# English dialect question: Does the verb 'to walk' have a narrower meaning in some places? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821 "2014-04-24T00:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/21 "2014-04-25T01:36:18Z")
Pulykamell makes a good point, and I’m glad we got the facts (though there isn’t consensus on all points). Add this to the list of words that are surprisingly not related. For me, the champion of this category will always be English “day”/Latin _dies_ “day” (and its descendants like Spanish _dia_ or French _(lun-)di, (mar-)di, (mercre-)di_, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/22 "2014-04-25T05:57:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you read through the etymologies, the words appear to be related in meaning, but ultimately derive from different roots. ETA: Although another source does say they’re related. I’m only being careful here, because false cognates are not unusual in linguistics and just because two words look similar doesn’t necessarily mean they ultimately derive from the same root. You can’t necessarily say something “must be” or is “obviously” related to another word without digging about a bit in their histories. It’s certainly a plausible conclusion, but worth investigating. In this case, I can’t tell, because there appears to be conflicting info. “Gang” as a verb in current Low Scots means “go”; this usage goes back many centuries and is also found in other Northern British languages. Gang in Modern and medieval German also means go. I cannot see anything other than a direct derivation. Gang as a group of people or as in gangway may have an alternative explanation, but I would say that the same world being used in two languages sharing the common root language is certain to be cognate. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/23 "2014-04-25T12:27:50Z")
I agree that it’s surprising, Pjen. But it appears that Scots has both “gae” or “ga” (cognate with “go”) and “gang” (may or may not be related). Here’s what the OED has to say. > [@](#): > > Three suppositions are conceivable: > (1) That the two are unrelated, and have been associated owing to their similarity in sense and sound, > (2) That gang (OAryan \*ghong) is a nasalized reduplication of the root preserved in Teut. gæ (gai), > (3) That the shorter verb was evolved from the proportion stand- : stæ- (stai-) :: gang- : gæ- (gai-) > > The first two of these views leave the etymology [of _go_] undetermined. Number 3 is basically saying that there existed in Germanic a verb _stantan_ with a variant _sten_. There also existed a contrasting verb _gangan_, and the form _gen_ was formed by analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/24 "2014-04-25T14:23:01Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Interesting. I’m sure you’re right. > > Both are cognates of Modern English “go,” right? Which implies there was a more general word for “go” at some point in Old English (perhaps a cognate of German “fahren”? We still say “fare thee well”…). > [@bob\_2](#): > > You might still say “fare thee well” in Kansas, but certainly not over here. Even “farewell” is not in common use outside of poetry. Uh, nobody says “fare thee well” here in Kansas except maybe first graders singing Polly Wolly Doodle at their spring recital. Well, maybe some Yoder residents, but they wouldn’t be likely to post here. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/25 "2014-04-26T04:56:32Z")
> [@Remember\_me](#): > > Mops already gave the correct answer on how it was meant in the German crossword. > As it came up several times, I would like to add that Olympic walking or [racewalking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racewalking)in German is simply called “Gehen” (which means “walking/to walk”). So, racewalking was not meant in the crosswords. If I understand this correctly, then _Walking_ is now a reasonably common loanword in German, in which case the “(Eng.)” annotation was likely an error, since that usually isn’t done for loanwords. ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/26 "2014-04-28T11:32:45Z")
The annotation (Eng.) was probably used to indicate that a word English origin was asked. The writer of the quiz might even not be fully aware that he used a definition that is only really true for the German usage of the word. The adaption of the English word “Walking” into the German language is fairly recent. It is still felt very much as loan word as opposed to “older” loan words, that are being used without the direct connection to the English language. When Using e.g. the word “Boykott” (for engl. “boycott” of course) a German speaker might even not be aware the he used an English loan word. Whereas for “Walking” people are probably very much aware the it is a word of English origin. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/27 "2014-04-30T10:13:12Z")
> [@Remember\_me](#): > > The annotation (Eng.) was probably used to indicate that a word English origin was asked. > The writer of the quiz might even not be fully aware that he used a definition that is only really true for the German usage of the word. Yep, probably this. There are scores of such “Denglisch” words borrowed from English into German, often with very unexpected shifts in meaning. I few months ago wrote a multiple-choice puzzle for an English-language magazine where the object is to guess the definitions of 50 such words (including “Walking”). Before submitting it to the publisher I tested it out on my German colleagues—all of them scored 100%, but were surprised when I told them that none of the words has the same meaning in English. My English-speaking colleagues, however, scored no better than chance. Here are some examples from the quiz, in case anyone wants to try their luck: [ol] [li]der Callboy: (a) walkie-talkie (b) page boy (c) gigolo (d) mobile phone[/li][li]der Streetworker: (a) construction worker (b) social worker (c) missionary (d) street performer[/li][li]der Boomer: (a) baby boomer (b) boom box (c) cluster bomb (d) boom operator[/li][li]das Mobbing: (a) bullying (b) flash mob (c) texting (d) racketeering[/li][li]der Sprayer: (a) garden hose (b) playboy (c) graffiti artist (d) spit-take[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/28 "2014-04-30T12:02:39Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Here are some examples from the quiz, in case anyone wants to try their luck: > > [ol] > [li]der Callboy: (a) walkie-talkie (b) page boy (c) gigolo (d) mobile phone[/li][li]der Streetworker: (a) construction worker (b) social worker (c) missionary (d) street performer[/li][li]der Boomer: (a) baby boomer (b) boom box (c) cluster bomb (d) boom operator[/li][li]das Mobbing: (a) bullying (b) flash mob (c) texting (d) racketeering[/li][li]der Sprayer: (a) garden hose (b) playboy (c) graffiti artist (d) spit-take[/li][/ol] Very interesting! Purely guessing, I’ll go with: 1. a 2. d 3. b 4. c 5. c ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/29 "2014-04-30T20:48:35Z")
Sorry, you got only one correct! Anyone else want to have a go before the correct answers are revealed? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/30 "2014-05-02T11:57:30Z")
No takers? OK, the answers are as follows: 1. c 2. b 3. d 4. a 5. c If anyone’s interested, the full quiz appears in the November 2013 issue of [Babel: The Language Magazine](http://www.babelzine.com/). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/31 "2014-05-02T13:00:25Z")
Cool. It’s nice to score 20% and still be the winner! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/32 "2014-05-05T07:50:33Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > 1. d Huh? I’m German. I have never heard this word used in German/Denglish. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/33 "2014-05-05T08:54:02Z")
> [@Remember\_me](#): > > Huh? > I’m German. I have never heard this word used in German/Denglish. Perhaps it’s more commonly used in film industry circles. But the word’s in the Verein Deutsche Sprache’s _Anglizismenliste 2003_, so it must be in common enough usage to get the prescriptivists’ _Unterhosen_ in a twist. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/34 "2014-05-05T14:21:35Z")
[quote=“Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus, post:19, topic:686821”] (Emphasis mine) In translation, this sounds like the premise of a Monty Python sketch. > [@chav type character](#): > > These days the woods are overrun by packs or shoals of ladies of a certain age. It isn’t safe anymore… “Chav”? 😕 Second time this day I don’t understand Anglo slang. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/35 "2014-05-05T14:36:03Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > “Chav”? 😕 > > Second time this day I don’t understand Anglo slang. A [“chav”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav) is a pejorative term in British English for a certain socio-economic youth subculture whose members are viewed as boorish and unsophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821/36 "2014-05-05T17:03:35Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > A [“chav”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav) is a pejorative term in British English for a certain socio-economic youth subculture whose members are viewed as boorish and unsophisticated. While we’re discussing various English slang words related to the concept of “white trash,” there’s also the Australia/New Zealand [bogan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan). It’s a source of amusement to my Australian cousins to know there’s a “Bogan High School” a few miles down the street from me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-dialect-question-does-the-verb-to-walk-have-a-narrower-meaning-in-some-places/686821.md?page=1)