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ArchivesRe: Mine El. Maybe not a name directly but related
in reply to a message by Leofdaeg
The Middle Ages being what they were, I can't imagine that any accurate dating could be possible. People were mostly illiterate for a start!
However, Nell, Ned and Nan all have the same explanation.
Then there's the snake we know as 'an adder'. In Old English it was 'a naeddre'. People who, of course, heard the name spoken rather than seeing it written down, assumed wrongly that it was "an aeddre' and when it was written down in that form, the usage spread. That's one of the ways language works!
However, Nell, Ned and Nan all have the same explanation.
Then there's the snake we know as 'an adder'. In Old English it was 'a naeddre'. People who, of course, heard the name spoken rather than seeing it written down, assumed wrongly that it was "an aeddre' and when it was written down in that form, the usage spread. That's one of the ways language works!
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