#177234 - 06/06/08 12:12 PM
praetorian
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dalehileman
veteran
Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 1417
Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA
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This week's theme: insults.
praetorian or pretorian (pree-TOR-ee-uhn) adjective
Corruptible; fraudulent.
Many of us too lazy to look it up will derive a meaning from usage. Until this very day I had assumed that it meant politically powerful. Wonder why
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dalehileman
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#177238 - 06/06/08 01:27 PM
Re: praetorian
[Re: dalehileman]
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Myridon
addict
Registered: 10/24/05
Posts: 498
Loc: Dallas, TX
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The word has two meanings.
A praetor was an elected official. The meaning not given was "of or like a praetor".
The meaning given comes from the Praetorian Guard, a military / guard force established by Caesar Augustus and lasting till the time of Constantine. They were frequently involved in intrigues, palace coups, assassinations, etc. Their allegiance (or lack thereof) was rather essential to becoming and/or remaining Emperor.
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#177253 - 06/07/08 09:44 AM
Re: praetorian
[Re: zmjezhd]
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BranShea
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 2082
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
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schout
This is about schout.  Perfect word to practise the
sch -sound on and schout sounds like out as in about.
But praetorian and pretend seem to have some connection: ?
At least the falsehood methinks.
Online Etymology- pretend:
c.1380, "to profess or claim," from O.Fr. pretendre "to lay claim," from L. prętendere "stretch in front, put forward, allege," from prę- "before" + tendere "to stretch," from PIE base *ten- "to stretch" (see tend). Main modern sense of "feign, put forward a false claim" is recorded from 1412; the older sense of simply "to claim" is behind the string of royal pretenders (1697) in Eng. history. Meaning "to play, make believe" is recorded from 1865.
Edited by BranShea (06/07/08 12:29 PM)
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above all shadows rides the sun (JRRT)
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#177269 - 06/08/08 04:43 PM
Re: praetorian
[Re: zmjezhd]
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Myridon
addict
Registered: 10/24/05
Posts: 498
Loc: Dallas, TX
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is probably just the Dutch name Schout
I'm very likely completely wrong, but didn't some people merely latinize the spelling rather than translate, e.g. most people seem to believe that Clavius' original name was Clau or Klau rather than Schlüssel for key (Latin clavis).
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#177274 - 06/08/08 09:10 PM
Re: praetorian
[Re: Myridon]
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zmjezhd
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 1678
Loc: R'lyeh
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I'm very likely completely wrong, but didn't some people merely latinize the spelling rather than translate, e.g. most people seem to believe that Clavius' original name was Clau or Klau rather than Schlüssel for key (Latin clavis).
Some Latinized the name. There's a famous German jurisprudentist whose name is Heineccius, which was probably just Heinecke with -ius. Not only Latin, but Greek, too; there are names like Neander (a couple of Germans, a theologian and a philologist) which is the Greek translation of German Neumann, and Melanchthon was originally called Schwarzerd. Katz is a common Ashkenazi surname, but it has nothing to do with German Katz 'cat', but rather is a Hebrew acronym כ״ץ (K.Tz.), short for kohen tzadeq 'righteous priest'. So, it depends, hence my slight qualification. I did a minimal googling and that's the best solution I came up with. Perhaps Branny knows if there is a Dutch word pretor that means something.
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