[lit-ideas] Re: The Strangers' Club
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:11:48 -0700
Howdy, Stranger. I'm not even sure what this conversation is about.
strange
c.1280, "from elsewhere, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar," from O.Fr.
estrange (Fr. étrange) "foreign, alien," from L. extraneus "foreign,
external," from extra "outside of" (see extra). Sense of "queer,
surprising" is attested from c.1374. Stranger, attested from 1375, never
picked up the secondary sense of the adj. As a form of address to an
unknown person, it is recorded from 1817, Amer.Eng. rural colloq.
Meaning "one who has stopped visiting" is recorded from 1530.
'Don't be a stranger.' American colloquial expression meaning 'Y'all
come back, now, y'hear?'
Burt Conroy
Strangelands TX
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