Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 August 23

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August 23

Canine, vulpine, equine, etc.

What are those words called? Not just adjective, I'm sure there's another name for this group of words. 67.169.56.8 (talk) 00:24, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Well they all come from latin for each animal. Equinus is horse. Vulpinus is fox. 137.48.216.253 (talk) 13:10, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

From my Google search for "canine vulpine equine adjective", the first seven results are, in this order, the following.

List of irregular English adjectives

List of Animal Adjectives | Animal | Pub Quiz Help

English Animal Adjectives

Animal Adjectives

Beastly Garden of Wordy Delights Part II: Animal Adjectives

Animal adjectives

Scientific Adjectives [Archive - CareCure Forums]

-- Wavelength (talk) 15:28, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

There are some problems here. There certainly is a scientific ending in -ine, but it is different (SOED has dentine, grenadine). On the other hand, "animal adjectives" is too broad a description. It would apply to doggish, dogged, swan-like as well as to asinine, and therefore would not take account of the -ine ending in asinine, feline, serpentine, bovine etc. Bessel Dekker (talk) 15:48, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

According to the OED -ine is a forming adjective "that is added to names of persons, animals, or material things, and to some other words, with the sense ‘of’ or ‘pertaining to’, ‘of the nature of." In relation to animals the OED refers to them as Natural History adjectives. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 22:00, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, I recall seeing a list a long time ago and it had a specific name for all the animal -ine adjectives. I'll google around some more and see if I can find it again. 67.169.56.8 (talk) 22:30, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

When did the word 'Uranus' start to become amusing?

While I'm sure that toilet humour existed in the 18th Century (even amongst scientists), I'm guessing that the planet would never have been named 'Uranus' (or at least the name would not have been widely accepted) if the double entendre was blatantly obvious and snigger-inducing at the time.

So, when did the bad jokes start? --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 02:04, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

• I would suggest that toilet humour, or something very much like it, did exist in the 18th century; cf. Jonathan Swift#Biographical sources. Bessel Dekker (talk) 02:23, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

It might be that in the 18th century, Uranus was only pronounced [ˈjʊərənəs], and the [jʊˈreɪnəs] pronunciation was later. Does anyone know the history of these pronunciations (the OED doesn't give that sort of thing, unfortunately)? Algebraist 10:02, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Even the 1963 edition of Jones (English Pronouncing Dictionary) only has /ˈjʊərənəs/ (with variations for the /ʊə/). Bessel Dekker (talk) 12:32, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

18th century? These stories have been milling around longer than that.

This Nicholas was risen for to pisse

And thoughte he wolde amenden al the jape:

He sholde kisse his ers er that he scape.

And up the wyndowe did he hastily,

And out his ers he putteth prively

Over the buttok, to the haunche-bon;

And therwith spak this clerk, this Absolon,

"Spek, sweete bryd, I noot nat where thou art."

This Nicholas anon leet fly a fart

As greet as it had been a thonder-dent...

— OtherDave (talk) 14:01, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

I think people started making Uranus the butt of bad jokes when the word anus came into common usage. It is only recently that I have been familiar with the word anus. We always used to call it your ***##***le (not thinking there would be a word for it). Making fun of Uranus can be put down to increased knowledge amongst kids and therefore can be blamed in part on Wikipedia!(wher most kids get there knowledge now). Of course this puts people like me (who are into Uranus and other planets) in a bad light cos when I mention to people that Im interested specifically in Uranus people start to back away.--ILikeUranus (talk) 14:50, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Back to toilet humour, of course OtherDave is right. Our Host has something about a "fundament" that is "ypeinte" somewhere in a less than tasteful manner. — There exists an Austronesian language Anus, which, predictably, gave rise to jokes on nl:wiki about small children of that tribe having incomplete control over their Anus. Wags, of course, replaced the word by another with the structure --n-s. Bessel Dekker (talk) 15:24, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Phrase

Is "get a bad rap" common in the UK and Australia? Judging by Google results (restricting "get a bad rap" to the .uk and .au domains) it seems like it is far less common. I'm just curious about if I wrote "get a bad rap" if that would make sense or resonate with a UK audience. Thanks--98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:07, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

To "get a bad rep" (short for "reputation") is a very common phrase, but not "bad rap". --Nicknack009 (talk) 10:24, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

I use "get a bad rap" in here in Australia, and people understand me. Getting a bad rap is different from getting a bad rep. A bad rep means people thing badly of you. Getting a bad rap is something like getting bad luck, although it might be your own doing. Steewi (talk) 12:20, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

We understand it in the UK, but we never use it.--ChokinBako (talk) 13:22, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm in the UK and I do understand "bad rep" but would feel awkward using it as it's US English than my local version of UKEng. I've never heard "bad rap", certainly not as a synonymn for "bad rep". I have also heard "bum rap" ("unfair punishment"), but that's US English too - I don't think I'd use it either. Karenjc 14:08, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

'Bad rap' is not a synonym for 'bad rep'. It is a synonym for 'bum rap', all of which I have heard, but would never use, being a Brit.--ChokinBako (talk) 19:30, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

What is rap the abbreviation of?--Lgriot (talk) 06:16, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

A "rap sheet" is a list of crimes/police run-ins of an individual. A "bad rap" is an arrest for a crime one didn't commit. Saintrain (talk) 18:56, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

To answer Lgriot's question, according to the OED (as well as the M-W Collegiate) rap in the sense of "criminal charge" is a development from Middle English rappe, with the meaning "a blow or stroke." By the 18th century, the meaning "a rebuke; an adverse criticism" had developed, and the OED's earliest citation (which does seem to be American) for the "criminal charge" meaning is from 1903. Deor (talk) 01:48, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Deor.--Lgriot (talk) 06:01, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Nastia Liukin

There's a question on Humanities about (among other things) the pronunciation of this Russian name. Replies there please. Algebraist 16:43, 23 August 2008 (UTC)