Fletcher

[rcraigharman at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 27572

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., vheggie at y... wrote:
> And finally

> 
> Mundungus Fletcher.  A fletcher, I believe makes arrows -

Yes, a fletcher makes arrows.  French: "flechier", from "fleche".


> there's also Christian Fletcher whose name is familiar, but I can't
> place it right now (a mutineer on the Bounty?  A character in
> Treasure Island?  I'm sure he was a sailor/pirate, or something
> along those lines).

Fletcher Christian was one of the mutineers on the H.M.S. Bounty.
Christian is the surname.


> IIRC there is also a character called Fletcher in the Robin Hood
> myths. 

Hmmm, no idea about that.


> My latin dictionary offers no real leads – does anyone have any pet
> theories? For some reason I find Mr Fletcher oddly compelling
.

Mundungus is a smelly tobacco from the Spanish "mondongo" = "paunch,
tripe, black pudding", related to "mondejo" = "stuffed mutton or pork
stomach"; in turn, from the Arabic "bondoca"? "bodonca"?** which
seems to have the same meaning as the other Spanish cognate,
"albondiga": "Ball of chopped fish or meat, formed with bread crumbs,
eggs, and spices, that is eaten fried or stewed."

[**diccionarios.com has two different transliterations]

....Craig, who won't mention the other meaning of albondiga (yuck)....