[Gllug] Moblin

[Nix]

On 29 May 2009, John Hearns stated:

> 2009/5/29 Nix <nix at esperi.org.uk>:
>
>>When the telephone
>> originally came in they had ideas like news over the phone, music over
>> the phone... all failed, and what survived? Chatting over the phone.
>
> If I'm not wrong, 'chatting' originally mean the actions of monkeys
> grooming each other for fleas.

I really doubt that. Among other things, what's the connection between
the word 'chat' and grooming anyway? Gossip is probably the human
equivalent of grooming, but that's not the same thing as a statement
about the origins of specific words.

etymonline (I don't have easy access to my printed etymologies right
now) says:

/chatter/ c.1225, /chateren/ "to twitter, gossip," earlier /cheateren/,
          /chiteren/, of echoic origin. /Chatterbox/ is 1774.

/chat/ c.1440, short for /chatter/ (q.v.). /Chatty/ is first attested 1762.

Words are almost always older than you think. :)
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