Lagu '12 days of christmas' merupakan salah satu lagu yg cukup tua yg sering dinyanyikan pada saat perayaan / suasana Natal oleh kaum Kristiani Katholik. Berikut ini adalah asal kata dalam lagu tersebut yg merupakan saduran saya dari dictionary.com.
Silakan disimak :
- partridge (ayam hutan) in a pear tree,
The likelihood of finding a partridge in a pear tree is slim and not just because partridges aren't big fruit eaters; partridges are ground nesting birds, preferring to avoid soaring journeys and high perches. The word comes to us from the greek 'perdix' which meant ' to break wind', likely referring to the sound of a bird's wings.
- two turtledoves
In addition to a bird with a long, graduated tail and soft, cooing call, the word turtledove can be used to refer to a sweetheart or beloved mate. The letter sense likely arose out of the bird's tendency to form strong, afectionate bonds in pairs. A trait that has been invoked in literature for centuries. William Shakespeare's 1601 poem 'the phoenix and the turtle' alluded to this devotion in a tale of love between a phoenix and a turtledove.
- Three french hens
With two turtledoves and a partridge in your pocket, three french hens might seem like the last thing you need. But if your true love gives you three 'poulets de bresse', the most esteemed french hen of them all, then you should probably accept. The word hen comes to us from West Germanic 'han(e)ni', literally 'bird who sings for sunrise', and is sometimes disparagingly used to refer to a gossipy woman, or more generally, to any woman. In UK, a 'hen night' is a bachelorette party.
- four calling birds
Most of us sing this line as 'calling birds', but in the 1780 version of this song, the line was 'colly birds', likely referencing their color. Around the time this song was published, 'colly' was used in British dialects to mean 'dirtied, grimy, or coal black'. Frederic Austin's 1909 version of 'twelve days of x-mas' replaced 'colly' with caling on the fourth day and it stuck..
- five golden rings
The word gold has been used for centuries to describe the valuable metal, but it far more humble origin. It ultimately shares a root with the word 'gall', (meaning : bile) as they are both from the Pre-Germanic root 'ghel-', which meant simply 'yellow'. In the song, this lyric was original 'gold rings', rather than 'golden rings'.
- six geese a laying
Another day of x-mas, another flock of birds-or in this case, a Gaggle. Perhaps indicative of a fascination with the temperamental animal. The word 'goose' has many several meanings. It can be refer to the female web-footed swimming bird, a foolish person, a tailor's curved-handle iron, or a poke between the buttocks to startle someone, not to mention the fun idiom 'wild-goose chase', which refers to a wild absurd search for something unattainable.
To be continued to part 2...
Cikarang, two days before x-mas..
