[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] You clod! WAS: Grudzienski Alternate Name

[Jan Textor]

Thanks a lot for this theory, which I think is quite plausible, although
Kluth and Klotz are pronounced somewhat differently. By the way, Demut means
"humility", so make your choice whether you want to be courageous or humble.
:-)

Jan Textor


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org
> [mailto:ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org]On Behalf Of
> AlbertMuth at aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2003 10:20 PM
> To: ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org
> Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] You clod! WAS: Grudzienski Alternate Name
>
>
> Please pardon the pun!  Keep reading, I'll explain.
>
> Fred Hoffmann's "Polish Surnames: Origins and
> Meanings" gives a root GRUD- which gives rise
> to the Polish surnames of Gruda, Grudecki,
> Grudka, Grudowski, Grudziecki, Grudzien.
> The entry does allude to the word meaning
> "December", which Jan Textor just alluded to
> in a message here.  The meaning of the root GRUD-
> (in English) is "clod of earth, frozen ground".
>
> One of the German words given in my German-English/
> English-German dictionary for English clod
> is "Klotz".  I do not pretend to be an expert
> in Germanic Philology or Germanistik, but I do
> know that the sounds TZ = T in some dialects
> (compare German ZWEI English TWO).  From KLOTZ to
> KLUTH, the distance is not very far.  I am sure
> we must have some German citizens reading our
> list who may have some knowledge of "Dialektologie",
> who can clarify this matter.
>
> For the record, I teach Spanish and am trained
> in comparative Romance linguistics (romanische
> Philologie).
>
> Therefore, Gary, if I ever call you "Gary,
> you clod", you must remember that I am
> addressing you respectfully as a Kluth
> descendant.  :>)
>
> Semantically, the development must run along
> the same lines as from the Dutch noun BOOR =
> 'farmer' to English BOORISH, meaning NOT "farmer-
> like" (positive qualities) but rather "rustic,
> illiterate, clownish".
>
> True etymologies are not easy to discover.  My
> own surname Muth (which rhymes with Kluth!)
> is APPARENTLY transparent since the German word
> MUT means "courage".  However, my family
> tradition is that we originated in Alsace-
> Lorraine, where the surname was Demuth.
> I have lost the link to a French website there
> that gave the etymology of local surnames,
> including both Muth and Demuth--"courage" had
> nothing to do with the origin and historical
> development of the surname. (Sadly, the link
> no longer works)
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Just Another Clod
> (Al Muth)
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ger-Poland-Volhynia Mailing List hosted by
> Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe http://www.sggee.org
> Mailing list info at http://www.sggee.org/listserv