Talk:Cockaigne

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Etymology: The instance of "Cucaniensis" in Carmina Burana - noted in the artistic references section - is around 100 years older than the Middle English or Middle French instances recorded in the OED. If there are other instances in medieval Latin of this word, it might be worth noting.Delvebelow (talk) 16:30, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

London: "some have argued that it was the original pre-Roman name for the city,". Linguistically, is this possible? Perhaps the contributor (on 19:30, 2 October 2005) User:Agendum can report where this was read. --Wetman 07:22, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Believe it or not, I have heard this theory proposed - I think it was mentioned in Peter Ackroyd's TV series on London, so it may be in the accompanying book London: The Biography by Ackroyd. Personally, I think it's a load of tosh, but as a possible explanation of the derivation of Cockney I think it merits inclusion. Agendum 10:05, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
Here you are. There's reference to Ackroyd's mention of the name in the review of the book here: [1] Agendum 16:02, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
Thank you, Agendum. The reviewer's notice: "The word "Cockney," he explains, comes from "a cock's egg," a freak of nature; or perhaps it derives from coquina, a Latin word for cookery, thanks to London's cook-shops; or, inevitably, it may come from "the Celtic myth of London as 'Cockaigne,' a place of milk and honey." Such etymologies can't all be right, but Ackroyd conflates them with panache." The joke, first in print in 1824, was that the "land of Cockneys" would be the familiar land "of Cockaigne". Rather than a serious etymology, it was meant as a joke, which even staid OED notices. For etymologies in the article, let me introduce the OED instead, in an edit I hope will be acceptable. --Wetman 16:31, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cocaine?

I assume there's no connection between the name "Cockaigne" and the drug "Cocaine". --Damian Yerrick (talk | stalk) 21:28, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

The suffix -ine is a chemical signifier. The coca part comes from a South American plant. South America and its botanicals weren't very familiar to medieval Europeans, yes? --Wetman (talk) 09:41, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Spanish "Cucaña" means "fool"?

Spanish word "cucaña" may have some different meanings, but, as far as I know, it DOESN'T mean "fool" anyway... and I'm Spanish. :) According to the dictionary edited by the Spanish Royal Academy of Language, "cucaña" could mean: 1. A certain game I don't feel like to describe: http://www.fotos.org/galeria/data/576/medium/Francisco-de-Goya-The-Greasy-Pole-La-Cucana.jpg 2. The act of seeing that game. 3. Anything that lets one reach something quickly and without effort. 4. The very object reached by such means. 5. Jauja (Spanish word equivalent to "Cockaigne", as the article points out). Antonio --87.217.9.125 (talk) 23:17, 4 June 2008 (UTC)