Today I was posting a comment on Homemaking Dreams and I used the word "strow". I have never actually had to spell that word before and seeing it typed out made me wonder if it was a real word. It just looked funny on the screen. So I googled it. It is in fact a real word. It means "to scatter". I was very relieved that it was a real word because I have been using it since I was little and I would hate to have sounded stupid for 27 years! :)
Anyway, it got me to thinking about all the awesome things we southerners say. I'm not sure if "strow" is strictly a southern term, but it does come from Old English, or at least that's what Google said, and many of the so-called quirky things we say in the south come straight from the old days of England.
For example - "Boot" in North Carolina is not just a type of footwear. It's actually the trunk of a car. And that's the word they STILL use in England for it (or at least according to Google!)
I find it interesting to see how our language is indicative of where we came from. I mean, obviously most Americans speak English which of course came from England. But have you ever heard true England English? It's very different than the American version, which is why I think its so cool that we still have a few very English words left over in our vocabulary from 2 or 3 hundred years ago.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
When I lived in the mountains, I said something once at work about the house being strewn. Everyone gave me a weird look. Only the doctor from Florida knew what I was talking about. LOL
I thought that word looked funny too. I thought it came from the word strewn. Saying the boot of the car is definitely from England. I think there must have been a settlement of English people near G-ma's home town. (N.G.) We don't talk funny, we're just unique!
I use the word "strew". Not boot for trunk, though, even in NC I didn't hear that one. You know that the "standard" English accent of 200 years ago sounded more like today's Boston or Charleston accent than like today's English accent? Their speech has changed too.
That is so funny...I don't use any southern slang, being a northeast gal myself.
Post a Comment