St. Dominic (c.1170-1221)
Jag är lite osäker på om gossen här ovan säger åt oss att hålla mun eller, vilket nog är troligare, pekar på Vår Herre — ett slags "äran-tillkommer-Gud-gest".
Det är inte ofta man stöter på ordet "mumchance", men det är tillräckligt ovanligt för att tvinga mig till att ta reda på varför i all världen det heter så.
mum·chance
(mŭm′chăns′)
adj.
Silent or untalkative: "Usually they were mumchance villains, but the excitement about the discovery made themchatter" (T. H. White).
[From Early Modern English mumchaunce as in to play mumchaunce, to stay silent, from mumchaunce, a kind of dicegame played in silence, from Middle Low German mummenschanze (Middle Low German mummen, a dice game played insilence during Carnival, ultimately from Middle French mommon, from mommer, to play dice in a mask during Carnival, fromOld French momer, to masquerade, mum; see mum2 + Middle Low German schanze, throw of dice, from Middle Frenchchance, from Old French, throw of dice, chance; see chance) and its cognate forms Middle Dutch mommecanse and earlyModern German Momschanz.]
Så vitt har det inte ett dugg med ordet "mum" att göra:
mum (mŭm)
adj.
Not verbalizing; silent.
interj.
Used as a command to stop speaking.
Idiom:
mum's the word
Say nothing of the secret you know: Mum's the word on the surprise party.
[Middle English mom, mum, perhaps imitative of closing one's lips.]
