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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Davening?
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References: <eoU57dAIqFPzEwdi@jritson.demon.co.uk> <333E0D2B.2B19@netvigator.com> <334aaff6.4954839@nntp.ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 03:47:04 GMT
Lines: 42

In article <334aaff6.4954839@nntp.ix.netcom.com>,
Polar <s.meric@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>On Sun, 30 Mar 1997 14:50:19 +0800, TsuiDF <sjm@netvigator.com> wrote:
>
>>John Ritson wrote:
>>> 
>>> Reading an Ed McBain novel, I came across the following:
>>> "Meyer's nephew Irwin, who had been known affectionately as Irwin the
>>> Vermin when he was but a prepubescent child, had since grown into a
>>> somewhat rabbinical type given to rolling his eyes and davening even
>>> when asking someone to pass the salt"
>>> 
>>> I have found 'daven' meaning 'to pray', but could someone please clarify
>>> its meaning here?
>>
>>It should still mean 'pray,' but it sounds as if the author is thinking 
>>of the particular type of prayer which might be thought characteristic 
>>of some (especially older or perhaps more old-fashioned or perhaps 
>>simply more zealous) Jewish men, who bob up and down and around whilst 
>>praying, instead of standing still.  That kind of movement, strictly 
>>(Yiddishly) speaking, is called "shuckling," (no idea how to spell that 
>>in English) though, whereas "daven" just refers to the act of prayer, 
>>not to movement while doing so.
>
>What is the derivation of "Shuckle" (or "shockle" as I have heard it
>pronounced).  I checked my German dictionary, on the hunch that this
>word, like so many other Yiddish words, came from 15th C. or so
>German, but  "shake" is "schuetteln". Could that have transmogrified
>into "shockle"?
[snip]

Mod. Ger. 'schaukeln' "swing, rock [back and forth], pitch and toss, bump
[up and down], etc." seems a more likely candidate for a cognate.  The
source for this appears to be 'Schaukel' "swing", itself a late (c.17th)
"highgermanisation" of Middle L. Ger. 'schu(k)ke/scho(k)ke' "[idem.]", at
least according to Wahrig.  Duden agrees and goes on to mention a probably
relationship with English "shock".

-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
