View Message

[Facts] Diminutives of Martha
Does anyone know, linguistically, how the names Patty, Patsy, etc derive from the name Martha?
vote up1vote down

Replies

"R" is a hard sound to pronounce for many, especially children, and so tends to drop out of lots of pet forms.So Martha led to Matha, then Mathy, and then Mattie since the "t" is easier to say than "th".Then during late medieval times in England Matty became Patty and Patsy. There were a lot of names which had "rhyming" nicknames that changed the first sound back then. Robert became Hob and Dob; Roger became Hodge and Dodge; and Richard became Hick and Dick, for instance.For reasons that are unknown, the popular replacement for "M" at the start of female names was "P". So Molly, derived from Mary, became Polly; Meg, derived from Margaret, became Peg and Peggy; and Matty, dervied from Martha, became Patty and Patsy.
vote up1vote down
'M' and 'P' are both bilabial consonants, though 'M' is a nasal and 'P' is a stop; this might be the reason.
vote up1vote down
Thanks! That is a really great response.
vote up1vote down