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  • Sagittarius 25: A Chubby Boy On A Hobbyhorse

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    Sagittarius 25: A chubby boy on a hobbyhorse According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the word chubby entered the English language in the early 17th century with the literal meaning of “resembling a chub”, i.e. “the short, thick type of fish.” The OED further cites the Dictionary of English Surnames in noting that the Middle English chubbe …was also used of a "lazy, spiritless fellow; a rustic, simpleton; dolt, fool" (1558), whilst Bailey has "Chub, a Jolt-head, a great-headed, full-cheeked Fellow," … Thus the nickname may have meant either "short and thick, dumpy like a chub," or "of the nature of a chub, dull and clownish." The word boy appears to have entered the English language in the mid-12th century as boie, “servant, commoner, knave, boy.” Possible sources include the Old French embuie, “one fettered”, from the Latin boia, "leg iron, yoke, leather collar" and the Greek boeiai dorai, "ox hides." The word hobby entered the English language in the late 13th century with the meaning “small horse, pony” and later “a mock horse used in the Morris dance” but by the mid 16th century had taken on the additional meaning of a “child’s toy riding horse.” By the mid 17th century this latter definition evolved to the “transferred sense” and current meaning of “favorite pastime or avocation.” The latter appears to be a figurative way of conveying the idea of “activity that doesn’t go anywhere” and it may have originally been “a proper name for a horse (cf dobbin)” and a diminutive of Robert and Robin.” Although its ultimate origin is unknown, the word horse can be traced back to the Old English hors and the Proto-Germanic khursa and is thus related to the Old Norse hross, the Old Frisian hors, the Middle Dutch ors, the Dutch ros, the Old High German hros, and the German ross “horse.” According to the OED, some sources have traced the word back to the Proto-Indo European root *kurs which is the source of the Latin currere (to run) and the English word ‘current.’

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    Sagittarius 25: A chubby boy on a hobbyhorse According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the word chubby entered the English language in the early 17th century with the literal meaning of “resembling a chub”, i.e. “the short, thick type of fish.” The OED further cites the Dictionary of English Surnames in noting that the Middle English chubbe …was also used of a "lazy, spiritless fellow; a rustic, simpleton; dolt, fool" (1558), whilst Bailey has "Chub, a Jolt-head, a great-headed, full-cheeked Fellow," … Thus the nickname may have meant either "short and thick, dumpy like a chub," or "of the nature of a chub, dull and clownish." The word boy appears to have entered the English language in the mid-12th century as boie, “servant, commoner, knave, boy.” Possible sources include the Old French embuie, “one fettered”, from the Latin boia, "leg iron, yoke, leather collar" and the Greek boeiai dorai, "ox hides." The word hobby entered the English language in the late 13th century with the meaning “small horse, pony” and later “a mock horse used in the Morris dance” but by the mid 16th century had taken on the additional meaning of a “child’s toy riding horse.” By the mid 17th century this latter definition evolved to the “transferred sense” and current meaning of “favorite pastime or avocation.” The latter appears to be a figurative way of conveying the idea of “activity that doesn’t go anywhere” and it may have originally been “a proper name for a horse (cf dobbin)” and a diminutive of Robert and Robin.” Although its ultimate origin is unknown, the word horse can be traced back to the Old English hors and the Proto-Germanic khursa and is thus related to the Old Norse hross, the Old Frisian hors, the Middle Dutch ors, the Dutch ros, the Old High German hros, and the German ross “horse.” According to the OED, some sources have traced the word back to the Proto-Indo European root *kurs which is the source of the Latin currere (to run) and the English word ‘current.’

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    63 views4 pages

    Sagittarius 25: A Chubby Boy On A Hobbyhorse

    Uploaded by

    Starling
    Sagittarius 25: A chubby boy on a hobbyhorse According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the word chubby entered the English language in the early 17th century with the literal meaning of “resembling a chub”, i.e. “the short, thick type of fish.” The OED further cites the Dictionary of English Surnames in noting that the Middle English chubbe …was also used of a "lazy, spiritless fellow; a rustic, simpleton; dolt, fool" (1558), whilst Bailey has "Chub, a Jolt-head, a great-headed, full-cheeked Fellow," … Thus the nickname may have meant either "short and thick, dumpy like a chub," or "of the nature of a chub, dull and clownish." The word boy appears to have entered the English language in the mid-12th century as boie, “servant, commoner, knave, boy.” Possible sources include the Old French embuie, “one fettered”, from the Latin boia, "leg iron, yoke, leather collar" and the Greek boeiai dorai, "ox hides." The word hobby entered the English language in the late 13th century with the meaning “small horse, pony” and later “a mock horse used in the Morris dance” but by the mid 16th century had taken on the additional meaning of a “child’s toy riding horse.” By the mid 17th century this latter definition evolved to the “transferred sense” and current meaning of “favorite pastime or avocation.” The latter appears to be a figurative way of conveying the idea of “activity that doesn’t go anywhere” and it may have originally been “a proper name for a horse (cf dobbin)” and a diminutive of Robert and Robin.” Although its ultimate origin is unknown, the word horse can be traced back to the Old English hors and the Proto-Germanic khursa and is thus related to the Old Norse hross, the Old Frisian hors, the Middle Dutch ors, the Dutch ros, the Old High German hros, and the German ross “horse.” According to the OED, some sources have traced the word back to the Proto-Indo European root *kurs which is the source of the Latin currere (to run) and the English word ‘current.’

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    Sagittarius 25: A chubby boy on a hobbyhorse

    A c c o r d i n g t o t h e O n l i n e Et ym o l o gy

    D i c t i on a ry t h e w o rd c hu bb y e n t e r e d
    t h e E n g l i s h la n g u a g e i n t he e a r l y 1 7 t h c e n t u r y w i t h t h e li t e r a l m e a n i n g o f r e s e mb l i n g a c h u b , i . e . t h e s h o r t , t h i c k t y p e o f f i s h. 1 T h e O E D f u r t h e r c i t e s t h e Di c t io n a ry o f E n gl i s h

    S u rn a m es i n n o t i n g t h a t t he M i d d l e
    E n g l i s h c h u b be was also used of a "lazy, spiritless fellow; a rustic, simpleton; dolt, fool" (1558), whilst Bailey has "Chub, a Jolt-head, a great-headed, full-cheeked Fellow," Thus the nickname may have meant either "short and thick, dumpy like a chub," or "of the nature of a chub, dull and clownish."2 T h e w o r d b oy a p p e a r s t o h a v e e n t e r e d t h e E n g l i s h l a n g ua g e i n t h e m i d - 1 2 t h c e n t u r y a s b o ie , se r v a n t , c om m o n e r , k n a v e , b oy . P o s s i b l e s o u r c e s i n c l u d e t he O l d F r e n c h e m b ui e , on e f e t t e re d , fr o m t h e L a t i n bo i a , " l e g i r o n , y o k e , l e a t h e r c o ll a r " a n d t h e G r e e k b o e ia i do ra i, " o x hides."3 T h e w o r d h o bby e n t e r e d t h e E n g l i s h la n g u a g e i n t he l a t e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y w i t h t h e me a n i n g s m a l l h o r s e , p o n y a n d l a t e r a m o c k h o r s e u s e d i n t he M o r r i s d a n ce b u t b y t h e mi d 1 6 t h ce n t u r y h a d t a k e n on t h e a d d i t i on a l m e a n i n g o f a c h i l d s t o y r i d i n g h o r se . 4 B y t h e m i d 1 7 t h ce n t u r y t h i s l a t t e r d e fi n i t i on e vo l v e d t o t h e t ra n sf e r r e d s e n se a n d cu r r e n t m e a n i n g o f f a v o r i t e p a s t i me o r a v o c a t i o n . T he l a t t e r a p p e a r s t o b e a fi g u r a t i v e way of conveying the idea of activity t hat doesnt go anywhere and it

    1 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chubby 2 ibid. 3 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=boy 4 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hobby Starling Hunter 2011 1

    m a y h a v e o r i g i n a l ly b e e n a p r op e r n a m e f o r a h o r se ( c f do b b i n ) a n d a d i m i n u t i ve o f R o bert a n d R o bi n . 5 A l t h o u g h i t s u l t i m a t e o r i g i n i s un k n ow n , t he w o r d h ors e c a n b e t r a c e d b a c k t o t h e O l d E n g l i s h h o rs a n d t h e P r o t o - G e r m a n i c khu rs a a n d i s t h u s r e l a t e d t o t h e O l d N o r s e h ro s s , t h e O l d F r i s i a n h o rs , t h e M i d d l e D u t c h

    o rs , t he D u t c h ro s, t h e O l d H i g h Ge r m a n h ro s , a n d t h e Ge r m a n ro s s
    h o r s e . 6 A c c o r d i n g t o t h e OE D, s o m e so u r c e s h a v e t r a c e d t h e w o r d b a c k t o t h e P r o t o - I n d o E u r o p e a n r o o t * ku rs w h i c h i s t he s o u r ce o f t h e L a t i n

    c u rre re ( t o r u n ) a n d t h e E n g l i s h w o r d c u r r e n t . 7
    TH EMES : T hi s t he fi r s t s y m b o l s o f a r w h e r e n o n e o f t he k e y w o r d s descend from Indo-European roots. However, two of the above keywords a r e i n d i re c t l y l i n k e d t o t w o s u c h r o ot s . F i r st l y , t he n a me R o b e rt d e s c e n d s f r o m t he r o o t k a r- 2 w hi c h me a n s t o p r a i s e l o ud l y ; e x t o l . 8 I t s p a r o n y m s i n c l u d e t h e n a me s R o de ri c k, R o ge r, R u do l p h, a n d R o l a n d a n d t h e w o r d s ru m m e r, c a du c e u s , a n d ke rygm a . S e c o n d, t he w o r d c u rre n t d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e r o o t k ers - 2 w h i c h m e a n s t o r u n a n d f r o m w h i c h a l s o d e s ce n d t h e w o r d s c o rra l , c o rri do r, c o u ri e r,

    c o u rs e , c u rsi ve , c urs o r, c o n c u r, in c u r, i n te rc o u rs e, o c c u r, p re c u rs o r, re c o u rs e , c a r, c a ree r, c a rgo, c a rry, c ha rge , c h a ri o t, di s c ha rge , a n d c a rp e nt e r.


    T a k e n t o g e t h e r t hi s e x t e n d e d s e t o f w o r d s a n d i d e a s s h ow t h e s a me k i n d s o f r e l a t i o n s hi p s w i t h t he k e y w o r d s a s a l l o t he r s ym b o l s s t u d i e d t h u s f a r . S p e c i fi c a ll y , r e c a l l t h a t t h e fi r s t k e y w o r d i s chub by a n d t h e s e c o n d o n e i s b oy . A s s h o w n a b o v e , b o t h o f t h e s e w o r d s a r e a s s oc i a t e d w i t h a n u mb e r o f LE SS -THA N- STEL LAR b e h a vi o r s a n d p e r s o n a l i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i cs . F or e x a m p l e , t h e w o rd b oy d e sc e n d s f r om a r o o t t ha t m e a n s k n a v e , i . e . a n

    5 ibid. 6 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=horse 7 ibid 8 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 37 Starling Hunter 2011 2

    u n p r i n ci p le d , un t ru s t w o r t h y , o r d i s ho n e s t p e r s on . 9 O t h e r s y n o n y m s o f k n a v e i n c l u d e f rau d, h e e l, l o wl i f e, mi s c re an t , ra ps c a l l i on , rep ro ba t e,

    ro gu e , s c o u n dre l, swi n dl e r, a n d s c a l l ywa g . 10


    T h e w o r d c hu bb y i s a s s o ci a t e d w i t h i d e a s c o n n o t i n g l a ck o f i n t e l li g e n ce , e . g . la z y , s p i ri t l e ss , s i mp l e t o n , d o l t , f o o l, d u l l , a n d c l o w n . P h y s i c a l c ha r a c t e r i s t i c s i n c l u d e s ho r t , t h i c k , a n d d u m p y . T h e l i n k b e t w e e n t he t w o se t s o f w o r d s a n d i d e a s i s t h e w o r d ru s ti c . T h a t s b e c a u se o n e o f t he o t h e r d e f i n i t i o n s of k n a v e i s a m a n of h u m b l e b i r t h a n d d e f i n i t i on s o f r u s t i c a r e c ha r m i n g l y s i m p l e o r u n so p h i st i c a t e d , o f , re l a t i n g t o, o r t y p i c a l o f c o u n t r y li f e o r c o u n t r y p e o p l e a n d a r u r a l p e r s o n a n d a p e r s o n r e g a r d e d a s c ru d e , c o a r se , o r s i mp l e . 11 A l s o w e m i g h t r e ca l l t h a t b o t h hob by a n d ho rs e re f e r t o HO RS ES . B u t t h e l a t t e r, t h r o u g h i t s a s s o c i a t i on w i t h t h e r o o t k ers - 2 ( t o r u n ) e x p a n d s t h e s e t o f a s s o c i a t i o n s t o i n c l u d e w o rd s l i k e c a r, c a ree r, a n d c h a rge . I n t e r e st i n g l y , t h e se w o r d s a n d i d e a s h a v e f o r m e d t h e b a s i s o f a t l e a s t on e p o p u la r m o t i o n p i ct u r e t he c o m e d y a d v e n t u re T o m m y

    B o y , r e l e a s e d i n 1 9 9 5 a n d s t a r r i n g C hr i s
    F a r l e y ( T o m m y ) , a n d B r i a n De n n e h y a s T o m m y s f a t h e r ( B i g T o m ) , a n d D a v i d S p a de ( R i c h a r d) a s Bi g To m s a s si s t a n t a n d T o m m y s childhood friend, I n t h e In te rn at i o nal M o vi e D a ta b a se t h e p l o t s y n o p si s r e a ds a s f o l l o w s : A n i n c o m p e t e n t , i m ma t u r e , a n d d i m w i t t e d h e i r t o a n a u t o p a r t s f a ct or y m u s t s a v e t he b u s i n e ss t o k e e p i t o u t o f t h e h a n d s o f hi s n e w , c o n - a r t i s t r e la t i ve s a n d b i g b u s i n e s s. 12 A m o r e d e t a i le d p l o t s u m m a r y r e v e a l s t ha t T om m y h a s s p e n t
    9 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knave 10 http://thesaurus.com/browse/knave 11 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/rustic 12 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114694/ Starling Hunter 2011 3

    s e v e n y e a r s g r a d u a t i n g f r o m c o l l e ge a n d i s m e e t s a l l o f t h e d e f i n i t i on s o f chu bb y b o t h p h y si c a l a n d b e ha v i o r a l. 13 A f t e r g r a d u a t i o n h e i s g i ve n a n u n d e s e r v e d e x e c ut i v e j ob a n d t h e a u t o p l a n t o w n e d a n d m a n a g e d b y hi s f a t h e r w h o h o p e s t o t r a i n T o m m y t o t a k e o v e r t h e c o m p a n y . T h u s, c a rs a n d c a re e r a r e i mp l i c a t e d . B i g T o m p ut s T o m m y s m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g i n t he c a r e o f h i s ca p a b l e a s s i st a n t , Ri c h a r d . T h u s, T o mm y b e c o m e s R i c h a r d s c h a rge ( o n e t ha t i s e n t r u s t e d t o a n o t h e r' s c a re o r management). F u r t h e r , a s t h e t i t le s u g g e s t s, T o m m y i s a n o v e r g r o w n b oy b ut h e i s n o t a k n a v e i n t he s e n se o f b e i n g d i s ho n e s t o r u n p ri n c i p l e d ; n o r i s h e a f r a u d o r a s w i n d l e r. N o r i s h e f r o m a r u r a l a r e a . H o we v e r, t h e s e i d e a s a r e w o r k e d i n t o t he s t o r y . W h e n Bi g T o m d i e s o f a h e a r t a t t a c k , T o m m y a n d R i c h a r d e m b a r k o n a c r o s s - c o u n t r y s a l e s t r i p i n a la s t - d i t c h e f f o r t t o p r e v e n t t h e c o m p a n y f r o m b e i n g s o l d o f f t o a c o mp e t i t o r. A s t he p os t e r f o r t h e m o v i e c l e a rl y d e p i c t s , t h e t w o t r a v e l b y ca r t h r o ug h m a n y r u r a l a n d r u s t i c a r e a s i n s e a r c h o f c u st o m e r s . M e a n w h i l e , b a c k a t h o m e i t i s r e v e a l e d t h a t T o m m y s v o lu p t u o u s n e w s t e p - m ot h e r i s t h e k n a v e : s h e i s i n f a ct a c o n vi c t e d c on a r t i s t c on s p i r i n g w i t h h e r r e a l h u s b a n d t o st e a l t h e r e m a i n d e r o f Bi g T o m s e s t a t e .

    13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Boy Starling Hunter 2011 4

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