Re: letter vs. a4 (and leger lines)

[Phil Holmes]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alexander Kobel" <address@hidden>
To: "David Raleigh Arnold" <address@hidden>
Cc: <address@hidden>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: letter vs. a4 (and leger lines)


> On 2010-09-02 12:32, David Raleigh Arnold wrote:
> > On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:47:39 +1000, Nick Payne wrote:
> > > On 02/09/10 12:51, David Raleigh Arnold wrote:
> > > > Ledger and leger are different words, with different meanings and
> > > > different derivations from different languages. The confusion of leger
> > > > with ledger is not merely a spelling error. Regards, daveA
> > [...]
> > /leggiero/ as a musical direction means "lightly", but "leger" in
> > the sense of leger line clearly comes from the French "l�ger", meaning
> > light or slight.
>
> Which might or might not influence the English spelling - more often than 
> not foreign words get crippled over time, and still it's correct according 
> to the dictionary and common sense.
> Merriam-Webster says that both are possible, and counts "leger line" as 
> the minor variant to "ledger line":
>   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ledger%20line
>   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leger%20line


And just to add to the defs, here's Grove:

LEGER (Ledger) LINES (Fr. lignes postiches, supplémentaires; Ger. 
Hilfslinien, Nebenlinien; Ital. ligne d' aiuto). The short lines drawn above 
and below the stave for those notes which exceed its limits.

The origin of the term is not known. It is proposed to derive it from the 
French léger, light, or from the Latin legere, to read, or as if it were 
equivalent to layer — additional lines laid on above or below; but none of 
these is quite satisfactory. The term came into use in the year 1700. (See 
G. J. Evans, Mus.T., June 1879, and the Oxford Dictionary, s.v.}. The 
analogous use of the word ledger, as "a hori­zontal timber in a scaffolding, 
lying parallel to the face of the building ' is interesting. g.


--
Phil Holmes