Oakvillian

Etymological musing of the day: when did sixty, seventy, eighty become common words in English? A few hundred years ago, we'd have three score, three-score-and-ten, four score... at some point those were demoted to "poetic" alternatives to the regular numbers, but it's effectively the same construction as quatre-vingts or soixante-dix. Might have to look that one up later...

Oh, and I completely agree with biweekly/fortnightly, bimonthly/every other month, etc. Silly and totally confusing. Do Quebecois use "quinzaine" or is that restricted to French French?

Novocastrian

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=seventy

Oakvillian

well, that was an interesting diversion. It seems score (twenty) is related to the practice of using tally marks for every 20 sheep; Old French vint has the same origins so, indeed, the practice of counting by 20s (quatre vingts = four score) is vaguely related, although it doesn't appear ever to have been the dominant form in English.

Sadly, the Old English forms that would be the modern Eleventy and Twelvety (for 110 and 120) went out of fashion 1200 years or so ago, although they did once really exist. A loss to the lexicon. Boo.

BTJ

Having spent 6 years in Aberdeen I never could figure out what "the back o' five" meant, it was either before five o'clock or before six o'clock...

Edit: Just googled it, apparently it means just after five. I really was clueless.

Jingsamichty

No, the back of five is just after five... I use it to mean any time from 5 o'clock to about 10 past.

Oink

Is that sort of like a "gentleman's half an hour" just with Scotch people?

Jingsamichty

Not at all, it's a useful term for a specific 10 minute period of the hour.

- Och, Wullie, will ye be gaein' to the pub the nicht?

- I will that, Erchie, but I'm awa' hame for my tea first. I'll be doon there at the back o' seevin.

Shard

Is that an Aberdonian expression or is it used more widely?

Jingsamichty

I'm not from Aberdeen, it's pretty common usage. Surely some English folk must use "the back of..." to indicate just after the hour?

Souvy

I've never heard those words used in QC but I haven't talked to everyone.

I've given up using fortnight.

DandNHill

Do none of you use Acadian French? That's even more fun! Here in Yarmouth they speak English - of sorts. But on one side they speak one type of Acadian French and on the other side it is different again.
They don't understand the Quebecois and the Quebecois don't understand them!
As for me, having grown up in France, they could be speaking double dutch for all the sense it makes!!!

They say huitante!!!!

But the Belgians say Octante!!!!

Souvy

My missus is quebecoise. She struggles with Acadians.

My stepson now lives in Chicoutimi. Even Acadians would struggle with them.

dbd33

soixante-dix, huitante, quatre-vingt-dix? I knew there was oddness with the numbers over there but that's really tongue twisting.

Perhaps that's Dutch.

Novocastrian

Octante sounds more like something Jings would say to his French auntie.

Talking of France... <waves from Normandy>.

dbd33

<ponders bitterly the distance from here to quality cheese>