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Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan
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Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan |
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Subject: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Deneb Date: 16 Feb 13 - 02:23 PM Hello everyone, today I started learning Child ballad number 53 - also known as "Young Beichan", or "Lord Bateman", or... Well, I guess most of you know what I'm talking about. Here is my question: does anyone know what the word "mavosie" mean? If one refers to Child's book, it appears in version B, verse 8. I did a few quick web searches and found nothing. Any idea? It sounds vaguely French to me, but this doesn't really help. Also, the sentence goes "And [she] sung to him like a mavosie" - it could be almost anything, a bird, a mythological creature with a mellow voice... Or a misspelling of some known word? Thank you in advance for your help! Best wishes, Gaia |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Lighter Date: 16 Feb 13 - 02:27 PM Looks like some kind of error for "mavis," a frequent ballad word for the song thrush. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Steve Gardham Date: 16 Feb 13 - 02:36 PM Jon is right. In the glossary in vol 5 it gives this definition. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Lighter Date: 16 Feb 13 - 02:38 PM And I didn't even look it up! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Deneb Date: 16 Feb 13 - 03:12 PM ... Wow! Great. Thrush. Of course. :) The thing is, I did say I started studying the song, but only had one out of all Child's volumes at hand... I'll remember about the glossary the next time I encounter a similar issue! Thank you Jon and Steve. Best wishes, Gaia |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 16 Feb 13 - 10:52 PM thanks for the info on this delightful word. It's not in my unabridged dictionary, but it does have 'mavis,' and it says that it comes from the French 'mauvis' and perhaps has a Celtic origin. The Bretagne term is 'milfid.' On our trips across the pond, my husband and I encountered this bird more than once, usually singing away in a park. It is no surprise that it has been noticed and named by many cultures over the centuries. I believe the mavis is now called a missal thrush. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: GUEST Date: 17 Feb 13 - 01:51 AM Google 'mistle thrush' it's rather different from the song thrush. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Jim McLean Date: 17 Feb 13 - 03:54 AM There's a Victorian song called Bonnie Mary of Argyle and the first line is: I have heard the Mavis singing, His love song to the morn. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 17 Feb 13 - 09:11 AM Okay, mistle thrush, not missal. I forgot how to spell it while walking from the dictionary to the computer and trying to remember all the lingo. Is mistle thrush related to mistletoe, I wonder. Some old timer (might have been Purcell) wrote a piece called 'Whenas the Mavis Sweetly Sings.' It's a nice duet. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: GUEST,gutcher Date: 17 Feb 13 - 12:03 PM It"s still called a mavis in these parts, though it"s getting rather scarce. [S.W. Scotland] "The Mavis still doth sweetly sing The floo"rs they sweetly blaw Still flourishing the auld pear tree But the auld hoose is awa. Lady Nairne. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Odd word in version of Young Beichan From: Lighter Date: 17 Feb 13 - 12:32 PM My hunch is that "mavosie" is a misspelling or typo for what would ordinarily be an affectionate diminutive: "mavisie." |
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