Re: copacetic: OT

[wiener <wiener...>]

The AHD (3rd ed.) has a lengthy Word History.  I neither have the
scanner nor the time to copy it.  But it does offer several
fascinating derivations concluding that DARE (1985) listed it as "Etym
unknown".

The Hebrew connection they note is "kol besedeq"  (w/o pronunciation
marks here), which is closer to the pronunciation of "copacetic" but
further from a common Hebrew phrase, I believe.

Perhaps someone with a 4th ed. AHD and a scanner can give us the
latest.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Ari Davidow <ari (at) ivritype(dot)com>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Wednesday, May 09, 2001 1:57 PM
Subject: Re: copacetic: OT


>And I seem to recall looking this up a few years ago and coming
>up with a derivation of "copacetic" remote from any Jewish languages,
>although it may be similar to some shared Serbian-Jewish vocabulary
>I discovered a few years ago--in that case, both languages had
grabbed
>the words from the Turks!
>
>In this case, things would be too weird for another language to have
spontaneously, and so far back, have given the phrase "hakol b'seder"
>to more than one language, but it would have been conceivable for
some
>other language to have corrupted the words first, then passed them
into
>English....
>
>ari
>
>
>At 01:34 PM 5/9/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>>OT
>>The word is usually written "copacetic" or "copasetic".
>>
>>Bob
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: WINSTON WEILHEIMER <nusach (at) hotmail(dot)com>
>>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>>Date: Friday, May 04, 2001 5:51 PM
>>Subject: Re: Ipcha Mistabra
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>From: Sam Weiss <samweiss (at) bellatlantic(dot)net>
>>>>Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>>>>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>>>>Subject: Re: Ipcha Mistabra
>>>>Date: Fri, 04 May 2001 17:35:26 -0400
>>>>
>>>>Just to tidy up Shirona's correct explanation...
>>>>"Ipcha Mistabra" is the typical term in the Talmud for "On the
>>>>contrary!"  used as an introduction to a counter-argument.  The
>>phrase
>>>>entered the Yiddish of the typical learned East-European Jew, and
>>from
>>>>there it was taken into Israeli Hebrew.
>>>>
>>>>______________________________________________________
>>>>Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ
>>>>
>>>that reminds me....it always sends a chill up my spine when someone
>>says
>>>everything is "kobesedik!"
>>>
>>>...and i look at them and it makes makes wonder what would they
think
>>if
>>>they knew it was really hebrew! (hakol beseder), and if they would
>>use it if
>>>they knew! if the speaker is Jewish, i tell them.
>>>
>>>shabbat shalom
>>>winston
>>>_________________________________________________________________
>>>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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