lox come from lochs, probably not a coincidence

[ronburgundy]

I was just reminiscing with my wife about the first time we ever had Mimolette cheese, a french variant of Edam seasoned with annatto to give it a nuttiness and orange color. We got the cheese in Scotland on my first trip to Europe and ate it while waiting for a ferry with some smoked salmon that we bought at a small village sustained by salmon derived from one of the famous Scottish Loch (lake) Fyne. Saying that outloud made us both wonder whether the word for lake in Scottish (loch) is the source of the word for salmon in various languages (laks in Scandinavia, lox in Yiddish, and lachs in German).

Doing a little searching it seems that proto-Indo-European languages used the word lak for lake and laks for salmon which are commonly found in the tributary rivers that feed lakes.

Nothing mind blowing, but I enjoy realizing etymological connections.

 

[Malintent]

Mimolette... I will remember that (well, I won't remember it, so I texted it to my wife to remember next time she goes to our local Cheese Monger). Sounds awesome!

Joke:

What's the difference between an entomologist and an etymologist?

Show

An Etymologist would know

 

[fast]

I remember a line from Scooby Doo: a loch sure looks a lot like a lake.

 

[Speakpigeon]

I was just reminiscing with my wife about the first time we ever had Mimolette cheese, a french variant of Edam seasoned with annatto to give it a nuttiness and orange color. We got the cheese in Scotland on my first trip to Europe and ate it while waiting for a ferry with some smoked salmon that we bought at a small village sustained by salmon derived from one of the famous Scottish Loch (lake) Fyne. Saying that outloud made us both wonder whether the word for lake in Scottish (loch) is the source of the word for salmon in various languages (laks in Scandinavia, lox in Yiddish, and lachs in German).

Doing a little searching it seems that proto-Indo-European languages used the word lak for lake and laks for salmon which are commonly found in the tributary rivers that feed lakes.

Nothing mind blowing, but I enjoy realizing etymological connections.

My Oxford dictionary say 'lox' is a US term for smoked salmon.

My Collins dictionary says it comes from Yiddish 'laks', which comes from Middle High German 'lahs', which comes from Old High German 'lahs', which means salmon.

The Indo-European root is lak- (CE 653), which already meant salmon.

So, no recognised relation to 'loch' or 'lake', which come from French 'lac', which comes from Latin 'lacus'.


But 'laksa' is Malay for a Chinese dish of rice noodles, from Hindi 'lakh' for one hundred thousand, esp. rupees.

That's why smoked salmon is expensive, maybe.

And 'mimolette' means half-soft, hence 'mollet' eggs in French, and 'mollify' in English.

But not mollah, presumably.
EB