[Fictionary] betyl, cierge, results

[Hutch]

So, does this mean that the "concierge" is (more-or-less) the night
desk clerk at a hotel: that is, the guy _con cierge_ (with candle)?

M-W claims that it comes from vulgar Latin conservius ("com" +
"servus"), meaning "fellow slave".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concierge

However, the 1911 Britannica says that the origin is unknown, but
suggests that the Latin form was "concergius or concergerius),
originally the guardian of a house or castle" (which might well be
literally "the guy with the candle").
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Concierge I had thought that the
guardian of a house or castle would have been "seneschal".

So I'm inclined to think that's a reasonable guess at the etymology.
Too bad I've got no evidence to back up my theory. *G*

On to another bit of news that I may have already given out. (I've
told enough people that I'm starting to forget WHO I've told and who I
haven't.)

I have moved from Colorado to (very, very) rural Virginia: Lebanon, Virginia.

Where's Lebanon, you ask? WAAAAAAY out in the southwestern point of
Virginia. As a way of describing just how far away from the rest of
Virginia this is, when I was first looking into the move, I discovered
that the nearest "cities" are, in order:

Knoxville, TN
Asheville, NC
Lexington, KY
Charlottesville, WV
Roanoke VA

That's right. The nearest "city" actually in Virginia is the fifth
nearest city to Lebanon.

Since I've moved here (arrived August 20), I've discovered another way
to put it: the three nearest MALLS are in Tennessee, West Virginia,
and North Carolina. The nearest one in Virginia is nearly twice as far
away as the farthest of the three.

BB,
Hutch

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On 10/12/12, fictioneric at cluemail.com <fictioneric at cluemail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
[snip]
> The real defs were the holy stone and the candle, and the winner is
> Pierre with his beekeeping jargon.  Well, after the real def, which
> got lots of votes.
>
> ----------
>
> General comments:
>
> Elliott: _Cierge_ feels somehow familiar, and brings to mind wax and
> candles, so I will disqualify myself from voting for any wax or
> candle defs.
[snip]
> Real def.
> ========
> betyl, n.  A sacred stone, often a standing stone fashioned into a
>      conical shape.
>
> cierge, n.  A wax candle used in religous rites.
>
>      The chamber was hardly lit by the cierges burning in irregular
>      niches about the crude stone walls; but before him, Lawrie saw
>      the betyl shining in its own lambent glow, the unnatural light
>      seeming more to writhe unctuously about the stone than issue
>      from it.
>
> 8 points (2 David, 2 Hutch, 2 Linda, 2 Pierre, 2 Nicolas)
>
> Linda: Two votes for the sacred stone/candle because my ears need coning
> again.
>
> Elliott: Lambentness creeps me out.
>
> J-J: Hmm.  "Cire" means "wax", I think.  I'd almost go for this,
> but... "writhe unctuously"?  I'm trying to picture that.  I'm
> reminded of a Firesign Theater routine that introduced a character
> and mentioned his "well-oiled hat".
>
> Nicolas: 2 points, both for not being a sound-alike def and for using
> "unctuously".
[snip]