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ArchivesRe: Toal
in reply to a message by thegriffon
Toole is in currently the surname database.
http://surnames.behindthename.com/name/toole
As a first name, the spellings Toole or Tool might be hindered by the similar pejorative term in the English language.
http://surnames.behindthename.com/name/toole
As a first name, the spellings Toole or Tool might be hindered by the similar pejorative term in the English language.
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The modern pejorative term is too recent to have any impact on historic Anglicization. My not very old Shorter Oxford and Merriam Collegiate list "one manipulated by another" first recorded 1863 (Tool/Toole is older), only the Shorter Oxford adds the older "workman" from around 1700 (similar to the use of "toolie" for a tradesman, as one who works with tools), and the latter was most often a term of pity, not disparagement.
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