hus (onomastics)

Robert Borski · 02 Dec 2000, 12:54 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: "Robert Borski" <rborski at charter.net>
Subject: (whorl) hus (onomastics)
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2000 12:54:49
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0039 at digest.urth.net>
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After trying for the past four years to figure out the etymology of hus, but
failing, I decided to go to the man himself for help, and here is what he
told me:

"Hus is a little embarrassing. It's an old word for house. (A hussy was a
kept woman: a house woman, like a house dog, rather than a housewife--a
woman who was shacking up.) When I started the book, I wanted to combine the
house-pet idea with the wild-boar idea, and called Babbi a hushhog. I hadn't
gotten very far before I realized that most readers would see the word as
hush.og and my characters began referring to him as "hus." So I left it at
that."

Robert Borski (who still doesn't understand how a "a half-grown hus" can
look like "a cluster of boys, or two men upon their hands and knees," but I
guess that's me.)

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