'caucau' ??

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Nemessos

#467039 Mon, 21 Jan 08 03:20 PM

Does caucau mean 'meeting'? (I can't find this word in the online dictionaries!)

Thank you.

Nemessos

Joined on Tue, Jan 15 2008

France

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Nemessos

khoff

#467054 Mon, 21 Jan 08 04:03 PM

Are you thinking of the word "caucus"? It refers to a certain type of political meeting, for choosing a candidate.

khoff

Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005

Denver, Colorado, USA, Earth

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Philip

#467055 Mon, 21 Jan 08 04:03 PM

Nemessos wrote:

Does caucau mean 'meeting'? (I can't find this word in the online dictionaries!)

Thank you.

The context in which you found it would help. My guess is that it's a typo of either 'Cauca' (river in Columbia) or 'caucus' (the events that are happening in US politics as we speak).

Philip

Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005

USA Pacific Northwest (Seattle)

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At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen

Nemessos

#467350 Tue, 22 Jan 08 10:23 AM

Yes, it is the events that are happening in US politics. Thank you Khoff and Philip !!

I came across this word while doing the 'Expand your vocabulary and feed the word', and it stated that caucus means 'meeting'.

Any idea why the US political events are referred to as 'caucus' ??

)

Nemessos

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NewPhilologist

#467356 Tue, 22 Jan 08 11:00 AM

The Oxford English Dictionary says the following about the etymology of the word "caucus":

Arose in New England: origin obscure.
Alleged to have been used in Boston U.S. before 1724; quotations go back to 1763. Already in 1774 Gordon (Hist. Amer. Rev.) could obtain no ‘satisfactory account of the origin of the name’. Mr. Pickering, in 1816, as a mere guess, thought it ‘not improbable that caucus might be a corruption of caulkers', the word “meetings” being understood’. For this, and the more detailed statement quoted in Webster, there is absolutely no evidence beyond the similarity of sound; and the word was actually in use before the date (1770) of the event mentioned in Webster. Dr. J. H. Trumbull (Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 1872) has suggested possible derivation from an Algonkin word cau´-cau-as´u, which occurs in Capt. Smith's Virginia 23, as Caw-cawaassough ‘one who advises, urges, encourages’, from a vb. meaning primarily ‘to talk to’, hence ‘to give counsel, advise, encourage’, and ‘to urge, promote, incite to action’. For such a derivation there is claimed the general suitability of the form and sense, and it is stated that Indian names were commonly taken by clubs and secret associations in New England; but there appears to be no direct evidence.

NewPhilologist

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Nemessos

#467391 Tue, 22 Jan 08 12:46 PM

NewPhilologist wrote:
The Oxford English Dictionary says the following about the etymology of the word "caucus":

Arose in New England: origin obscure.
Alleged to have been used in Boston U.S. before 1724; quotations go back to 1763. Already in 1774 Gordon (Hist. Amer. Rev.) could obtain no ‘satisfactory account of the origin of the name’. Mr. Pickering, in 1816, as a mere guess, thought it ‘not improbable that caucus might be a corruption of caulkers', the word “meetings” being understood’. For this, and the more detailed statement quoted in Webster, there is absolutely no evidence beyond the similarity of sound; and the word was actually in use before the date (1770) of the event mentioned in Webster. Dr. J. H. Trumbull (Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 1872) has suggested possible derivation from an Algonkin word cau´-cau-as´u, which occurs in Capt. Smith's Virginia 23, as Caw-cawaassough ‘one who advises, urges, encourages’, from a vb. meaning primarily ‘to talk to’, hence ‘to give counsel, advise, encourage’, and ‘to urge, promote, incite to action’. For such a derivation there is claimed the general suitability of the form and sense, and it is stated that Indian names were commonly taken by clubs and secret associations in New England; but there appears to be no direct evidence.

Thank you NewPhilologist for the research and the posting of the explanation. In fact, now that I think of it, 'causer' is a French slang meaning 'to talk'!!

Nemessos

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