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
|