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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: "The 4 corners and the 7 seas" ?
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References: <53fd17$k0b@cantuc.canterbury.ac.nz> <54357t$bp5@shore.shore.net> <543a1c$nso@news.nd.edu> <545jju$m3n@csu-b.csuohio.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 14:18:27 GMT
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In article <545jju$m3n@csu-b.csuohio.edu>,
Brian M. Scott <scott@math.csuohio.edu> wrote:
>In article <543a1c$nso@news.nd.edu>, scharle@ubiquity.cc.nd.edu says...
>
>Someone wrote:
>
>>|> By the way, how many other sevens can you name?
>
>Tom Scharle:
>
>>   I take it your suggestion is that "The Seven Xs" is a catchy concept,
>>such as in "hills of Rome" whatever the actual number of hills.
>
>This seems to have been the case in the development of German surnames, 
>which 'Sieben-' is found quite generally as an intensifier, e.g., in 
>'Siebenauge' (who sees everything) and 'Siebenfreund' (who, like 
>'Tausendfreund', has many friends).  Hans Bahlow says that this usage 
>is of Christian introduction, superseding a similar Germanic use of 
>'neun', as in 'der neunmalkluge'.

		Is this behind the naming of Transylvania
"Siebenbuergen"?  In my foolish ignorance (my reading of Bahlow has
been spotty), I always assumed the original "Saxon" settlement con-
sisted of seven castles.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
