By Jove!

by the_classicist 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  the_classicist

  Remember Witnesses pointing out ALL that time that "By Jove" meant "By Jehovah."

  Just to set the record straight: it's not "By Jehovah" it's "By Jupitor." You see in Latin, Jupitor is spelled thus: Iuppitor. But that's only in the nominative, for all the other cases it's Iovis, Iovi, Iovem, Iove. The last one is ablative and it is used in English because of the "by" word of the phrase "By Jove"; it's an ablative of agent. Now when they translated this into English, they just chaged the Latin I into the English J (actually, this is due to orthographical problems that originated, I believe, in the middle ages).

  There you have it. Whenever you hear a JW using the argument "By Jove" to show the widespread use of Jehovah in the English language and it's subsequent destruction by the Churches you can say: "You're full of sh*t".

  My rant for today is finished, you're lucky it's semi-coherent.

  T_C
  Fides et Ratio
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  Euphemism

  LOL! I never heard a dub claim that. That's funny.
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  luna2

  Good to know! Not that I talk to many dubs any more, but ya never know.
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  mtbatoon

  By Jove how lucky I am that I'll be making the yearly visit to my JW family next month and By Jove wont I be saying By Jove a lot. Thank you very much classicist, you knowledge sets us free.
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  potleg

  As Ken Dodd used to say..."By Jove, I needed that."
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  Crumpet

  Oh I wish I could say that to my parents - who wre forever pointing it out in Agatha Christie books and Sherlock Holmes books!
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  under74

  people say by jove? I thought it was something only said in British movies from the 30s.
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  mtbatoon

  Golly gosh no, we use it all the time don't you know.
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  Jeffro

  The English word 'jovial' is similarly derived from Jupiter (Roman god of the air, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus), as Jupiter was seen as the source of joy.
  Despite what the Watchtower Society might hope, it is possible that the introduction of the English name 'Jehovah' was influenced by the name 'Jove', not the other way around. For that reason, purists would probably prefer to stick to 'Yahweh'.
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  jaffacake

  I was never a JW but was taught not to say By Jove for that same reason. Interesting, thanks.