If Ed is short for Edward and Ted is short for Theodore, what is Ned short for? Nedward?
― Tuomas, Friday, 28 November 2008 07:59 (seventeen years ago)
It's actually an acronym; 'NED'
― milling through the grinder, grinding through the mill (S-), Friday, 28 November 2008 08:11 (seventeen years ago)
Ted can be short for Edward as can Ned but not always.
― Ed, Friday, 28 November 2008 08:14 (seventeen years ago)
It's usually 'Nedrick'.
― Shacknasty (Frogman Henry), Friday, 28 November 2008 08:21 (seventeen years ago)
because he's got little legs
― bham, Friday, 28 November 2008 08:23 (seventeen years ago)
POLL
― ɔɐuɐɯlV uɯnʇnV (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 28 November 2008 08:23 (seventeen years ago)
Goneds
― the oakmarten (velko), Friday, 28 November 2008 08:26 (seventeen years ago)
In my family, it's short for Edward, Edgar, Edmund or Edwin it is also ok as short for Fredrick or Nedrick as mentioned above.
― Wiggy Woo, Friday, 28 November 2008 08:27 (seventeen years ago)
Your momma ain’t name you no damn Nedrick
― A B C, Friday, 28 November 2008 09:01 (seventeen years ago)
Naethelred
― anatol_merklich, Friday, 28 November 2008 09:11 (seventeen years ago)
Wiggy, why is everyone in your family named Ned?
― monkey bonkers (╓abies), Friday, 28 November 2008 09:37 (seventeen years ago)
lol
― Ant Attack.. (Ste), Friday, 28 November 2008 09:40 (seventeen years ago)
Nedbolyth
― The Saving Grace of Gospel House (The Reverend), Friday, 28 November 2008 09:50 (seventeen years ago)
Nedene is a woman's name - do they get called Ned as well?
― Holden McGroin (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 28 November 2008 09:51 (seventeen years ago)
superkaliNEDgalicious.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Friday, 28 November 2008 11:27 (seventeen years ago)
Homer called Ned Nedward on the Simpsons once
― The Biggest Event In The History Of Ethnic Comedy (DJ Mencap), Friday, 28 November 2008 11:30 (seventeen years ago)
The inevitable question.
So back at UCLA, I took a course in the history of English, and one day the professor -- who couldn't have known my name, it was early in the quarter still and the class size was huge, two hundred people or so -- told an anecdotal story about changes in early English, namely the origin of Ned as a nickname, and it goes like this:
In Anglo-Saxon times, the possessive form was 'mine,' not 'my.' Thus, 'mine house,' 'mine horse,' etc. As Wiggy notes and history shows, there are a slew of Anglo-Saxon names that begin with 'Ed,' so if you were a dad talking about his sons or the like, saying 'mine Edmund' or 'mine Edward' was equally common and understood, with a shorter form being 'mine Ed.'
Time goes on and the possessive form changes (I forget whether this is because of the Norman Conquest or not). The hard 'n' sound mostly disappears, but there are a couple of holdouts. For instead, 'nuncle' instead of 'uncle,' which crops up in Tolkien here and there as an example of dialectical usage he was familiar with. But the big example is, well, my name -- 'mine Ed' turns into 'my Ned,' and ultimately just plain Ned as a general nickname for names with 'Ed' as a prominent part.
And there you go. In my case, my name actually is just plain Ned, legally and formally, it's not short for anything else. Thus everyone's addiction to giving me a nickname by extending it instead -- Nedward, Nesbitt, Nedrico, Neduardo, Nedrick, Nedlet, etc. etc. etc. (The two high school variations I quite liked were the Grateful Ned and the Ned Kennedys.)
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 28 November 2008 11:46 (seventeen years ago)
Ned (Scottish)
― snoball, Friday, 28 November 2008 11:49 (seventeen years ago)
My Ned
― Manchego Bay (G00blar), Friday, 28 November 2008 11:51 (seventeen years ago)
My my.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 28 November 2008 11:51 (seventeen years ago)
My, my, my, Delined
― snoball, Friday, 28 November 2008 11:52 (seventeen years ago)
Ned Raggett.
― ♪☺♫☻ (gr8080), Friday, 28 November 2008 11:58 (seventeen years ago)
Nedder gonna give u up.
― NickB, Friday, 28 November 2008 12:03 (seventeen years ago)
Neddie Nedder.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Friday, 28 November 2008 12:21 (seventeen years ago)
His life was gentle; and the elementsSo mixed in him, that Nature might stand up,And say to all the world, THIS WAS A NEDLET
― negotiable, Friday, 28 November 2008 12:33 (seventeen years ago)
can't get you out of mine ned
― o_O (ken c), Friday, 28 November 2008 13:01 (seventeen years ago)
50 ways to leave your lover(...)get them out of your head, Nedand set yourself free
― snoball, Friday, 28 November 2008 13:02 (seventeen years ago)
...and I don't know how this slipped my mind, but:New England Digital
― snoball, Friday, 28 November 2008 13:04 (seventeen years ago)
The Norwegian word for "down" -- as has been noted here before, "DOWNLOAD" on web pages = "LAST NED".
― anatol_merklich, Friday, 28 November 2008 13:27 (seventeen years ago)
shop requesthttp://www.mohicanpress.com/images/lotmdc.gif
― rent, Friday, 28 November 2008 13:43 (seventeen years ago)
Not Enough Drugs
― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 28 November 2008 19:49 (seventeen years ago)
ned can you please perform that answer in direction of a camera because i think it would be just what the 'ask ned raggett' cannon is missing.
― jordans-menendi (tehresa), Friday, 28 November 2008 19:56 (seventeen years ago)
Hahah. I'm sure something can be arranged.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 28 November 2008 19:58 (seventeen years ago)
^_^
― jordans-menendi (tehresa), Friday, 28 November 2008 19:58 (seventeen years ago)
English is rife with these weird nicknames that aren't really diminutives: Jack for John; Meg and Peg for Margaret, Bill for William, Hank for Henry; Jim for James...
― afin d’y être sublime sans interruption (Michael White), Friday, 28 November 2008 20:02 (seventeen years ago)
Nedlet for Ned...
― rent, Friday, 28 November 2008 20:03 (seventeen years ago)
Where's Your Ned At -- Basement Jaxx
― Maltodextrin, Friday, 28 November 2008 20:03 (seventeen years ago)
Who's got a Ned for business?
― afin d’y être sublime sans interruption (Michael White), Friday, 28 November 2008 20:04 (seventeen years ago)
Ned's post reminds me of something I learned long ago: the word "apron" used to be "napron," but somehow "a napron," through common speech, gradually evolved into "an apron."
― jaymc, Saturday, 29 November 2008 00:34 (seventeen years ago)
Yeah. Another word like that, with the leading 'n' getting broken off and stuck to the 'a', is "orange", which comes from a Persian word narang (see Spanish naranja).
Nedward, Nesbitt, Nedrico, Neduardo, Nedrick, Nedlet, etc. etc. etc.
― Ruudside Picnic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 29 November 2008 02:54 (seventeen years ago)
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t214/ZachRScott/nedofthemohicans.jpg
― Z S, Saturday, 29 November 2008 03:10 (seventeen years ago)
Stay alive, etc.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 November 2008 04:55 (seventeen years ago)
Nedward Cullen
― Nicolars (Nicole), Saturday, 29 November 2008 04:58 (seventeen years ago)
Oh good lord.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:00 (seventeen years ago)
Come on, Ned. We all know you sparkle in direct sunlight :)
― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:05 (seventeen years ago)
Modesty forbids. (But there's that baseball thing...)
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:09 (seventeen years ago)
And the flouncing...
― Nicolars (Nicole), Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:12 (seventeen years ago)
Oh that's definitely a sign of higher evolutionary forces at work.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:14 (seventeen years ago)
And there's that whole bear thing...
― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:15 (seventeen years ago)
Carefully phrased.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 November 2008 05:17 (seventeen years ago)
Q: What is "Ned" short for?A: Daddy Longlegs.
― t**t, Saturday, 29 November 2008 15:40 (seventeen years ago)