OT - maybe - a word for TiaMary!

From: Wordsmith
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Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bedizen
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bedizen (bi-DY-zuhn) verb tr.

To dress or decorate in a showy or gaudy manner.

[From be- + dizen, from [possibly Low German] disen (to put flax on
a distaff for spinning), from dis- (bunch of flax).]

Today's word and the word distaff share the same origin, dis- (a bunch of
flax). A distaff is a staff with a cleft for holding wool, flax, etc. from
which thread is drawn while being spun by hand. In olden times, spinning
was considered a woman's work, so distaff figuratively referred to women.
Distaff side (also spindle side) refers to the female side of a family. The
corresponding male equivalent of the term is spear side (also sword side).
Distaffs and spears are long gone -- what would be the modern stereotypical
replacements of these terms?

--
Cheryl Isaak
AHS Region 4, USDA Zone 4B/5A
growing, stitching and reading in NH

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
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From: Wordsmith
To:
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bedizen
X-Unsubscribe: To sign-off, visit
http://wordsmith.org/awad/unsubscribe.html

bedizen (bi-DY-zuhn) verb tr.

To dress or decorate in a showy or gaudy manner.

[From be- + dizen, from [possibly Low German] disen (to put flax on
a distaff for spinning), from dis- (bunch of flax).]

Today's word and the word distaff share the same origin, dis- (a bunch of
flax). A distaff is a staff with a cleft for holding wool, flax, etc. from
which thread is drawn while being spun by hand. In olden times, spinning
was considered a woman's work, so distaff figuratively referred to women.
Distaff side (also spindle side) refers to the female side of a family.
The
corresponding male equivalent of the term is spear side (also sword side).
Distaffs and spears are long gone -- what would be the modern
stereotypical
replacements of these terms?


I've run across the word distaff in my reading before Bedizen is new on
me, though.

Rachel

Cheryl Isaak wrote:

Distaffs and spears are long gone -- what would be the modern stereotypical
replacements of these terms?
Men and women? Male & female? LOL! Sorry, couldn't help myself! How
'bout Matriarch & Patriarch? Maternal/Paternal? Depends on how it's
used, I guess.

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)