[TheForge] Re: Spalted wood

[Dan Hayes]

Lots of German influence around here too. Lived in Lancaster County PA ("PA
Dutch Country"), now across the river in York County. German enough to have
no trouble finding an Amish crew to repair my timber frame barn earlier this
year. Plenty of German in the local vernacular too.

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Spencer
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:39 PM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] Re: Spalted wood


> Spalt, verb, in dialect use, earliest known occurrence 1733
> [probably adaptive of Dutch or Flemish "spalte" = German spalzen,
> related to spald, verb, transitive and intransitive, To split, tear,
> splinter.

I knew the German word.  I hadn't found any authoritative source that
connected it to the colloquial usage among artist wood butchers.

My region of Nova Scotia has a heavy Germanic tilt because of German
mercenaries who were paid off by the Brits in the late 18th c. with
land in N.S.  Lots of Germanic names here and as of 1970 there were
still a few old folks in isolated communities who spoke only German.
There are still a number of German-derived words in use, too, (such as
"rutch", to slide or pull ones self) and constructs (such as "I wed my
garden".)

Around here, the word for wood that has rotten enough to be brittle or
crumbly is "doughty" -- long "o".  Also used as a verb: "I don't like
to use popple for that, it dotes so easy."

> Webster's 1913 Dictionary:
>   n. 1. (Metal.) Spelter. 
>   a. 1. Liable to break or split; brittle; as, spalt timber. 
>      2. Heedless; clumsy; pert; saucy. 
>   v. t. & i. 1. To split off; to cleave off, as chips from a piece
>         of timber, with an ax.

Be interesting to find some recorded usage relating to the partially
decayed state of wood vs. splitting of healthy wood.  As given in your
citation, it might be taken as either.


Thank for contributing to my eccentric word-lore interests. :-)

- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^
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