Am 03.07.2018 um 15:33 schrieb Stephen:

>> I'm still fascinated that no one has any idea about the origin of the
>> term for a
>> metal disk with a hole being called a "washer".
...

> From
> https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-washer-hardware-named-so
> 
> 
>> There is a repeated mention of the year 1346, in which it is believed
>> to have first appeared. The actual word that appeared in 1346 was

>>
(http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1713/whats-the-purpose-of-washers-the-round-metal-things/)
>>
>>
>> Now some deductions: This might have come from the German word "Wache"
>> which means "to guard/ to secure". 

That seems bogus to me on many levels.

First of all, "Wache" is a noun, not a verb.

Second, the corresponding verb, "wachen", literally means "to be awake";
while it /can/ be used in the sense of "to guard", in this use it does
/not/ carry a connotation of actively /defending/ against something

passively /watching/ to alert others if something happens. I don't think
that would be fitting to describe the function of the device.

Third, to my knowledge there is no evidence that any word derived from
"wachen" has ever been used for this or a similar device in the German
language. (There /does/ exist a word derived from "sichern" for a
similar device, namely "Sicherungsscheibe", which denotes a locking washer.)

Fourth, although there is an undeniable /visual/ similarity between the
words, they /sound/ significantly different. Most notably, while I can
easily imagine the soft German "ch" found in words like "Licht"
transforming to the English "sh" sound found in "washer", the "ch" in
"Wache"/"wachen" is a hard one, and I have a hard time imagining it
transforming into anything other than "k".


Given that "w(h)asher" seems to have originally been used "in the sense
of 'a perforated annular disc or flattened ring of metal, leather, or
other material placed between two surfaces subject to rotative friction,
to relieve friction and prevent lateral motion and unsteadiness,'"
[quoted also from straightdope], I would suggest that the word might
instead have originated from the German word "wischen" ("to wipe").

A "thing that wipes" could conceivably be called "Wischer" in German (as
a matter of fact that's an actual word used in precisely that sense for
various devices), which is just two minor turns away from "washer" (the
German word essentially being pronounced "visher").

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