It’s a favorite perk of living in a land with a different mother tongue than my own. I get to hear language quirks others might miss simply because they are native speakers.
This episode of “Wordplays” is brought to you by the word “Reckoning.”
Some may hear, with a little southern twang, especially in older days, I reckon a storm’s a comin’!
And don’t forget the sense of numbers within..
Reckon is noted on Dictionary.com, particularly in the Mid and South of America as thinking or supposing. It’s also noted as calculating and settling accounts.
So let’s think about something as extreme as ‘the end of times,’ when God (Love, we hope) might hold accounts, including dealing out a healthy (or horrific) dose of payback on behalf of all who had no power, who couldn’t stand up for themselves
An account for every single injustice..
The “Reckoning” holds then within it some hope, and the weight of payback/calculation/just computation/comeuppance.
Then notice how similar the word is to the Dutch, “reken” (pronounced: ray-kin). That is, my kids have “rekenen” (math) classes. Also, the bill at the restaurant is asked for, in Dutch: ‘mag ik de rekening aub? (can I have the bill please?)
Combined with the Southern meaning of thinking, that is, I reckon them’s be fighting words, it’s clear there’s a connection between Thinking – Calculation – and a Final Tally.
I reckon we’ve got ourselves a bona fide Wordplay here!
Next time you suffer an injustice, or are tempted to lose it looking at all the MANIFOLD injustice in the world, keep hope: The tab may be open now, but it will someday be time to pay up.
Related Post: –Justice -the Last Dish on the Menu (Wordplay #4: “Gerechtigheid”)
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