On Tue, Oct 16, 2012, at 12:27 PM, philippe.amard wrote:
>
> Le 16 oct. 12 à 10:53, Piers Hemy a écrit :
>
> > I have come across similar usages in slang English, Philippe, such
> > as "That
> > was wicked" meaning not bad, but exceptionally good.
> >
>
> Nice as grumpy/simpleton is the original meaning of the word in old
> French - went to mean pleasant when it crossed the Channel and started
> driving on the wrong side of the road probably.
Not according to the OED. "Nice" as "pleasant" is a fairly recent
shift. It often meant "precise" and "exacting" -- which are often
negative in connotation.
Also, mightn't one argue that post-1066 English is actually a kind of
French, one that has added to it a lot of Anglo-Saxon words? Didn't
Henry V arrive at Agincourt precisely because he believed he was the
true king of France?
Joel W.
New France
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