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by ozzmotik 2492 days ago
im pretty sure that Gift in German means poison, so i can't help but wonder what exactly you think an English gift is :^)
1 comments

Well, the word apparently has a bit unusual etymology:

> The word has been used as a euphemism for "poison" since Old High German, influenced by Late Latin dosis (“dose”), from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “something given; dose of medicine”). The original meaning "gift" has disappeared in contemporary Standard German.

So yeah, the word is the same, it just became divorced from the former meaning.

oh wow i was actually completely unaware of the etymological history of it, but after reading what you said i did some research and confirmed it for myself. thank you for sharing that with me, and for allowing me to turn an unknown unknown into a more productive form :^)