non-member submission - Re: SC - OED?

[Michael F. Gunter]

> OED says ptisan specifically refers to barley water and tisane is a
> postperiod usage[... however tisane is a term used by people trying to

> sound old-tymey, so it's another way to search.] It's also a french
usage,
> says the OED.

How did you come by the idea that "tisane" is a post period usage?  In
fact, it appears to be a variant of the early form of the word. The OED
cites:

1398 "...{TH}at phisicians clepen Thisan
c1400 "the {TH}e v. day he took {TH}ikke tizanne
c1440 "Tysane, drynke, ptizana"
c1567 "They will refuse the Tysants taste"
c1596 "A little of the tysan the Earle had drunke of"


The first citation with a form of "ptisan" starting with a P is in 1533.

 Under "Tisane" the OED says only that it's a variant form of "ptisan"
and gives a definition for a tea that it's been applied to since around
1930.

Finally, what the OED says is that it probably is derived from a French
word not that the usage is French instead of English.  Ultimately, it
derives from a Greek word meaning peeled or pearl barley, also a drink
made from this.

toodles, margaret