Message: "Re: Fairytale Names?"

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Re: Fairytale Names?

by Miss Claire

9/28/2004, 9:21 AM

The French name for Cinderella is Cendrillon. I read that this name comes from a combo of "cendre" (ash) and "souillon" ("lowest" servant).

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- Andy (guest) +3

9/28/2004, 9:34 AM

That's interesting! What about the -ella part in Cinderella? Does it mean anything?

Andy ;—)

- Miss Claire +2

9/28/2004, 2:05 PM

Good question... Maybe a feminization of "illon" because it could sound masculine to English people?

- Miranda (Randee15) +1

9/28/2004, 4:35 PM

Slightly OT interjection

"Cinderella" used to be a general slang term for a low-ranked servant girl. In some other Grimm tales, such girls are sometimes referred to as "cinderellas".

Miranda

- Anneza (guest)

9/29/2004, 12:30 AM

As far as I know, unlike the Grimm brothers, Perrault actually wrote Cinderella (Cendrillon, of course) as an original work. So the German link would have come later - like calling any detective a Sherlock Holmes.

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