Brysing, I always thought of "Warlock" as being only from the old English "oath breaker", but I found this video interesting as it shows there's more than one origin for it. I like the Nordic origin, but I do agree that a lot of people find it derogatory or offensive to be called that. I, personally, wouldn't call myself a warlock nor would I call anyone else that, but I do think it's okay to kind or reclaim that word or for someone else to identify as such and I respect the labels people choose for themselves. To me, it's kind of like the N word or the T word or words like "faggot" or the S word--the people who those words were made to put down have reclaimed those words and occasionally even label themsleves these words. Though, I do think that if someone wants to label themsleves a warlock, they need to do some research and learn the history of it from all sides.
As I said, words change.Most married women in England would be addressed as "Missus", and the abbreviation for that word is Mrs, But the origin of the word is "Mistress". A totally different meaning in modern usage! I have a friend who was in the USA staying with a family that had two small children. My friend had a hobby, drawing. Can you imagine the effect when he asked where he could buy some rubbers? To an American it would have a totally different meaning than "Erasers".
Language, and the history of it ,is fascinating.
The idea of "warlock" as being from Norse origins has become popular amongst those who wish to use the title without the stigma of its Anglo-Saxon origins. But trust me, my Scandanavian Pagan friends say quite unequivocably that the term "warlock" is not derived from any of the Nordic languages, nor does the word they are trying to use as an antecedant to "warlock" hold the meanings that these people wish to make it seem that it does. The video is incorrect on a number of different levels.
Brysing, you're totally right that linguistics is always a fascinating subject ^.^ also, it is true that in America, when we want erasers, we say "erasers" instead of "rubbers". In our vernacular, "rubbers" means "condoms". Though condoms are normally made out of latex and not rubber...
Lark, I don't know his sources (though he might have them listed in the description, I didn't check yet). Though if that's what your Scandinavian friends say, I'll take their word for it. If you have sources for me to check out, though, that would be cool ^.^
bloodlust, it's not dirty talk. Also, the youngest I've seen on here is 13, which is an age where some kids do start having sex. So they need to know about condoms and what they're made of. This is really just a thread about linguistics and the reclamation of words though.
