'Oh Raymonde, come on!' I protest, 'We never say 'ke-ne' in any word!'
Then I add as an afterthought
'Or at least we haven't done since mediaeval times...'
Her face lights up.
'So it was something people did say once?'
'Yes. Before Shakespeare.'
She is enchanted, like someone who has just bent their garden fork accidently unearthing a precious fragment of ancient floor tile.
~~~
A vin de pays des Coteaux d'Enserune. Never 'eard of it. It's a Chardonnay / Viognier combo. It ain't Pouilly-Fuissé, and it ain't Condrieux (not that I'd know about that, as I've never been able to bring myself to stump up for it, and so far none of my kith or kin have been persuaded to either... who are your 'kith' anyway?), but it'll do very nicely.
~~~
Light on the wall.
~~~
8 comments:
I wonder why and when the K became silent? Beautiful description of a mental illumination.
(Having never studied Greek, I was attempting to quiz my daughter on her Greek vocabulary tonight. Did the expression "It's all Greek to me" also come from Shakespeare?
Thanks Bee. Somewhere between Chaucer and Shakespeare. Dale at Mole did a good post on Chaucer and Shakespeare and linguistic change a week or so ago.
Yep, that's from Julius Caesar, I think Cicero says it (haven't checked) which is daft because he would have had plenty of Greek, but who cares as he was probably wearing a doublet and hose anyway.
Kith are friends, aren't they?
I love your floor tile simile.
Knights who say NI!
Oh, and an It's All Greek to Me map,
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/362-greek-to-me-mapping-mutual-incomprehension/
Your kith are the people you know, the people you're familiar with. "Kith" is the same word-element as the "couth" that is negated in "uncouth" -- "uncouth" people (habits, customs) being the ones that are strange and unfamiliar to you.
It is kind of wonderful when you can explain some of the absurdities of current spelling by harking back!
Thank you all, for the kith explanation and other points of interest! I assumed kith were friends, but realised I'd never actually known for sure.
Dale, I thought of you.
Lovely light on the wall.
Lovely knowing people like your commenters exist. Wish we could all have a big gathering someday.
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