a/d

November 16, 2002, 9:22 am

There's a Dutch group called "Festival a/d Werf"; anyone know what "a/d" means, and whether it's English or Dutch?My amateur eye sees "Festival at the Wharf" in there, but I dunno, really.EDIT:...

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 12:41 pm

Where's ElizaD when you need her?

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 1:10 pm

Sweeping? leaves.and if i open and am forever in the black adiaphane? basta! we shall see what i can see. -james joyce

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Festival aan de werf.If it follows my knowledge of Afrikaans, it means festival at the yard. Aan doesn't always mean on; it can also mean at.You'll all be relieved to know my garden's very tidy now....

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 4:47 pm

According to the sites I looked at (including the group's own, I think), "werf" means a special loading platform along the river/fjord/canal/whatever. That's close enough to "wharf" for me.I suppose...

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 6:31 pm

You also see "a.d." in German, meaning on the or at the. As in Frankfurt a.d. Oder (Frankfurt on the Oder River, as opposed to the more famous Frankfurt on the Main River).

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 6:45 pm

WERF/WHARF might possibly (so I feel) have something to do with throwing(overboard?) Etymology is, sometimes following threads that are not so obvious at first glance or published in major dictionaries.

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Re: a/d

November 17, 2002, 10:06 pm

It could be a boatyard, possibly?

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Re: a/d

November 18, 2002, 1:05 am

I didn't bother to look in the OED2 for a Dutch word, but I should have. Under "wharf" the big dic gives "werf" as cognates in both Dutch (shipyard) and German (wharf, pier) and the German "werft"...

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