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she commented on the word pastinaceous
Of the nature of or resembling parsnip. Ha!
August 6, 2008
qroqqa commented on the word pastinaceous
From the Latin pastinaca "parsnip", which contains the -ac- suffix used to form some plant names; and this is why the derived adjective is pastinaceous rather than **pastinacaceous. Only attested in English in a 1657 translation of a Latin medicinal text.
The Latin was borrowed widely into European languages in various forms, including Polish pasternak: I can't explain where the intrusive /r/ comes from here. The author Boris's grandfather Osip is said to be the first who bore this surname (when surnames were imposed on Jews in Russia).
The English -r- in the spelling is apparently an accretion on older forms such as pasnep, in awareness that many words formerly pronounced with /rs/ had dialectally lost the /r/ (e.g. 'hoss', 'passel', 'cuss', 'ass' "bottom"). The ending is an assimilation to 'neep' (also as in 'turnip').
August 6, 2008
yarb commented on the word pastinaceous
Next time someone serves me parsnips, I'm going to describe them as utterly pastinaceous.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pastinaceous
And isn't that function our heart and soul, really? I think I've reached Wordie fulfillment.
August 7, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pastinaceous
So soon, she?
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word pastinaceous
For tod— this afternoon.
August 7, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pastinaceous
Ah. :-)
August 7, 2008