Yes, from the moon & the association with "lunacy."
On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 01:59:12PM -0400, Gil Skillman wrote: > Michael asks > > >What is the origin of loony? > > If you mean, origin of "loony" as a word, it turns out you have multiple > possibilities. First, coincidentally enough, it might come from > "moon." As in "loony bin," derivative of "lunatic," someone suffering from > "lunacy," originally a form of insanity associated with the appearance of > the moon. There are accounts of outbreaks of "lunatic" behavior associated > with the appearance of the full moon in medieval Europe. That's the most > likely source, I'd guess. But second, "loony" as in "crazy as a loon," > having to do with the weird laughingish call of that bird. And > third, you've got the separate word "loon," meaning an idle, worthless or > crazy person, derived from an old Scandinavian word for "stupid > man." Looks like we have a genuine case of Althusserian overdetermination > here... > > Gil > > >On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 10:23:06AM -0700, Jim Devine wrote: > > > how about the other flights to the moon. Were they faked too? > > > > > > I know, I know, no-one on pen-l believes that the flight to the moon > > > was faked. Or do they? > > > > > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
