Disputatio:Somersetensis comitatus

E Vicipaedia

How do we say cider? I think there should be a mention on cider in Somerset and Asturias--80.58.235.32 10:46, 26 Iunii 2007 (UTC) I mean...--Xaverius 10:47, 26 Iunii 2007 (UTC)

And even in Normandy, maybe, if we're being generous! The Latin word that cider comes from is "sicera". That didn't originally mean cider, or anything very definite; it was a loanword needed for Bible translations, and it only came to mean cider in medieval times. But it's a handy word, and if I had started a cider article before now, I would have tried it. I wonder what Iustinus thinks. Andrew Dalby 12:01, 26 Iunii 2007 (UTC)
Cider falls under the category of vinum (cf. Palladius' reference to vinum piri), and in fact I mentioned it briefly at Vinum#Vinum ex Aliis Fructibus. In the same etymological family as "cider' is the much more obscure word "ciser," which apparently referrs to honeyed cider. According to the OED this word is attested in Medieval Latin in the intermediate forms cisera, cisara. If we want to write an article on cider, I would recommend vinum pomaceum (or the like) as our lemma.
In other news, unless I am much mistaken, the paper that has been tormenting continuously since saturday night... no wait, it's been bothering me since January... no wait, it's been bothering me since winter of '04--I'lll come in again. In other news, it looks like the thing that has been keeping me away from wikipedia for the last several months may be done! So if this article is to be written, I will gladly help. --Iustinus 23:32, 26 Iunii 2007 (UTC)
"Vinum fit et e siliqua Syriaca et e piris malorumque omnibus generibus — sed e Punicis rhoiten vocant — et e cornis, mespilis, sorvis, moris siccis, nucleis pinis. hi musto madidi exprimuntur, superiora per se mitia.," Pliny, NH 14.19.103. And interesting that he mentions Vinum ... e siliqua Syriaca by the way, because I had recently been wondering if that was the sense of Ancient Egyptian ḥnqt nḏm. --Iustinus 02:44, 27 Iunii 2007 (UTC)

[recensere] Name

I am moving back from "Somercestria", which seems completely wrong to me: it ought to correspond to an English "Somerchester", not "Somerset". "Somercestria" gets no Google hits at all, while "Somersetensis" has 485. There may yet be a better form: any other opinions? Andrew Dalby 12:16, 26 Iunii 2007 (UTC)

I notice the form Sumesetensis provincia: Galfridus Monemutensis, Historia regum Britanniae 9.3. Andrew Dalby 12:19, 5 Iulii 2007 (UTC)

[recensere] Etymology

I restored the Anglo-Saxon orthography in the paragraph on etymology. It's true that we generally write without special characters, but when we're quoting precise words in foreign or ancient languages it may be best to be as accurate as possible, even including special characters. Do others agree or disagree? Andrew Dalby 15:47, 30 Iunii 2007 (UTC)

As I see it, the injunction against special characters applies only to true Latin words, and to most article titles. --Iustinus 05:58, 28 Iulii 2007 (UTC)