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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: What is the origin of spanish Usted?
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References: <19970728235200.TAA04009@ladder01.news.aol.com> <33DDA28D.1A3D@onyx.net> <7fafj6gsig.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 15:01:13 GMT
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In article <7fafj6gsig.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>,
Lee Sau Dan ~{@nJX6X~} <sdlee@cs.hku.hk> wrote:
>>>>>> "Paul" == Paul Sampson <paul.sampson@onyx.net> writes:
>
>    Paul> It means, or meant, something like "Your Honour", from
>    Paul> vuestra merced (more literally 'your mercy'). I daresay you
>    Paul> can see all of the latinoid stuff from there.
>
>Do Spanish "usted" and "ustedes" have any  relationships to the Arabic
>/usta:dh/ ?

	This was once a popular theory, but none of the historical
grammars of Spanish I've seen have any use for it.  The existence of
transitional forms of "Vuestra Merced", like that of earlier forms of
"el", is simply too obvious to go looking for borrowing from Arabic.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
