"carcerant of" and "the bittoms"

Harrison Hill

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Jun 27, 2012, 7:16:04 AM6/27/12

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The word "carcerant of" is used by one of the greatest modern authors:
"...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."
William Faulkner - "Requiem for a Nun". Perhaps related to "carcase/carcass"?

"The bittoms" is an area in Kingston Upon Thames, as well as a separate area in nearby Epsom.

These phrases must mean something but - Donna Richoux notwithstanding - I cannot understand what!

Don Phillipson

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Jun 27, 2012, 8:18:00 AM6/27/12

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"Harrison Hill" <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:83059004-0a8a-43c9...@googlegroups.com...

> The word "carcerant of" is used by one of the greatest modern authors:
> "...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."
> William Faulkner - "Requiem for a Nun". Perhaps related to
> "carcase/carcass"?

The architectural engravings of Carceri d'Invenzione (Imagined Prisons)
by Piranesi (Italian 18th century) were copiously printed and widely known
when Faulkner was young.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

JOF

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Jun 27, 2012, 1:47:12 PM6/27/12

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On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:16:04 -0700 (PDT), Harrison Hill
<harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:

>The word "carcerant of" is used by one of the greatest modern authors:
>"...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."
>William Faulkner - "Requiem for a Nun". Perhaps related to "carcase/carcass"?

"Incarcerate" in AHD shows derivation from Latin "carcer": prison. So,
imprisoning?

>"The bittoms" is an area in Kingston Upon Thames, as well as a separate area in nearby Epsom.
>
>These phrases must mean something but - Donna Richoux notwithstanding - I cannot understand what!

--
John

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

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Jun 27, 2012, 3:54:52 PM6/27/12

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On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:47:12 -0500, JOF <qu...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:16:04 -0700 (PDT), Harrison Hill
><harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>The word "carcerant of" is used by one of the greatest modern authors:
>>"...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."
>>William Faulkner - "Requiem for a Nun". Perhaps related to "carcase/carcass"?
>
>"Incarcerate" in AHD shows derivation from Latin "carcer": prison. So,
>imprisoning?
>

OED:

carcerate, v.
Etymology: < Latin carcera-t- participial stem of carcera-re to
imprison: see -ate suffix3.

trans. To imprison, incarcerate, confine.

1839 F. Barham tr. H. Grotius Adamus Exul. 19 Living
souls..carcerated in matter.

In the quoted material "carcerant" might mean something like "retaining"
or perhaps "preserving".

"...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."

equals
"...chinked log walls even retaining the flotsam of an older time..."

>>"The bittoms" is an area in Kingston Upon Thames, as well as a separate area in nearby Epsom.
>>
>>These phrases must mean something but - Donna Richoux notwithstanding - I cannot understand what!

--

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

Harrison Hill

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Jun 28, 2012, 4:37:04 AM6/28/12

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On Wednesday, June 27, 2012 1:18:00 PM UTC+1, Don Phillipson wrote:
> "Harrison Hill" <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:83059004-0a8a-43c9...@googlegroups.com...
>
> > The word "carcerant of" is used by one of the greatest modern authors:
> > "...chinked log walls even carcerant of the flotsam of an older time..."
> > William Faulkner - "Requiem for a Nun". Perhaps related to
> > "carcase/carcass"?
>
> The architectural engravings of Carceri d'Invenzione (Imagined Prisons)
> by Piranesi (Italian 18th century) were copiously printed and widely known
> when Faulkner was young.

The Google seach on "Carceri d'Invenzione" brings a very stark image to the screen:

http://tinyurl.com/7lqhuwp

That must be correct - thanks everyone.

navi

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Jun 30, 2012, 5:37:07 PM6/30/12

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This is what I found.

http://www.dicolatin.com/XY/LAK/0/CARCERANT/index.htm

The page is in French but that does not really change much. The meaning is given in French in the bottom of the page: "metter en prison" etc.

It is the third person plural of the present indicative of the verb carcerare (meaning 'to imprison'.

Cheers.
Navi.

CDB

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Jul 1, 2012, 8:03:23 AM7/1/12

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It's all in the family, but the English "carcerant" would be derived
from the present participle "carcerans", imprisoning, (oblique forms
"carcerant-"), not a finite form of the Latin verb.