disembogue

[prettygoodword]

disembogue (dis-em-BOHG) - v.i., to flow out as at the mouth of a stream, to debouch; to come out into the open sea from a river. v.t., to discharge, to pour out.


So used of the waters themselves and for vessels on them. Leaving the mouth of a channel or vessel is the key image in any case: borrowed around 1590 in earlier forms disemboque or disemboke from Spanish desembocar, from des-, out of (from Latin dis-) + embocar, to enter by the mouth, from en-, into (from Latin in-) + boca, mouth (from Latin bucca, cheek) + verbalizing suffix. How we went from a final -k to -g sound, and a spelling that makes it look like an Italian derivative, is a mystery.

---L.

Comments

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

And French derivative, perhaps more commonly, though one needs UK-standard orthography for two of these: "analogue," "catalogue," "pedagogue". It seems to me just What English Does, since "rogue" also fits (for -k to -g voicing) despite not being French. What did you have in mind re: Italian, out of curiosity?

(Are comments okay on these posts? Doesn't seem usual for the recent ones--etiquette question.)

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Comments are quite welcome -- there haven't been many lately, true, but there have in the past. One of those things that seems to come in cycles.

And, er, you're right about French v. Italian -- the couple examples I was thinking of in the back of my mind all turned out to be via French instead. This is the risk I take in posting while still drinking that first cuppa.

---L.