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Why do stokies say duck?

'Duck' in this context originates as what is called a 'hypercoristic' term. This is where you apply the name of a domestic or endearing animal to a human as a term of affection. Another example of this would be calling a child a 'cheeky monkey'.

stokesentinel.co.uk - Why people from Stoke-on-Trent call each other 'duck'
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Anyone who has spent any length of time in Stoke-on-Trent will be familiar with the classic Stokie greeting of ‘ayup m’duck’. The term has become synonymous with the city and the Potteries dialect many speak. With duck designs being printed on mugs and tea towels, it seems an odd choice for a term of endearment. Top Story: Motorhomes take over North Wales town popular with Stokies as locals fume

There are several possible explanations for the origin of this term.

Some have suggested that the term originates from the Latin ‘ductus’ meaning ‘leadership’, which, via French, is also where we get ‘duke’. Under this theory ‘duck’ could originate as a term of respect, a bit like a cockney calling someone ‘guv’nor’.

However, the more likely answer is actually far simpler.

The word ‘duck’ as a term of endearment is not from a Latin or French root, but does actually refer to the bird. According to this theory, the word is first seen in Old English or Anglo-Saxon, which was spoken in Britain up until the Norman Conquest in 1066 and is almost completely unintelligible to modern English speakers.

‘Duck’ in this context originates as what is called a ‘hypercoristic’ term.

This is where you apply the name of a domestic or endearing animal to a human as a term of affection.

Another example of this would be calling a child a ‘cheeky monkey’.

The similarity to ‘ductus’ or ‘duk’ appears to be coincidental, though the term was used in Middle English to refer to a ‘duc’ or ‘duk’ as a leader or powerful person. At the beginning of the Knight’s Tale in the Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer writes: “Ther was a duc that highte Theseus” (‘There was a duke that was called Theseus’). However, this use of ‘duc’ in Middle English is distinct from the word ‘duck’ as a term of endearment, as the two uses come from different linguistic roots. In Middle English, the distinction is clearer, with ‘doke’ (pronounced ‘dow-keh’) being the most common form of duck the animal. One use of ‘duck’ as a term of endearment is actually by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600), when Bottom says “O dainty duck, o deare!” in his role as the lover Pyramus. It's unclear exactly how common the word was as a term of endearment in Middle English, but its use by Shakespeare could suggest that it had previously been used in this way. The dialect of Middle English around Staffordshire also retained more of Old English than that spoken down south and chronicled by Chaucer. That tended to incorporate more French. Given the word's origin in Old English, it’s possible that this retention of older Anglo-Saxon terms is what has preserved ‘duck’ as a term of endearment in this part of Britain.

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What is donk game?

Samurai Duck! is a video game featuring a duck named Donk, who was raised by samurai warriors. To prove himself he has set off to collect crystals from 112 levels of earth.

en.wikipedia.org - Donk! - Wikipedia

This article is about the video game. For other uses, see Donk (disambiguation)

1994 video game

Donk! Samurai Duck! is a video game featuring a duck named Donk, who was raised by samurai warriors. To prove himself he has set off to collect crystals from 112 levels of earth. Once the target quota of gems has been reached, Donk escape from each level through one of its many exits, giving the game a similar structure to Alien Breed: Tower Assault. Magical powers can be collected along the way, including the ability to turn into an inflatable toy duck, which makes it possible to float across water. There is a simultaneous split-screen 2-player mode included as well.

Development [ edit ]

The game was originally going to be released with the title Dong, but the British developers did not want to cause offence as the word can mean "penis" in English speaking countries. The name was changed at the last moment to Donk. Some demo versions distributed on Amiga cover disks still bore the name Dong.[1]

Legacy [ edit ]

In 2006-7 there was an attempt to port the game to the Dreamcast involving the original creators of Donk!.[2] The project was never completed.

References [ edit ]

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