12 Days of Wordlady: Pipers

The end is almost nigh for the 12 Days of Wordlady (or, as we have affectionately come to call it at Chateau Wordlady, "the blogathon from hell, whose idea was that anyway?"). Soon we will be reverting to our regular Friday schedule, or the end will be nigh for Wordlady herself.

So, to "pipe". This is a very old word in English. Its ultimate origin seems to be the Latin word pipare 'to peep, chirp', clearly imitative of a bird. But unlike most Latin-origin words in English, this one was borrowed from Latin while the Germanic tribes who later moved to Great Britain were still living on the continent. By the time they had settled down in England, "pipe" was being used to mean "make a birdlike sound by playing a tubular wind instrument".

The sense development for the noun in English was:
tubular wind instrument
tube of various sorts
tube used for smoking

"Pipe" would have been pronounced "peep" in English until the Great Vowel Shift. Birds, however, did not participate in the Great Vowel Shift, and obstinately kept saying "peep" rather than the newfangled pronunciation rhyming with "hype", so we had to invent the word "peep" (i.e. the chirping sound "peep", not the peeking out "peep", which is a different word) at that time.

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For why I'm not the Word Wench:
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-nine-ladies-dancing.html

For why milkmaids work in a dairy rather than a milkery:
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-8-maids-milking.html

For what swans have to do with singing, click here: 
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-swans-swimming.html

Why we don't say "gooses" and "gooselings: 
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-geese-laying.html


For why we don't say "fiveth", "fiveteen", and "fivety", click here: 
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-fifth-day.html  

For why it was OK to call the Virgin Mary a "bird", click here: 
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-calling-birds.html

For what French hens have to do with syphilis, click here: 
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-french-hens.html

For turtle-doves, click here: http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-wordlady-turtle-doves.html

For what partridges have to do with farting, click here:
http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2013/12/12-days-of-wordlady-partridge.html