Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 18:48:19 -0400 From: "E. Wayles Browne" Subject: Gumbo file' The dictionaries I have at home (Webster's Collegiate 1973, OED 1 with supplement, Longman Dict. of Contemporary English) don't list file' (the ingredient of gumbo, made of sassafras root if I'm not mistaken). Nor does the Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustre'. What is its etymology? Is it a French loan in English? Wayles Browne, Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics Morrill Hall, Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A. tel. 607-255-0712 (o), 607-273-3009 (h) e-mail ewb2[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cornell.edu (1989 to 1993 was: jn5j[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cornella.bitnet // jn5j[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cornella.cit.cornell.edu)