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Gaspesian
< Quebec French 'Gaspésien'
DCHP-2 (May 2016)
Spelling variants:gaspesian, Gaspésian,
1adj.
of or relating to the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec.
Type: 1. Origin — The term Gaspesian is used in reference to the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference), a large peninsula that extends into the Gulf of St. Lawrence (see Image 1, red marking). It is an anglicization of the Canadian French word "Gaspésien" (see Gage-5, s.v. "Gaspesian"). As seen in Charts 1 and 2, the term is used most frequently used in Canada, specifically in Quebec.
See also COD-2, s.v. "Gaspesian", which is marked "Cdn" and Gage-1, s.v. "Gaspesian", which is marked "Cdn.".
See also COD-2, s.v. "Gaspesian", which is marked "Cdn" and Gage-1, s.v. "Gaspesian", which is marked "Cdn.".
Quotations
1836
Although not immediately the object of the Expedition it is nevertheless very desirable that any information which can be obtained [...] respecting the ancient state and history of the Gaspesian Peninsula should be noted [...].
1898
This chapter is evidently copied from the annual report of the Gaspesian mission sent to the Quebec superior; and [...] must have been written by Father Jacques de la Place.
1900
The gaspesian language is different from the other languages, and no one but the father understood it; but God has willed that he has still been able to instruct a father who came from France two years ago [...].
1913
An isolated but fascinating corner of Canada is described in "The Heart of Gaspe," by John Mason Clarke (Macmillan, Co.). [...] Whence comes the benefit to man of the combat of these titanic forces, the rocks and the sea? Mr. Clarke tells us: - "The ocean through countless ages hammered down the mountains of this Gaspesian world and brought their heads beneath the waves." [...]
1958
Cod fishermen in Gaspesian waters have experienced quite a successful period of fishing since the opening of the season. . . .
1989
Pordan found himself in the little Gaspesian fishing village of Riviere-au-Renard where he didn't know a soul.
1994
Words and expressions from a dictionary of Gaspesian English:
* DARLIN -- Used when addressing anyone or everyone with whom you are not on bad terms.
* CAN'T SAY -- A way to say "I don't know'' and not sound ignorant.
* DON'T CARE: -- A way of accepting something offered without being guilty of enthusiasm. As in: "Would you like a cup of tea?'' "I don't care.''
* CHICO -- A dead tree, especially a spruce, from which you could obtain kindling. From the French chicot, meaning stump.
2006
And everywhere there is the oft referred to "traditional Gaspésian hospitality" -- with its easy affability and authentic personal relationships [...].
2n.
a native or inhabitant of the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec.
Type: 1. Origin — See meaning 1.
Quotations
1836
One of the most serious inconveniences which the Gaspésians suffer, is the want of roads, or rather the bad state of those which have never been properly made, owing to the insufficiency of the monies expended upon them.
1858
Cartier found here only a tribe of Indians, who appeared to him among the rudest he had seen; a branch of the Micmac tribe that stretched along all the coast from Maine to Gaspé, and afterwards called in this district the Gaspesians. They appeared to have no property but their bark-canoes, under which they slept at night, and nets made of some kind of Indian hemp; and were probably a fishing-party, whose wigwams might have been at the head of the bay, where their descendents still reside.
1889
Prosperous colonization is generally associated with steady application to agriculture, and it has been thought that the extent to which lumbering and fishing absorbed the attention of the Gaspesians was one great drawback to permanent settlement and the increase of the population.
1905
There is no reason to believe, with some, that these Gaspesians were a separate race or tribe of Indians, or in the myth that they had been, from old times, worshippers of the cross.
1939
And even the Gaspesians, as well as those further up the river toward Quebec, will probably be cheated of more than a glimpse of the liner's lights, and will not see that much if there is thick weather.
1950
In full view of thousands of Gaspesians, a white cross, presumably in smoke, appeared at the top of the chimney, and although the priest insisted that it had formed through natural causes, many local folk still consider it a miracle.
1963
Living in one of the poorer and more underdeveloped areas of the country, Gaspesians have found it fairly easy to ask . . . what have we got to lose?
1989
Maloney, a 65-year-old Gaspesian with long white sideburns and an Irish brogue, runs what may be the best-known inn on the Gaspe Peninsula [...].
1996
My first roommate was a Gaspesian who spoke no English, so my murky high-school French was put to the test.
2006
"We had 150 homes for sale when the smelter closed. Now, there are just 20," said Lemieux, 39, a native Gaspesian with a PhD in regional development from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.
References
- COD-2
- ITP Nelson
- Gage-5
Images
Image 1: Map of Quebec with tip of Gaspé Peninsula highlighted in red. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Mats Halldin
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 3 Jul. 2014
