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This is what I thought too! I actually emailed the woman from whom that information was taken and this was her response: "I used to be convinced that the word
by sdekk 5y ago
This is what I thought too! I actually emailed the woman from whom that information was taken and this was her response:
"I used to be convinced that the word ‘pastila’ derived from the words you mention below, but the deeper I dug, the more I came to believe that its etymology is more likely the old Russian стьлати — to spread out, which is the root of the word ‘postel’ as well. The derivation has to do with the technique of spreading the fruit paste into sheets to dry, and it ultimately makes more sense to me than the expected connection to various words related to ‘pastilla.’ One of the problems with researching food is that most of the people who compiled dictionaries were not fluent in in the kitchen, so I don’t entirely trust Fasmer, for instance, who states that the connection to ‘postel’ is a folk etymology."
- taejo 5y agoThanks for reaching out and for coming back to reply. I personally find this unconvincing: lexicographers aren't fluent in the kitchen (nor in the factory, or the farm, or any other particular area where language is used) but they are experts in how words are formed and change over time. If there were some linguistic process that could change the 'o' and 'e' of 'postel' into 'pastila', there would be other words were the same change occured and lexicographers would know about it. They also know that non-experts become convinced by all sorts of explanations for the origins of words that sound plausible but for which there is no evidence -- folk etymologies, in other words.
- sdekk 5y agoI completely agree with you. I have a background in linguistics and have studied Russian a little bit, and based on my experience, the likelihood of the orthography changing that much is practically nonexistent. Do you think it would be too much to get into it with Darra? She does seem to have a lot of influence in the culinary world, and it pains me to know that she is spreading her own lore as if it were truth.
- taejo 5y agoI think I probably wouldn't get into it. It's difficult to be convincing without a fair bit of background, and it's hard to convey that much information to someone who doesn't agree with you. I think I would come across as belligerent and arrogant if I tried.