that it ought to be spelled "lukshen", he said that you were probably right, the "Latin t-i-o-n is unlikely in this case."

Still, I know for sure that I've seen "luction" in cookbooks, including a quite old one.  Which, if I had a scanner thing, I'd scan and show you.  But I don't, so y'all will just have to trust me.

[Jonathon]

All with the exact same pronunciation? It seems unlikely. Especially since all agree with this dictionary entry (which Jesse already linked to).

Did you notice the entry from the World English Dictionary on that page? It gives /fʊks/ or /fuːks/ as the pronunciation.

[rivka]

Even with the linked IPA guide, I had trouble decoding that, so I assumed at least one was the same as the linked sound file. Is that not the case?

[Jonathon]

Nope. They rhyme with books and kooks, respectively. The first is the standard German pronunciation; the second is presumably anglicized. The fyooks (/fjuːks/) pronunciation is even further anglicized, I guess, because long u is often actually /juː/ in English.

[Annie Subjunctive]

My grandfather always used to insist on putting synthetic motor oil in his car, because it was better for the engine.  He never drove the car on the highway, or after dark, or over 35 mph, or more than 5 miles from home.  With hard usage like that, you'd better use the good stuff!

Sorry - I'm back on synthetic oil. This is one of those things I'd never thought about in my life until now. The synthetic motor oil is a lubricant, but can they make synthetic oil that can be burned? That's chemically identical to petroleum? I'm guessing not, from the state of world energy.

[Jonathon]

Synthetic oil burns just like the regular stuff. I believe it's still typically made from other petrochemicals, though, so it's not like it's a solution to increasing oil demand. It also costs more than regular motor oil, so it's not an economical replacement. I would guess that Raja knows a lot more about it than me.

[Jonathon]

Apparently erudite and rude are related. They both come from the Latin root rudis, meaning 'rude' or 'ignorant'. Rude comes pretty directly from this Latin word through Norman French to English. Erudite is a past participle of erudire, which adds the prefix e-/ex-, meaning 'out'. So together it means something like 'brought out of rudeness' or 'brought out of unlearnedness'.

[pooka]

eo, ire, itus means go, which is where were get itinerant. 

[Tante Shvester]

Apparently erudite and rude are related. They both come from the Latin root rudis, meaning 'rude' or 'ignorant'. Rude comes pretty directly from this Latin word through Norman French to English. Erudite is a past participle of erudire, which adds the prefix e-/ex-, meaning 'out'. So together it means something like 'brought out of rudeness' or 'brought out of unlearnedness'.

Rudiment, too.

[Jonathon]

Ah, good catch.

eo, ire, itus means go, which is where were get itinerant. 

Huh?

[dkw]

The extremely irregular verb ire, whose other principle parts are eo and itus, means "to go." 

[pooka]

Eo is the present indicative.  Ire is the infinitive.  [i/]Itus is the participle.  Often verbs are listed including a perfect, but I can't remember the perfect form (first person indicative.)  Now that's irregular.  Crap, it is ivi.  I almost said that, but I was afraid.