The name Flesher I believe meant meat cutter in Germany...but wasnt it originally Fleischer? Does anyone know more about that name? Ellen Flesher Byrne

FLESHER - As best as I can figure out from "A Dictionary of Surnames" by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, the name originated in Britain as a combination of an Old English word meaning "hew or cut" and a Middle English word meaning "flesh or meat". The German name "Fleish(n)er" is listed as a cognate of the English name, which if I understand "cognate" correctly, means it descendended from the same earlier form. Barbara Ellen Byrne wrote: >The name Flesher I believe meant meat cutter in Germany...but wasnt it originally Fleischer? >Does anyone know more about that name? >Ellen Flesher Byrne > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >

The English language is a mixture of words of latino-french and germano-scandinavian origin. So, yes the origin could be germanic, with something to do with the trade of butcher - although more precisely 'skinner', it could also be of old french (latin) origin as a deformed version of 'Fletcher', or 'arrow-maker'. I have an example of this deformation in my family tree, where perhaps a deaf clergyman and a broad local accent gave birth to a complete change from Flesher to Fletcher. How can anyone be sure of anything in times when only a chosen few could read and write or even pronounce English as she should be spoke or wrote!! Geoff