Caventsman
Kaventsmann colloquially refers to a stout man or a large object, in the sailor's language also a large wave . The expression is derived from the word Kavent (from Latin cavēre , 'be careful '), which in the older German legal language denotes a guarantor . Presumably the body size or the abundance of power of the wealthy guarantors was transferred pictorially to large / powerful objects or people.
According to another common derivation, the term goes back to monks living in convents ( convent men), who were also imagined as well-fed, fat men. Since the word has only been used since the 19th century, this derivation is rather unlikely.
Web links
Wiktionary: Kaventsmann - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Walter: Questions and Answers . In: The Language Service . No. 40 , 1996, pp. 61 .
- ↑ Rolf Froböse: When frogs fall from the sky: the craziest natural phenomena . Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2007, ISBN 978-3-527-31659-5 .