Saturday & Sunday Word: Dorcas & Mishegoss
mi·she·goss (mish·e·gaas or mish·e·goss) [məʃug'ɔs]:
origin: Yiddish meshegas, from Hebrew משוגע (meshuge)
noun
Madness, behavior without logic, foolishness
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dor·cas (ˈspīk-kûr-ˈpüpˈpen):
origin: (1553) Greek, Dorkas; translated from Aramaic, Tabitha (meaning "gazelle")
noun
Many a moon ago, I was introduced to a young Asian woman with this name; having been raised in the 80's, this proper name sounds exactly like the insulting phrase: dorkus malorkus. However, I said to her, "I am not one to make fun of people's names, but...is that a nickname or...?"
She humbly explained it was a name given from The New Testament, a charitable Christian woman who made clothing for the poor [Book of Acts (9:36-42)].
Although I'd never heard the name in my life, it strangely kept cropping up in my life after her introduction! Examples: Anita Blake's: Bloody Bones Dorcas Bouvier (a suspicious fae), a parlourmaid in The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, Dorcas Meadowes in Harry Potter (a member of the Order of the Phoenix), or Dorcas Lane in BBC's Lark Rise. There is even a Dorcas in the famous science fiction tale, Stranger in a Strange Land.
origin: Yiddish meshegas, from Hebrew משוגע (meshuge)
noun
Madness, behavior without logic, foolishness
---
dor·cas (ˈspīk-kûr-ˈpüpˈpen):
origin: (1553) Greek, Dorkas; translated from Aramaic, Tabitha (meaning "gazelle")
noun
Many a moon ago, I was introduced to a young Asian woman with this name; having been raised in the 80's, this proper name sounds exactly like the insulting phrase: dorkus malorkus. However, I said to her, "I am not one to make fun of people's names, but...is that a nickname or...?"
She humbly explained it was a name given from The New Testament, a charitable Christian woman who made clothing for the poor [Book of Acts (9:36-42)].
Although I'd never heard the name in my life, it strangely kept cropping up in my life after her introduction! Examples: Anita Blake's: Bloody Bones Dorcas Bouvier (a suspicious fae), a parlourmaid in The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, Dorcas Meadowes in Harry Potter (a member of the Order of the Phoenix), or Dorcas Lane in BBC's Lark Rise. There is even a Dorcas in the famous science fiction tale, Stranger in a Strange Land.