word of the day - Cockaigne
Jul. 27th, 2001 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottobearCockaigne \kah-KAYN\, noun:
An imaginary land of ease and luxury.
Cockaigne comes from Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty," ultimately adapted or derived from a word meaning "cake."
References to Cockaigne are prominent in medieval European lore. George Ellis, in his Specimens of Early English Poets (1790), printed an old French poem called "The Land of Cockaign" (13th century) where "the houses were made of barley sugar and cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" of American hobo folklore expresses the same idea and was featured recently in the soundtrack to the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
An imaginary land of ease and luxury.
Cockaigne comes from Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty," ultimately adapted or derived from a word meaning "cake."
References to Cockaigne are prominent in medieval European lore. George Ellis, in his Specimens of Early English Poets (1790), printed an old French poem called "The Land of Cockaign" (13th century) where "the houses were made of barley sugar and cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" of American hobo folklore expresses the same idea and was featured recently in the soundtrack to the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
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Date: 2001-07-27 09:49 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2001-07-27 09:50 am (UTC)