Michael Edelman wrote: > However: The deduced->ded origin is by no means > accepted as definitive by scholars. The Oxford > Companion to Ships and the Sea calls this etymology > "... improbable; it has too much of a modern ring > about it." The spelling of "ded" is not seen in any > but a few very recent writings; in the 17th Century it > was always "dead reckoning". > > I suspect the "deduced" theory is a modern folk > etymology. The more likely origin is from the other > sense of "dead" as in exact, fixed, unmoving- as a > machinist would say of an exact alignment, it's "dead > nuts on". The modern folk etymology notion is persuasive. But isn't the fact of dead reckoning "Here's where I infer--based on current, paddling speed, crosswind, etc--I am" rather the opposite of exact, fixed, and unmoving? > mike, feeling a bit didactic today ;-) Me, too. -- Steve Cramer Athens, GA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 29 2004 - 06:46:52 PDT
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