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 #2 (permalink) Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:43 am New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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Hi Jamie
Is this word of German origin or not? |
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 Pamela
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| #3 (permalink) Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:34 am New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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Hi Pamela
The 'meister' part is definitely German. I suspect the 'schlock' part has Yiddish origins. I don't think 'schlockmeister' (as one word) is German -- at least I've never heard it. However, the pronunciation of 'schlock' would be relatively similar to the German word 'Schlag'. :D
Amy
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Yankee
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| #4 (permalink) Mon Dec 11, 2006 13:33 pm New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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Amy''s right. Meister is from German, and schlock is from Yiddish. Here is the etymology of schlock from the Oxford American Dictionary:
| Quote: |
| ORIGIN early 20th cent.: apparently from Yiddish shlak ‘an apoplectic stroke,’ shlog ‘wretch, untidy person, apoplectic stroke.’ |
Note that there is also an adjective: schlocky |
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Jamie (K)
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| #5 (permalink) Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:51 pm New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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| Quote: |
| It's okay to use the word "schlockmeister" in a game of Scrabble |
May I know how? In what sense, I mean? "The one who makes inferior words"?
Tom |
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Tom
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| #6 (permalink) Tue Dec 12, 2006 13:14 pm New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| Quote: |
| ORIGIN early 20th cent.: apparently from Yiddish shlak ‘an apoplectic stroke,’ shlog ‘wretch, untidy person, apoplectic stroke.’ |
Note that there is also an adjective: schlocky |
Maybe, there's also a connection between 'shlog' and 'slob'?
TOEIC listening, photographs: Window washers |
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Torsten
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| #7 (permalink) Tue Dec 12, 2006 14:22 pm New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| Maybe, there's also a connection between 'shlog' and 'slob'? |
Apparently not.
The Oxford American Dictionary again:
| Quote: |
| ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Irish slab ‘mud,’ from Anglo-Irish slab [ooze, sludge,] probably of Scandinavian origin. |
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Jamie (K)
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| #8 (permalink) Tue Dec 12, 2006 15:06 pm New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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Hi Jamie (K),
You wrote:
| Quote: |
| It's okay to use the word "schlockmeister" in a game of Scrabble, because it's in ordinary American dictionaries. |
Do you (or anyone else) know how common the word is in non-American varietes of English?
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
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| #9 (permalink) Wed Dec 13, 2006 0:33 am New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister |
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Hello to everyone,
Yes, exactly the stem meister made me think that this word could be of German origin. But then my thorough search of schlock in German dictionary went down the drain. Your feedback has confirmed that. However, sch(l)- is often met in German words. So,schlockmeister can easily bedevil a man who is not in close contact with German language :)(who is not aware of its absence in it) |
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Pamela
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| 'Blue-eyed liar': is there an English equivalent? | Meaning of "threaded down" |
