Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0024828, Tue, 26 Nov 2013 02:04:46 +0000

Subject
Re: QUERY: "Wodnaggen" in PF
Date
Body
Carolyn: Œwod/wood¹ for Œmad/furious¹ survived beyond Anglo-Saxon into
Chaucer¹s Middle-English lexicon:
Lat us to the peple seme Suche as the world may of us deme That wommen
loven us for wod.
No plausible connection with Œwoad¹ (the blue dye).
Possible connection, via Œpeckerwod¹ with current US porno-speak.
ŒGetting/keeping wood¹ = Achieving/maintaining an erection during prolonged
XXX-rated film-making.
Stan Kelly-Bootle

On 13/11/2013 05:32, "Carolyn KUNIN" <chaiselongue@ATT.NET> wrote:

> Dear M. Courturier,
>
> Priscilla Meyers has done our linguistic homework for us. She has analyzed
> Zemblan into its Russian and Germanic roots in her book on Pale Fire
> primarily*, Find what the Sailor has Hidden.
>
> On page 96 she says that Kinbote describes Judge Goldsworth's house as being
> of the wodnaggen type. Wod (any relation to woad I wonder) is an anglo-saxon
> word meaning mad or frenzied. Gnagan (ancestor to our verb to nag) means to
> gnaw or fret.
>
> A very useful book, indeed.
>
> Carolyn
>
> *and secondarily on Lolita
>
> From: "NABOKV-L, English" <nabokv-l@HOLYCROSS.EDU>
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 7:49 PM
> Subject: [NABOKV-L] QUERY: "Wodnaggen" in PF
>
> Dear List,
>
> Neither Zimmer nor Boyd offered an annotation for the word "wodnaggen"
> in Pale Fire (note to lines 47-48). Has anybody come up with an explanation
> that I have missed.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
> Maurice Couturier


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