turfastro
At 04:33 PM 2/8/2006, you wrote:
>poetastro
>riccastro
>giovinastro
>maritastro
>cretinastro
>stupidastro
>
>and I am sure there are plenty more, but at this point I do not know
>if the above are all right or if I am just inventing,
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Halvard Johnson" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 9:19 PM
>Subject: Re: etymological query
>
>
>>Also, e.g., "I aster a question that she refused to answer." (dial.)
>>
>>Hal
>>
>>On Feb 7, 2006, at 6:54 AM, Michael Peverett wrote:
>>
>>>for -aster/-astro etc see
>>>
>>>http://www.languagehat.com/archives/000869.php
>>>
>>>(a great site, btw)
>>>
>>>-astro is often pejorative (meaning sham)
>>>
>>>medicastro = a quack
>>>politicastro = a so-called politician
>>>
>>>but it can neutrally express near but incomplete resemblance, as in step-
>>>relation.
>>>
>>>- it turns up quite often in botanical names, eg.
>>>
>>>"pinaster" - like a pine
>>>"siliquastrum" - like a pod
>>>
>>>Michael
>>>
>>>http://michaelpeverett.blogspot.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>In Spanish -astro is often pejorative but not necessarily (as in the step-
>>>child case).
>>>
>>>More or less as in Italian (according to Google):
>>>
>>>In italian astro means a sham form of something else:
>>>medico + astro = medicastro = quack doctor
>>>poeta + astro = poetastro = poetaster
>>>
>>>in spanish I've seen "politicastro" meaning - dismissively - , a useless,
>>>feeble would-be politician.
>>
>>"I don't necessarily agree with everything I say."
>>--Marshall McLuhan
>>
>>Halvard Johnson
>>================
>>[log in to unmask]
>>http://home.earthlink.net/~halvard
>>http://entropyandme.blogspot.com
>>http://imageswithoutwords.blogspot.com
>>http://www.hamiltonstone.org
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