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[–] 22 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Look, look! Spain having alfil meaning elephant and Italy having alfiere meaning standart-bearer (is that a common English word?) great! Which one came for the other? Or are they oddly unrelated?

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    I think it's supposed to be "standard-bearer", which (at least in my part of the world) would more likely be called a "flag bearer" since more people are familiar with the word "flag" over "standard" when used in that sense of the word.

    Also, it looks like it was originally called alfil (according to this Wikipedia article? Whereas the Italian "alfiere" came from a different Spanish word meaning "second lieutenant"?

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    This heathenous map adds basque and catalan, welsh, scottish gaelic, but somehow erases breton and occitan.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Based on a pass with Google Translate from "The bishop is a chesspiece in chess", I think that Occitan is l'evesque and Breton eskob.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    Spelling mistake in luxembourgish. :(

    should be "Leefer"

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Most of these kind of make sense, then you get stock of a gun

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  • didn't know the seas call the bishop a spear

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Great map but I don't trust the source since it cannot even be bothered to correctly mention that some languages several names for pieces. I am Slovenian and have never heard anyone refer to the bishop piece as lovec (hunter). It was always tekač or laufar (runner).

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    Laufar sounds like a loan word from German Läufer

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Using my phones translator function on this image, this is what comes up.

    What on Earth is a "teaspag" that it put as the Scottish one?

    (Although I zoomed at a different rate and tried again and then it read "bishops")

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    🇨🇭, Zurich: En Loifäär

    (I bet every canton has at least own version 😝)

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    I get Spain, but why is it that so often with these maps Eastern Europe shares the same word as the Arab world?

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    I get Spain, but why is it that so often with these maps Eastern Europe shares the same word as the Arab world?

    Ottoman empire ruled the eastern Europe for some centuries and Ottoman language was a mixture of Turkish, Persian and Arabic.

    Territorial changes of the Ottoman Empire 1672

    but i assume that the elephant is Indian influence rather than Arabic. IIRC, that's also where the game is conceived

    edit, yes, it literally is an elephant ☞ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga

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