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Re: German "Stein"

Subject: Re: German "Stein"
From: "Paul J Kriha"
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:46:32 +1300
Newsgroups: sci.lang
<phoglund@xxxxxx> wrote in message 
news:1167312571.641263.10190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim kirjoitti:
> 
> > The German word for stone ,,Stein" is used in German very widely in
> > combinations particularly with proper names like surnames, names of
> > streets....
> > 1. The combination of some words like Bernstein is clear to me but I
> > can't understand a name like Einstein "one stone".
> 
> Wild guess: the "Ein-" might be traceable to some other word and
> entirely unrelated to ein "one".
> 
> > 2. Germany is not that mountainous so why this overuse of "Stein"(
> > maybe particularly in the north?) Any historic explanation?

You're making mountains out of stones. :-)
 
> Another wild guess: it might have something to do with borders marked
> with stones.

And many people drink beer out of earthenware mugs
and live in houses built out of bricks.

pjk



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