RE: Ur-books

Subject: RE: Ur-books
From: "TW" <tierneyw -at- zuzax -dot- com>
To: "'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 09:43:07 -0800


I found the answer in the TECHWR-L archives, of all places.

Credit Andreas Ramos, whose original post appears here:
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/archives/9405/techwhirl-9405-00226.html .

"The prefix 'ur' itself is the name of the city Ur, which German
archeologists thought for many years to be the oldest city. It is in the
Iraqi Tigris/Euphrates area. American bombers successfully flattened it."

TW

Jan Henning wrote:
> Ur was the town where Job lived (as in "The Book of Job" and "the
> patience
> of Job"). It's often used in the sense of "the oldest" or "the
> original"
> ("ur-man")--almost like "proto-man".

> The meaning is described correctly, the etymology isn't
> (according to Chambers dictionary): "Ur-" is a German
> prefix meaning "the protoypical" or "the oldest". It has
> been borrowed in this meaning by the English. "Ur-"
> appears to have common roots with "out".

... and where do you suppose the Germans got this prefix?






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