On Thu, 23 Sep 1999, Ed Cray wrote:
> Dick (whose name is a euphemism, not a double entendre):
Well, now, this opens up an entirely different realm of discussion. To
wit: Some cunning linguists have discovered that a single-syllable word,
pronounced "tik" or something close to it, seems almost ubiquitous
throughout the world's languages. It almost always means either "one" (as
in the number) or "finger" (as if a person was counting). Some examples:
Language family Form Meaning
Nilo-Saharan tok-tek-dik one
S. Caucasian titi, tito finger, single
Uralic ik-odik-itik one
Indo-European dik-deik to indicate or point
(e.g., "this")
Eskimo tik index finger
Sino-Tibetan tik one
Austro-Asiatic ti hand, arm
Na-Dene (North Am.) tek-tiki-tak one
Amerind tik finger
The only language groups in which some cognate to "tik" doesn't appear
are the Khoisan and Niger-Kordofanian, considered by many to be the oldest.
All that being the case, the appearance in English of the euphemism
"dick" for something that strongly resembles an extended, pointing figure
is provocative, to say the least. As is the hand-gesture that constitutes
America's favorite non-verbal malediction, known as "giving someone the
finger".
As a final note, the Indo-Pacific word for "finger" is "tong". Hmmm.
Peace.
Paul
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|