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From: Roger Hill <>
Subject: Re: Etruscan Caesar; folk etym., & Sherry
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 17:00:30 -0600


Am. Heritage avers Caesar a name of Etruscan origin; if so, Caesar
is not Indo-anything. Etruscan is so un-IE it remains largely
undeciphered. Even Ventris couldn't get past the non-IE scripts.

Partridge, on the other hand, says:
"Perhaps folk etymology, but prob correct, is the old L explanation of
'Caesar: caesus matris utero', cut from his mother's womb, one who,
'caesa matre nascitur', is born after his mother has been cut open;
thus reputedly born, Julius Caesar accounts for 'Caesarian' in
'Caesarian section or operation'."

'Caesar' also the source-name for the word 'sherry':
Caesar>Caesaris>(Sp.)Xeres (now Jerez), "whence EarlyModEng 'sherris',
which, apprehended as a plural, produces the back-formation 'sherry',
or 'wine of Xeres'." -- thus Partridge.

So sherry-sippers drank to empire and dictatorship unbeknownst.

Verb. 'caedere', to cut, esp. to cut off.
Personally, I favor the Etruscan. Partridge too fond of a good story.

Roger
----
Tony Walton - Sun Enterprise Services UK wrote:
>
> > From: "Cohen, Izzy" <>
> >
> > Compare the Hebrew sin-resh SaR =
> > chief, leader, captain, general;
> > prince, noble; ruler, high official;
> > patron angel
>
> Which sounds not unlike "shah", "prince" in Farsi (Persian). Hmmm...
>
> There has to be some common root here. More Indo-germanic? Lee?
>
> --
> Tony Walton
>
> "Is this some kind of a plan to take over the world as a soggy chimp in his
> birthday suit?"
>
> ==============================
> Create a FREE family website at MyFamily.com!
> http://www.myfamily.com/banner.asp?ID=RWLIST

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