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I'm reading Ben-Hur at the moment, and there's a word that's been repeated several times in the same chapter. The word is "lewen" and I've looked in four dictionaries and two encyclopedias and have found no definition or explanation for what it means.
One of the sentences it's in connotes that it's part of architecture, but I want to know which one. The sentence is "[There was] not a lodging-place left in the house, neither in the chambers, nor in the lewens, nor in the court--not even on the roof."
posted
I have found references that connect it to "Liwan" which is an arhitectural concept in islamic architecture, meaning vaulted hall.
Posts: 370 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Well, Google was no help---it came up mostly as a last name, with about a hundred thirty five thousand entries. My trusty Websters failed me, too.
From what context there is, it sounds like a part of a building, maybe like the attic or basement. That's pure speculation.
(Aside: I'm impressed that somebody's actually readingBen-Hur...)
No, this isn't homework. A few years ago, I got fed up with guessing what a word might mean while I was reading a story, especially since I'd sometimes be wrong and the following sentences made no sense. So I started keeping a dictionary close by and whenever I spot a word I don't know, that problem's usually cured in seconds. Reading has been a lot more enjoyable since I know exactly what I'm reading.
Going on a tangent, I don't like Webster anymore. It used to be handy and I'll still use it first thing when reading, but now, almost every fifteen words I look up, there's going to be one that it never has. Unfortunately, there's not a printed dictionary better than Webster that I've found yet. So when Webster can't help me, I turn to dictionary.com. This is the first time it's failed me.
posted
'lewen' is Old High German for lion, but in this case it is most likley a liwan, which is a room off a central open area, usually with an arched entrance, probably originating in Iran. Other variants are Norwegian long houses with a long central lower floor for central fires and adjoining open rooms, the Algonquian longhouses with a similar arrangement, Roman villas with their arcades opening onto a central courtyard, etc.
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posted
so 'lewen' is most likley a borrow word, probably brought back to Western Europe from the Middle East during/after the crusades.
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posted
But it's "lewens" plural here...would a house, or Roman villa, have more than one central open area?
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No, but if it's the room off the central court, there could be several. Certainly the riad houses in Morocco tend to have such a room on three sides of the court; each tends to be a long rectangle (the long side adjacent to the courtyard) with a seating area at one end and a bed at the other. If you have a larger court, there could be multiple rooms all opening out to it.
I haven't come across the "lewen" term for them, though. And no immediate sign of the term in the main English (as opposed to American English) dictionaries.
[This message has been edited by tchernabyelo (edited June 28, 2006).]
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If you go back to websters there is a definition for lew which I read last night so this won't be verbatim but essentially it is a wall protected from the weather which would sorta fit with his searching for a place to sleep. Dictionary.com has it as a calm or sheltered place. To me it seems lewen as used in the reference made here is a variation of this.
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posted
How is it used? There's a scene in Ben Hur where they're chucking spears at the beam across the doorway of a little alcove. (The infamous "gay love scene").
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