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Re: What is a Mimosa?

John Atkinson wrote:
> 
> According to Corominas's etymological dictionary, the verb "mimar" (to spoil
> or pamper) and the noun "mimo" (pampering, or a cuddle) date back to the
> 1500s, and the derived adjective "mimoso/a", (as in "Es muy mimoso", he
> loves/wants to be made a fuss of) was used in La Picara Justina (published
> 1605, perhaps already composed by 1582).
> 
> As for the plant, Corominas says: "Mimosa 'sensitiva, planta' [Acad. ya
> 1817]: no se ha hecha bien la historia de este nombre, que en france's
> aparece desde 1619, en ingle's en el siglo XVIII y en portugue's ya en
> Bluteau (1715): si, como e'ste dice, es planta originaria de Ame'rica, el
> latin bota'nico lo tomari'a del castellano o el portugue's, donde tendri'a
> el sentido de 'melindrosa'; que sea derivado culto de _mimus_ 'histrio'n' no
> es inconcebible, pero si' ma's difi'cil sema'nticamente, y adema's _mimosus_
> no es palabra latina ni medieval (se halla solamente en glosas)."
> 
> My rough translation:  "The history of this name has not been well done.  It
> appears in French from 1619, in English in the 18th century, and in
> Portuguese in Bluteau (1715).  If, as they say, it is a plant which is
> native to America, botanical Latin would get it from Spanish or Portuguese,
> where it would have the sense 'fussy' or 'finicky'; that it is a learned
> derivative of _mimus_ 'actor' is not inconceivable, but is more difficult
> semantically; in addition, _mimosus_ is neither a Latin nor a medieval word
> (being found only in glosses)."
> 
> My old OED gives 1732 as the date of its earliest use in English, and says
> "modern Latin; apparently from Latin _mimus_".  However I tend to agree with
> Corominas (and Beverley) -- namely that the plant name most likely does come
> from the Spanish/Portuguese word.
> 
> But is Corominas right when he says that M pudica comes from America?  Sean?
> 
> John.

Thanks for your helpful remarks, John. 

Beverly
-- 
Beverly Elischer
Perth, Western Australia
Ph. +61 8 9386 5244
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