[Spellyans] Box

Craig Weatherhill craig at agantavas.org
Sat Oct 9 15:46:38 BST 2010


Whatever the origin, there's no real doubt that the word was adopted  
into Cornish.  William Borlase had only the diminutive: kistan (box),  
so I assume that Kist is "chest" (big box, not anatomical).

Craig


On 9 Hed 2010, at 15:34, nicholas williams wrote:

> Surely the word is ultimately the Latin cista, Greek kiste.
>
> On 2010 Hed 9, at 15:30, Michael Everson wrote:
>
>> On 9 Oct 2010, at 21:14, nicholas williams wrote:
>>
>>> Where did the antiquarians get the word from?
>>> If they saw it written <kist> they would have pronounced it short.
>>> For it to have a long vowel it would have had to be written <keest>.
>>
>> Kist is a word used in the North and in Scotland. OED:
>>
>> [Northern form of CHEST n.1; either directly from Scandinavian, or  
>> owing its form to Norse influence; cf. ON.kista, Sw. kista, Da.  
>> kiste; also Du. kist, Ger. kiste. With the various senses, cf.  
>> CHEST 1, 3, 4, 5.]
>>
>> 1.a. A chest, box, coffer. (In Sc. the specific term for a  
>> servant's trunk.)
>> c1300 Havelok 2018 Al þat he milhen [= hy mihten] fynde Of hise, in  
>> arke or in kiste.
>>
>> 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 159 Ouerborde bale to kest,..Her kysttes &  
>> her coferes.
>>
>> c1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xliv, Kistes and cofurs bothe ther  
>> stode,..fulle of gold precius and gode.
>>
>> 1535 STEWART Cron. Scot. II. 21 All tha buikis tha kist hes brocht  
>> till.
>>
>> b. Applied to the ‘ark’ of bulrushes in which Moses was placed; and  
>> to Noah's ark. Obs.
>>
>> a1300 Cursor M. 5614-17 (Cott.) A rescen [MS. An esscen] kyst  
>> [Gött. a kist of rises] sco did be wroght,..In þis kist þe barn sco  
>> did.
>>
>> 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 449 ‘Now Noe’, quoth oure lorde, ‘..Hatz þou  
>> closed þy kyst with clay alle aboute?’
>>
>>
>>
>> Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com/
>>
>>
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>
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--
Craig Weatherhill





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