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BrE: hoarding - billboard

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Marius Hancu

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Nov 6, 2009, 6:04:09 AM11/6/09
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Hello:

I'm curious, how did "hoarding" come to mean in BrE "billboard?"

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Thanks.
Marius Hancu

James Hogg

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Nov 6, 2009, 6:12:30 AM11/6/09
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Marius Hancu wrote:
> Hello:
>
> I'm curious, how did "hoarding" come to mean in BrE "billboard?"

There was a French word "hourd" (in various spellings) meaning scaffold
or palisade which entered English with the Normans to give the word
"hoard", whence "hoarding", defined by the OED as "A temporary
fence made of boards inclosing a building while in course of erection or
repair; often used for posting bills and advertisements; hence, any
boarding on which bills are posted."

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James

Marius Hancu

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Nov 6, 2009, 8:09:46 AM11/6/09
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Thanks. Looks reasonable.
Marius Hancu

Nick

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Nov 6, 2009, 8:15:56 AM11/6/09
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James Hogg <Jas....@gOUTmail.com> writes:

And, in fact, I'd say "hoarding" still carries a bit of that around with
it. You really need to say "an advertising hording" to get the exact
same meaning as "billboard" - something that was specifically erected
for the purpose of pasting advertisements to.
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Frank ess

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Nov 6, 2009, 3:12:24 PM11/6/09
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Nick wrote:
> James Hogg <Jas....@gOUTmail.com> writes:
>
>> Marius Hancu wrote:
>>> Hello:
>>>
>>> I'm curious, how did "hoarding" come to mean in BrE "billboard?"
>>
>> There was a French word "hourd" (in various spellings) meaning
>> scaffold or palisade which entered English with the Normans to
>> give the word "hoard", whence "hoarding", defined by the OED as "A
>> temporary
>> fence made of boards inclosing a building while in course of
>> erection or repair; often used for posting bills and
>> advertisements; hence, any boarding on which bills are posted."
>
> And, in fact, I'd say "hoarding" still carries a bit of that around
> with it. You really need to say "an advertising hording" to get
> the exact same meaning as "billboard" - something that was
> specifically erected for the purpose of pasting advertisements to.

I learned "hoarding" from WWII aerial photography and annotations
during Photo Interpretation school. I think there was an adjective
attached, but not this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mammut_Hoarding_radar_illustration.png

--
Frank ess

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