The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 18.0674  Tuesday, 9 October 2007

From: 		Donald Bloom <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date: 		Monday, 8 Oct 2007 12:25:27 -0500
Subject: 18.0669 Observation about ducdame
Comment: 	RE: SHK 18.0669 Observation about ducdame

Whatever else it may be, ducdame (a three-syllable phrase to match "come 
hither") is Welsh and means something like "come with me."

Whether Shakespeare was playing on the Welsh phrase and meant for his 
audience to catch it, or was doing so and didn't care if they got it, or 
didn't himself know what the Welsh meant but had heard it somewhere, we 
can't tell. He may have meant something quite different than what the 
Welsh phrase means (something Latin or Greek, for example), and the 
possibility is certainly open to ingenious speculation. But that it is a 
phrase in Welsh is certain.

(It would, of course, be spelled differently in modern Welsh 
orthography, but the same applies to English.)

Cheers,
don

PS: If he'd said "commitmeer," and been asked the meaning of this
strange phrase, he could likewise have said it was a "Greek invocation
to call fools into a circle."

_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, 
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the 
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the 
editor assumes no responsibility for them.