Picky

Posted by TheFallen on March 11, 2002

In Reply to: Modern German derivatives posted by R. Berg on March 11, 2002

: : Interesting, and pretty definitive. For what it's worth, those precise Germans (who seem to have started all the trouble) have only in my knowledge carried on with meaning #2 with their verb "kleben" (to cling or stick, adhere). I can't think of a similar sounding German verb meaning to split or separate. Trust them to avoid confusion at all costs.

: I haven't studied German, but I have a German-English dictionary. It shows a noun "Kluft," defined as "chasm, abyss, gulf; ravine, gorge." Klearly related.

Ye-eees, but not strictly speaking a verb, though in your defence I'd wager a wooden Deutschmark against the Sudetenland that it springs from a no longer used German verb.

• Picky R. Berg 03/11/02