carminare?

[Arthur Peabody]

There's an old medical term, carminative, a substance that makes one fart or belch (people used to believe that one was expelling an evil spirit or substance when one farted, belched, sweated, shat... so made 'remedies' to make that happen; I read a Colonial-era cookbook with a recipe for stewed pumpkin rind, recommending it to make one's husband windy.)

I always assumed it was an allophemism from singing but Wikipedia & Wiktionary refer to carmino/carminare, carding sheep's wool. I was going to correct them but thought I'd ask here first.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carminative https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carminative

 

[cinefactus]

The Oxford English dictionary says it comes from mediaeval Latin carminare, meaning to heal by incantation (from carmen)

 

[Arthur Peabody]

The Oxford English dictionary says it comes from mediaeval Latin carminare, meaning to heal by incantation (from carmen)

Thanks. I couldn't find it in my ancient Latin sources; it's not in Lewis, Short.

 

[cinefactus]

I suspect it is related to this entry.

 

[Arthur Peabody]

I suspect it is related to this entry.

Thanks.
Hmmmm... I searched but didn't find. I must have erred. I notice carmino has 2 entries, the other http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:alphabetic+letter=C:entry+group=19:entry=carmino2 which is about carding fiber.

 

[cinefactus]

Yes, if there is more than one entry you have to use the search for the exact word field.