# Translate two words for me into whatever language(s) you know, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319 "2010-07-28T16:00:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/1 "2010-07-28T16:00:07Z")
The two words are “Nags Head” (the North Carolina coastal town we often visit). Idiomatic translations would be most appreciated. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/2 "2010-07-28T16:02:11Z")
[Other than French?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=382967) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/3 "2010-07-28T16:04:12Z")
Place names don’t really translate most of the time. According to Wikipedia, in Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and Volapük, it’s “Nags Head”. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/4 "2010-07-28T16:16:05Z")
Agsnay Eadshay ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/5 "2010-07-28T16:30:53Z")
So are you looking for a literal translation of “The head of the old broken down horse”? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/6 "2010-07-28T16:34:48Z")
Well, “Horse’s Head” would be _Hua Ma_ in Thai. (That’s _Ma_ with a high tone; a rising tone would mean “dog” instead of “horse.”) I’m not sure how they would do “nag.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/7 "2010-07-28T16:36:22Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > So are you looking for a literal translation of “The head of the old broken down horse”? Or head of an annoying spouse. In Spanish, “_cabeza de_ whatever” would work. Some explorer or adventurer named Cabeza de Vaca was “Cow’s Head” and somebody who knows Spanish better than my 11th grade version might supply you with all sorts of things that have heads. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/8 "2010-07-28T16:36:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > So are you looking for a literal translation of “The head of the old broken down horse”? Just remember that “head” in this case is “headland,” and a cognate of “cape,” “cabo,” etc. However, he did say idiomatic is appreciated. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/9 "2010-07-28T16:39:57Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Other than French?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=382967) Yup. I’m branching out. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/10 "2010-07-28T16:47:54Z")
Kaakinpää -Finnish, literal translation… I wouldn’t bat an eye to see it as a place name… “pää” translates to either “head” or “the end of \”. Järvenpää, literally “end of the lake” is located at the end of a lake. And there is a place called Kaakinmäki = Nag’s Hill. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/11 "2010-07-28T18:21:12Z")
Merraneset or merraodden in Norwegian. (Both actual place names in Norway.) Both meaning the female horse’s pointy bit of land into the sea. Ei merr (def. form merra) has negative connotations, although they’re not the same as those of nag. ---
**Author:** ![Sven\_of\_the\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Sven\_of\_the\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sven_of_the_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/12 "2010-07-28T18:27:40Z")
In German, assuming that ‘head’ is roughly equivalent to Spanish ‘cabo’ (which I translate as ‘cape’): _Klepperskap_ or _Gaulskap_. _Klepper_ and _Gaul_ are both terms that would translate ‘nag’ (in the sense of ‘broken-down old horse’), and _Kap_ is the word for ‘cape’ (‘part of land that juts into the water’). ‘Head’ (as in ‘cranium’) is _Kopf._ So, _Klepperskopf_ or _Gaulskopf_. But _Kopf_ isn’t used geographically, while _Kap_ is. Spanish would probably be _Cabo del Caballo_. I don’t know if Spanish has a specific word for ‘nag’, so I used the word for ‘horse’. I looked it up, and ‘nag’ comes out as _jamelgo_, but I’ve never heard that word before, and I’m not sure if that would translate. _Cabo del Jamelgo_ sounds plausible, but I’m not at all fluent in Spanish, so I anxiously await the arrival of someone more knowledgeable than I am. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/13 "2010-07-28T18:33:47Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Agsnay Eadshay Neezag’s Heezead. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/14 "2010-07-28T18:44:52Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > Kaakinpää > -Finnish, literal translation… > > I wouldn’t bat an eye to see it as a place name… “pää” translates to either “head” or “the end of \”. > Järvenpää, literally “end of the lake” is located at the end of a lake. > And there is a place called Kaakinmäki = Nag’s Hill. Now that I thought about it, it could also be Kaakinniemi… but “niemi” is literally “a peninsula”; which would remove the “head” wordplay in the original… and I do like me some head. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/15 "2010-07-28T19:02:32Z")
well it depends on what we mean by head and by nag. in spanish it could be “cabeza de gruñon”, if we are talking about a naggy person. “cabeza de jamelgo” if it’s a horse. or substitute cabo for cabeza. depends where you want to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/16 "2010-07-28T19:06:15Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Just remember that “head” in this case is “headland,” and a cognate of “cape,” “cabo,” etc. > However, he did say idiomatic is appreciated. . . . Y’all know the fable about Nag’s Head, doncha? First of all, the Outer Banks are known for their shifting sands. The weather pushes the islands around like sand dunes and this caused many, many shipwrecks. Second, the area was a haven for pirates in the 17th century. Those two things are undoubtedly true. Legend has it that pirates, during storms used to take lanterns and put them around the necks of horses. They’d then run these horses parallel (or horizontal, I’ve heard both) to the beach. This mimiced the bobbing of harbored ships’ lights from the point of view of ships out at sea, as as the saying goes, “any port in a storm”. So the ships would see these lights, head for the “harbor”, and run aground. The pirates then “did what pirates do best” to the stranded vessels. Thus the name “Nag’s Head”. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/17 "2010-07-28T19:22:22Z")
Na-shizz-ag’s-Heh-shizz-ed LOL! I’ll need to consult my dictionary for this one. Or perhpas An Gadai will help out. . . ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/18 "2010-07-28T19:24:34Z")
In Latin, it would be **Caput Caballi.** In Latin, “Caballus” was a slang word meaning “nag,” as opposed to “equus,” which was the standard word for a horse. The modern, standard French and Spanish words for horse (cheval and caballo) come from the Latin slang word- perhaps because, in the hinterlands of the Roman empire, you were more likely to see a broken-down, flea-bitten caballus pulling a cart than you were to see a galloping “equus.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/19 "2010-07-28T19:26:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Legend has it that pirates, during storms used to take lanterns and put them around the necks of horses… That’s just an urban myth, though. It has no basis in fact. Wreckers would take advantage of a ship that foundered naturally, but they wouldn’t (and couldn’t) deliberately lure a ship onto the rocks. Addresed in the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrecking_%28shipwreck%29). It specifically mentions the Nag’s Head claim. Similar claims were made about Cornish wreckers, but this is also untrue, and debunked. By the wayThe Nag’s Head is the local pub in a popular and long running [British sitcom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_fools_and_horses). I’m sure I’m not the only one to think you were talking about that. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319/20 "2010-07-28T19:41:03Z")
The (rough) Afrikaans translation would be Perdekop [pear-duh-cawp, with the ‘r’ being rolled and the ‘aw’ being _very_ short, like ‘cup’ only an -aw- sound], which translates to both “horse’s head” and “horse’s hill”, but doesn’t carry the broken-down or by-the-sea connotations. But it does have[a Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdekop). A closer translation would be something like “Ou Perdepunt” (“old horse-promontory”)[owe pear-duh-pint, with the ‘pint’ like in “pinto pony” not “pint of beer”] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-two-words-for-me-into-whatever-language-s-you-know-please/548319.md?page=2)