Talk:Gerard

Polyglot, I think the content you removed as nonsense was intended as the etymology of the name. Although instead of "strong with the bow" it should have been "strong with the spear". From http://www.etymonline.com/g2etym.htm : origin, cf. O.H.G. Gerhard, lit. "strong with the spear," from ger "spear" + hart "hard.". (O.H.G meaning Old High German) InfoSlave

I'm sorry, feel free to put it back. It would be nice if contributors would learn how to put stuff in Wiktionary format. Sometimes I can guess what is meant, often I cannot.Polyglot 14:53, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Because of the initial page for Oersette I realised that it is possible to get a link directly to a wiktionary Edit page in the results of a google search: http://www.google.com/search?q=Oersette (even for pages that don't exist yet!). This can lead to "interesting" contributions by people who don't have a clue what wiktionary is.

I'll add the etymology, although I'm still not convinced if we should be having entries for all these first names at all. InfoSlave 16:04, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for putting this right. I have always thought that it was "strong with the bow".. Live and learn. I think it n

eat if people can find what a name "means". Is this not the reason for having it in a dictionary? What is the point of having it in Wiktionary otherwise ?? Thanks again. GerardM 16:26, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Your welcome! I agree having names in wiktionary can have its uses: the etymology, distinguishing them from "real" words (could be nice for people who don't know a language well) and finding out what the equivalent of a name is in a foreign language. On the other hand to me it feels a bit like a field of its own.

I have lived in several countries and, my name stays the same. People have a problem pronouncing it (Nederlands is hard on the throught) and use the pronunciation customary in that country. Again, without something on the name, meaning etc what is the point of having a list with names ? GerardM 17:22, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

My opinion is that names are words just like any other. It's not like we are cramped for space, so I wouldn't hesitate to add them. There are names that are more international than others. Some even change gender from one language to another (Jo). Giving translations for them doesn't make a lot of sense. People don't usually change their name when they are in a place where another language is spoken. The translations are more of an indication what names are considered common in that language, or how it would be spelled in that language Gérard.

They are not the most urgent words that need to be added though. I would just let it happen as it goes. Sorry for having deleted something more or less valid. I'm glad it worked out ok in the end.Polyglot 18:12, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I ment cases like Louis <-> Lodewijk etc. As for the point of having them, that was what I was looking for as well. But now that you mentioned pronunciation (SAMPA/IPA), that's another good reason.InfoSlave 18:26, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)