Query on the term *mistri*

[S Krishna]

I had written:
>On Thu, 26 Feb 1998, S Krishna wrote:
>
>> The word is most certainly from English...the English word "master"
>> becamed transformed into "mEstrI"..We have this on the word of
>> Dr M.V.Raja Ramanna( the nuclear physicist) who discusses this while
>[...]


  and Dominik says( in addition to Robert Zydenbos who said something
similar)

>Um, this examplifies quite neatly just how useless a background in
nuclearphysics is in a question concerning historical lexicography and
philology.As has already been pointed out, the linguistic evidence
points to theword having entered Indian languages from Portuguese.
>


  The mistake that I made in the posting seems to be in my refering to
Raja Ramanna as an "eminent nuclear physicist"...which has given the
people the impression that the reason why I'd quoted him is because
he was a physicist...this is not true, the reason why I quoted him is
1.because he had made a statement to this effect  which I'd read
2. the "eminent nuclear physicist" part came in to distinguish him from
umpteen numbers of others who may have the name Raja Ramanna, since
Ramana, Ramanna are very common names in South India..
the point I was trying to make had nothing to with his profession..

 I realise that there are some people who think that a background in
Engg/Science is qualification enough to comment on everything from
geography to metaphysics to astrology, but I am not one of them
and I'd therefore appreciate people not reading in meanings and
attributions that were never intended in the first place.....

Regards,
Krishna

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