on 8/5/01 10:33 PM, Robin Hamilton at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> (the ever-helpful, hirpling off)
>
> [A Qualification on the above, and an aside to Candice: CSD gives the sense
> of "active" as dating from late 16thC. However, the OED (Ed2, on CD) gives
> this as the +earliest+ meaning, and cites Beowulf:
>
> 1. a. Of persons: Quick in movement or action; prompt, smart, active,
> strenuous; ?good.
> In ME. freq. as a general epithet of commendation. In later Sc. use
> tending towards the sense of 'sharp, keen'.
>
> Beowulf 2971 Ne meahte se snella sunu Wonredes ealdum ceorle hondslyht
> ¼iofan.
>
> -- ¼ in the Beowulf quote above is from the OED yog. I refuse to speculate
> whether this should be transcribed in the modern alphabet as "y" or "g" in
> this case. Perhaps, Candice ...?]
Well, I rather doubt that anyone but you cares, Robin, but since you
went to all this trouble to remind me of "snella," I checked my Klaeber, and
he gives "giofan"--so there you have it.
Actually, I remembered telling David Divizio (remember D2D & Ana, his poetic
PDA?) about "snell" and "grove" being two of our oldest English words when I
found out his real surname is Snellgrove (as he told me when I asked him if
he was Italian)--okay, stop hirpling & girgling on the floor there, a grown
man such as you pretend to be....
