Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2010 February 14

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February 14

Old English

What character is this, found in an etymology from Old English in the OED? 149.169.223.67 (talk) 00:29, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

I think that's an eth. --Tango (talk) 00:38, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

It looks to me like a representation of the letter form of a "g" in insular pointed minuscule script. See also yogh, and compare the relevant letters in geardagum and þeodcyninga in the second line of this page. Deor (talk) 00:53, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Note that context helps. If you tell us the full word in which it was used, you may get a more definitive answer. -- 174.21.247.23 (talk) 01:32, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

In the etymology for unlaw, if that helps. 149.169.223.67 (talk) 03:01, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that's a yogh; /ʊnˈlɒgʊ/ is about how the word was pronounced. Deor (talk) 03:27, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

/ˈunlɑɣu/ is more likely, and the character isn't a yogh, it's an insular G. +Angr 11:50, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Turks

What is a turk?174.3.98.236 (talk) 08:29, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

See Amazon Mechanical Turk. The name is derived from the famous 18th century fake automaton "The Turk" (featured article). ---Sluzzelin talk 08:39, 14 February 2010 (UTC)