Sunday, April 26, 2009

etymologies

listen
O.E. hlysnan "to listen," from P.Gmc. *khlusinon (cf. O.H.G. hlosen "to listen," Ger. lauschen "to listen"), from PIE base *kleu- "hearing, to hear" (cf. Skt. srnoti "hears," srosati "hears, obeys;" Avestan sraothra "ear;" M.Pers. srod "hearing, sound;" Lith. klausau "to hear," slove "splendor, honor;" O.C.S. slusati "to hear," slava "fame, glory," slovo "word;" Gk. klyo "hear, be called," kleos "report, rumor, fame glory," kleio "make famous;" L. cluere "to hear oneself called, be spoken of;" O.Ir. ro-clui-nethar "hears," clunim "I hear," clu "fame, glory," cluada "ears;" Welsh clywaf "I hear;" O.E. hlud "loud," hleoðor "tone, tune;" O.H.G. hlut "sound;" Goth. hiluþ "listening, attention"). The -t- probably is by influence of O.E. hlystan (see list (v.2)). For vowel evolution, see bury.
not only does a teller need to talk to his audience, he also needs to listen either literally or figuratively to what is going on in order to get better intune with the crowd
remember
c.1300, from O.Fr. remembrer (11c.), from L. rememorari "recall to mind, remember," from re- "again" + memorari "be mindful of," from memor "mindful" (see memory). Replaced native gemunan. The noun remembrance in the sense of "keepsake, souvenir" is recorded from 1425. Remembrance Day, the Sunday nearest Nov. 11 (originally in memory of the dead of World War I) is attested from 1921.
to remember or recall info is what storytellers do all the time. for everyone that has remembered something and recalled it to someone else is a storyteller
talk (n.)
c.1475, "speech, discourse, conversation," from talk (v.). Meaning "informal lecture or address" is from 1859. Talk of the town first recorded 1624. Talk show first recorded 1965; talk radio is from 1985.
talk (v.)
c.1225, talken, probably a dim. or frequentative form related to M.E. tale "story," ultimately from the same source as tale (cf. hark from hear, stalk from steal) and replacing that word as a verb. E.Fris. has talken "to talk, chatter, whisper." To talk shop is from 1854. To talk turkey is from 1824, supposedly from an elaborate joke about a swindled Indian. Talking head is from 1968. Talkative is first recorded 1432. To talk back "answer impudently or rudely" is from 1869.
talking does not necessarily mean verbally talking it could also mean talking with the expressions that the teller uses
culture
1440, "the tilling of land," from L. cultura, from pp. stem of colere "tend, guard, cultivate, till" (see cult). The figurative sense of "cultivation through education" is first attested 1510. Meaning "the intellectual side of civilization" is from 1805; that of "collective customs and achievements of a people" is from 1867. Slang culture vulture is from 1947. Culture shock first recorded 1940.
"For without culture or holiness, which are always the gift of a very few, a man may renounce wealth or any other external thing, but he cannot renounce hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge. Culture is the sanctity of the intellect." [William Butler Yeats]
to appreciate ones culture and use it to educate others is a wonderful trait in storytelling.
history
1390, "relation of incidents" (true or false), from O.Fr. historie, from L. historia "narrative, account, tale, story," from Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative," from historein "inquire," from histor "wise man, judge," from PIE *wid-tor-, from base *weid- "to know," lit. "to see" (see vision). Related to Gk. idein "to see," and to eidenai "to know." In M.E., not differentiated from story; sense of "record of past events" probably first attested 1485. Sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1567) is now obs. except in natural history. What is historic (1669) is noted or celebrated in history; what is historical (1561) deals with history. Historian "writer of history in the higher sense," distinguished from a mere annalist or chronicler, is from 1531. The O.E. word was þeod-wita.
recalling ones history or the history of a people is why people tell stories in the first place. telling children of their past and helping them remember things that they might have forgotten is what normal people do to tell stories

1 comment:

David said...

A great collection. Good choices of words and examples of uses related to our topic!