One thing to know about French language, is that whenever there is a grammar rule, it only covers at best 50% of cases and the rest are exceptions to the rule.
For instance:
- cigar -> cigarette
- trompe -> trompette
- (Cool, looks like we have a rule here)
- baguette*, must be a small *bague*, right ? WRONG ! Itâs a small *bâton.
*Baguette* has many senses in French. One of them is a small or thin stick, a regular stick is a *bâton*. I donât know the etymological details, but as for sense these words today, it remains true that baguette is a kind of small bâton.
Baguette is genuinely a diminutive, but the French is a loanword from Italian bacchetta âlittle stick,â from bacchio âstick.â
Funnily enough, âbacteriaâ also means âlittle stickâ due to the shape of the first ones seen under a microscope, and the word shares the same etymological root (reconstructed as *bak- in proto-Indo-European), but in Greek â bakterion is a little staff, baktron is a staff or stick without the diminutive.
Europe Pub (PieFed)
irelephant [he/him]
One thing to know about French language, is that whenever there is a grammar rule, it only covers at best 50% of cases and the rest are exceptions to the rule.
For instance: - cigar -> cigarette - trompe -> trompette - (Cool, looks like we have a rule here) - baguette*, must be a small *bague*, right ? WRONG ! Itâs a small *bâton.
Strikingly similar to English
blame the Normans
That doesnât seem to be the case. It seems to be imported from Italian and doesnât have a form of the base word
*Baguette* has many senses in French. One of them is a small or thin stick, a regular stick is a *bâton*. I donât know the etymological details, but as for sense these words today, it remains true that baguette is a kind of small bâton.
This is why I hate French but as a native English speaker I canât really complain without hypocrisy. French is like a black mirror on English.
Baguette is genuinely a diminutive, but the French is a loanword from Italian bacchetta âlittle stick,â from bacchio âstick.â
Funnily enough, âbacteriaâ also means âlittle stickâ due to the shape of the first ones seen under a microscope, and the word shares the same etymological root (reconstructed as *bak- in proto-Indo-European), but in Greek â bakterion is a little staff, baktron is a staff or stick without the diminutive.
âYeah, I got a staff infection.â
So Bacteria indeed implies the existence of Baktron
What is a Bagu and where do I get it?
How dare you hide this filth deep in the comments. This is fp worthy.
Dunno, but a Bague is like a Hague for food criminals.
Baggu is a brand of reusable bagsâŚ
All bags are reusable if you donât discard them
Itâs like Pokemon. Baguette, Bagetto, BAG.
Egg, Baconegg, Fullenglish.
Mosquito implies the existence of a far larger Mosqo.
a mosquito is just a smaller mosque
Mosca is Spanish for fly. One of the cooks at a place I worked called me that because he didnât like me
baguette, bagel, bagest
My fav pokemon species
Bagaga
You shot his dog!? Now Bagaga will hunt you down
People in this thread: Hey, Iâll do etymology in the wrong language, itâs all the same anyway.
EichhĂśrnchen implies the existence of a German mega-Squirrel.
EichhÜrner and TrägenbÜgen
Kanin (mega-rabbit) too.
By the way, Czech krĂĄlĂk is also a diminutive: of krĂĄl, meaning âkingâ.
That reminds me of a lame oneliner I came up with years ago:
⌠but no cigar sir! Not even cigarette, donât even mention cigarillo!
I would be so pissed if my bus ticket from Newark to Paris was rendered worthless because I couldnât buy cigars by the bague.
This has lead to me learning that bimbette and himbette are both words.
Le maximum du baguette, câest la blague.