Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2021 October 22

= October 22 =

Scottish question?
In his short story "The Howdie", John Galt says "but among other regimental clanjamphry". What does this mean and where did the word derive from? Thank you. 86.187.237.248 (talk) 19:07, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
 * According to the OED, the word means 1. Trumpery, rubbish, things of little value. 2. Spoken ‘rubbish’; nonsensical talk, ‘rot’. 3. ‘Trumpery’ or worthless people, or those who are so viewed; rabble, mob, canaille; also ‘applied to the purse-proud vulgar’. The origin is said to be "uncertain", with the note Scott's clanjamphry suggests a contemptuous reference to a Highland Clan, e.g. Clan Chattan, Clanranald, etc.; and jampher occurs in Scots dialects, variously used as ‘scoffer, mocker, trifler, idler, shuffler’, so that clan-jamphery would give a passable sense. But it is more probable that the original idea is ‘trumpery’, and that the personal use is derived. CodeTalker (talk) 20:04, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
 * The reference to (Sir Walter) Scott in the OED stems from his use of the term (spelled clanjamfrie) in Tales of my Landlord (1816), the earliest known recorded use. The quoted text ‘applied to the purse-proud vulgar’ is taken from Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language, which lists the term under the lemma . --Lambiam 09:17, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
 * That would be John Galt (novelist) (1779–1839) not the Ayn Rand novel character, although the primacy of the latter seems a bit questionable. Martinevans123 (talk) 09:21, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
 * What pity that "trumpery" is defined as being archaic. It would have been a useful term.  --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 10:05, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, one wonders if that's an "unimpeachable source". Martinevans123 (talk) 10:17, 23 October 2021 (UTC) p.s. great to see we have a whole article on Gaberlunzie.
 * It is still a useful term, regardless. And it's not so archaic that it doesn't occur here and there in contemporary discourse. Have at it, I say. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  11:49, 24 October 2021 (UTC)