thon

December 08, 2018, 05:23

Geoff

thon

One often hears the suffix, "thon" in advertising. Did this come from "marathon?" Is there another possible origin? Often its application makes no sense. Any ideas?

December 11, 2018, 21:00

Kalleh

Perhaps Goofy will weigh in? Is the suffix maybe "athon," and not "thon?" The information I found said "thon" is a Scot word for "yon," but then talked about "athon" being a suffix for something that is an event or a contest.

December 12, 2018, 07:35

Geoff

Thanks, Kalleh. "athon" does make more sense if derived from "marathon." It seems overused to me whatever the origin. Since "marathon" meant "fennel" in ancient Greek, some huckster claiming to have a "saleathon" must be selling fennel!

December 24, 2018, 11:16

goofy

quote:
Originally posted by Geoff:
Since "marathon" meant "fennel" in ancient Greek,

It's a place name!

December 24, 2018, 20:20

Kalleh

Nice to see you, Goofy. So - is the suffix "athon" or "thon?"

December 25, 2018, 08:43

Geoff

Around here some folks hold "mini-marathons." Since a marathon is a very specific distance, how is a mini-marathon possible? Am I too literal, or are they showing their ignirance, or is it both? Is a "sellathon" an offering of goods that stretches for 26.2 miles? Do "telethons" sell things 26.2 miles distant?

December 26, 2018, 19:37

Kalleh

Mini, meaning less than 26 miles? Is it 26.2?

December 27, 2018, 06:00

Geoff

https://www.livescience.com/11...26-2-miles-long.html

December 27, 2018, 19:16

Kalleh

Interesting. All because of the royal family.

January 18, 2019, 09:59

zmježd

This process of reanalysis of words yielding a new suffix is interesting: e.g., -gate from Watergate (for new scandals), -rama from diorama or panorama (in Greek horama meant 'view'), -burger from Hamburger (a German adjective meaning 'from or of Hamburg'), &c.

January 18, 2019, 11:54

Geoff

Good seeing you here again, Z! Thanks for the input!

January 20, 2019, 19:57

Kalleh

I had emailed z about our discussions about the pronunciation of Florida (2 or 3 syllables), and he said he'd stop by. Here is what he said, "I am guessing the 2nd syllable in a trisyllabic pronunciation of Florida might be an unvoiced /ə/(aka schwa, borrowed from Hebrew) in somebody's casual speech."

January 20, 2019, 21:12

BobHale

quote:
Originally posted by Kalleh:
I had emailed z about our discussions about the pronunciation of Florida (2 or 3 syllables), and he said he'd stop by. Here is what he said, "I am guessing the 2nd syllable in a trisyllabic pronunciation of Florida might be an unvoiced /ə/(aka schwa, borrowed from Hebrew) in somebody's casual speech."

Not in the UK. I have only ever heard the word pronounced with a distinct /i/, albeit unstressed.