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evil
O.E. yfel (Kentish evel) "bad, vicious," from P.Gmc. *ubilaz (cf. O.Saxon ubil, Goth. ubils), from PIE *upelo-, giving the word an original sense of "uppity, overreaching bounds" which slowly worsened. "In OE., as in all the other early Teut. langs., exc. Scandinavian, this word is the most comprehensive adjectival expression of disapproval, dislike or disparagement" [OED]. Evil was the word the Anglo-Saxons used where we would use bad, cruel, unskillful, defective (adj.), or harm, crime, misfortune, disease. The meaning "extreme moral wickedness" was in O.E., but did not become the main sense until 18c. Related: Evilly. Evil eye (L. oculus malus) was O.E. eage yfel.
good (adj.)
O.E. god (with a long "o") "having the right or desirable quality," from P.Gmc. *gothaz (cf. O.N. goðr, Du. goed, Ger. gut, Goth. goþs), originally "fit, adequate, belonging together," from PIE base *ghedh- "to unite, be associated, suitable" (cf. O.C.S. godu "pleasing time," Rus. godnyi "fit, suitable," O.E. gædrian "to gather, to take up together"). Irregular comparatives (better, best) reflect a widespread pattern, cf. L. bonus, melior, optimus. The good neighbours is Scot. euphemism for "the fairies" (1580s). Good-for-nothing is from 1711. Good looking is attested from 1780 (good looks by c.1800). Good sport is from 1917; good to go is attested from 1989.
Originally posted by sakokrap
As such, we can play at great length to these intricacies with English. Here you go- have you noticed that Satan and Santa have the same letters? There are a plethora of examples in any word scramble, no?
Originally posted by spacekc929
reply to post by Wertdagf
Kinda rude... yeah, it may only occur in English, but it's still something weird to think about. So please, don't be so rude. I think it is a very cool observation, even if only in English.
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Originally posted by sakokrap
As such, we can play at great length to these intricacies with English. Here you go- have you noticed that Satan and Santa have the same letters? There are a plethora of examples in any word scramble, no?
I have already, (in another thread) pointed out the obvious, which is of course that Santa IS Satan. So no trying to steal my theory here! He is the anti-christ! He comes on the supposed but probably not birthday of Christ which is actually a pagan holiday, he spreads materialism, people all trust him, and he has nasty little pointy eared minions disguised as cute lil' elves and cloven hoofed animals pulling his hellish sled.
But thats another story.
Hey has anyone else noticed that the word "Holy" is only one letter off from "Holly?" Could it mean that holly is sacred? Or do you think that is another one of SATAN CLAUS' dirty tricks designed to have us flung into an ever burning pit of despair??? Which is what I sorta think.
Heehee.
Originally posted by ajmusicmedia
As others have mentioned, this happens in English only and English is a "new" language derived from a mix of German, Norse and tons of French. When William the Conquerer conquered England in 1066, there was no such thing as English and no written language in England. (Normand) French became the official language and was taught around the country. English is essentially a very simplified version of this French. It was derived by the way people spoke it and contains no codes whatsoever.
The Anglo-Saxons never imported English
The currently prevailing interpretation of events in the 5th century creates more problems than it solves. Where is the proof that:
Celtic culture is linked with Celtic language?
There was such a thing as 'a Celtic language' ?
Anglo-Saxons changed the language?
In reality, none of those statements have been ever proved. They are all assumptions. Continental sources confirmed that 'Angles' took power in Britain around the early 440's AD. But there is a major difference between obtaining power and a full scale conquest. The conquest or takeover of eastern Britain by Anglo-Saxons is a modern assumption, which sounds logical, but the reality was different. Remarkably, even early British sources (Gildas, Bede), although condemning the Anglo-Saxons (especially Gildas), never spoke of a classic conquest. Something else happened. The linked assumption (that the whole of Britain spoke a 'Celtic' language before, and that the population in the east was forced to learn English) is even worse: it is completely false.
This website explains that Britain always had two languages: proto-Welsh in the west and proto-English in the east.
After the last Ice Age ended (about 8000 BC) , there were two language families in Britain: primordial Germanic east of the Pennines and primordial Brythonic in the west [1]. When agriculture arrived (about 4500 BC) both languages were developed into the ancestors of proto-English and proto-Welsh respectively . The proto-English zone was split into two regions: the Midlands and the Northeast were one zone, the South and Southeast were another. Both initially spoke a different variant of the Germanic idiom. The proto-Welsh language family zone gradually became divided into Cornwall (up to Wiltshire), Wales (including the valley of the Severn) and Scotland (+ Cumbria). The Germanic speaking population was genetically slightly different from the proto-Welsh speaking people. The reason is the relative isolation of both populations in their refuges on the Continent (Ice Age refuges) during the Ice Age, before they separately migrated into Britain.