WotD: matchmaker

[muckefuck]

1. die Ehestifterin, die Heiratsvermittlerin
2. de koppelaarster
3. la casamentera
4. la matriomoniera
5. l'entremetteuse, la marieuse
6. y drefnwraig priodasau
7. an bhean chleamhnais
8. 중매[인] (仲媒[人]), 중매쟁이
9. 媒人 méirén, 媒妁 méishuò

Notes: 7. A couple dictionaries gave stócach, but this is actually a "go-between"--a young man who speaks to the potential bride on behalf of the would-be groom.

Comments

[pne.livejournal.com]

FWIW, Japanese has 仲人 nakoudo. (Apparently also read chuunin, i.e. in Sino-Japanese.)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Huh, I wonder about the etymology. It looks like the first element could be naka, but the rest is mysterious. Taking the kanji at face value, I guess you could propose *nakapito/*nakaputo > *nakawito/*nakawuto with subsequent monophthongisation, but that leaves the rendaku on the final syllable unexplained.

[pne.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of 売国奴 baikokudo "traitor (to one's country)", literally something like "sell-country-knave", though I've no idea whether the do in those is the same.

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

Just bean chleamhnais (or fear cleamhnais for that matter). Focal.ie gives basadóir as well, but I've never heard that one.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Nach amhlaidh go bhfuilir ag léagh na iontrálacha san go fóill tar éis an tsaoil! Go raibh maith agat, a chara!

[(Anonymous)]

Nó básadóir?!? ;-) Ag magadh atá mé. Is minic gur fear a dhéanann, nó a dhéanadh, an obair seo. An bhfuil aithne agat ar Willie Daly? Tá clú idirnáisiúnta air, creid é nó ná creid. Chonaic mé "documentaire" ar an bhfear cleamhnais sin ar TV5Monde an geimhreadh seo caite.

Dála an scéil, cén fáth "just b.ch. / f. c."? Ciallaíonn sé sin "a matchmaker". Tá an t-alt leis na hiontrálacha eile a thug Muckefuck dúinn.

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

Is minic gur fear a dhéanann, nó a dhéanadh, an obair seo. An bhfuil aithne agat ar Willie Daly?

Tá. Sin an fáth gur luaigh mé 'fear cleamhnais' ar an gcéad dul síos. Is iomaí sciuird atá tugtha agam ar Lios Dúin Bhearna agus an ceantar máguaird (ní thóir chleamhnais a bhíos, áfach).

cén fáth "just b.ch. / f. c."?

Toisc go bhfuil a fhios aige cheana féin cén chaoi an t-alt a chur leo, rud a rinne sé.

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

*ar thóir. gabh mo leithscéal

[donncha22.livejournal.com]

Meas tú an mbeadh Willie sásta fear a chur in aithne do fhear?

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Nach garsún cliste mise?

[areia.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about that word, and I was surprised by how negative it sounds to me. I'm fairly sure that's what they were commonly called when I was a child, but I didn't realize until I looked up the definition just now is that it can also mean 'madam'. There's a more PC sounding word, huwelijksbemiddelaar, but that really doesn't sounds all that natural to me.

[itchwoot.livejournal.com]

Ich glaube, Heiratsvermittler/in ist gebräuchlicher als Ehestifter/in, jedenfalls hab ich letzteres noch nicht oft gehört.

Und was ist mit Streichholzmacher? ;-)

[pne.livejournal.com]

Wie wär's noch mit Kuppler/in?

[itchwoot.livejournal.com]

Ja, ist aber eher umgangssprachlich dann. "Kuppler" oder vielleicht besser noch "Verkuppler".

[pne.livejournal.com]

Und was ist mit Streichholzmacher? ;-)

*groan*

Der ist ja grauenvoll. (Und ich habe ihn erst beim zweiten Lesen verstanden.)

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks, I didn't see the previous message, and I have no ear for contemporary standard German. Even my dictionary's over 30 years old, and I grew up in a rural community (in the US) that used Ehe- as often for wedding as Heirat-.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

South Texas?

[itchwoot.livejournal.com]

Oh, "Ehe-" and "Heirat-" are mostly interchangeable, it's just that special composition "Ehestifter" that I haven't heard so often. It wouldn't even strike me as odd or anything - I merely would have thought of "Heiratsvermittler" first when I heard "matchmaker".

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

Catching up

In Spanish there is one you should have NOT missed :) One of the Spanish literature's masterpieces is called "La Celestina". Since then, all "casamenteras" are named "celestinas" :)

I had never heard "matrimoniera" in Catalan, but alas, it exists: http://www.enciclopedia.cat/cgi-bin/CercaGEC3.exe?APP=CERCAPAR&PAG=0001&PAR=matrimoniera

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

I came across celestina as well, but it seems to be a synonym for alcahueta rather than casamentera (por lo menos según el DRAE).

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

Hum
You're very right in this! I was confused because we use the term in informal languange as synonims.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

També s'usa el mot "celestina" en el català? Si no, com es diu "alcahueta"?

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

Alcavota... :)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Al principi l'he près per una broma, però és evident que no l'és!

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

Sí sí :)
http://www.enciclopedia.cat/cgi-bin/CercaGEC3.exe?APP=CERCAPAR&PAG=0001&PAR=alcavota