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Help[Surname] Re: Zieske (Low German? Meaning?
in reply to a message by Paul
European languages are replete with surnames based on various types of birds. In English, you have Crow, Hawk, Starling, Nightingale, Lark, Pi(d)geon, Sparrow, Sparrowhawk, etc. The problem is trying to determine which characteristics of these individual birds led to their being used as nicknames. Was it their quickness, color, pleasant song, annoying squawks, or what? So it is with siskin. Somebody obviously thought that somebody else looked or acted like one but I have no idea what was actually involved.
This message was edited 2/6/2009, 1:56 PM
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Thank you Marc (or is it Picard?), i understand now
Now to complete the puzzle, i must search for the meaning of the birds name Siskin....
with regards...
Now to complete the puzzle, i must search for the meaning of the birds name Siskin....
with regards...
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My dictionary describes the siskin as "a yellowish green finch". Finch, Fink and Spink are all English surnames meaning "finch". With regard to meaning Paul Reaney writes "perhaps 'simpleton'".
As to the origin of the word siskin, my dictionary again, "German dialect sisschen; apparently Slavic". So we're back with the Slavs.
As to the origin of the word siskin, my dictionary again, "German dialect sisschen; apparently Slavic". So we're back with the Slavs.
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Klein's Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language has siskin coming from Dutch sijskijn, a diminutive of sijs which in turn is derived from Czech číž.
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