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"Sam Sloan" wrote in message
...
If you are looking for a chess connection with this posting, here it
is:

An interesting coincidence is that according to page 362 of this book,
Katharine Kell, the author, has a son, Matthew Kell, who has won
several trophies in chess tournaments. Since I was a member of the
Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation, I looked him up
to see if this was really true.

To my great surprise, it really was true. More than that, he has
almost the same rating as me. He was rated 1939. I was rated 1955.
There must be a generic factor at work, since he is my fourth cousin,
one time removed.

By all means, though many people now say genetic rather than generic, and I
rather doubt you untended to slight yourself or your distant 4th cousin,
once removed, that way, especially since KELL is an interesting old word,
and it has two archaic meanings you are unlikely to find in the OED.

(1) A kiln, as lime-kell &c [South (of England)] There is a reference "A
furnace or kell" in Cleveland, p. 40., and also Harrisonn's England, p. 233.

(2) A child's caul; any thin skin or membrane. This is likely an older
word;

Sussanne cawghte of her kelle,
Butt fele ferles her byfelle.
/MS Cott. Calig. A. ii, f. 1.

With kelle and with corenalle cleniche arrayede.
/Morte Arthure, MS. Lincoln, f. 87

There is another possibility after Chaucer who used the phonically similar
KELE; meaning 'to cool', and this word may indeed be associated with first
sense above, of a kiln cooling.

The oldest stem~ word is from A. Sax, and a Sussex word - KELLICH; to romp.

Phil Innes