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Archiver > GENBRIT > 2005-07 > 1120214254


From: Graham P Davis <>
Subject: Re: Mr/Mrs
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 11:48:00 +0100
References: <75.484bbec0.2ff50abc@aol.com> <20050630092208.1EDB88BCD2A@smtp2.freeola.net>
In-Reply-To: <20050630092208.1EDB88BCD2A@smtp2.freeola.net>


Roy Stockdill wrote:

>
> And while we're on the subject, I abhor, too, those ridiculous terms
> "chair" and "chairperson" to describe the chairman of a meeting or
> organisation.

Just re-discovered a relative of mine, Emma Rands, whose profession in
the 1871 census is "Chair Woman". I assume this to mean "Char Woman".
Could be that the pronunciation of the word "char" caused a problem at
the time of the census. It derives from OE /cierran/ and ME /cherren/ so
could sound like "chair". Also, the word can be spelt "chare".

Graham

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