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When was the expression "Indian file" first used in English?
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When was the expression “Indian file” first used in English?
Why is it called an “Indian file”?Does English use “red thread” as expression for theme?Is there an expression similar to this Portuguese phrase?When was the term “Web site” (or “website”) first used?Why is it “sooner or later” and not “soon or late”?What is the origin of the “once upon a time” idiom as the way to begin a fairy tale?When was the phrase “smoke-filled room” first used in politics?Expression for a very specific utility post climbing gear called “maneas”/“pretal” in spanish, widely used in South AmericaWhen was the expression “or something” first used?Origin of “sleep like a log”When was the term “reality” first used referring to a TV show?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
I have just discovered that the Spanish expression fila india translates word by word to a valid English expression: Indian file. And seemingly it is also valid at least in French (file indienne) and Portuguese and Italian (fila indiana).
The linked question discusses the reason why it is called Indian file, but I would like to know which language came up with the expression first, so what are the first texts registered in English that use this expression? So far I have found a text in Spanish from 1799 that uses the Spanish version of the expression. But I have also found this English text from 1760 in the American English corpus of Ngram:
You will march your Party in an Indian File along the River side, opposite the Battoes, keeping the men at 5 or 6 yds distance from each other [...].
If I select the British English corpus, the first result is also from 1760.
Are there any other previous English texts that used this expression?
expressions phrase-origin
|
show 3 more comments
I have just discovered that the Spanish expression fila india translates word by word to a valid English expression: Indian file. And seemingly it is also valid at least in French (file indienne) and Portuguese and Italian (fila indiana).
The linked question discusses the reason why it is called Indian file, but I would like to know which language came up with the expression first, so what are the first texts registered in English that use this expression? So far I have found a text in Spanish from 1799 that uses the Spanish version of the expression. But I have also found this English text from 1760 in the American English corpus of Ngram:
You will march your Party in an Indian File along the River side, opposite the Battoes, keeping the men at 5 or 6 yds distance from each other [...].
If I select the British English corpus, the first result is also from 1760.
Are there any other previous English texts that used this expression?
expressions phrase-origin
3
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
4
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
3
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
2
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
I have just discovered that the Spanish expression fila india translates word by word to a valid English expression: Indian file. And seemingly it is also valid at least in French (file indienne) and Portuguese and Italian (fila indiana).
The linked question discusses the reason why it is called Indian file, but I would like to know which language came up with the expression first, so what are the first texts registered in English that use this expression? So far I have found a text in Spanish from 1799 that uses the Spanish version of the expression. But I have also found this English text from 1760 in the American English corpus of Ngram:
You will march your Party in an Indian File along the River side, opposite the Battoes, keeping the men at 5 or 6 yds distance from each other [...].
If I select the British English corpus, the first result is also from 1760.
Are there any other previous English texts that used this expression?
expressions phrase-origin
I have just discovered that the Spanish expression fila india translates word by word to a valid English expression: Indian file. And seemingly it is also valid at least in French (file indienne) and Portuguese and Italian (fila indiana).
The linked question discusses the reason why it is called Indian file, but I would like to know which language came up with the expression first, so what are the first texts registered in English that use this expression? So far I have found a text in Spanish from 1799 that uses the Spanish version of the expression. But I have also found this English text from 1760 in the American English corpus of Ngram:
You will march your Party in an Indian File along the River side, opposite the Battoes, keeping the men at 5 or 6 yds distance from each other [...].
If I select the British English corpus, the first result is also from 1760.
Are there any other previous English texts that used this expression?
expressions phrase-origin
expressions phrase-origin
edited 9 hours ago
Charlie
asked 9 hours ago
CharlieCharlie
1,2062522
1,2062522
3
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
4
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
3
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
2
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
3
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
4
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
3
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
2
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago
3
3
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
4
4
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
3
3
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
2
2
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
The earliest text I can find using the expression dates to 1758, in "Extract of a Letter from Albany, August 14, 1758" in the August 21, 1758 edition of the New-York Gazette, or the Weekly Post-Boy, as accessed through the database America's Historical Newspapers:
Our people were discovered by some of the Provincials firing at Pigeons : Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p. 3)

The whole letter describes a military engagement between Major Robert Rogers's forces (a provincial unit with a Wikipedia article) and a mixed unit of "150 Indians and
300 Canadians" near Fort Anne in New York. The details mentioning the "Indian file" come with an addendum note after the letter complete with adjusted troop numbers.
A similar letter of the same title printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette (August 24, 1758), though it is trimmed of some colorful details like the pigeon shooting:
Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p.3)

This 1758 occurrence of "Indian File" is interesting for a number of reasons. The military action of the "Indian File" is one initiated by a British officer; the letter writer doesn't need to explain the action in detail but does provide a contextual clue for understanding it ("which took up a long while"); this is occurring during a war (The French and Indian War [1754-1763], often treated as the American theater of the Seven Years' War) where both French Canadian and British American forces served alongside indigenous forces from several tribes and adapted many of their tactics.
For these reasons, even if the letter writer didn't create the term, the term most likely came out of the French and Indian War.
add a comment |
As noted by user FumbleFingers, user tchrist left a comment in the other, related question with a valid answer to this one:
The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
It probably refers to this text from The London Chronicle, from that year:
Rogers's party was then in an Indian file [...].
add a comment |
According to Wiktionary and Google, it has been attested since the 1700s, because Native Americans traversed woods in this way.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
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3 Answers
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oldest
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
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votes
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oldest
votes
The earliest text I can find using the expression dates to 1758, in "Extract of a Letter from Albany, August 14, 1758" in the August 21, 1758 edition of the New-York Gazette, or the Weekly Post-Boy, as accessed through the database America's Historical Newspapers:
Our people were discovered by some of the Provincials firing at Pigeons : Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p. 3)

The whole letter describes a military engagement between Major Robert Rogers's forces (a provincial unit with a Wikipedia article) and a mixed unit of "150 Indians and
300 Canadians" near Fort Anne in New York. The details mentioning the "Indian file" come with an addendum note after the letter complete with adjusted troop numbers.
A similar letter of the same title printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette (August 24, 1758), though it is trimmed of some colorful details like the pigeon shooting:
Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p.3)

This 1758 occurrence of "Indian File" is interesting for a number of reasons. The military action of the "Indian File" is one initiated by a British officer; the letter writer doesn't need to explain the action in detail but does provide a contextual clue for understanding it ("which took up a long while"); this is occurring during a war (The French and Indian War [1754-1763], often treated as the American theater of the Seven Years' War) where both French Canadian and British American forces served alongside indigenous forces from several tribes and adapted many of their tactics.
For these reasons, even if the letter writer didn't create the term, the term most likely came out of the French and Indian War.
add a comment |
The earliest text I can find using the expression dates to 1758, in "Extract of a Letter from Albany, August 14, 1758" in the August 21, 1758 edition of the New-York Gazette, or the Weekly Post-Boy, as accessed through the database America's Historical Newspapers:
Our people were discovered by some of the Provincials firing at Pigeons : Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p. 3)

The whole letter describes a military engagement between Major Robert Rogers's forces (a provincial unit with a Wikipedia article) and a mixed unit of "150 Indians and
300 Canadians" near Fort Anne in New York. The details mentioning the "Indian file" come with an addendum note after the letter complete with adjusted troop numbers.
A similar letter of the same title printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette (August 24, 1758), though it is trimmed of some colorful details like the pigeon shooting:
Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p.3)

This 1758 occurrence of "Indian File" is interesting for a number of reasons. The military action of the "Indian File" is one initiated by a British officer; the letter writer doesn't need to explain the action in detail but does provide a contextual clue for understanding it ("which took up a long while"); this is occurring during a war (The French and Indian War [1754-1763], often treated as the American theater of the Seven Years' War) where both French Canadian and British American forces served alongside indigenous forces from several tribes and adapted many of their tactics.
For these reasons, even if the letter writer didn't create the term, the term most likely came out of the French and Indian War.
add a comment |
The earliest text I can find using the expression dates to 1758, in "Extract of a Letter from Albany, August 14, 1758" in the August 21, 1758 edition of the New-York Gazette, or the Weekly Post-Boy, as accessed through the database America's Historical Newspapers:
Our people were discovered by some of the Provincials firing at Pigeons : Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p. 3)

The whole letter describes a military engagement between Major Robert Rogers's forces (a provincial unit with a Wikipedia article) and a mixed unit of "150 Indians and
300 Canadians" near Fort Anne in New York. The details mentioning the "Indian file" come with an addendum note after the letter complete with adjusted troop numbers.
A similar letter of the same title printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette (August 24, 1758), though it is trimmed of some colorful details like the pigeon shooting:
Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p.3)

This 1758 occurrence of "Indian File" is interesting for a number of reasons. The military action of the "Indian File" is one initiated by a British officer; the letter writer doesn't need to explain the action in detail but does provide a contextual clue for understanding it ("which took up a long while"); this is occurring during a war (The French and Indian War [1754-1763], often treated as the American theater of the Seven Years' War) where both French Canadian and British American forces served alongside indigenous forces from several tribes and adapted many of their tactics.
For these reasons, even if the letter writer didn't create the term, the term most likely came out of the French and Indian War.
The earliest text I can find using the expression dates to 1758, in "Extract of a Letter from Albany, August 14, 1758" in the August 21, 1758 edition of the New-York Gazette, or the Weekly Post-Boy, as accessed through the database America's Historical Newspapers:
Our people were discovered by some of the Provincials firing at Pigeons : Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p. 3)

The whole letter describes a military engagement between Major Robert Rogers's forces (a provincial unit with a Wikipedia article) and a mixed unit of "150 Indians and
300 Canadians" near Fort Anne in New York. The details mentioning the "Indian file" come with an addendum note after the letter complete with adjusted troop numbers.
A similar letter of the same title printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette (August 24, 1758), though it is trimmed of some colorful details like the pigeon shooting:
Rogers's Party was then in an Indian File, which took up a long while before the Rear came up. (p.3)

This 1758 occurrence of "Indian File" is interesting for a number of reasons. The military action of the "Indian File" is one initiated by a British officer; the letter writer doesn't need to explain the action in detail but does provide a contextual clue for understanding it ("which took up a long while"); this is occurring during a war (The French and Indian War [1754-1763], often treated as the American theater of the Seven Years' War) where both French Canadian and British American forces served alongside indigenous forces from several tribes and adapted many of their tactics.
For these reasons, even if the letter writer didn't create the term, the term most likely came out of the French and Indian War.
edited 6 hours ago
answered 6 hours ago
TaliesinMerlinTaliesinMerlin
10.4k2042
10.4k2042
add a comment |
add a comment |
As noted by user FumbleFingers, user tchrist left a comment in the other, related question with a valid answer to this one:
The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
It probably refers to this text from The London Chronicle, from that year:
Rogers's party was then in an Indian file [...].
add a comment |
As noted by user FumbleFingers, user tchrist left a comment in the other, related question with a valid answer to this one:
The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
It probably refers to this text from The London Chronicle, from that year:
Rogers's party was then in an Indian file [...].
add a comment |
As noted by user FumbleFingers, user tchrist left a comment in the other, related question with a valid answer to this one:
The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
It probably refers to this text from The London Chronicle, from that year:
Rogers's party was then in an Indian file [...].
As noted by user FumbleFingers, user tchrist left a comment in the other, related question with a valid answer to this one:
The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
It probably refers to this text from The London Chronicle, from that year:
Rogers's party was then in an Indian file [...].
answered 8 hours ago
community wiki
Charlie
add a comment |
add a comment |
According to Wiktionary and Google, it has been attested since the 1700s, because Native Americans traversed woods in this way.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
According to Wiktionary and Google, it has been attested since the 1700s, because Native Americans traversed woods in this way.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
According to Wiktionary and Google, it has been attested since the 1700s, because Native Americans traversed woods in this way.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
According to Wiktionary and Google, it has been attested since the 1700s, because Native Americans traversed woods in this way.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 9 hours ago
Jordan StubblefieldJordan Stubblefield
1543
1543
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Jordan Stubblefield is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
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3
Possible duplicate of Why is it called an “Indian file”?
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
4
@FumbleFingers I am not asking for the reason why it is called "Indian file", but for the specific year the first texts using this expression appeared. That is not answered in the other question.
– Charlie
9 hours ago
Even if "date of earliest attested usage" isn't given by any answers to that earlier question, I suggest that's where this detail should be. It's ridiculous to have separate questions+answers for Why? and When? in respect of the same usage.
– FumbleFingers
9 hours ago
3
...actually, it's in a comment on the earlier question: The OED’s first citation for Indian file is from 1758, which by simple temporal arithmetic by definition makes it British.
– FumbleFingers
8 hours ago
2
@FumbleFingers I must say I missed that comment. I don't mind marking this question as a duplicate, but if that comment weren't there, what would be the proper way to proceed? Should I leave a comment to Jez in the other question asking them to ask also for the first attested usage?
– Charlie
8 hours ago