Nibbles: Bees, Bourbon, Cattle, Ug99, Horses, Neanderthal, Bear, Organic, Flowers

8 Replies to “Nibbles: Bees, Bourbon, Cattle, Ug99, Horses, Neanderthal, Bear, Organic, Flowers”

  1. Originally Posted By Luigi
    “Of that ilk” meaning “of that place,” the place being Dunlop? Is that correct? Damn Scottish titles.

    Not quite. It means “of the same,” so in the context of the original piece Jacob linked to, it means the Dunlops of the Dunlops, which may well be meaningless. Alas, the House of Dunlop web site offers no insights into the family’s role in the development of the Ayrshire breed. On the other hand, it has all sorts of other goodies.

  2. I think you’re wrong, Jeremy. Wikipedia says that ilk in Scottish always refers to a place.

    However it has been extended to mean “type” or “same”. Some consider this usage a corruption. Fowler’s Modern English Usage comments that this search for novelty is much less excusable than an Englishman not knowing what a Scottish word means.”

    It seems you’re not the first to make this mistake, Jeremy.

    So the ilk is “Dunlop” not “Dunlops”, because “Dunlops” obviously means “members of the Dunlop family” here. There is a 13th century family name “Dunlop de Dunlop”, later converted to “Dunlop of that Ilk” or “Dunlop of Dunlop”, all synonymous. It seems that only later the “of Dunlop” part was dropped.

    Wikipedia also says: “The last of the Dunlop to be born at Dunlop were John (1904) and Alexander (1906) Houison Crawfurd. Mrs. Houison Crawfurd is remembered for producing the first tubercular-free cattle in Ayrshire.”

    The same article confirms that “Dunlop Cattle are supposed to have originated here or within the parish, bred by Dunlop of that Ilk from improved stock from Holland in around 1550 to 1700 or later.” And the Dunlop of that Ilk lived in This statement has a bibliographic reference.

    A woman married into the Dunlop family, Barbara Gilmour is famous for inventing Dunlop cheese.

    It is surprising then, that the “Dunlop of Dunlop” coat of arms has no cow or cheese in it, but a double-headed eagle.

  3. @Jacob – I’m not going to get into the whole “of that ilk” debate, let alone the infallibility of Wikipedia. I would just say that the etymology I have found (like here) suggests that it means same. In the context of Scottish landed gentry, where it is all but impossible to decide which came first, the family name or the location that family occupied, it is often taken to indicate the head of the family.

    But thanks for digging up all the other references to the agricultural practices of the Dunlops.

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