Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
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0:07 - 0:09Mysteries of vernacular:
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0:09 - 0:10Lady,
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0:10 - 0:12woman.
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0:12 - 0:14Lady is tied to a number of words
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0:14 - 0:16that seem at first glance
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0:16 - 0:18etymologically unrelated.
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0:18 - 0:20She traces her roots back
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0:20 - 0:23to the Old English words hlaf,
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0:23 - 0:25which referred to a loaf of bread
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0:25 - 0:29and is the direct ancestor of our modern word loaf,
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0:29 - 0:31and daege,
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0:31 - 0:32which meant maid
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0:32 - 0:35and is the root of our word dairy,
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0:35 - 0:39the place where the dairymaid works.
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0:39 - 0:44Together, hlaf and daege became hlafdige,
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0:44 - 0:47literally loaf maid,
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0:47 - 0:51or, more figuratively, kneader of bread.
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0:51 - 0:53As early as the ninth century,
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0:53 - 0:57hlafdige was the name for a mistress of servants,
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0:57 - 1:00or the female head of the household.
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1:00 - 1:03The Old English word for a male head of household
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1:03 - 1:05was hlafweard,
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1:05 - 1:08a compound of hlaf, loaf,
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1:08 - 1:10and weard,
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1:10 - 1:11which meant keeper
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1:11 - 1:13and is the word of modern words
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1:13 - 1:16like ward and warden.
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1:18 - 1:20Both hlafweard, the breadwinner,
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1:20 - 1:23and hlafdige, the bread kneader,
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1:23 - 1:26came to be titles of respect,
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1:26 - 1:30referring to citizens of higher social standing.
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1:30 - 1:32Through a process known as syncopation,
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1:32 - 1:35both words lost their internal sounds
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1:35 - 1:40to become lord and lady, respectively.
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1:40 - 1:42Though still an expression of courtesy,
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1:42 - 1:44lady has since moved
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1:44 - 1:47down the ladder of social standing
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1:47 - 1:48and is now often used
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1:48 - 1:51to mean simply a woman.
- Title:
- Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-lady-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teel
Why do we call women ladies? Well, etymologically-speaking, the word comes from the Old English words for hlaf (bread) and daege (maid), which, combined, mean the female head of the household and eventually indicated high social standing. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel follow the word to its contemporary position simply describing a female.
Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 02:08
TED edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Lady - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel |