Word Origin: Mermite

Discussions about US MREs and other US rations
Post Reply
User avatar
jfko6
Posts: 2079
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:49 pm
eBay name: jfk9
Location: North East Region - U.S.A
Contact:
Contact jfko6

Word Origin: Mermite

Post by jfko6 » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:38 pm

Who can define and give the etymology of this word?

Word = Mermite
Image
The Long Gray Line
U.S. Army Veteran
Duty * Honor * Country
American Legion Legionnaire
Top
User avatar
Treesuit
Posts: 1599
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:17 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Post by Treesuit » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:24 am

It's kind of funny, I can't find anything in the Webster's Dictionary on the word? :?
Top
User avatar
kman
Site Admin
Posts: 4370
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:07 pm
Location: Naples, FL
Contact:
Contact kman

Post by kman » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:27 am

Every time I read the word "mermite", first I think "mermaid" and then I think "thermite"...and then my brain explodes trying to reconcile the two. :-)
Top
User avatar
RoastBeastFan
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Central TX

Post by RoastBeastFan » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:07 am

I would imagine mermaids like thermite, since it's one of the few fires that will burn underwater. They would use it for having cookouts in the octopus's garden.

...And there's an innovative cookbook: "Cooking With Thermite".

Back to the word though, I'd never heard it until a month ago on this board. It sounds like an invented trademark word to me.
Top
Richard w.
Posts: 338
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:55 pm
Location: VA

Post by Richard w. » Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:23 pm

Great question. All those years of using the term, and I never thought about where it came from.

I searched Google and I did turn up the official nomenclature: "CONTAINER, FOOD, INSULATED, M-1944"

It replaced the "CONTAINER, ROUND, INSULATED, M-1941, WITH
INSERTS" at the end of the war, but I couldn't find any evidence that it got overseas before hostilities ended.
Top
User avatar
dirtbag
Posts: 1367
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:56 pm
Location: central coast,california

Post by dirtbag » Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:19 pm

It was named for Ethel mermite, err merman !
Ethel with Jimmy durante...
http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?mediaURL ... diaType=WM

Yeah,Yeah, I know, lets see you do better ! :lol:
Avid practitioner of the martial art: KLIK-PAO
Top
User avatar
Stef
Posts: 1029
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Brittany, Europe

Post by Stef » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:15 am

Are you sure that's mErmite, not mArmite?

"Marmite" is a cooking pot in French, and this kind of military equipment is called marmite norvégienne "Norvegian marmite" here.
In principio erat spamum
Top
User avatar
jfko6
Posts: 2079
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:49 pm
eBay name: jfk9
Location: North East Region - U.S.A
Contact:
Contact jfko6

Follow - Up

Post by jfko6 » Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:29 pm

The Mermite is a very useful tool and served many.

Keep trying. To date no one has come up with the correct answer.
Image
The Long Gray Line
U.S. Army Veteran
Duty * Honor * Country
American Legion Legionnaire
Top
User avatar
kman
Site Admin
Posts: 4370
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:07 pm
Location: Naples, FL
Contact:
Contact kman

Post by kman » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:05 pm

Are you saying you know what the answer is? If so, please share it. I'm at the end of my guessing/googling rope with this one. :-)
Top
Canuck67
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:03 pm

re: Word Origin: Mermite

Post by Canuck67 » Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:48 pm

It sounds like an anglicized version of the French word "marmite" (pronounced "mar-mit" as in catcher's "mit") which means "cooking pot". Since I speak fluent French (I'm 3/4 French-Canadian) as my second language, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two words ("mermite" vs "marmite").
Top
Post Reply

Return to “MREs”