False friends and other unfortunate coincidences

[qwed117]

handaxe and Handaxt (a small axe to be held in one hand)

If they mean the same thing, what's the misfortune?

I'd say in common parlance, a hatchet can be referred to as a handaxe, but the traditional definition of handaxe is the human archeological remains of knapped flint or chert, which has unknown purpose, which is probably what Iyionaku is referring to

[Khemehekis]

handaxe and Handaxt (a small axe to be held in one hand)

If they mean the same thing, what's the misfortune?

I'd say in common parlance, a hatchet can be referred to as a handaxe, but the traditional definition of handaxe is the human archeological remains of knapped flint or chert, which has unknown purpose, which is probably what Iyionaku is referring to

These were my thoughts. I've only heard "hand-axe" as an archaeological term for a Stone Age tool.

[WeepingElf]

Here's one I have learned today:

Ventilator 'electric fan' vs. ventilator (which in German is called Beatmungsgerät)

[Salmoneus]

Here's one I have learned today:

Ventilator 'electric fan' vs. ventilator (which in German is called Beatmungsgerät)

The English is actually a bit more expansive than that - a ventilator is anything that ventilates, i.e. moves air in or out of a place. I wouldn't call a cooling fan a ventilator, but you could call an extractor fan (eg in an oven hood) a ventilator, and indeed my mother sometimes does IIRC, though that might be an Irish thing.

The specific meaning of a medical ventilator is more recent, and I think has maybe taken over the popular imagination due to covid (aided by the fact that the word isn't otherwise very common in most dialects anyway). But at least on wiktionary the general meaning is still listed first.


[likewise, I would think that the specialised meaning of hand-axe discussed above is more of a specialised jargon term among (apparently amateur? Wikipedia says the 'technical' name is just 'biface'?) stone age technology enthusiasts, rather than a false friend. I think 95% of the population, including myself, would say that a hand axe was a small axe that could be held in one hand, rather than a prehistoric bifacial stone implement of unknown function.]

[Creyeditor]

Technically, the German one could be used for an extractor fan but popularly you would use sth like Lüfter, IINM. In common parlance a Ventilator is a cooling fan only.

Edit: Or Gebläse instead of Lüfter.

[k1234567890y]

Czech and Slovak dav [ˈdaf] "crowd, mob" v.s. White Hmong dav [da˧˦] "lonely; cheerless(of a house)"

Yes the pronounciations are different, and the final consonants in the orthography of Hmong-Mien languages often indicate tones, but I still want to post this lol

[k1234567890y]

Japanese やま/山 [ja̠ma̠] "mountain" v.s. Czech jáma [ˈjaːma] "pit, hole"

[vo1dwalk3r]

two between Ukrainian and English (though involving loans from other language):

dream ~/~ дрімати /ˈdri.ma.tɪ/ `to nap'
practice ~/~ праця /ˈpra.t͡sʲa/ `work, labor'
region ~/~ район /raˈjon/ `second-level administrative division of Ukraine'

in fact dorm ~~ дрімати, forth ~~ праця, ray/radius ~~ район

[Dormouse559]

esports "sports" and E-Sports

It took me a good while to figure out that the is supposed to be Catalan Worth noting that "e-sports" can also be spelled "esports" in English. I always read the latter in my head as someone saying "sports" with a Spanish accent.

[WeepingElf]

two between Ukrainian and English (though involving loans from other language):

dream ~/~ дрімати /ˈdri.ma.tɪ/ `to nap'
practice ~/~ праця /ˈpra.t͡sʲa/ `work, labor'
region ~/~ район /raˈjon/ `second-level administrative division of Ukraine'

in fact dorm ~~ дрімати, forth ~~ праця, ray/radius ~~ район

Shouldn't these be in the False cognates thread?

[vo1dwalk3r]

two between Ukrainian and English (though involving loans from other language):

dream ~/~ дрімати /ˈdri.ma.tɪ/ `to nap'
practice ~/~ праця /ˈpra.t͡sʲa/ `work, labor'
region ~/~ район /raˈjon/ `second-level administrative division of Ukraine'

in fact dorm ~~ дрімати, forth ~~ праця, ray/radius ~~ район

Shouldn't these be in the False cognates thread?

TIL that false friend =/= false cognate! thanks lol

[Znex]

Coptic ⲙⲏⲣ (mēr) "desert" vs. French mer "sea"

Spoiler:

OEgp mrw *mūraw > *mēr > Copt mēr
PIE *mori > PIt *mari > Lat mare > Fr mer

Conversely, Egyptian dšrt "the Egyptian desert" and Pan-Euro desert- (Latinate in origin) are false cognates.

[Khemehekis]

Conversely, Egyptian dšrt "the Egyptian desert" and Pan-Euro desert- (Latinate in origin) are false cognates.

Does the Mormon word Deseret come from dšrt?

[zyma]

Conversely, Egyptian dšrt "the Egyptian desert" and Pan-Euro desert- (Latinate in origin) are false cognates.

Does the Mormon word Deseret come from dšrt?

According to this, "deseret" is said to be the word for "honeybee" in the language of the Jaredites, a group of people mentioned in the Book of Mormon. An LDS scholar has apparently suggested a connection between "deseret" and Deshret, the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. Looking at dšrt (lit. "the red one") on Wiktionary, this seems to be both the name of the desert & the name of the crown. I don't know if this theory has gained any traction among non-LDS scholars, but I assume not.

[Znex]

This one has probably been done before
air "water" vs. air

[eldin raigmore]

This one has probably been done before
air "water" vs. air

That’s Indonesian, not Polish — right?

[Salmoneus]

Wait, you're telling me that word isn't Monegasque!?

[Arayaz]

This one has probably been done before
air "water" vs. air

That’s Indonesian, not Polish — right?

Indonesian has the red on the top, Polish has the red on the bottom.

[eldin raigmore]

That’s Indonesian, not Polish — right?

Indonesian has the red on the top, Polish has the red on the bottom.

I see! Thanks for the correction!

[Arayaz]

That’s Indonesian, not Polish — right?

Indonesian has the red on the top, Polish has the red on the bottom.

I see! Thanks for the correction!

Found out yesterday at camp when we drew our boat's red-and-white sail as the flag of Indonesia (for complicated reasons I won't go into), but drew it upside down accidentally