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I have never understood why we use the work "stage" for our rally route divisions, and then recently ran across the use of the word in some revolutionary era writing that referred to a 'stage' and a coach traveling the 'stage'. Some etymology from the www:
Started with Latin "staticum" - a place for standing
Progressed into Old French "estage" - story of a building or a place for performance
Progressed into Middle English - used in the sense of 'step on the ladder of virture or ladder of life'
Usage found from 1603 English - used for a 'division of a journey without stop for a rest' . Hence 'stagecoach'. (I suppose this is how the term was used in the 18th century writings for a segment of the old frontier wagon road from Philadelphia into the valley road in VA that appeared in the my recent reading.)
I would be curious to know if this usage continued in UK English and then came over to us in rallying, or came more from French into the rally lexicon.
Like the radio commercials say, "That's a useless fact!"
Regards,
Mark B.
Started with Latin "staticum" - a place for standing
Progressed into Old French "estage" - story of a building or a place for performance
Progressed into Middle English - used in the sense of 'step on the ladder of virture or ladder of life'
Usage found from 1603 English - used for a 'division of a journey without stop for a rest' . Hence 'stagecoach'. (I suppose this is how the term was used in the 18th century writings for a segment of the old frontier wagon road from Philadelphia into the valley road in VA that appeared in the my recent reading.)
I would be curious to know if this usage continued in UK English and then came over to us in rallying, or came more from French into the rally lexicon.
Like the radio commercials say, "That's a useless fact!"
Regards,
Mark B.