Transcriber's Note:

 Unique page headings have been retained, marked as [Page Heading] and positioned prior to the relevant paragraph. 

 Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. 

 Greek text appears as originally printed except for two corrections, noted, with other significant amendments, at the end of the text. 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE ROMANCE OF NAMES

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SURNAMES

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AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH

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A CONCISE ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH

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WORDS ANCIENT AND MODERN

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_All rights reserved_

 THE ROMANCE OF WORDS

 BY ERNEST WEEKLEY, M. A. 

 PROFESSOR OF FRENCH AND HEAD OF THE MODERN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, NOTTINGHAM; SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF NAMES, " "SURNAMES"

 "Vous savez le latin, sans doute?"-- "Oui, mais faites comme si je ne le savais pas. " (MOLIÈRE, _Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme_, ii. 6. )

 LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 

 FIRST EDITION MARCH 1912 _Reprinted_ JUNE 1912 SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED NOVEMBER 1913 THIRD EDITION MAY 1917 FOURTH EDITION JANUARY 1922 _Reprinted_ FEBRUARY 1925 _Reprinted_ JANUARY 1927

PREFACE

A long and somewhat varied experience in language teaching has convincedme that there are still, in spite of the march of science, many peoplewho are capable of getting intellectual pleasure from word-history. Ihope that to such people this little book, the amusement of occasionalleisure, will not be unwelcome. It differs, I believe, from any otherpopular book on language in that it deals essentially with the originsof words, and makes no attempt to enforce a moral. My aim has been toselect especially the unexpected in etymology, "things not generallyknown, " such as the fact that _Tammany_ was an Indian chief, that_assegai_ occurs in Chaucer, that _jilt_ is identical with _Juliet_, that _brazil_ wood is not named from _Brazil_, that to _curry favour_means to comb down a horse of a particular colour, and so forth. Thetreatment is made as simple as possible, a bowing acquaintance withLatin and French being all that is assumed, though words from many otherlanguages are necessarily included. In the case of each word I havetraced the history just so far back as it is likely to be of interest tothe reader who is not a philological specialist. 

I have endeavoured to state each proposition in its simplest terms, without enumerating all the reservations and indirect factors whichbelong to the history of almost every word. 

The chapter headings only indicate in a general way the division of thesubject matter, the arrangement of which has been determined rather bythe natural association which exists between words. The quotations are, with few exceptions, drawn from my own reading. They come from veryvaried sources, but archaic words are exemplified, when possible, fromauthors easily accessible, generally Shakespeare or Milton, or, forrevived archaisms, Scott. In illustrating obsolete meanings I have mademuch use of the earliest dictionaries[1] available. 

It seemed undesirable to load a small work of this kind with references. The writer on word-lore must of necessity build on what has already beendone, happy if he can add a few bricks to the edifice. But philologistswill recognise that this book is not, in the etymological sense, a merecompilation, [2] and that a considerable portion of the information itcontains is here printed for the first time in a form accessible to thegeneral reader. [3] Chapter VII. , on Semantics, is, so far as I know, thefirst attempt at a simple treatment of a science which is now admittedto an equality with phonetics, and which to most people is much moreinteresting. 

Throughout I have used the _New English Dictionary_, in the etymologicalpart of which I have for some years had a humble share, for purposes ofverification. Without the materials furnished by the historical methodof that great national work, which is now complete from A to R, thisbook would not have been attempted. For words in S to Z, I have referredchiefly to Professor Skeat's _Etymological Dictionary_ (4th ed. , Oxford, 1910). 

It is not many years since what passed for etymology in this country wasmerely a congeries of wild guesses and manufactured anecdotes. Thepersistence with which these crop up in the daily paper and theclass-room must be my excuse for "slaying the slain" in Chapter XIII. Some readers may regret the disappearance of these fables, but a littlestudy will convince them that in the life of words, as in that of men, truth is stranger than fiction. 

 ERNEST WEEKLEY. _NOTTINGHAM, January 1912. _

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

On its first publication this little book was very kindly treated byboth reviewers and readers. The only criticism of any importance wasdirected against its conciseness. There seemed to be a consensus ofexpert opinion that, the book being intended for the non-specialist, thecompression was a little too severe, and likely sometimes to lead tomisunderstanding. I have tried to remedy this defect in the presentedition, both by giving fuller explanations and by supplying furtherquotations in illustration of the less common words and uses. Noabsolutely new matter is introduced, but a number of fresh words havebeen added as examples of points already noticed. The generalarrangement of the book remains unchanged, except that a few paragraphshave been shifted to what seemed more natural positions. 

Friendly correspondents in all parts of the world, to many of whom Imust apologise for my failure to answer their letters, have sent meinformation of interest and value. In some cases I have been able tomake use of such information for this edition. Many readers have calledmy attention to local and American survivals of words and meaningsdescribed as obsolete. This is a subject on which a great deal could bewritten, but it lies outside the plan of this book, which does notaspire to do more than furnish some instruction or entertainment tothose who are interested in the curiosities of etymology. 

 ERNEST WEEKLEY. 

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

It is just five years since this little book was first submitted to thetoleration of word-lovers, a class much more numerous than the authorhad suspected. The second edition, revised and slightly enlarged, appeared in 1913. Since then the text has once more been subjected to asearching revision, and it is hoped that the book now contains nostatement which is not in accord with common sense and the present stateof philological knowledge. Only those who have experience of such workknow how easy it is to stray unconsciously from the exact truth inpublishing the results of etymological research. Moreover, new light isconstantly being thrown on old problems, and theories long triumphanthave occasionally to yield to fresh evidence. To take an example fromthis volume, the traditional derivation of _trousers_ from French_trousse_ is now shown by the _New English Dictionary_ to bechronologically improbable. That great and cautious work unhesitatinglydescribes _hatchment_ as a corruption of _achievement_, but ProfessorDerocquigny, of Lille, has shown (_Modern Language Review_, January1913) that this etymology is "preposterous, " _hachement_ being a goodold French word which in 16th century English was ignorantly confusedwith _achievement_. Apart from these two etymologies, [4] the onlyessential alterations have been made in the chapter on Surnames (p. 170), further research in medieval records having convinced the authorthat most of what has been written about "corrupted" surnames isnonsense, and that no nickname is too fantastic to be genuine. [5] Twoslight contemplated alterations have not been carried out. The adjectiveapplied (p. 156) to a contemporary ruler seemed to need reconsideration, but the author was baffled by the _embarras du choix_. A word mentionedon p. 48 might gracefully have been omitted, but it is likely that theillustrious man alluded to would, if the page should ever accidentallymeet his eye, only chuckle at the thought of time's revenges. 

In the interval since the last edition of the _Romance of Words_ thegreatest _Romance of Deeds_ in our story has been written in the bloodof our noblest and best. Only a sense of proportion withholds theauthor from dedicating this new edition to the glorious memory of hismany old pupils dead on the field of honour. Nothing in the modestsuccess of the book has given him so much pleasure as the fact, to whichhis correspondence bears witness, that his little contribution toword-lore has helped to amuse the convalescence of more than onestricken fighting-man. 

 ERNEST WEEKLEY. _NOTTINGHAM, March 1917. _

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

In preparing a new edition of this little book, ten years after itsfirst appearance, I have corrected a few slight inaccuracies which hadbeen overlooked in earlier revisions, and modified or expanded somestatements which were not quite consonant with the present state ofetymological knowledge. In word-lore, as in other sciences, it is seldomsafe to lay down the law without a little conscientious "hedging. " Theonly two considerable alterations have to do with the word_snickersnee_, the history of which is now clearly traced, and the name_Bendigo_. It is rather strange that no reader or reviewer has ever putme right on the subject of this Nottingham worthy, for the facts areplainly stated in the _Dictionary of National Biography_. 

 ERNEST WEEKLEY. _NOTTINGHAM, January 1922. _

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For a list of these see p. Xii. 

[2] _Compilatio_, "pillage, polling, robbing" (Cooper). 

[3] Among words on which the reader will find either entirely newinformation or a modification of generally accepted views are _akimbo_, _anlace_, _branks_, _caulk_, _cockney_, _felon_ (a whitlow), _foil_, _kestrel_, _lugger_, _mulligrubs_, _mystery_ (a craft), _oriel_, _patch_, _petronel_, _salet_, _sentry_, _sullen_, _tret_, etc. 

[4] In spite of the fact that the _New English Dictionary_ now finds_shark_ applied to the fish some years before the first record of_shark_, a sharper, parasite, I adhere to my belief that the latter isthe earlier sense. The new example quoted, from a Tudor "broadside, " ismore suggestive of a sailor's apt nickname than of zoologicalnomenclature--"There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but thatsertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a _sharke_" (1569). 

[5] See the author's _Surnames_ (John Murray, 1916), especially pp. 177-83. 

CONTENTS

 CHAP. PAGE I. OUR VOCABULARY 1

 II. WANDERINGS OF WORDS 17

 III. WORDS OF POPULAR MANUFACTURE 29

 IV. WORDS AND PLACES 47

 V. PHONETIC ACCIDENTS 54

 VI. WORDS AND MEANINGS 72

 VII. SEMANTICS 86

 VIII. METAPHOR 105

 IX. FOLK-ETYMOLOGY 113

 X. DOUBLETS 139

 XI. HOMONYMS 155

 XII. FAMILY NAMES 169

 XIII. ETYMOLOGICAL FACT AND FICTION 184

 INDEX 205

The following dictionaries are quoted without further reference:--

 Palsgrave, French and English (1530). Cooper, Latin and English (1573). Percyvall, Spanish and English (1591). Florio, Italian and English (1598). Cotgrave, French and English (1611). Torriano, Italian and English (1659). Hexham, Dutch and English (1660). Ludwig, German and English (1716). 

THE ROMANCE OF WORDS

CHAPTER I

OUR VOCABULARY

The bulk of our literary language is Latin, and consists of words eitherborrowed directly or taken from "learned" French forms. The every-dayvocabulary of the less educated is of Old English, commonly calledAnglo-Saxon, origin; and from the same source comes what we may call themachinery of the language, _i. E. _, its inflexions, numerals, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. Along with Anglo-Saxon, we find aconsiderable number of words from the related Norse languages, thiselement being naturally strongest in the dialects of the north and eastof England. The third great element of our working vocabulary isfurnished by Old French, _i. E. _, the language naturally developed fromthe spoken Latin of the Roman soldiers and colonists, generally calledVulgar Latin. To its composite character English owes its unequalledrichness in expression. For most ideas we have three separate terms, orgroups of terms, which, often starting from the same metaphor, serve toexpress different shades of meaning. Thus a deed done with malice_prepense_ (an Old French compound from Lat. _pensare_, to weigh), is_deliberate_ or _pondered_, both Latin words which mean literally"weighed"; but the four words convey four distinct shades of meaning. The Gk. _sympathy_ is Lat. _compassion_, rendered in English by_fellow-feeling_. 

Sometimes a native word has been completely supplanted by a loan word, _e. G. _, Anglo-Sax. _here_, army (_cf. _ Ger. _Heer_), gave way to Old Fr. _(h)ost_ (p. 158). This in its turn was replaced by _army_, Fr. _armée_, which, like its Spanish doublet _armada_, is really a feminine pastparticiple with some word for host, band, etc. , understood. _Here_ hassurvived in _Hereford_, _harbour_ (p. 164), _harbinger_ (p. 90), etc. , and in the verb _harry_ (_cf. _ Ger. _verheeren_, to harry). 

Or a native word may persist in some special sense, e. G. , _weed_, ageneral term for garment in Shakespeare--

 "And there the snake throws her enamel'd skin, _Weed_ wide enough to wrap a fairy in. " (_Midsummer Night's Dream_, ii. 2. )

survives in "widow's _weeds_. " _Chare_, a turn of work--

 "the maid that milks And does the meanest _chares_. " (_Antony and Cleopatra_, iv. 15. )

has given us _charwoman_, and persists as American _chore_--

 "Sharlee was ... Concluding the post-prandial _chores_. " (H. S. HARRISON, _Queed_, Ch. 17. )

_Sake_, cognate with Ger. _Sache_, thing, cause, and originally meaninga contention at law, has been replaced by _cause_, except in phrasesbeginning with the preposition _for_. See also _bead_ (p. 74). _Unkempt_, uncombed, and _uncouth_, unknown, are fossil remains ofobsolete verb forms. 

In addition to these main constituents of our language, we have borrowedwords, sometimes in considerable numbers, sometimes singly andaccidentally, from almost every tongue known to mankind, and every yearsees new words added to our vocabulary. The following chapters dealespecially with words borrowed from Old French and from the otherRomance languages, their origins and journeyings, and the variousaccidents that have befallen them in English. It is in such words asthese that the romance of language is best exemplified, because we canusually trace their history from Latin to modern English, while theearlier history of Anglo-Saxon words is a matter for the philologist. 

[Page Heading: LATIN WORDS]

Words borrowed directly from Latin or Greek lack this intermediateexperience, though the study of their original meanings is full ofsurprises. This, however, is merely a question of opening a Latin orGreek dictionary, if we have not time for the moment's reflexion whichwould serve the same purpose. Thus, to take a dozen examples at random, to _abominate_[6] is to turn shuddering from the evil _omen_, a_generous_ man is a man of "race" (_genus_), an _innuendo_ can beconveyed "by nodding, " to _insult_ is to "jump on, " a _legend_ issomething "to be read, " a _manual_ is a "hand-book, " an _obligation_ isessentially "binding, " to _relent_ is to "go slow, " _rivals_ are peopleliving by the same "stream"[7] (_rivus_), a _salary_ is an allowance for"salt" (_sal_), a _supercilious_ man is fond of lifting his "eyebrows"(_supercilium_), and a _trivial_ matter is so commonplace that it can bepicked up at the meeting of "three ways" (_trivium_). _Dexterity_implies skill with the "right" hand (_dexter_), while _sinister_preserves the superstition of the ill-omened "left. "

It may be remarked here that the number of Latin words used in theirunaltered form in every-day English is larger than is generallyrealised. Besides such phrases as _bona-fide_, _post-mortem_, _viva-voce_, or such abbreviations as A. M. , _ante meridiem_, D. V. , _Deovolente_, and L. S. D. , for _libræ_, _solidi_, _denarii_, we have, without including scientific terms, many Latin nouns, e. G. , _animal_, _genius_, _index_, _odium_, _omen_, _premium_, _radius_, _scintilla_, _stimulus_, _tribunal_, and adjectives, e. G. , _complex_, _lucifer_, _miser_, _pauper_, _maximum_, _senior_, and the ungrammatical _bonus_. The Lat. _veto_, I forbid, has been worked hard of late. The stage hasgiven us _exit_, he goes out, and the Universities _exeat_, let him goout, while law language contains a number of Latin verb forms, e. G. , _affidavit_ (late Latin), he has testified, _caveat_, let him beware, _cognovit_, he has recognised--

 "You gave them a _cognovit_ for the amount of your costs after the trial, I'm told. " (_Pickwick_, Ch. 46. )

due to the initial words of certain documents. Similarly _item_, also, is the first word in each paragraph of an inventory. With this we maycompare the _purview_ of a statute, from the Old Fr. _pourveu_(_pourvu_), provided, with which it used to begin. A _tenet_ is what one"holds. " _Fiat_ means "let it be done. " When Mr Weller lamented--

 "Oh, Sammy, Sammy, vy worn't there a _alleybi_?" (_Pickwick_, Ch. 34. )

it is safe to say that he was not consciously using the Latin adverb_alibi_, elsewhere, nor is the printer who puts in a _viz. _ always awarethat this is an old abbreviation for _videlicet_, i. E. , _videre licet_, it is permissible to see. A _nostrum_ is "our" unfailing remedy, and_tandem_, at length, instead of side by side, is a university joke. 

[Page Heading: INFLECTED LATIN FORMS]

Sometimes we have inflected forms of Latin words. A _rebus_[8] is a wordor phrase represented "by things. " _Requiem_, accusative of _requies_, rest, is the first word of the introit used in the mass for the dead--

 "_Requiem_ æternam dona eis, Domine, "

while _dirge_ is the Latin imperative _dirige_, from the antiphon in thesame service--

 "_Dirige_, Domine meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. "

The spelling _dirige_ was once common--

 "Also I byqwethe to eche of the paryshe prystys beying at my _dyryge_ and masse xiid. " (Will of John Perfay, of Bury St. Edmunds, 1509. )

_Query_ was formerly written _quære_, seek, and _plaudit_ is for_plaudite_, clap your hands, the appeal of the Roman actors to theaudience at the conclusion of the play--

 "Nunc, spectatores, Iovis summi causa clare _plaudite_. " (PLAUTUS, _Amphitruo_. )

_Debenture_ is for _debentur_, there are owing. _Dominie_ is the Latinvocative _domine_, formerly used by schoolboys in addressing theirmaster, while _pandy_, a stroke on the hand with a cane, is from _pandepalmam_, hold out your hand. _Parse_ is the Lat. _pars_, occurring inthe question _Quæ pars orationis?_ What part of speech? _Omnibus_, forall, is a dative plural. _Limbo_ is the ablative of Lat. _limbus_, anedge, hem, in the phrase "in _limbo_ patrum, " where _limbus_ is used forthe abode of the Old Testament saints on the verge of Hades. It isalready jocular in Shakespeare--

 "I have some of 'em in _limbo_ patrum, and there they are like to dance these three days. " (_Henry VIII. _, v. 3. )

_Folio_, _quarto_, etc. , are ablatives, from the phrases _in folio_, _inquarto_, etc. , still used in French. _Premises_, earlier _premisses_, isa slightly disguised Lat. _præmissas_, the aforesaid, lit. Sent before, used in deeds to avoid repeating the full description of a property. Itis thus the same word as logical _premisses_, or assumptions. _Quorum_is from a legal formula giving a list of persons "of whom" a certainnumber must be present. A _teetotum_ is so called because it has, oronce had, on one of its sides, a _T_ standing for _totum_, all. It wasalso called simply a _totum_. The other three sides also bore letters toindicate what share, if any, of the stake they represented. Cotgrave has_totum_ (_toton_), "a kind of game with a whirle-bone. " In spite of theinteresting anecdote about the temperance orator with an impediment inhis speech, it was probably _teetotum_ that suggested _teetotaller_. 

We have also a few words straight from Greek, e. G. , _analysis_, _aroma_, _atlas_, the world-sustaining demi-god whose picture used to decoratemap-books, _colon_, _comma_, _dogma_, _epitome_, _miasma_, _nausea_, Gk. ναυσία, lit. Sea-sickness, _nectar_, whence the fruit called a_nectarine_--

 "_Nectarine_ fruits which the compliant boughs Yielded them, sidelong as they sat recline. " (_Paradise Lost_, iv. 332. )

_pathos_, _python_, _pyx_, _synopsis_, etc. ; but most of our Greek wordshave passed through French _via_ Latin, or are newly manufacturedscientific terms, often most unscientifically constructed. 

_Gamut_ contains the Gk. _gamma_ and the Latin conjunction _ut_. Guyd'Arezzo, who flourished in the 11th century, is said to have introducedthe method of indicating the notes by the letters _a_ to _g_. For thenote below _a_ he used the Gk. _gamma_. To him is attributed also theseries of monosyllables by which the notes are also indicated. They aresupposed to be taken from a Latin hymn to St John--

 _Ut_ queant laxis _re_sonare fibris _Mi_ra gestorum _fa_muli tuorum _Sol_ve polluti _la_bii reatum _S_ancte _I_ohannes. 

_Do_ is sometimes substituted for _ut_ in French, and always in modernEnglish. 

[Page Heading: FRENCH DIALECTS]

In considering the Old French element in English, one has to bear inmind a few elementary philological facts. Nearly all French nouns andadjectives are derived from the accusative. I give, for simplicity, thenominative, adding the stem in the case of imparisyllabic words. Thefoundation of French is Vulgar Latin, which differs considerably fromthat we study at school. I only give Vulgar Latin forms where it cannotbe avoided. For instance, in dealing with _culverin_ (p. 38), I connectFr. _couleuvre_, adder, with Lat. _cólŭber_, a snake. Every Romancephilologist knows that it must represent Vulgar Lat. _*colóbra_; butthis form, which, being conjectural, is marked with an asterisk, hadbetter be forgotten by the general reader. 

Our modern English words often preserve a French form which no longerexists, or they are taken from dialects, especially those of Normandyand Picardy, which differ greatly from that of Paris. The word _caudle_illustrates both these points. It is the same word as modern Fr. _chaudeau_, "a _caudle_; or, warme broth" (Cotgrave), but it preservesthe Old French[9] _-el_ for _-eau_, and the Picard _c-_ for _ch-_. Anuncomfortable bridle which used to be employed to silence scolds wascalled the _branks_. It is a Scottish word, originally applied to abridle improvised from a halter with a wooden "cheek" each side toprevent it from slipping--

 "And then its shanks, They were as thin, as sharp and sma' As cheeks o' _branks_. " (BURNS, _Death and Doctor Hornbook_, vii. 4. )

These cheeks correspond to the two parallel levers called the "branches"of a bridle, and _brank_ is the Norman _branque_, branch. All themeanings of _patch_ answer to those of Fr. _pièce_. It comes from theOld French dialect form _peche_, as _match_ comes from _mèche_, and_cratch_, a manger, from _crèche_, of German origin, and ultimately thesame word as _crib_. _Cratch_ is now replaced, except in dialect, by_manger_, Fr. _mangeoire_, from _manger_, to eat, but it was the regularword in Mid. English--

 "Sche childide her firste born sone, and wlappide him in clothis, and puttide in a _cracche_. " (WYCLIF, _Luke_, ii. 7. )

_Pew_ is from Old Fr. _puy_, a stage, eminence, Lat. _podium_, whichsurvives in _Puy de Dôme_, the mountain in Auvergne on which Pascal madehis experiments with the barometer. _Dupuy_ is a common family name inFrance, but the _Depews_ of the West Indies have kept the olderpronunciation. 

Many Old French words which live on in England are obsolete in France. _Chime_ is Old Fr. _chimbe_ from Greco-Lat. _cymbalum_. Minsheu (1617)derived _dismal_ from Lat. _dies mali_, evil days. This, says Trench, "is exactly one of those plausible etymologies which one learns after awhile to reject with contempt. " But Minsheu is substantially right, ifwe substitute Old Fr. _dis mal_, which is found as early as 1256. OldFr. _di_, a day, also survives in the names of the days of the week, _lundi_, etc. In _remainder_ and _remnant_ we have the infinitive andpresent participle of an obsolete Old French verb derived from Lat. _remanēre_. _Manor_ and _power_ are also Old French infinitives, thefirst now only used as a noun (_manoir_), the second represented by_pouvoir_. _Misnomer_ is the Anglo-French infinitive, "to misname. "

[Page Heading: INFLECTED FRENCH FORMS]

In some cases we have preserved meanings now obsolete in French. _Trump_, in cards, is Fr. _triomphe_, "the card game called ruffe, or_trump_; also, the ruffe, or _trump_ at it" (Cotgrave), but the modernFrench word for trump is _atout_, to all. _Rappee_ is for obsolete Fr. (tabac) _râpé_, pulverised, rasped. Fr. _talon_, heel, from Vulgar Lat. _*talo_, _talon-_, for _talus_, was applied by falconers to the heelclaw of the hawk. This meaning, obsolete in French, has persisted inEnglish. The _mizen_ mast is the rearmost of three, but the Fr. _mât demisaine_ is the fore-mast, and both come from Ital. _mezzana_ middle, "also the poop or _mizensail_[10] in a ship" (Torriano). 

As in the case of Latin, we have some inflected French forms in English. _Lampoon_ is from the archaic Fr. _lampon_, "a drunken song" (Miège, _French Dict. _, 1688). This is coined from the imperative _lampons_, letus drink, regularly used as a refrain in seditious and satirical songs. For the formation we may compare American _vamose_, to skedaddle, fromSpan. _vamos_, let us go. The military _revelly_ is the Frenchimperative _réveillez_, wake up, but in the French army it is called the_diane_. The _gist_ of a matter is the point in which its importancereally "lies. " _Ci-gît_, for Old Fr. _ci-gist_, Lat. _jacet_, here lies, is seen on old tombstones. _Tennis_, says Minsheu, is so called from Fr. _tenez_, hold, "which word the Frenchmen, the onely tennis-players, useto speake when they strike the ball. " This etymology, for a long timeregarded as a wild guess, has been shewn by recent research to be mostprobably correct. The game is of French origin, and it was played byFrench knights in Italy a century before we find it alluded to by Gower(c. 1400). Erasmus tells us that the server called out _accipe_, towhich his opponent replied _mitte_, and as French, and not Latin, wascertainly the language of the earliest tennis-players, we may infer thatthe spectators named the game from the foreign word with which eachservice began. In French the game is called _paume_, palm of the hand;cf. _fives_, also a slang name for the hand. The archaic _assoil_--

 "And the holy man he _assoil'd_ us, and sadly we sail'd away. " (TENNYSON, _Voyage of Maeldune_, xi. 12. )

is the present subjunctive of the Old Fr. _asoldre_ (_absoudre_), toabsolve, used in the stereotyped phrase _Dieus asoile_, may God absolve. 

A linguistic invasion such as that of English by Old French is almostunparalleled. We have instances of the expulsion of one tongue byanother, _e. G. _, of the Celtic dialects of Gaul by Latin and of those ofBritain by Anglo-Saxon. But a real blending of two languages can onlyoccur when a large section of the population is bilingual for centuries. This, as we know, was the case in England. The Norman dialect, alreadyfamiliar through inevitable intercourse, was transplanted to England in1066. It developed further on its own lines into Anglo-Norman, and then, mixed with other French dialects, for not all the invaders were Normans, and political events brought various French provinces into relation withEngland, it produced Anglo-French, a somewhat barbarous tongue which wasthe official language till 1362, and with which our legal jargon issaturated. We find in Anglo-French many words which are unrecorded incontinental Old French, among them one which we like to think of asessentially English, viz. , _dueté_, duty, an abstract formed from thepast participle of Fr. _devoir_. This verb has also given us_endeavour_, due to the phrase _se mettre en devoir_--

 "Je me suis _en debvoir_ mis pour moderer sa cholere tyrannicque. "[11] (_Rabelais_, i. 29. )

[Page Heading: NEOLOGISMS]

No dictionary can keep up with the growth of a language. The _NewEnglish Dictionary_ had done the letter _C_ before the _cinematograph_arrived, but got it in under _K_. Words of this kind are manufactured insuch numbers that the lexicographer is inclined to wait and see whetherthey will catch on. In such cases it is hard to prophesy. The populationof this country may be divided into those people who have been operatedfor _appendicitis_ and those who are going to be. Yet this word wasconsidered too rare and obscure for insertion in the first volume of the_New English Dictionary_ (1888), the greatest word-book that has everbeen projected. _Sabotage_ looks, unfortunately, as if it had come tostay. It is a derivative of _saboter_, to scamp work, from _sabot_, awooden shoe, used contemptuously of an inferior article. The greatFrench dictionaries do not know it in its latest sense of maliciousdamage done by strikers, and the _New English Dictionary_, whichfinished _Sa-_ in the year 1912, just missed it. _Hooligan_ is notrecorded by the _New English Dictionary_. The original _Hooligans_ werea spirited Irish family of that name whose proceedings enlivened thedrab monotony of life in Southwark towards the end of the 19th century. The word is younger than the Australian _larrikin_, of doubtful origin(see p. 190), but older than Fr. _apache_. The adoption of the RedIndian name _Apache_ for a modern Parisian bravo is a curious parallelto the 18th-century use of _Mohock_ (Mohawk) for an aristocratic Londonruffler. 

_Heckle_ is first recorded in its political sense for 1880. The _NewEnglish Dictionary_ quotes it from _Punch_ in connection with the FourthParty. In Scottish, however, it is old in this sense, so that it is anexample of a dialect word that has risen late in life. Its southern form_hatchell_ is common in Mid. English in its proper sense of "teasing"hemp or flax, and the metaphor is exactly the same. _Tease_, earlier_toose_, means to pluck or pull to pieces, hence the name _teasel_ forthe thistle used by wool-carders. The older form is seen in thederivative _tousle_, the family name _Tozer_, and the dog's name_Towser_. _Feckless_, a common Scottish word, was hardly literaryEnglish before Carlyle. It is now quite familiar--

 "Thriftless, shiftless, _feckless_. " (Mr LLOYD GEORGE, 1st Nov. 1911. )

There is a certain appropriateness in the fact that almost the firstwriter to use it was James I. It is for _effectless_. I never heard of a_week-end_ till I paid a visit to Lancashire in 1883. It has long sinceinvaded the whole island. An old _geezer_ has a modern sound, but it isthe medieval _guiser_, _guisard_, mummer, which has persisted in dialectand re-entered the language. 

[Page Heading: WORDS DUE TO ACCIDENT]

The fortunes of a word are sometimes determined by accident. _Glamour_(see p. 145) was popularised by Scott, who found it in old balladliterature. _Grail_, the holy dish at the Last Supper, would be muchless familiar but for Tennyson. _Mascot_, from a Provençal word meaningsorcerer, dates from Audran's operetta _La Mascotte_ (1880). _Jingo_first appears in conjurors' jargon of the 17th century. It has beenconjectured to represent Basque _jinko_, God, picked up by sailors. Ifthis is the case, it is probably the only pure Basque word in English. The Ingoldsby derivation from St Gengulphus--

 "Sometimes styled 'The Living _Jingo_, ' from the great tenaciousness of vitality exhibited by his severed members, "

is of course a joke. In 1878, when war with Russia seemed imminent, amusic-hall singer, the Great Macdermott, delighted large audienceswith--

 "We don't want to fight, but, by _Jingo_, if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too. "

Hence the name _jingo_ applied to that ultra-patriotic section of thepopulation which, in war-time, attends to the shouting. [12] Fr. _chauvin_, a jingo, is the name of a real Napoleonic veteran introducedinto Scribe's play _Le Soldat Laboureur_. _Barracking_ is known to usonly through the visits of English cricket teams to Australia. It issaid to come from a native Australian word meaning derision. TheAmerican _caucus_ was first applied (1878) by Lord Beaconsfield to theBirmingham Six Hundred. In 18th-century American it means meeting ordiscussion. It is probably connected with a North American Indian(Algonkin) word meaning counsellor, an etymology supported by that of_pow-wow_, a palaver or confab, which is the Algonkin for amedicine-man. With these words may be mentioned _Tammany_, now used of afamous political body, but, in the 18th century, of a society namedafter the "tutelar saint" of Pennsylvania. The original Tammany was anIndian chief with whom William Penn negotiated for grants of land aboutthe end of the 17th century. _Littoral_ first became familiar inconnection with Italy's ill-starred Abyssinian adventure, and_hinterland_ marked the appearance of Germany as a colonial power--

 "'Let us glance a moment, ' said Mr Queed, 'at Man, as we see him first emerging from the dark _hinterlands_ of history. '" (H. S. HARRISON, _Queed_, Ch. 17. )

[Page Heading: BLUNDERS]

Sometimes the blunder of a great writer has enriched the language. Scott's _bartisan_--

 "Its varying circle did combine Bulwark, and _bartisan_, and line And bastion, tower ... " (_Marmion_, vi. 2. )

is a mistake for _bratticing_, timber-work, a word of obscure origin ofwhich several corruptions are found in early Scottish. It is rather afavourite with writers of "sword and feather" novels. Other shamantiques are _slug-horn_, Chatterton's absurd perversion of the Gaelic_slogan_, war-cry, copied by Browning--

 "Dauntless the _slug-horn_ to my lips I set, And blew 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came. '"

and Scott's extraordinary misuse of _warison_, security, a doublet of_garrison_, as though it meant "war sound"--

 "Or straight they sound their _warison_, And storm and spoil thy garrison. " (_Lay_, iv. 21. )

Scott also gave currency to _niddering_, a coward--

 "Faithless, mansworn, [13] and _niddering_. " (_Ivanhoe_, Ch. 42. )

which has been copied by Lytton and Kingsley, and elaborated into_nidderling_ by Mr Crockett. It is a misprint in an early edition ofWilliam of Malmesbury for _niding_ or _nithing_, cognate with Ger. _Neid_, envy. This word, says Camden, is mightier than _Abracadabra_, [14]since--

 "It hath levied armies and subdued rebellious enemies. For when there was a dangerous rebellion against King William Rufus, and Rochester Castle, then the most important and strongest fort of this realm, was stoutly kept against him, after that he had but proclaimed that his subjects should repair thither to his camp, upon no other penalty, but that whosoever should refuse to come should be reputed a _niding_, they swarmed to him immediately from all sides in such numbers that he had in a few days an infinite army, and the rebels therewith were so terrified that they forthwith yielded. " (_Remains concerning Britain. _)

_Derring-do_ is used several times by Spenser, who explains it as"manhood and chevalrie. " It is due to his misunderstanding of a passagein Lidgate, in which it is an imitation of Chaucer, complicated by amisprint. Scott took it from Spenser--

 "'Singular, ' he again muttered to himself, 'if there be two who can do a deed of such _derring-do_. '" (_Ivanhoe_, Ch. 29. )

and from him it passed to Bulwer Lytton and later writers. 

Such words as these, the illegitimate offspring of genius, are to bedistinguished from the "ghost-words" which dimly haunt the dictionarieswithout ever having lived (see p. 201). Speaking generally, we may saythat no word is ever created _de novo_. The names invented forcommercial purposes are not exceptions to this law. _Bovril_ iscompounded of Lat. _bos_, ox, and _vril_, [15] the mysterious power whichplays so important a part in Lytton's _Coming Race_, while _Tono-Bungay_suggests _tonic_. The only exception to this is _gas_, the arbitrarycoinage of the Belgian chemist Van Helmont in the 17th century. But eventhis is hardly a new creation, because we have Van Helmont's ownstatement that the word _chaos_ was vaguely present to his mind. _Chortle_ has, however, secured a limited currency, and is admitted bythe _New English Dictionary_--

 "O frabjous day! Callooh! callay! He _chortled_ in his joy. " (_Through the Looking-Glass. _)

and, though an accurate account of the _boojum_ is lacking, most peopleknow it to be a dangerous variety of _snark_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[6] _Abominable_ is regularly spelt _abhominable_ in late Old French andMid. English, as though meaning "inhuman, " Lat. _homo_, _homin-_, a man. 

[7] This etymology is doubted by some authorities. 

[8] But the word comes to us from French. In the 16th century suchpuzzles were called _rébus de Picardie_, because of their popularity inthat province. 

[9] For simplicity the term Old French is used here to include all wordsnot in modern use. Where a modern form exists it is given inparentheses. 

[10] The name was thus applied to a sail before it was given to a mast. Although the Italian word means "middle, " it is perhaps, in thisparticular sense, a popular corruption of an Arabic word of quitedifferent meaning. The discussion of so difficult a problem is ratherout of place in a book intended for the general reader, but I cannotrefrain from giving a most interesting note which I owe to Mr W. B. Whall, Master Mariner, the author of _Shakespeare's Sea TermsExplained_--"The sail was (until c. 1780) lateen, _i. E. _, triangular, like the sail of a galley. The Saracens, or Moors, were the great galleysailors of the Mediterranean, and _mizen_ comes from Arab. , _miezên_, balance. The _mizen_ is, even now, a sail that 'balances, ' and the reefin a mizen is still called the 'balance' reef. "

[11] "I have _endeavoured_ to moderate his tyrannical choler"(Urquhart's Translation, 1653). 

[12] The credit of first using the word in the political sense isclaimed both for George Jacob Holyoake and Professor Minto. 

[13] From Anglo-Sax. _mān_, deceit, cognate with the first syllable ofGer. _Meineid_, perjury. 

[14] This word, which looks like an unsuccessful palindrome, belongs tothe language of medieval magic. It seems to be artificially elaboratedfrom ἀβραξάς, a word of Persian origin used by a sect of Greek gnostics. Its letters make up the magic number 365, supposed to represent thenumber of spirits subject to the supreme being. 

[15] In coining _vril_ Lytton probably had in mind Lat. _vis_, _vires_, power, or the adjective _virilis_. 

CHAPTER II

WANDERINGS OF WORDS

In assigning to a word a foreign origin, it is necessary to show howcontact between the two languages has taken place, or the particularreasons which have brought about the borrowing. A Chinese word cannotsuddenly make its appearance in Anglo-Saxon, though it may quite well doso in modern English. No nautical terms have reached us from the coastof Bohemia (_Winter's Tale_, iii. 3), nor is the vocabulary of the winetrade enriched by Icelandic words. Although we have words from all thelanguages of Europe, our direct borrowings from some of them have beensmall. The majority of High German words in English have passed throughOld French, and we have taken little from modern German. On the otherhand, commerce has introduced a great many words from the old Low Germandialects of the North Sea and the Baltic. 

The Dutch[16] element in English supplies a useful object lesson on theway in which the borrowing of words naturally takes place. As a greatnaval power, the Dutch have contributed to our nautical vocabulary anumber of words, many of which are easily recognised as near relations;such are _boom_ (beam), _skipper_ (shipper), _orlop_ (over leap), thename given to a deck which "over-runs" the ship's hold. _Yacht_, properly a "hunting" ship, is cognate with Ger. _Jagd_, hunting, but hasno English kin. Hexham has _jaght_, "zee-roovers schip, pinace, orpirats ship. " The modern Dutch spelling is _jacht_. We should expect tofind art terms from the country of Hobbema, Rubens, Vandyke, etc. See_easel_ (p. 39), _etch_ (p. 133), _lay-figure_ (p. 166), _sketch_ (p. 22). _Landscape_, earlier _landskip_, has the suffix which in Englishwould be _-ship_. In the 16th century Camden speaks of "a _landskip_, asthey call it. " The Low Countries were for two centuries the cock-pit ofEurope, and many military terms were brought back to England by DugaldDalgetty and the armies which "swore terribly in Flanders. " Such are_cashier_ (p. 157), _forlorn hope_ (p. 129), _tattoo_ (p. 162). Otherinteresting military words are _leaguer_ (lair), recently re-introducedfrom South Africa as _laager_, and _furlough_. The latter word, formerlypronounced to rime with _cough_, is from Du. _verlof_ (for leave); _cf. _archaic Ger. _Verlaub_, now replaced by _Urlaub_. _Knapsack_, [17] a foodsack, comes from colloquial Du. _knap_, food, or what the Notts collierscall _snap_. We also find it called a _snapsack_. Both _knap_ and _snap_contain the idea of "crunching"--

 "I would she (Report) were as lying a gossip in that as ever _knapped_ ginger. " (_Merchant of Venice_, iii. 1. )

_Roster_ (roaster) is the Dutch for gridiron, the allusion being to theparallel lines of the list or plan; for a somewhat similar metaphor cf. _cancel_ (p. 88). The pleasant fiction that--

 "The children of Holland take pleasure in making What the children of England take pleasure in breaking, "

confirms the derivation of _toy_ from Du. _tuig_, implement, thing, stuff, etc. , a word, like its German cognate _Zeug_, with an infinity ofmeanings. We now limit _toy_ to the special sense represented by Du. _speel-tuig_, play-thing. 

[Page Heading: DISAPPEARANCE OF CELTIC]

Our vocabulary dealing with war and fortification is chiefly French, butmost of the French terms come from Italian. Addison wrote an article inNo. 165 of the _Spectator_ ridiculing the Frenchified character of themilitary language of his time, and, in the 16th century, Henri Estienne, patriot, printer, and philologist, lamented that future historians wouldbelieve, from the vocabulary employed, that France had learnt the art ofwar from Italy. As a matter of fact she did. The earliest writers on thenew tactics necessitated by villainous saltpetre were Italians trainedin condottiere warfare. They were followed by the great French theoristsand engineers of the 16th and 17th centuries, who naturally adopted alarge number of Italian terms which thus passed later into English. 

A considerable number of Spanish and Portuguese words have reached us ina very roundabout way (see pp. 23-7). This is not surprising when weconsider how in the 15th and 16th centuries the world was dotted withsettlements due to the Portuguese and Spanish adventurers who had ahundred years' start of our own. 

There are very few Celtic words either in English or French. In eachcountry the result of conquest was, from the point of view of language, complete. A few words from the Celtic languages have percolated intoEnglish in comparatively recent times, but many terms which we associatewith the picturesque Highlanders are not Gaelic at all. [18] _Tartan_comes through French from the _Tartars_ (see p. 47); _kilt_ is aScandinavian verb, "to tuck up, " and _dirk_, [19] of unknown origin, first appears about 1600. For _trews_ see p. 117. 

A very interesting part of our vocabulary, the _canting_, or rogues', language, dates mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries, and includescontributions from most of the European languages, together with a largeRomany element. The early dictionary makers paid great attention to thisaspect of the language. Elisha Coles, who published a fairly completeEnglish dictionary in 1676, says in his preface, "'Tis no disparagementto understand the canting terms: it may chance to save your throat frombeing cut, or (at least), your pocket from being pick'd. "

Words often go long journeys. _Boss_ is in English a comparativelymodern Americanism. But, like many American words, it belongs to thelanguage of the Dutch settlers who founded New Amsterdam (New York). Itis Du. _baas_, master, which has thus crossed the Atlantic twice on itsway from Holland to England. A number of Dutch words became familiar tous about the year 1900 in consequence of the South African war. One ofthem, _slim_, 'cute, seems to have been definitely adopted. It iscognate with Ger. _schlimm_, bad, and Eng. _slim_, slender, and thelatter word has for centuries been used in the Eastern counties in thevery sense in which it has now been re-introduced. 

_Apricot_ is a much travelled word. It comes to us from Fr. _abricot_, while the Shakespearean _apricock_--

 "Feed him with _apricocks_ and dewberries. " (_Midsummer Night's Dream_, iii. 1. )

represents the Spanish or Portuguese form. Ger. _Aprikose_ comes, _via_Dutch, from the French plural. The word was adopted into the Romancelanguages from Arab. _al-barquq_, where _al_ is the definite article(_cf. _ examples on p. 115), while _barquq_ comes, through medievalGreek, from Vulgar Lat. _præcoquum_, for _præcox_, early-ripe. Thus theword first crossed the Adriatic, passed on to Asia Minor or the Northcoast of Africa, and then travelling along the Mediterranean re-enteredSouthern Europe. 

[Page Heading: ARABIC TRADE WORDS]

Many other Arabic trade words have a similar history. _Carat_ comes tous, through French, from Italian _carato_, "a waight or degree called a_caract_" (Florio). The Italian word is from Arabic, but the Arabic formis a corruption of Gk. κεράτιον, fruit of the locust tree, lit. Littlehorn, also used of a small weight. The verb to _garble_, now used onlyof confusing or falsifying, [20] meant originally to sort or sift, especially spices--

 "_Garbler_ of spices is an officer of great antiquity in the city of London, who may enter into any shop, warehouse, etc. , to view and search drugs, spices, etc. , and to _garble_ the same and make them clean. " (Cowel's _Interpreter_. )

It represents Span. _garbellar_, from _garbello_, a sieve. This comesfrom Arab. _ghirbāl_, a sieve, borrowed from Lat. _cribellum_, diminutive of _cribrum_. _Quintal_, an old word for hundred-weight, looks as if it had something to do with five. Fr. And Span. _quintal_are from Arab. _qintar_, hundred-weight, which is Lat. _centenarium_(whence directly Ger. _Zentner_, hundred-weight). The French word passedinto Dutch, and gave, with a diminutive ending, _kindekijn_, nowreplaced by _kinnetje_, a firkin. [21] We have adopted it as _kilderkin_, but have doubled its capacity. With these examples of words that havepassed through Arabic may be mentioned _talisman_, not a very old wordin Europe, from Arab. _tilsam_, magic picture, ultimately from Gk. τελεῖν, to initiate into mysteries, lit. To accomplish, and _effendi_, aTurkish corruption of Gk. αὐθέντης, a master, whence Lat. _authentic_. 

_Hussar_ seems to be a late Latin word which passed into Greece and thenentered Central Europe _via_ the Balkans. It comes into 16th-centuryGerman from Hungar. _huszar_, freebooter. This is from a Serbian wordwhich means also pirate. It represents medieval Gk. κουρσάριος, atransliteration of Vulgar Lat. _cursarius_, from _currere_, to run, which occurs also with the sense of pirate in medieval Latin. _Hussar_is thus a doublet of _corsair_. The immediate source of _sketch_ is Du. _schets_, "draught of any picture" (Hexham), from Ital. _schizzo_, "aningrosement or first rough draught of anything" (Florio), whence alsoFr. _esquisse_ and Ger. _Skizze_. The Italian word represents Greco-Lat. _schedium_, an extempore effort. 

_Assassin_ and _slave_ are of historic interest. _Assassin_, though notvery old in English, dates from the Crusades. Its oldest European formis Ital. _assassino_, and it was adopted into French in the 16thcentury. Henri Estienne, whose fiery patriotism entered even intophilological questions, reproaches his countrymen for using foreignterms. They should only adopt, he says, Italian words which expressItalian qualities hitherto unknown to the French, such as _assassin_, _charlatan_, _poltron_! _Assassin_ is really a plural, from the_hachaschin_, eaters of the drug _haschish_, who executed the decrees ofthe Old Man of the Mountains. It was one of these who stabbed EdwardLongshanks at Acre. The first _slaves_ were captive _Slavonians_. Wefind the word in most of the European languages. The fact that none ofthe Western tribes of the race called themselves _Slavs_ or _Slavonians_shows that the word could not have entered Europe _via_ Germany, wherethe Slavs were called Wends. It must have come from the Byzantine empire_via_ Italy. 

Some Spanish words have also come to us by the indirect route. The_cocoa_ which is grateful and comforting was formerly spelt _cacao_, asin French and German. It is a Mexican word. The _cocoa_ of _cocoa-nut_is for _coco_, a Spanish baby-word for an ugly face or bogie-man. Theblack marks at one end of the nut give it, especially before the removalof the fibrous husk, some resemblance to a ferocious face. Stevens(1706) explains _coco_ as "the word us'd to fright children; as we saythe Bulbeggar. "

[Page Heading: COW-BOY WORDS]

_Mustang_ seems to represent two words, _mestengo y mostrenco_, "astraier" (Percyvall). The first appears to be connected with _mesta_, "amonthly fair among herdsmen; also, the laws to be observed by all thatkeep or deal in cattle" (Stevens), and the second with _mostrar_, toshow, the finder being expected to advertise a stray. The original_mustangs_ were of course descended from the strayed horses of theSpanish _conquistadors_. _Ranch_, Span. _rancho_, a row (of huts), is adoublet of _rank_, from Fr. _rang_, Old Fr. _reng_, Old High Ger. _hring_, a ring. Thus what is now usually straight was once circular, the ground idea of ar_range_ment surviving. Another doublet is Fr. _harangue_, due to the French inability to pronounce _hr-_ (see p. 55), a speech delivered in the ring. _Cf. _ also Ital. _aringo_, "a riding orcarreering place, a liste for horses, or feates of armes: a declamation, an oration, a noise, a common loud speech" (Florio), in which the "ring"idea is also prominent. 

Other "cow-boy" words of Spanish origin are the less familiar _cinch_, girth of a horse, Span. _cincha_, from Lat. _cingula_, also usedmetaphorically--

 "The state of the elements enabled Mother Nature 'to get a _cinch_' on an honourable æstheticism. " (Snaith, _Mrs Fitz_, Ch. 1. )

and the formidable riding-whip called a _quirt_, Span. _cuerda_, cord--

 "Whooping and swearing as they plied the _quirt_. " (Masefield, _Rosas_. )

Stories of Californian life often mention Span. _reata_, a tetheringrope, from the verb _reatar_, to bind together, Lat. _re-aptare_. Combined with the definite article (_la reata_) it has given _lariat_, afamiliar word in literature of the Buffalo Bill character. _Lasso_, Span. _lazo_, Lat. _laqueus_, snare, is a doublet of Eng. _lace_. 

When, in the _Song of Hiawatha_--

 "Gitche Manito, the mighty, Smoked the _calumet_, the Peace-pipe, As a signal to the nations, "

he was using an implement with a French name. _Calumet_ is an Old Normanword for _chalumeau_, reed, pipe, a diminutive from Lat. _calamus_. Itwas naturally applied by early French voyagers to the "long reed for apipe-stem. " Eng. _shawm_ is the same word without the diminutive ending. Another Old French word, once common in English, but now found only indialect, is _felon_, a whitlow. It is used more than once by Mr Hardy--

 "I've been visiting to Bath because I had a _felon_ on my thumb. " (_Far from the Madding Crowd_, Ch. 33. )

This is still an every-day word in Canada and the United States. It is ametaphorical use of _felon_, a fell villain. A whitlow was called inLatin _furunculus_, "a little theefe; a sore in the bodie called a_fellon_" (Cooper), whence Fr. _furoncle_, or _froncle_, "the hot andhard bumpe, or swelling, tearmed, a _fellon_" (Cotgrave). Another Latinname for it was _tagax_, "a _felon_ on a man's finger" (Cooper), lit. Thievish. One of its Spanish names is _padrastro_, lit. Step-father. Iam told that an "agnail" was formerly called a "step-mother" inYorkshire. This is a good example of the semantic method in etymology(see pp. 99-104). 

[Page Heading: PORTUGUESE WORDS]

Some of the above instances show how near to home we can often track aword which at first sight appears to belong to another continent. Thisis still more strikingly exemplified in the case of Portuguese words, which have an almost uncanny way of pretending to be African or Indian. Some readers will, I think, be surprised to hear that _assegai_ occursin Chaucer, though in a form not easily recognisable. It is a Berberword which passed through Spanish and Portuguese into French andEnglish. We find Fr. _archegaie_ in the 14th century, _azagaie_ inRabelais, and the modern form _zagaie_ in Cotgrave, who describes it as"a fashion of slender, long, and long-headed pike, used by the Moorishhorsemen. " In Mid. English _l'archegaie_ was corrupted by folk-etymology(see p. 115) into _lancegay_, _launcegay_, the form used by Chaucer--

 "He worth upon his stede gray, And in his hond a _launcegay_, A long swerd by his syde. " (_Sir Thopas_, l. 40. )

The use of this weapon was prohibited by statute in 1406, hence theearly disappearance of the word. 

Another "Zulu" word which has travelled a long way is _kraal_. This is acontracted Dutch form from Port. _curral_, a sheepfold (_cf. _ Span. _corral_, a pen, enclosure). Both _assegai_ and _kraal_ were taken toSouth East Africa by the Portuguese and then adopted by the Boers andKafirs. [22] _Sjambok_ occurs in 17th-century accounts of India in theform _chawbuck_. It is a Persian word, spelt _chabouk_ by Moore, in_Lalla Rookh_. It was adopted by the Portuguese as _chabuco_, "in thePortuguese India, a whip or scourge"[23] (Vieyra, _Port. Dict. _, 1794). _Fetish_, an African idol, first occurs in the records of the earlynavigators, collected and published by Hakluyt and Purchas. It is thePort. _feitiço_, Lat. _factitius_, artificial, applied by the Portugueseexplorers to the graven images of the heathen. The corresponding Old Fr. _faitis_ is rather a complimentary adjective, and everyone remembers thelady in Chaucer who spoke French fairly and _fetousli_. _Palaver_, alsoa travellers' word from the African coast, is Port. _palavra_, word, speech, Greco-Lat. _parabola_. It is thus a doublet of _parole_ and_parable_, and is related to _parley_. _Ayah_, an Indian nurse, is Port. _aia_, nurse, of unknown origin. _Caste_ is Port. _casta_, pure, and adoublet of _chaste_. _Tank_, an Anglo-Indian word of which the meaninghas narrowed in this country, is Port. _tanque_, a pool or cistern, Lat. _stagnum_, whence Old Fr. _estang_ (_étang_) and provincial Eng. _stank_, a dam, or a pond banked round. _Cobra_ is the Portuguese forsnake, cognate with Fr. _couleuvre_, Lat. _coluber_ (see p. 7). We useit as an abbreviation for _cobra de capello_, hooded snake, the secondpart of which is identical with Fr. _chapeau_ and cognate with _cape_, _chapel_ (p. 152), _chaplet_, a garland, and _chaperon_, a "protecting"hood. From still further afield than India comes _joss_, a Chinese god, a corruption of Port. _deos_, Lat. _deus_. Even _mandarin_ comes fromPortuguese, and not Chinese, but it is an Eastern word, ultimately ofSanskrit origin. 

[Page Heading: GORILLA--SILK]

The word _gorilla_ is perhaps African, but more than two thousand yearsseparate its first appearance from its present use. In the 5th or 6thcentury, B. C. , a Carthaginian navigator named Hanno sailed beyond thePillars of Hercules along the west coast of Africa. He probably followedvery much the same route as Sir Richard Dalyngridge and Saxon Hugh whenthey voyaged with Witta the Viking. He wrote in Punic a record of hisadventures, which was received with the incredulity usually accorded totravellers' tales. Among the wonders he encountered were some hairysavages called _gorillas_. His work was translated into Greek and lateron into several European languages, so that the word became familiar tonaturalists. In 1847 it was applied to the giant ape, which had recentlybeen described by explorers. 

The origin of the word _silk_ is a curious problem. It is usuallyexplained as from Greco-Lat. _sericum_, a name derived from an Easternpeople called the _Seres_, presumably the Chinese. It appears inAnglo-Saxon as _seolc_. Now, at that early period, words of Latin origincame to us by the overland route and left traces of their passage. Butall the Romance languages use for silk a name derived from Lat. _sæta_, bristle, and this name has penetrated even into German (_Seide_) andDutch (_zijde_). The derivatives of _sericum_ stand for anothermaterial, _serge_. Nor can it be assumed that the _r_ of the Latin wordwould have become in English always _l_ and never _r_. There are raceswhich cannot sound the letter _r_, but we are not one of them. As theword _silk_ is found also in Old Norse, Swedish, Danish, and OldSlavonian, the natural inference is that it must have reached us alongthe north of Europe, and, if derived from _sericum_, it must, in thecourse of its travels, have passed through a dialect which had no _r_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[16] This includes Flemish, spoken in a large part of Belgium and in theNorth East of France. 

[17] _Haversack_, oat-sack, comes through French from German. 

[18] This applies also to some of the clan names, e. G. , _Macpherson_, son of the parson, _Macnab_, son of the abbot. 

[19] My own conviction is that it is identical with Dan. _dirik_, _dirk_, a pick-lock. See _Dietrich_ (p. 42). An implement used foropening an enemy may well have been named in this way. _Cf. _ Du. _opsteeker_ (up sticker), "a pick-lock, a great knife, or a dagger"(Sewel, 1727). 

[20] "It was a wholly _garbled_ version of what never took place" (MrBirrell, in the House, 26th Oct. 1911). The bull appears to be alaudable concession to Irish national feeling. 

[21] Formerly _ferdekin_, a derivative of Du. _vierde_, fourth; cf. _farthing_, a little fourth. 

[22] _Kafir_ (Arab. ) means infidel. 

[23] Eng. _chawbuck_ is used in connection with the punishment we callthe _bastinado_. This is a corruption of Span. _bastonada_, "a strokewith a club or staff" (Stevens, 1706). On the other hand, we extend themeaning of _drub_, the Arabic word for _bastinado_, to a beating of anykind. 

CHAPTER III

WORDS OF POPULAR MANUFACTURE

In a sense, all nomenclature, apart from purely scientific language, ispopular. But real meanings are often so rapidly obscured that wordsbecome mere labels, and cease to call up the image or the poetic ideawith which they were first associated. To take a simple instance, howmany people realise that the _daisy_ is the "day's eye"?--

 "Wele by reson men it calle may The _dayeseye_ or ellis the 'eye of day. '" (CHAUCER, _Legend of Good Women_, Prol. , l. 184. )

In studying that part of our vocabulary which especially illustrates thetendencies shown in popular name-giving, one is struck by the keenobservation and imaginative power shown by our far-off ancestors, andthe lack of these qualities in later ages. 

Perhaps in no part of the language does this appear so clearly as in thenames of plants and flowers. The most primitive way of naming a floweris from some observed resemblance, and it is curious to notice theparallelism of this process in various languages. Thus our _crowfoot_, _crane's bill_, _larkspur_, _monkshood_, _snapdragon_, are in German_Hahnenfuss_ (cock's foot), _Storchschnabel_ (stork's bill), _Rittersporn_ (knight's spur), _Eisenhut_ (iron hat), _Löwenmaul_(lion's mouth). I have purposely chosen instances in which thecorrespondence is not absolute, because examples like _Löwenzahn_(lion's tooth), _dandelion_ (Fr. _dent de lion_) may be suspected ofbeing mere translations. I give the names in most general use, but theprovincial variants are numerous, though usually of the same type. TheFrench names of the flowers mentioned are still more like the English. The more learned words which sometimes replace the above are, though nowfelt as mere symbols, of similar origin, e. G. , _geranium_ and_pelargonium_, used for the cultivated _crane's bill_, are derived fromthe Greek for crane and stork respectively. So also in _chelidonium_, whence our _celandine_ or _swallow-wort_, we have the Greek for swallow. 

In the English names of plants we observe various tendencies of thepopular imagination. We have the crudeness of _cowslip_ for earlier_cowslop_, cow-dung, and many old names of unquotable coarseness, thequaintness of _Sweet William_, _lords and ladies_, _bachelors' buttons_, _dead men's fingers_, and the exquisite poetry of _forget-me-not_, _heart's ease_, _love in a mist_, _traveller's joy_. There is also aspecial group named from medicinal properties, such as _feverfew_, adoublet of _febrifuge_, and _tansy_, Fr. _tanaisie_, from Greco-Lat. _athanasia_, immortality. We may compare the learned _saxifrage_, stone-breaker, of which the Spanish doublet is _sassafras_. The Germanname is _Steinbrech_. 

There must have been a time when a simple instinct for poetry waspossessed by all nations, as it still is by uncivilised races andchildren. Among European nations this instinct appears to be dead forever. We can name neither a mountain nor a flower. Our Mount Costigan, Mount Perry, Mount William cut a sorry figure beside the peaks of theBernese Oberland, the Monk, the Maiden, the Storm Pike, the Dark EaglePike. [24] Occasionally a race which is accidentally brought into closercontact with nature may have a happy inspiration, such as the_Drakensberg_ (dragon's mountain) or _Weenen_[25] (weeping) of the old_voortrekkers_. But the Cliff of the Falling Flowers, the name of aprecipice over which the Korean queens cast themselves to escapedishonour, represents an imaginative realm which is closed to us. [26]The botanist who describes a new flower hastens to join the company ofMessrs _Dahl_, _Fuchs_, _Lobel_, _Magnol_ and _Wistar_, while freshvarieties are used to immortalise a florist and his family. 

[Page Heading: NAMES OF FRUITS]

The names of fruits, perhaps because they lend themselves less easily toimaginative treatment, are even duller than modern names of flowers. Theonly English names are the _apple_ and the _berry_. New fruits eitherretained their foreign names (_cherry_, _peach_, _pear_, _quince_) orwere violently converted into _apples_ or _berries_, usually the former. This practice is common to the European languages, the _apple_ beingregarded as the typical fruit. Thus the orange is usually called inNorth Germany _Apfelsine_, apple of China, with which we may compare our"China orange. " In South Germany it was called _Pomeranze_ (now usedespecially of the Seville orange), from Ital. _pomo_, apple, _arancia_, orange. Fr. _orange_ is folk-etymology (_or_, gold) for _*arange_, fromArab. _narandj_, whence Span. _naranja_. _Melon_ is simply the Greek for"apple, " and has also given us _marmalade_, which comes, through French, from Port. _marmelada_, quince jam, a derivative of Greco-Lat. _melimelum_, quince, lit. Honey-apple. _Pine-apple_ meant "fir-cone" aslate as the 17th century, as Fr. _pomme de pin_ still does. [27] Thefruit was named from its shape, which closely resembles that of afir-cone. _Pomegranate_ means "apple with seeds. " We also find theapricot, lemon (_pomcitron_), peach, and quince all described as apples. 

At least one fruit, the _greengage_, is named from a person, Sir WilliamGage, a gentleman of Suffolk, who popularised its cultivation early inthe 18th century. It happens that the French name of the fruit, _reine-claude_ (pronounced _glaude_), is also personal, from the wife ofFrancis I. 

Animal nomenclature shows some strange vagaries. The resemblance of the_hippopotamus_, lit. River-horse, to the horse, hardly extends beyondtheir common possession of four legs. [28] The lion would hardlyrecognise himself in the _ant-lion_ or the _sea-lion_, still less in the_chameleon_, lit. Earth-lion, the first element of which occurs also in_camomile_, earth-apple. The _guinea-pig_ is not a pig, nor does it comefrom Guinea (see p. 51). _Porcupine_ means "spiny pig. " It has anextraordinary number of early variants, and Shakespeare wrote it_porpentine_. One Mid. English form was _porkpoint_. The French name hashesitated between _spine_ and _spike_. The modern form is _porc-épic_, but Palsgrave has "_porkepyn_ a beest, _porc espin_. " _Porpoise_ is fromOld Fr. _porpeis_, for _porc peis_ (Lat. _porcus piscis_), pig-fish. Themodern French name is _marsouin_, from Ger. _Meerschwein_, sea-pig;_cf. _ the name _sea-hog_, formerly used in English. Old Fr. _peis_survives also in _grampus_, Anglo-Fr. _grampais_ for _grand peis_, bigfish, but the usual Old French word is _craspeis_ or _graspeis_, fatfish. 

The _caterpillar_ seems to have suggested in turn a cat and a dog. Ourword is corrupted by folk-etymology from Old Fr. _chatepeleuse_, "acorne-devouring mite, or weevell" (Cotgrave). This probably means"woolly cat, " just as a common species is popularly called _woollybear_, but it was understood as being connected with the French verb_peler_, "to _pill_, pare, barke, unrinde, unskin" (Cotgrave). Themodern French name for the caterpillar is _chenille_, a derivative of_chien_, dog. It has also been applied to a fabric of a woolly nature;_cf. _ the botanical _catkin_, which is in French _chaton_, kitten. 

[Page Heading: NICKNAMES OF ANIMALS]

Some animals bear nicknames. _Dotterel_ means "dotard, " and _dodo_ isfrom the Port. _doudo_, mad. _Ferret_ is from Fr. _furet_, a diminutivefrom Lat. _fur_, thief. _Shark_ was used of a sharper or greedy parasitebefore it was applied to the fish. This, in the records of theElizabethan voyagers, is more often called by its Spanish name_tiburon_, whence Cape Tiburon, in Haiti. The origin of _shark_ isunknown, but it appears to be identical with _shirk_, for which we findearlier _sherk_. We find Ital. _scrocco_ (whence Fr. _escroc_), Ger. _Schurke_, Du. _schurk_, rascal, all rendered "shark" in earlydictionaries, but the relationship of these words is not clear. The_palmer_, _i. E. _ pilgrim, worm is so called from his wandering habits. _Ortolan_, the name given by Tudor cooks to the garden bunting, means"gardener" (Lat. _hortus_, garden). It comes to us through French fromItal. _ortolano_, "a gardener, an orchard keeper. Also a kinde ofdaintie birde in Italie, some take it to be the linnet" (Florio). We maycompare Fr. _bouvreuil_, bull-finch, a diminutive of _bouvier_, ox-herd. This is called in German _Dompfaffe_, a contemptuous name for acathedral canon. Fr. _moineau_, sparrow, is a diminutive of _moine_, monk. The wagtail is called in French _lavandière_, laundress, from theup and down motion of its tail suggesting the washerwoman's beetle, and_bergeronnette_, little shepherdess, from its habit of following thesheep. _Adjutant_, the nickname of the solemn Indian stork, is clearlydue to Mr Atkins, and the _secretary_ bird is so named because some ofhis head feathers suggest a quill pen behind an ear. 

The converse process of people being nicknamed from animals is alsocommon and the metaphor is usually pretty obvious. An interesting caseis _shrew_, a libel on a very inoffensive little animal, the_shrew-mouse_, Anglo-Sax. _scrēawa_. Cooper describes _mus araneus_ as"a kinde of mise called a _shrew_, which if he go over a beastes backehe shall be lame in the chyne; if he byte it swelleth to the heart andthe beast dyeth. " This "information" is derived from Pliny, but thesuperstition is found in Greek. The epithet was, up to Shakespeare'stime, applied indifferently to both sexes. From _shrew_ is derived_shrewd_, earlier _shrewed_, [29] the meaning of which has become muchmilder than when Henry VIII. Said to Cranmer--

 "The common voice I see is verified Of thee which says, 'Do my lord of Canterbury A _shrewd_ turn, and he's your friend for ever. '" (_Henry VIII. _, v. 2. )

The title _Dauphin_, lit. Dolphin, commemorates the absorption into theFrench monarchy, in 1349, of the lordship of Dauphiné, the cognisance ofwhich was three dolphins. 

The application of animals' names to diseases is a familiar phenomenon, e. G. , _cancer_ (and _canker_), crab, and _lupus_, wolf. To this classbelongs _mulligrubs_, for which we find in the 17th century also _mouldygrubs_. Its oldest meaning is stomach-ache, still given in Hotten'sSlang Dictionary (1864). _Mully_ is still used in dialect for mouldy, earthy, and _grub_ was once the regular word for worm. The Latin namefor the same discomfort was _verminatio_, from _vermis_, a worm. For thelater transition of meaning we may compare _megrims_, from Fr. _migraine_, head-ache, Greco-Lat. _hemicrania_, lit. Half-skull, becausesupposed to affect one side only of the head. 

A good many names of plants and animals have a religious origin. _Hollyhock_ is for _holy hock_, from Anglo-Sax. _hoc_, mallow: for thepronunciation cf. _holiday_. _Halibut_ means _holy butt_, the latterword being an old name for flat fish; for this form of _holy_ cf. _halidom_. _Lady_ in names of flowers such as _lady's bedstraw_, _lady'sgarter_, _lady's slipper_, is for Our Lady. So also in _lady-bird_, called in French _bête à bon Dieu_ and in German _Marienkäfer_, Mary'sbeetle. Here may be mentioned _samphire_, from Old Fr. _herbe de SaintPierre_, "sampire, crestmarin" (Cotgrave). The _filbert_, earlier_philibert_, is named from St Philibert, the nut being ripe by StPhilibert's day (22nd Aug. ). We may compare Ger. _Lambertsnuss_, filbert, originally "Lombard nut, " but popularly associated with StLambert's day (17th Sept. ). 

[Page Heading: BAPTISMAL NAMES OF ANIMALS]

The application of baptismal names to animals is a very generalpractice, though the reason for the selection of the particular name isnot always clear. The most famous of such names is _Renard_ the Fox. TheOld French for fox is _goupil_, a derivative of Lat. _vulpes_, fox. Thehero of the great beast epic of the Middle Ages is _Renard le goupil_, and the fact that _renard_ now completely supplanted _goupil_ shows howpopular the Renard legends must have been. _Renard_ is from Old HighGer. _regin-hart_, strong in counsel; _cf. _ our names _Reginald_ and_Reynold_, and Scot. _Ronald_, of Norse origin. From the same sourcecome _Chantecler_, lit. Sing-clear, the cock, and _Partlet_, the hen, while _Bruin_, the bear, lit. "brown, " is from the Dutch version of theepic. In the Low German version, _Reinke de Vos_, the ape's name is_Moneke_, a diminutive corresponding to Ital. _monicchio_, "a pugge, a_munkie_, an ape" (Florio), the earlier history of which is muchdisputed. The cat was called _Tibert_ or _Theobald_--

 MERCUTIO. "_Tybalt_, you rat-catcher, will you walk?" TYBALT. "What wouldst thou have with me?" MERCUTIO. "Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives. " (_Romeo and Juliet_, iii. 1. )

The fact that the donkey was at one time regularly called _Cuddy_ made_Cuthbert_ for a long period unpopular as a baptismal name. He is nowoften called _Neddy_. The hare was called _Wat_ (_Walter_) in Tudortimes. In the _Roman de Renard_ he is _Couard_, whence _coward_, aderivative of Old Fr. _coue_ (_queue_), tail, from Lat. _cauda_. Theidea is that of the tail between the legs, so that the name isetymologically not very appropriate to the hare. _Parrot_, for earlier_perrot_, means "little Peter. " The extension _Poll parrot_ is thus akind of hermaphrodite. Fr. _pierrot_ is still used for the sparrow. Thefamily name _Perrot_ is sometimes a nickname, "the chatterer, " but canalso mean literally "little Peter, " just as _Emmot_ means "little Emma, "and _Marriot_ "little Mary. " _Petrel_ is of cognate origin, with anallusion to St Peter's walking upon the sea; _cf. _ its German name, _Sankt Peters Vogel_. Sailors call the petrel _Mother Carey's chicken_, probably a nautical corruption of some old Spanish or Italian name. But, in spite of ingenious guesses, this lady's genealogy remains asobscure as that of Davy Jones or the Jolly Roger. 

[Page Heading: NAMES OF BIRDS]

_Robin_ has practically replaced _red-breast_. The _martin_ is in French_martinet_, and the name may have been given in allusion to thesouthward flight of this swallow about Martinmas; but the king-fisher, not a migrant bird, is called _martin-pêcheur_, formerly also _martinetpêcheur_ or _oiseau de Saint-Martin_, so that _martin_ may be due tosome other association. Sometimes the double name survives. We no longersay _Philip sparrow_, but _Jack ass_, _Jack daw_, _Jenny wren_, _Tomtit_ (see p. 123), and the inclusive _Dicky bird_, are still familiar. With these we may compare _Hob_ (_i. E. _ Robert) _goblin_. _Madge owl_, or simply _Madge_, was once common. For _Mag pie_ we find also variousdiminutives--

 "Augurs, and understood relations, have By _magot-pies_, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth The secret'st man of blood. " (_Macbeth_, iii. 4. )

Cotgrave has _pie_, "a pye, pyannat, _meggatapie_. " In Old French it wasalso called _jaquette_, "a proper name for a woman; also, a piannat, or_megatapie_" (Cotgrave). 

The connection of this word, Fr. _pie_, Lat. _pica_, with the comestible_pie_ is uncertain, but it seems likely that the magpie's habit ofcollecting miscellaneous trifles caused its name to be given to a dishof uncertain constituents. It is a curious coincidence that the obsolete_chuet_ or _chewet_ meant both a round pie and a jackdaw. [30] It isuncertain in which of the two senses Prince Hal applies the name toFalstaff (1 _Henry IV. _, v. 1). It comes from Fr. _chouette_, screech-owl, which formerly meant also "a chough, daw, jack-daw"(Cotgrave). 

A _piebald_ horse is one _balled_ like a magpie. _Ball_ is a Celtic wordfor a white mark, especially on the forehead; hence the tavern sign ofthe _Baldfaced Stag_. Our adjective _bald_ is thus a past participle. 

Things are often named from animals. _Crane_, _kite_, _donkey-engine_, _monkey-wrench_, _pig-iron_, etc. , are simple cases. The _crane_ pictureis so striking that we are not surprised to find it literally reproducedin many other languages. The toy called a _kite_ is in French _cerfvolant_, flying stag, a name also applied to the stag-beetle, and inGer. _Drachen_, dragon. It is natural that terrifying names should havebeen given to early fire-arms. Many of these, e. G. , _basilisk_, _serpent_, _falconet_, _saker_ (from Fr. _sacre_, a kind of hawk), areobsolete--

 "The cannon, blunderbuss, and _saker_, He was th' inventor of and maker. " (_Hudibras_, i. 2. )

More familiar is _culverin_, Fr. _couleuvrine_, a derivative of_couleuvre_, adder, Lat. _coluber_--

 "And thou hast talk'd Of sallies and retires, of trenches, tents, Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets, Of basilisks, of cannon, _culverin_. " (1 _Henry IV. _, ii. 3. )

One name for a hand-gun was _dragon_, whence our _dragoon_, originallyapplied to a kind of mounted infantry or carbineers. _Musket_, like_saker_ (v. S. ), was the name of a hawk. Mistress Ford uses it playfullyto her page--

 "How now, my eyas[31]-_musket_, what news with you?" (_Merry Wives_, iii. 3. )

But the hawk was so nicknamed from its small size. Fr. _mousquet_, nowreplaced in the hawk sense by _émouchet_, is from Ital. _moschetto_, adiminutive from Lat. _musca_, fly. Thus _mosquito_ (Spanish) and_musket_ are doublets. 

_Porcelain_ comes, through French, from Ital. _porcellana_, "a kinde offine earth called _porcelane_, whereof they make fine china dishes, called _porcellan_ dishes" (Florio). This is, however, a transferredmeaning, _porcellana_ being the name of a particularly glossy shellcalled the "Venus shell. " It is a derivative of Lat. _porcus_, pig. _Easel_ comes, with many other painters' terms, from Holland. It is Du. _ezel_, ass, which, like Ger. _Esel_, comes from Lat. _asinus_. For itsmetaphorical application we may compare Fr. _chevalet_, easel, lit. "little horse, " and Eng. "clothes-_horse_. "

[Page Heading: THINGS NAMED FROM PERSONS]

Objects often bear the names of individuals. Such are _albert_ chain, _brougham_, _victoria_, _wellington_ boot. Some elderly people canremember ladies wearing a red blouse called a _garibaldi_. [32] Sometimesan inventor is immortalised, e. G. , _mackintosh_ and _shrapnel_, both dueto 19th-century inventors. The more recent _maxim_ is named from onewho, according to the late Lord Salisbury, has saved many of hisfellow-men from dying of old age. Other benefactors are commemorated in_derringer_, first recorded in Bret Harte, and _bowie_, which occurs inDickens' _American Notes_. _Sandwich_ and _spencer_ are coupled in anold rime--

 "Two noble earls, whom, if I quote, Some folks might call me sinner; The one invented half a coat, The other half a dinner. "

An Earl Spencer (1782-1845) made a short overcoat fashionable for sometime. An Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792) invented a form of lightrefreshment which enabled him to take a meal without leaving the gamingtable. It does not appear that _Billy Cock_ is to be classed with theabove, or with _Chesterfield, Chippendale & Co. _ The _New EnglishDictionary_ quotes (from 1721) a description of the Oxford "blood" inhis "_bully-cocked_ hat, " worn aggressively on one side. _Pinchbeck_ wasa London watchmaker (_fl. C. _ 1700), and _doily_ is from _Doyley_, alinen-draper of the same period. Etienne de _Silhouette_ was Frenchfinance minister in 1759, but the application of his name to a blackprofile portrait is variously explained. _Negus_ was first brewed inQueen Anne's reign by Colonel Francis Negus. 

The first _orrery_ was constructed by the Earl of Orrery (_c. _ 1700). _Galvani_ and _Volta_ were Italian scientists of the 18th century. _Mesmer_ was a German physician of the same period. _Nicotine_ is namedfrom Jean Nicot, French ambassador at Lisbon, who sent some tobaccoplants to Catherine de Médicis in 1560. He also compiled the first OldFrench dictionary. The gallows-shaped contrivance called a _derrick_perpetuates the name of a famous hangman who officiated in London about1600. It is a Dutch name, identical with _Dietrich_, _Theodoric_, and_Dirk_ (Hatteraick). Conversely the Fr. _potence_, gallows, meantoriginally a bracket or support, Lat. _potentia_, power. The origin of_darbies_, handcuffs, is unknown, but the line--

 "To bind such babes in father _Derbies_ bands, " (GASCOIGNE, _The Steel Glass_, 1576. )

suggests connection with some eminent gaoler or thief-taker. 

[Page Heading: TANTALISE--PAMPHLET]

Occasionally a verb is formed from a proper name. On the model of_tantalise_, from the punishment of Tantalus, we have _bowdlerise_, from_Bowdler_, who published an expurgated "family Shakespeare" in 1818; cf. _macadamise_. _Burke_ and _boycott_ commemorate a scoundrel and avictim. The latter word, from the treatment of Captain Boycott of Co. Mayo in 1880, seems to have supplied a want, for Fr. _boycotter_ andGer. _boycottieren_ have become every-day words. Burke was hanged atEdinburgh in 1829 for murdering people by suffocation in order todispose of their bodies to medical schools. We now use the verb only of"stifling" discussion, but in the Ingoldsby Legends it still has theoriginal sense--

 "But, when beat on his knees, That confounded De Guise Came behind with the 'fogle' that caused all this breeze, Whipp'd it tight round his neck, and, when backward he'd jerk'd him, The rest of the rascals jump'd on him and _Burk'd_ him. " (_The Tragedy. _)

_Jarvey_, the slang name for a hackney coachman, especially in Ireland, was in the 18th century _Jervis_ or _Jarvis_, but history is silent asto this modern _Jehu_. A _pasquinade_ was originally an anonymouslampoon affixed to a statue of a gladiator which still stands in Rome. The statue is said to have been nicknamed from a scandal-loving cobblernamed Pasquino. Florio has _pasquino_, "a statue in Rome on whom alllibels, railings, detractions, and satirical invectives are fathered. "_Pamphlet_ is an extended use of Old Fr. _Pamphilet_, the name of aLatin poem by one _Pamphilus_ which was popular in the Middle Ages. Thesuffix _-et_ was often used in this way, _e. G. _, the translation ofÆsop's fables by Marie de France was called _Ysopet_, and Cato's moralmaxims had the title _Catonet_, or Parvus Cato. Modern Fr. _pamphlet_, borrowed back from English, has always the sense of polemical writing. In Eng. _libel_, lit. "little book, " we see a similar restriction ofmeaning. A three-quarter portrait of fixed dimensions is called a_kitcat_--

 "It is not easy to see why he should have chosen to produce a replica, or rather a _kitcat_. " (_Journal of Education_, Oct. 1911. )

The name comes from the portraits of members of the _Kitcat_ Club, painted by Kneller. _Kit Kat_, Christopher Kat, was a pastrycook atwhose shop the club used to dine. 

Implements and domestic objects sometimes bear christian names. We maymention spinning-_jenny_, and the innumerable meanings of _jack_. _Davit_, earlier _daviot_, is a diminutive of David. Fr. _davier_, formerly _daviet_, is used of several mechanical contrivances, includinga pick-lock. A kind of davit is called in German _Jütte_, a diminutiveof Judith. The implement by which the burglar earns his daily bread isnow called a _jemmy_, but in the 17th century we also find _bess_ and_betty_. The French name is _rossignol_, nightingale. The German burglarcalls it _Dietrich_, _Peterchen_, or _Klaus_, and the contracted formsof the first name, _dyrk_ and _dirk_, have passed into Swedish andDanish with the same meaning. In Italian a pick-lock is called_grimaldello_, a diminutive of the name Grimaldo. 

[Page Heading: GRIMALKIN--JUG]

A kitchen wench was once called a _malkin_--

 "The kitchen _malkin_ pins Her richest lockram[33] 'bout her reechy neck, Clamb'ring the walls to eye him. " (_Coriolanus_, ii. 1. )

This is a diminutive of Matilda or Mary, possibly of both. _Grimalkin_, applied to a fiend in the shape of a cat, is perhaps for _gray malkin_--

 "I come, _Graymalkin_. " (_Macbeth_, i. 1. )

The name _malkin_ was transferred from the maid to the mop. Cotgrave has_escouillon_ (_écouvillon_), "a wispe, or dish-clowt; a _maukin_, ordrag, to cleanse, or sweepe an oven. " _Écouvillon_ is a derivative ofLat. _scopa_, broom. Now another French word, which means both "kitchenservant" and "dish-clout, " is _souillon_, from _souiller_, to soil. Whatshare each of these words has in Eng. _scullion_ is hard to say. Theonly thing certain is that _scullion_ is not originally related to_scullery_, Old Fr. _escuelerie_, a collective from Old Fr. _escuelle_(_écuelle_), dish, Lat. _scutella_. 

A _doll_ was formerly called a _baby_ or _puppet_. It is theabbreviation of _Dorothy_, for we find it called a _doroty_ in Scottish. We may compare Fr. _marionnette_, a double diminutive of Mary, explainedby Cotgrave as "little Marian or Mal; also, a puppet. " _Little Mary_, inanother sense, has been recently, but perhaps definitely, adopted intoour language. Another old name for doll is _mammet_. Capulet uses itcontemptuously to his daughter--

 "And then to have a wretched puling fool, A whining _mammet_, in her fortune's tender, To answer: 'I'll not wed, '--'I cannot love. '" (_Romeo and Juliet_, iii. 5. )

Its earlier form is _maumet_, meaning "idol, " and it is a contraction ofMahomet. 

The derivation of _jug_ is not capable of proof, but a 17th-centuryetymologist regards it as identical with the female name _Jug_, [34] forJoan or Jane. This is supported by the fact that _jack_ was used in asimilar sense--

 "That there's wrath and despair in the jolly black-_jack_, And the seven deadly sins in a flagon of sack. " (_Lady of the Lake_, vi. 5. )

We may also compare _toby jug_ and _demi-john_. The latter word is inFrench _dame-jeanne_, but both forms are possibly due to folk-etymology. A coat of mail was called in English a _jack_ and in French _jaque_, "a_jack_, or coat of maile" (Cotgrave); hence the diminutive _jacket_. TheGerman miners gave to an ore which they considered useless the name_kobalt_, from _kobold_, a goblin, gnome. This has given Eng. _cobalt_. Much later is the similarly formed _nickel_, a diminutive of Nicholas. It comes to us from Sweden, but appears earliest in the German compound_Kupfernickel_, copper nickel. Apparently _nickel_ here means somethinglike goblin; cf. _Old Nick_ and, probably, the _dickens_--

 "I cannot tell what the _dickens_ his name is my husband had him of. --What do you call your knight's name, sirrah?" (_Merry Wives_, iii. 2. )

_Pantaloons_ come, _via_ France, from Venice. A great many Venetiansbore the name of _Pantaleone_, one of their favourite saints. Hence theapplication of the name to the characteristic Venetian hose. The "leanand slippered pantaloon" was originally one of the stock characters ofthe old Italian comedy. Torriano has _pantalone_, "a _pantalone_, acovetous and yet amorous old dotard, properly applyed in comedies unto aVenetian. " _Knickerbockers_ take their name from Diedrich_Knickerbocker_, the pseudonym under which Washington Irving wrote hisHistory of Old New York, in which the early Dutch inhabitants aredepicted in baggy knee-breeches. 

[Page Heading: NINNY--JACKANAPES]

Certain christian names are curiously associated with stupidity. Inmodern English we speak of a _silly Johnny_, while the Germans say _eindummer Peter_, or _Michel_, and French uses _Colas_ (_Nicolas_), _Nicodème_ and _Claude_, the reason for the selection of the name notalways being known. English has, or had, in the sense of "fool, " thewords _ninny_, _nickum_, _noddy_, _zany_. _Ninny_ is for _Innocent_, "Innocent, _Ninny_, a proper name for a man" (Cotgrave). With this wemay compare French _benêt_ (_i. E. _ Benedict), "a simple, plaine, doltishfellow; a noddy peake, a ninny hammer, a peagoose, a coxe, a sillycompanion" (Cotgrave). _Nickum_ and _noddy_ are probably for Nicodemusor Nicholas, both of which are used in French for a fool--

 "'But there's another chance for you, ' said Mr Boffin, smiling still. 'Do you like the name of Nicodemus? Think it over. _Nick_ or _Noddy_. '" (_Our Mutual Friend_, Ch. 5. )

_Noddy-peak_, _ninny-hammer_, _nickumpoop_, now _nincompoop_, seem to bearbitrary elaborations. _Zany_, formerly a conjuror's assistant, is_zanni_ (see p. 143), an Italian diminutive of _Giovanni_, John. Withthe degeneration of _Innocent_ and _Benedict_ we may compare Fr. _crétin_, idiot, an Alpine patois form of _chrétien_, Christian, andEng. _silly_, which once meant blessed, a sense preserved by its Germancognate _selig_. _Dunce_ is a libel on the disciples of the greatmedieval schoolman John Duns Scotus, born at Duns in Berwickshire. 

_Dandy_ is Scottish for Andrew, _e. G. _, Dandie Dinmont (_GuyMannering_). _Dago_, now usually applied to Italians, was used by theElizabethans, in its original form _Diego_, of the Spaniards. Thederivation of _guy_ and _bobby_ (peeler) is well known. _Jockey_ is adiminutive of the north country _Jock_, for _Jack_. The history of_jackanapes_ is obscure. The earliest record of the name is in asatirical song on the unpopular William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who was beheaded at sea in 1450. He is called _Jack Napes_, the allusionbeing apparently to his badge, an ape's clog and chain. But there alsoseems to be association with Naples; cf. _fustian-anapes_ for Naplesfustian. A poem of the 15th century mentions among our imports fromItaly--

 "Apes and japes and marmusettes tayled. "

_Jilt_ was once a stronger epithet than at present. It is for earlier_jillet_, which is a diminutive of _Jill_, the companion of Jack. _Jill_, again, is short for _Gillian_, i. E. _Juliana_, so that _jilt_ isa doublet of Shakespeare's sweetest heroine. _Termagant_, like _shrew_(p. 34), was formerly used of both sexes, _e. G. _, by Sir John Falstaff--

 "'Twas time to counterfeit, or that hot _termagant_ Scot (Douglas) had paid me scot and lot too. " (1 _Henry IV. _, v. 4. )

In its oldest sense of a Saracen god it regularly occurs with _Mahound_(Mahomet)--

 "Marsilies fait porter un livre avant: La lei i fut Mahum e _Tervagan_. "[35] (_Chanson de Roland_, l. 610. )

Ariosto has _Trivigante_. Being introduced into the medieval drama, thename became synonymous with a stage fury--

 "I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing _Termagant_. " (_Hamlet_, iii. 2. )

The origin of the word is unknown, but its sense development isstrangely different from that of Mahomet (p. 43). 

FOOTNOTES:

[24] But _Finsteraarhorn_ is perhaps from the river _Aar_, not from_Aar_, eagle. 

[25] A place where a number of settlers were massacred by the Zulus. 

[26] "Two mountains near Dublin, which we, keeping in the grocery line, have called the Great and the Little Sugarloaf, are named in Irish theGolden Spears. "--(Trench, _On the Study of Words_. )

[27] The French name for the fruit is _ananas_, a Brazilian word. Avegetarian friend of the writer, misled by the superficial likeness ofthis word to _banana_, once petrified a Belgian waiter by ordering halfa dozen for his lunch. 

[28] A reader calls my attention to the fact that, when the hippopotamusis almost completely submerged, the pointed ears, prominent eyes, andlarge nostrils are grotesquely suggestive of a horse's head. This I haverecently verified at the Zoo. 

[29] For the rather illogical formation, cf. _dogged_ from _dog_. 

[30] Connection has even been suggested between _haggis_ and Fr. _agasse_, "a pie, piannet, or _magatapie_" (Cotgrave). _Haggis_, nowregarded as Scottish, was once a common word in English. Palsgrave has_haggas_, a podyng, "caliette (caillette) de mouton, " _i. E. _, sheep'sstomach. 

[31] For _eyas_ see p. 114. 

[32] To the same period belongs the colour _magenta_, from the victoryof the French over the Austrians at Magenta in 1859. 

[33] For _lockram_, see p. 48. 

[34] _Jehannette_, "_Jug_, or Jinny" (Cotgrave). For strange perversionsof baptismal names see Chap. XII. It is possible that the ratheruncommon family name _Juggins_ is of the same origin. 

[35] "Marsil has a book brought forward: the law of Mahomet andTermagant was in it. "

CHAPTER IV

WORDS AND PLACES

A very large number of wares are named from the places from which theycome. This is especially common in the case of woven fabrics, and theorigin is often obvious, e. G. , _arras_, _cashmere_ (by folk-etymology, _kerseymere_), _damask_, _holland_. The following are perhaps not all soevident--_frieze_ from _Friesland_[36]; _fustian_, Old Fr. _fustaine_(_futaine_), from _Fustat_, a suburb of Cairo; _muslin_, Fr. _mousseline_, from _Mosul_ in Kurdistan; _shalloon_ from_Châlons_-sur-Marne; _lawn_ from _Laon_; _jean_, formerly _jane_, from_Genoa_ (French _Gênes_[37]); _cambric_ from _Kamerijk_, the Dutch nameof Cambrai (_cf. _ the obsolete _dornick_, from the Dutch name of_Tournay_); _tartan_ from the _Tartars_ (properly _Tatars_), usedvaguely for Orientals; _sarcenet_ from the Saracens; _sendal_, ultimately from _India_ (_cf. _ Greco-Lat. _sindon_, Indian cloth);_tabby_, Old Fr. _atabis_, from the name of a suburb of Bagdad, formerlyused of a kind of silk, but now of a cat marked something like thematerial in question. 

Brittany used to be famous for hempen fabrics, and the villages of_Locrenan_ and _Daoulas_ gave their names to _lockram_ (see quotationfrom _Coriolanus_, p. 42) and _dowlas_--

 _Hostess. _ You owe me money, Sir John; and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it: I bought you a dozen of shirts to your back. 

 _Falstaff. _ _Dowlas_, filthy _dowlas_; I have given them away to bakers' wives, and they have made bolters of them. (1 _Henry IV. _, iii. 3. )

_Duffel_ is a place near Antwerp--

 "And let it be of _duffil_ gray, As warm a cloak as man can sell. " (WORDSWORTH, _Alice Fell_. )

and _Worstead_ is in Norfolk. Of other commodities _majolica_ comes from_Majorca_, called in Spanish _Mallorca_, and in medieval Latin_Majolica_; _bronze_ from _Brundusium_ (Brindisi), _delf_ from _Delft_, the _magnet_ from _Magnesia_, the _shallot_, Fr. _échalote_, in OldFrench also _escalogne_, whence archaic Eng. _scallion_, from _Ascalon_;the _sardine_ from _Sardinia_. A _milliner_, formerly _milaner_, dealtin goods from _Milan_. _Cravat_ dates from the Thirty Years' War, inwhich the _Croats_, earlier _Cravats_, played a part. _Ermine_ is inmedieval Latin _mus Armenius_, Armenian mouse, but the name perhapscomes, through Fr. _hermine_, from Old High Ger. _harmo_, weasel. _Buncombe_, more usually _bunkum_, is the name of a county in NorthCarolina. To make a speech "for Buncombe" means, in American politics, to show your constituents that you are doing your best for your £400 ayear or its American equivalent. Cf. _Billingsgate_ and _Limehouse_. 

The adjective _spruce_ was formerly _pruce_ and meant Prussia. Toddquotes from Holinshed--

 "Sir Edward Howard then admirall, and with him Sir Thomas Parre in doubletts of crimsin velvett, etc. , were apparelled after the fashion of Prussia or _Spruce_. "

Of similar origin are _spruce-leather_, _spruce-beer_, and the_spruce-fir_, of which Evelyn says--

 "Those from Prussia (which we call _spruce_) and Norway are the best. "

[Page Heading: BEZANT--MAZURKA]

Among coins the _bezant_ comes from _Byzantium_, the _florin_ from_Florence_, and Shylock's _ducat_, chiefly a Venetian coin, from the_ducato_ d'Apuglia, the Duchy of Apulia, where it was first coined inthe 12th century. The _dollar_ is the Low Ger. _daler_, for Ger. _Taler_, originally called a _Joachimstaler_, from the silver-mine ofJoachimstal, "Joachim's dale, " in Bohemia. Cotgrave registers a curiousOld French perversion _jocondale_, "a _daller_, a piece of money worthabout 3s. Sterl. " Some fruits may also be mentioned, _e. G. _, the_damson_ from _Damascus_, through Old Fr. _damaisine_, "a damascene or_damsen_ plum" (Cotgrave); the _currant_ from _Corinth_, and the_peach_, Fr. _pêche_, from Vulgar Lat. _pessica_, for _Persica_. 

A _polony_ was originally a _Bolonian_ sausage, from _Bologna_. _Parchment_, Fr. _parchemin_, is the adjective _pergamenus_, from_Pergamus_, in Asia Minor. _Spaniel_ is the Old Fr. _espagneul_(_épagneul_), lit. Spanish. We have the adjective _Moorish_ in _morris_, or _morrice_, _pike_--

 "He that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace than a _morris pike_. " (_Comedy of Errors_, iv. 3. )

In _morris dance_, Fr. _danse mauresque_, the same adjective is usedwith something of the vagueness to be noticed in connection with Indiaand Turkey (p. 52). Shakespeare uses the Spanish form--

 "I have seen him Caper upright, like to a wild _morisco_, Shaking the bloody darts as he his bells. " (2 _Henry VI. _, iii. 1. )

Other "local" dances are the _polka_, which means Polish woman, _mazurka_, woman of Mazuria, and the obsolete _polonaise_, lit. Polish, _cracovienne_, from Cracow, and _varsovienne_, from Warsaw. The_tarantella_, like the _tarantula_ spider, takes its name from Taranto, in Italy. The tune of the dance is said to have been originally employedas a cure for the lethargy caused by the bite of the spider. Florio has_tarantola_, "a serpent called an eft or an evet. Some take it to be aflye whose sting is perillous and deadly, and nothing but divers soundsof musicke can cure the patient. "

The town of _Troyes_ has given its name to _troy_ weight. The armourersof _Bilbao_, in Spain, made swords of such perfect temper that theycould be bent point to hilt. Hence Falstaff describes himself in thebuck-basket as--

 "Compassed, like a good _bilbo_, in the circumference of a peck, hilt to point, heel to head. " (_Merry Wives_, iii. 5. )

The _Andrea Ferrara_, or Scottish broadsword, carried by Fergus M'Ivor, bears, according to some authorities, the name of an armourer ofFerrara, in Italy. According to others, _Andrea dei Ferrari_ was asword-maker at Belluno. I have heard it affirmed by a Scottishdrill-sergeant that the real name of this genius was _AndrewFerrars_, [38] and that he belonged to the same nationality as othergreat men. 

[Page Heading: LATEEN--GUINEA-PIG]

An _argosy_, formerly also _ragusye_, was named from the Adriatic portof _Ragusa_, and a _lateen_ sail is a _Latin_, _i. E. _ Mediterranean, sail; _gamboge_ is the Fr. _Cambodge_, Cambodia, and _indigo_ is fromSpan. _indico_, Indian. Of wines, _malmsey_, chiefly remembered inconnection with George of Clarence, and _malvoisie_ are doublets, from_Monemvasia_ in the Morea. _Port_ is named from _Oporto_, i. E. _oporto_, the harbour (cf. _le Havre_), and _sherry_ (see p. 116) from_Xeres_, Lat. _Cæsaris_ (urbs); cf. _Saragossa_, from _Cæsarea Augusta_. 

But it is possible to be mistaken in connecting countries with products. _Brazil_ wood is not named from the country, but _vice-versâ_. It wasknown as a dye-wood as early as the 12th century, and the name is foundin many of the European languages. The Portuguese navigators found largequantities of it in South America and named the country accordingly. They christened an island _Madeira_, timber, Lat. _materia_, for asimilar reason. The _canary_ comes from the Canary Islands, but its nameis good Latin. The largest of these islands, _Canaria_, was so called bythe Romans from the dogs found there. The _guinea_-fowl and _guinea_gold came first from the west coast of Africa, but the _guinea-pig_ is anative of Brazil. The name probably came from the _Guinea-men_, orslave-ships, which regularly followed a triangular course. They sailedoutward to the west coast of Africa with English goods. These theyexchanged for slaves, whom they transported to the West Indies, thehorrible "middle passage, " and finally they sailed homeward with NewWorld produce, including, no doubt, _guinea-pigs_ brought home bysailors. The turkey is also called _guinea-fowl_ in the 17th century, probably to be explained in the same way. The German name forguinea-pig, _Meerschweinchen_, seems to mean little pig from over thesea. 

Guinea was a vague geographical expression in the 17th century, but notso vague as India or Turkey. _Indian ink_ comes from China (Fr. _encrede Chine_), and _Indian corn_ from America. The names given to the_turkey_ are extraordinary. We are not surprised that, as an Americanbird, it should be naturally connected with India; _cf. _ West Indies, Red Indian, etc. _Turk_ was in the 16th and 17th centuries a vague termfor non-Christians--

 "Jews, _Turks_, infidels, and hereticks. " (Collect for Good Friday. )

and we find also _Turkey wheat_ for maize. The following names for theturkey, given in a _Nomenclator_ in eight languages, published inGermany in 1602, do not exhaust the list:--

 German. --_Indianisch_ oder _Kalekuttisch_[39] oder _Welsch_[40] Hun. Dutch. --_Calcoensche_ oft _Turckische_ Henne. French. --Geline ou poulle d'_Inde_, ou d'_Africque_. Italian. --Gallina d'_India_. Spanish. --Pavon (peacock) de las _Indias_. English. --Cok off Inde!

No doubt the turkey was confused with other birds, for we find Fr. _geline d'Inde_ before the discovery of America. _D'Inde_ has become_dinde_, whence a new masculine _dindon_ has been formed. 

[Page Heading: HANSOM]

The early etymologists were fond of identifying foreign wares withplace-names. They connected _diaper_ with Ypres, _gingham_ with Guingamp(in Brittany), _drugget_ with Drogheda, and the _sedan_ chair withSedan. Such guesses are almost always wrong. The origin of _diaper_ isdoubtful, that of _drugget_ quite unknown, and _gingham_ is Malay. Asfar as we know at present, the _sedan_ came from Italy in the 16thcentury, and it is there, among derivatives of Lat. _sedere_, to sit, that its origin must be sought, unless indeed the original _Sedan_ wassome mute, inglorious _Hansom_. [41]

FOOTNOTES:

[36] Whence also _cheval de frise_, a contrivance used by theFrieslanders against cavalry. The German name is _die spanischenReiter_, explained by Ludwig as "a bar with iron-spikes; _cheval defrise_, a warlick instrument, to keep off the horse. "

[37] The form _jeans_ appears to be usual in America--"His hands werethrust carelessly into the side pockets of a gray _jeans_ coat. "(Meredith Nicholson, _War of the Carolinas_, Ch. 15. )

[38] A Scotch reviewer (_Glasgow Herald_, 13th April 1912) corrects mehere--"His name was certainly not Ferrars, but Ferrier. He was probablyan Arbroath man. " Some readers may remember that, after General_Todleben's_ brilliant defence of Sebastopol (1854-5), _Punch_discovered a respectable ancestry for him also. In some linescommencing--

 "I ken him weel, the chield was born in Fife, The bairn of Andrew Drummond and his wife, "

it was shown that the apparently foreign name had been conferred on thegifted child because of the agility with which he used to "_toddle ben_the hoose. "

[39] Calicut, not Calcutta. 

[40] See _walnut_ (p. 151). 

[41] As the _hansom_ has now become of archæological interest only, itmay be recorded here that it took its name from that of itsinventor--"The _Hansom's_ patent (cab) is especially constructed forgetting quickly over the ground" (Pulleyn's _Etymological Compendium_, 1853). _Sic transit!_

CHAPTER V

PHONETIC ACCIDENTS

The history of a word has to be studied from the double point of view ofsound and sense, or, to use more technical terms, phonetics andsemantics. In the logical order of things it seems natural to deal firstwith the less interesting aspect, phonetics, the physical processes bywhich sounds are gradually transformed. Speaking generally, it may besaid that phonetic changes are governed by the law of least resistance, a sound which presents difficulty being gradually and unconsciouslymodified by a whole community or race. With the general principles ofphonetics I do not propose to deal, but a few simple examples will serveto illustrate the one great law on which this science is based. 

The population of this country is educationally divided by the letter_h_ into three classes, which we may describe as the confident, theanxious, and the indifferent. The same division existed in imperialRome, where educated people sounded the aspirate, which completelydisappeared from the every-day language of the lower classes, theso-called Vulgar Latin, from which the Romance languages are descended, so far as their working vocabulary is concerned. The anxious class wasalso represented. A Latin epigrammatist[42] remarks that since Arrius, prophetic name, has visited the Ionic islands, they will probably behenceforth known as the _Hionic_ islands. To the disappearance of the_h_ from Vulgar Latin is due the fact that the Romance languages have noaspirate. French still writes the initial _h_ in some words byetymological reaction, e. G. , _homme_ for Old Fr. _ome_, and also at onetime really had an aspirate in the case of words of Germanic origin, e. G. , _la honte_, shame. But this _h_ is no longer sounded, although itstill, by tradition, prevents elision and _liaison_, mistakes in whichare regarded much in the same way as a misplaced aspirate in English. The "educated" _h_ of modern English is largely an artificialrestoration; _cf. _ the modern _hotel_-keeper with the older word_ostler_ (see p. 164), or the family name _Armitage_ with the restored_hermitage_. 

[Page Heading: PHONETIC LAZINESS]

We have dropped the _k_ sound in initial _kn_, as in _knave_, stillsounded in Ger. _Knabe_, boy. French gets over the difficulty byinserting a vowel between the two consonants, e. G. , _canif_ is aGermanic word cognate with Eng. _knife_. This is a common device inFrench when a word of Germanic origin begins with two consonants. _Cf. _Fr. _dérive_, drift, Eng. _drive_; Fr. _varech_, sea-weed, Eng. _wrack_. _Harangue_, formerly _harengue_, is Old High Ger. _hring_, Eng. _ring_, the allusion being to the circle formed by the audience. Fr. _chenapan_, rogue, is Ger. _Schnapphahn_, robber, lit. Fowl-stealer. The _shallop_that "flitteth silken-sail'd, skimming down to Camelot, " is Fr. _chaloupe_, probably identical with Du. _sloep_, sloop. 

The general dislike that French has for a double consonant sound at thebeginning of a word appears also in the transformation of all Latinwords which began with _sc_, _sp_, _st_, e. G. , _scola_ > _escole_(_école_), _spongia_ > _esponge_ (_éponge_), _stabulum_ > _estable_(_étable_). English words derived from French generally show the olderform, but without the initial vowel, _school_, _sponge_, _stable_. 

The above are very simple examples of sound change. There are certainless regular changes, which appear to work in a more arbitrary fashionand bring about more picturesque results. Three of the most important ofthese are assimilation, dissimilation, and metathesis. 

Assimilation is the tendency of a sound to imitate its neighbour. Thetree called the _lime_ was formerly the _line_, and earlier still the_lind_. We see the older form in _linden_ and in such place-names as_Lyndhurst_, lime wood. _Line_ often occurred in such compounds as_line-bark_, _line-bast_, _line-wood_, where the second component beganwith a lip consonant. The _n_ became also a lip consonant because it waseasier to pronounce, and by the 17th century we generally find _lime_instead of _line_. We have a similar change in _Lombard_ for Ger. _lang-bart_, long-beard, or, according to some, long-axe. For_Liverpool_ we find also _Litherpool_ in early records. If the readerattempts to pronounce both names rapidly, he will be able to form hisown opinion as to whether it is more natural for _Liverpool_ to become_Litherpool_ or _vice-versâ_, a vexed question with philologists. Fr. _vélin_, a derivative of Old Fr. _veel_ (_veau_), calf, and _venin_, Lat. _venenum_, have given Eng. _vellum_ and _venom_, the finalconsonant being in each case assimilated[43] to the initial labial. Soalso _mushroom_, Fr. _mousseron_, from _mousse_, moss. 

Vulgar Lat. _circare_ (from _circa_, around) gave Old Fr. _cerchier_, Eng. _search_. In modern Fr. _chercher_ the initial consonant has beeninfluenced by the medial _ch_. The _m_ of the curious word _ampersand_, variously spelt, is due to the neighbouring _p_. It is applied to thesign &. I thought it obsolete till I came across it on successive daysin two contemporary writers--

 "One of my mother's chief cares was to teach me my letters, which I learnt from big A to _Ampersand_ in the old hornbook at Lantrig. " (QUILLER-COUCH, _Dead Man's Rock_, Ch. 2. )

 "Tommy knew all about the work. Knew every letter in it from A to _Emperzan_. " (PETT RIDGE, _In the Wars_. )

Children used to repeat the alphabet thus--"A per se A, B per se B, " andso on to "_and per se and_. " The symbol & is an abbreviation of Lat. _et_, written _&_. 

[Page Heading: DISSIMILATION]

Dissimilation is the opposite process. The archaic word _pomander_--

 "I have sold all my trumpery; not a counterfeit stone, not a riband, glass, _pomander_, brooch, ... To keep my pack from fasting. " (_Winter's Tale_, iv. 3. )

was formerly spelt _pomeamber_. It comes from Old Fr. _pome ambre_, apple of amber, a ball of perfume once carried by the delicate. In thiscase one of the two lip consonants has been dissimilated. A like changehas occurred in Fr. _nappe_, cloth, from Lat. _mappa_, whence our_napkin_, _apron_ (p. 113), and the family name _Napier_. 

The sounds most frequently affected by dissimilation are thoserepresented by the letters _l_, _n_, and _r_. Fr. _gonfalon_ is forolder _gonfanon_. Chaucer uses the older form, Milton the newer--

 "Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanc'd, Standards and _gonfalons_, 'twixt van and rear, Stream in the air. " (_Paradise Lost_, v. 589. )

_Gonfanon_ is of Germanic origin. It means literally "battle-flag, " andthe second element is cognate with English _fane_ or _vane_ (Ger. _Fahne_). Eng. _pilgrim_ and Fr. _pèlerin_, from Lat. _peregrinus_, illustrate the change from _r_ to _l_, while the word _frail_, an osierbasket for figs, is due to a change from _l_ to _r_, which goes back toRoman times. A grammarian of imperial Rome named Probus compiled, aboutthe 3rd or 4th century, A. D. , a list of cautions as to mispronunciation. In this list we find "_flagellum_, non _fragellum_. " In the sense ofswitch, twig, _fragellum_ gave Old Fr. _freel_, basket made of twigs, whence Eng. _frail_; while the correct _flagellum_ gave Old Fr. _fleel_(_fléau_), whence Eng. _flail_. A Vulgar Lat. _*mora_, mulberry, fromLat. _morus_, mulberry tree, has given Fr. _mûre_. The _r_ of _berry_has brought about dissimilation in Eng. _mulberry_ and Ger. _Maulbeere_. _Colonel_ has the spelling of Fr. _colonel_, but its pronunciationpoints rather to the dissimilated Spanish form _coronel_ which is commonin Elizabethan English. Cotgrave has _colonel_, "a _colonell_, or_coronell_; the commander of a regiment. "

The female name _Annabel_ is a dissimilation of _Amabel_, whence_Mabel_. By confusion with the popular medieval name _Orable_, Lat. _orabilis_, _Annabel_ has become _Arabel_ or _Arabella_. Our _level_ isOld Fr. _livel_, Vulgar Lat. _*libellum_, for _libella_, a plummet, diminutive of _libra_, scales. Old Fr. _livel_ became by dissimilation_nivel_, now _niveau_. Many conjectures have been made as to theetymology of _oriel_. It is from Old Fr. _oriol_, a recess, or sanctum, which first occurs in an Anglo-Norman poem of the 12th century onBecket. This is from a Late Latin diminutive _aulæolum_, a small chapelor shrine, which was dissimilated into _auræolum_. 

Sometimes dissimilation leads to the disappearance of a consonant, _e. G. _, Eng. _feeble_, Fr. _faible_, represents Lat. _flebilis_, lamentable, from _flere_, to weep. _Fugleman_ was once _flugelman_, fromGer. _Flügelmann_, wing man, _i. E. _, a tall soldier on the wing whoexaggerated the movements of musketry drill for the guidance of therest. 

[Page Heading: METATHESIS]

Metathesis is the transposition of two sounds. A simple case is our_trouble_, Fr. _troubler_, from Lat. _turbulare_. _Maggot_ is for Mid. Eng. _maddok_, a diminutive of Anglo-Sax. _maþa_; _cf. _ Ger. _Made_, maggot. _Kittle_, in the phrase "kittle cattle, " is identical with_tickle_; _cf. _ Ger. _kitzeln_, to tickle. One theory for the origin of_tankard_ is that it stands for _*cantar_, from Lat. _cantharus_, withwhich it corresponds exactly in meaning; e. G. , _cantharus_, "a pot, ajugge, a _tankerd_" (Cooper); _cantharo_, a "_tankard_ or jug thathouldeth much" (Florio); _canthare_, "a great jugge, or _tankard_"(Cotgrave). The metathesis may be due to association with the nameTankard (Tancred). 

_Wattle_ and _wallet_ are used indifferently in Mid. English for alittle bag. Shakespeare no doubt had in mind the _wattles_ of a cock orturkey when he made Gonzalo speak of mountaineers--

 "Dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at them _Wallets_ of flesh. " (_Tempest_, iii. 3. )

Fr. _moustique_ is for earlier _mousquite_, from Span. _mosquito_, adiminutive from Lat. _musca_, a fly. _Tinsel_ is Fr. _étincelle_, spark, earlier _estincele_, which supposes a Lat. _*stincilla_ for _scintilla_. The old word _anlace_, dagger, common in Mid. English and revived byByron and Scott--

 "His harp in silken scarf was slung, And by his side an _anlace_ hung. " (_Rokeby_, v. 15. )

has provoked many guesses. Its oldest form, _anelas_, is a metathesis ofthe common Old Fr. _alenas_, dagger. This is formed from _alêne_, ofGermanic origin, cognate with _awl_; cf. _cutlass_, Fr. _coutelas_ (p. 126). _Beverage_ is from Old Fr. _bevrage_, or _beuvrage_, now_breuvage_, Vulgar Lat. _*biberaticum_, from _bibere_, to drink. Here, as in the case of _level_ (p. 58), and _search_ (p. 57), Englishpreserves the older form. In _Martello_ tower, from a fort taken by theBritish (1794) in _Mortella_, _i. E. _, Myrtle, Bay, Corsica, we havevowel metathesis. 

It goes without saying that such linguistic phenomena are often observedin the case of children and uneducated people. Not long ago the writerwas urged by a gardener to embellish his garden with a _ruskit_ arch. When metathesis extends beyond one word we have what is known as a_Spoonerism_, the original type of which is said to be--

 "_Kinquerings congs_ their titles take. "

We have seen (p. 57) that the letters _l_, _n_, _r_ are particularlysubject to dissimilation and metathesis. But we sometimes find themalternating without apparent reason. Thus _banister_ is a modern formfor the correct _baluster_. [44] This was not at first applied to therail, but to the bulging colonnettes on which it rests. Fr. _balustre_comes, through Italian, from Greco-Lat. _balaustium_, a pomegranateflower, the shape of which resembles the supports of a balustrade. Cotgrave explains _balustres_ as "_ballisters_; little, round and shortpillars, ranked on the outside of cloisters, terraces, galleries, etc. "_Glamour_ is a doublet of _grammar_ (see p. 145), and _flounce_ wasformerly _frounce_, from Fr. _froncer_, now only used of "knitting" thebrows--

 "Till civil-suited morn appear, Not trickt and _frounc't_ as she was wont With the Attic boy to hunt. " (_Penseroso_, l. 123. )

Fr. _flibustier_, whence our _filibuster_, was earlier _fribustier_, acorruption of Du. _vrijbuiter_, whence directly the Eng. _freebooter_. [45]

[Page Heading: SHRINKAGE OF WORDS]

All words tend in popular usage to undergo a certain amount ofshrinkage. The reduction of Lat. _digitale_, from _digitus_, finger, toFr. _dé_, thimble (little thumb) is a striking example. The strong tonicaccent of English, which is usually on the first, or root, syllable, brings about a kind of telescoping which makes us very unintelligible toforeigners. This is seen in the pronunciation of names such as_Cholmondeley_ and _Marjoribanks_. _Bethlehem_ hospital, for lunatics, becomes _bedlam_; Mary _Magdalene_, taken as a type of tearfulrepentance, gives us _maudlin_, now generally used of the lachrymosestage of intoxication. _Sacristan_ is contracted into _sexton_. Fr. _paralysie_ becomes _palsy_, and _hydropisie_ becomes _dropsy_. Thefuller form of the word usually persists in the literary language, or isartificially introduced at a later period, so that we get such doubletsas _proctor_ and _procurator_. 

In the case of French words which have a prefix, this prefix is veryfrequently dropped in English, e. G. , _raiment_ for _arrayment_; whilesuffixes, or final syllables, often disappear, _e. G. _, treasure _trove_, for Old Fr. _trové_ (_trouvé_), or become assimilated to some familiarEnglish ending, e. G. , _parish_, Fr. _paroisse_, _skirmish_, Fr. _escarmouche_; _cartridge_, Fr. _cartouche_, _partridge_, Fr. _perdrix_. A good example of such shrinkage is the word _vamp_, part of a shoe, OldFr. _avant-pie_ (_pied_), which became Mid. Eng. _vampey_, and then lostits final syllable. We may compare _vambrace_, armour for the forearm, Fr. _avant-bras_, _vanguard_, Fr. _avant-garde_, often reduced to_van_--

 "Go, charge Agrippa Plant those that have revolted in the _van_; That Antony may seem to spend his fury Upon himself. " (_Antony and Cleopatra_, iv. 6. )

and the obsolete _vaunt-courier_, forerunner--

 "You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, _Vaunt-couriers_ of oak-cleaving thunderbolts. " (_Lear_, iii. 2. )

When the initial vowel is _a-_, its loss may have been helped byconfusion with the indefinite article. Thus for _anatomy_ we find_atomy_, for a skeleton or scarecrow figure, applied by Mistress Quicklyto the constable (2 _Henry IV. _, v. 4). _Peal_ is for _appeal_, call;_mend_ for _amend_, _lone_ for _alone_, i. E. , _all one_. _Peach_, usedby Falstaff--

 "If I be ta'en, I'll _peach_ for this. " (1 _Henry IV. _, ii. 2. )

is for older _appeach_, related to _impeach_. _Size_, in all its senses, is for _assize_, Fr. _assise_, with a general meaning of allowance orassessment, from Fr. _asseoir_, to put, lay. _Sizars_ at Cambridge areproperly students in receipt of certain allowances called _sizings_. With painters' _size_ we may compare Ital. _assisa_, "_size_ thatpainters use" (Florio). We use the form _assize_ in speaking of the"sitting" of the judges, but those most familiar with this tribunalspeak of being tried at the _'sizes_. The obsolete word _cate_, on whichPetruchio plays--

 "For dainties are all _cates_--and therefore, Kate, Take this of me, Kate of my consolation. " (_Taming of the Shrew_, ii. 1. )

is for earlier _acate_, an Old French dialect form corresponding tomodern Fr. _achat_, purchase. The man entrusted with purchasing wascalled an _acatour_ or _catour_ (whence the name _Cator_), later_cater_, now extended to _caterer_, like _fruiterer_ for _fruiter_, _poulterer_ for _poulter_ and _upholsterer_ for _upholdster_ or_upholder_. [46]

_Limbeck_ has been squeezed out by the orthodox _alembic_--

 "Memory the warder of the brain, Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason A _limbeck_ only. " (_Macbeth_, i. 7. )

and _prentice_ has given way to _apprentice_. _Tire_ and _attire_ bothsurvive, and _maze_ persists by the side of _amaze_ with the specialsense which I have heard a Notts collier express by _puzzle-garden_(_cf. _ Ger. _Irrgarten_). _Binnacle_ is a corruption, perhaps due toassociation with _bin_, of earlier _bittacle_, from Lat. _habitaculum_, a little dwelling. It may have come to us through Fr. _habitacle_ orPort. _bitacola_, "the _bittacle_, a frame of timber in the steerage, where the compass is placed on board a ship" (Vieyra, _Port. Dict. _, 1794). As King of Scotland, King George has a household official knownas the _limner_, or painter. For _limner_[47] we find in the 15thcentury _lumner_ and _luminour_, which is aphetic for _alluminour_, or_enlumineur_. Cotgrave, s. V. _enlumineur de livres_, says, "we call onethat coloureth, or painteth upon, paper, or parchment, an _alluminer_. "

[Page Heading: APHESIS]

But confusion with the article is not necessary in order to bring aboutaphesis. It occurs regularly in the case of words beginning with _esc_, _esp_, _est_, borrowed from Old French (see p. 56). Thus we have_squire_ from _escuyer_ (_êcuyer_), _skew_ from Old Fr. _eschuer_, tododge, "eschew, " ultimately cognate with Eng. _shy_, _spice_ from_espice_ (_épice_), _sprite_ from _esprit_, _stage_ from _estage_(_étage_), etc. In some cases we have the fuller form also, e. G. , _esquire_, _eschew_; cf. _sample_ and _example_. _Fender_, whetherbefore a fireplace or slung outside a ship, is for _defender_; _fence_is always for _defence_, either in the sense of a barrier or in allusionto the noble art of self-defence. [48] The _tender_ of a ship or of alocomotive is the _attender_, and _taint_ is aphetic for _attaint_, Fr. _atteinte_, touch--

 "I will not poison thee with my _attaint_. " (_Lucrece_, l. 1072. )

_Puzzle_ was in Mid. Eng. _opposaile_, _i. E. _, something put before one. We still speak of "a poser. "

_Spital_, for _hospital_, survives in _Spitalfields_, and _Spittlegate_at Grantham and elsewhere. _Crew_ is for _accrewe_ (Holinshed). It meantproperly a reinforcement, lit. On-growth, from Fr. _accroître_, toaccrue. In _recruit_, we have a later instance of the same idea. Fr. _recrue_, recruit, from _recroître_, to grow again, is still feminine, like many other military terms which were originally abstract orcollective. Cotgrave has _recreuë_, "a supplie, or filling up of adefective company of souldiers, etc. " We have _possum_ for _opossum_, and _coon_ for _racoon_, and this for _arrahacoune_, which I find in a16th-century record of travel; _cf. _ American _skeeter_ for _mosquito_. In these two cases we perhaps have also the deliberate intention toshorten (see p. 66), as also in the obsolete Australian _tench_, for theaphetic _'tentiary_, i. E. , _penitentiary_. With this we may compare_'tec_ for _detective_. 

[Page Heading: APHESIS]

_Drawing-room_ is for _withdrawing room_, and only the final _t_ of_saint_ is left in _Tooley St. _, famed for its three tailors, formerly_Saint Olave Street_, and _tawdry_. This latter word is well known to bederived from _Saint Audrey's_ fair. It was not originally depreciatory--

 "Come, you promised me a _tawdry_ lace, and a pair of sweet gloves. " (_Winter's Tale_, iv. 3. )

and the full form is recorded by Palsgrave, who has _Seynt Andries_(read _Audrie's_) _lace_, "cordon. " The verb _vie_ comes from Old Fr. _envier_, to challenge, Lat. _invitare_, whence the phrase _à l'envil'un de l'autre_, "in emulation one of the other" (Cotgrave); cf. _gin_(trap), Fr. _engin_, Lat. _ingenium_. The prefix _dis_ or _des_ is lostin _Spencer_ (see p. 165), _spite_, _splay_, _sport_, _stain_, etc. 

In _drat_, formerly _'od rot_, _zounds_ for _God's wounds_, _'sdeath_, _odsbodikins_, etc. , there is probably a deliberate avoidance ofprofanity. The same intention appears in _Gogs_--

 "'Ay, by _gogs-wouns_!' quoth he; and swore so loud, That, all amaz'd, the priest let fall the book. " (_Taming of the Shrew_, iii. 2. )

_Cf. _ Fr. _parbleu_ for _par Dieu_, and Ger. _Potz_ for _Gottes_. 

This English tendency to aphesis is satirised in a French song of the14th century, intentionally written in bad French. Thus, in the line--

 "Or sont il vint le tans que Glais voura vauchier. "[49]

_Glais_ is for _Anglais_ and _vauchier_ is for _chevauchier_(_chevaucher_), to ride on a foray. The literary language runs counterto this instinct, though Shakespeare wrote _haviour_ for _behaviour_ and_longing_ for _belonging_, while such forms as _billiments_ for_habiliments_ and _sparagus_ for _asparagus_ are regular up to the 18thcentury. Children keep up the national practice when they say _member_for _remember_ and _zamine_ for _examine_. It is quite certain that_baccy_ and _tater_ would be recognised literary forms if America hadbeen discovered two centuries sooner or printing invented two centurieslater. 

Many words are shortened, not by natural and gradual shrinkage, but bydeliberate laziness. The national distaste for many syllables appears in_wire_ for _telegram_, the Artful Dodger's _wipe_ for the clumsy _pockethandkerchief_, _soccer_ for _association_, and such portmanteau words as_squarson_, an individual who is at once _squire_ and _parson_, or_Bakerloo_ for _Baker St. And Waterloo_. 

The simplest way of reducing a word is to take the first syllable andmake it a symbol for the rest. Of comparatively modern formation are_pub_ and _Zoo_, with which we may compare _Bart's_, for SaintBartholomew's, _Cri_, _Pav_, "half a _mo'_" _bike_, and even _paj_, for_pageant_. 

[Page Heading: CLIPPED FORMS]

This method of shortening words was very popular in the 17th century, from which period date _cit_(izen), _mob_(ile vulgus), the fickle crowd, and, _pun_(digrion). We often find the fuller _mobile_ used for _mob_. The origin of _pundigrion_ is uncertain. It may be an illiterate attemptat Ital. _puntiglio_, which, like Fr. _pointe_, was used of a verbalquibble or fine distinction. Most of these clipped forms are easilyidentified, e. G. , _cab_(riolet), _gent_(leman), _hack_(ney), _vet_(erinary surgeon). _Cad_ is for Scot. _caddie_, errand boy, nowfamiliar in connection with golf, and _caddie_ is from Fr. _cadet_, younger. The word had not always the very strong meaning we nowassociate with it. Among _Sketches by Boz_ is one entitled--

 "The last Cab driver and the first Omnibus _Cad_, "

where _cad_ means conductor. On _tick_, for on _ticket_, is found in the17th century. We may compare the more modern _biz_ and _spec_. _Brig_ isfor _brigantine_, Ital. _brigantino_, "a kinde of pinnasse or smallbarke called a _brigantine_" (Florio). The original meaning is pirateship; cf. _brigand_. _Wag_ has improved in meaning. It is for older_waghalter_. Cotgrave has _baboin_ (_babouin_), "a trifling, busie, orcrafty knave; a crackrope, _waghalter_, etc. " The older sense survivesin the phrase "to play the _wag_, " _i. E. _ truant. For the "rope" figurewe may compare Scot. _hempie_, a minx, and obsolete Ital. _cavestrolo_, a diminutive from Lat. _capistrum_, halter, explained by Florio as "a_wag_, a haltersacke. " Modern Ital. _capestro_ is used in the samesense. _Crack-rope_ is shortened to _crack_. Justice Shallow rememberedFalstaff breaking Skogan's head--

 "When he was a _crack_, not thus high. " (2 _Henry IV. _, iii. 2. )

_Chap_ is for _chapman_, once in general use for a merchant and still acommon family name. It is cognate with _cheap_, _chaffer_, and Ger. _kaufen_, to buy, and probably comes from Lat. _caupo_, tavern keeper. We have the Dutch form in _horse-coper_, and also in the word_coopering_, the illicit sale of spirits by Dutch boats to North Seafishermen. [50] _Merchant_ was used by the Elizabethans in the same wayas our _chap_. Thus the Countess of Auvergne calls Talbot a "riddling_merchant_" (1 _Henry VI. _, ii. 3). We may also compare Scot. _callant_, lad, from the Picard form of Fr. _chaland_, customer--

 "He had seen many a braw callant, far less than Guse Gibbie, fight brawly under Montrose. " (_Old Mortality_, Ch. 1. )

and our own expression "a rum _customer_, " reduced in America to "a rum_cuss_. " _Hock_, for _Hochheimer_, wine from Hochheim, occurs as earlyas Beaumont and Fletcher; and _rum_, spirit, is for earlier_rumbullion_, of obscure origin. _Gin_ is for _geneva_, a corruption ofFr. _genièvre_, Lat. _juniperus_, with the berries of which it isflavoured. The history of _grog_ is more complicated. The stuff called_grogram_, earlier _grograyne_, is from Fr. _gros grain_, coarse grain. Admiral Vernon (18th century) was called by the sailors "Old Grog" fromhis habit of wearing grogram breeches. When he issued orders that theregular allowance of rum was henceforth to be diluted with water, thesailors promptly baptized the mixture with his nickname. 

[Page Heading: CLIPPED FORMS]

Sometimes the two first syllables survive. We have _navvy_ for_navigator_, _brandy_ for _brandywine_, from Du. _brandewyn_, lit. Burntwine, and _whisky_ for _usquebaugh_, Gaelic _uisge-beatha_, water oflife (cf. _eau-de-vie_), so that the literal meaning of _whisky_ is veryinnocent. It has a doublet in the river-name _Usk_. Before the 18thcentury _usquebaugh_ is the regular form. In the following passage theIrish variety is referred to--

 "The prime is _usquebaugh_, which cannot be made anywhere in that perfection; and whereas we drink it here in _aqua vitæ_ measures, it goes down there by beer-glassfuls, being more natural to the nation. " (HOWELL, 1634. )

_Canter_ is for _Canterbury_ gallop, the pace of pilgrims riding to theshrine of St Thomas. John Dennis, known as Dennis the Critic, says ofPope--

 "Boileau's Pegasus has all his paces. The Pegasus of Pope, like a Kentish post-horse, is always on the _Canterbury_. " (_On the Preliminaries to the Dunciad. _)

In _bugle_, for _bugle-horn_, lit. Wild-ox-horn, Old Fr. _bugle_, Lat. _buculus_, a diminutive of _bos_, ox, we have perhaps rather anellipsis, like _waterproof_ (coat), than a clipped form--

 "Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet 'tis early morn: Leave me here, and when you want me, sound upon the _bugle-horn_. " (_Locksley Hall. _)

_Patter_ is no doubt for _paternoster_--

 "Fitz-Eustace, you, with Lady Clare, May bid your beads and _patter_ prayer. " (_Marmion_, vi. 27. )

and the use of the word _marble_ for a toy sometimes made of that stonemakes it very probable that the _alley_, most precious of marbles, isshort for _alabaster_. 

Less frequently the final syllable is selected, e. G. , _bus_ for_omnibus_, _loo_ for _lanterloo_, variously spelt in the 17th and 18thcenturies--

 "Ev'n mighty Pam, [51] that Kings and Queens o'erthrew, And mow'd down armies in the fights of _lu_. " (_Rape of the Lock_, iii. 62. )

Fr. _lanturelu_ was originally the meaningless refrain or "tol de rol"of a popular song in Richelieu's time. _Van_ is for _caravan_, a Persianword, properly a company of merchants or ships travelling together, "also of late corruptly used with us for a kind of waggon to carrypassengers to and from London" (Blount, _Glossographia_, 1674). _Wig_ isfor _periwig_, a corruption of Fr. _perruque_, of obscure origin. Withthe 17th century _'varsity_, for _university_, we may compare SamWeller's _'Tizer_, for _Morning Advertiser_. 

Christian names are treated in the same way. _Alexander_ gives _Alec_and _Sandy_, _Herbert_, _'Erb_ or _Bert_. _Ib_ (see p. 172) was oncecommon for _Isabella_, while the modern language prefers _Bella_; _Maud_for _Matilda_ is a telescoped form of Old Fr. _Maheut_, while _'Tilda_is perhaps due to unconscious aphesis, like _Denry_--

 "She saved a certain amount of time every day by addressing her son as _Denry_, instead of _Edward Henry_. " (ARNOLD BENNETT, _The Card_, Ch. 1. )

Among conscious word-formations may be classed many reduplicated forms, whether riming, as _hurly-burly_, or alliterative, as _tittle-tattle_, though reduplication belongs to the natural speech of children, and, inat least one case, Fr. _tante_, from _ante-ante_, Lat. _amita_, the babyword has prevailed. In a reduplicated form only one half as a rule needsto be explained. Thus _seesaw_ is from _saw_, the motion suggesting twosawyers at work on a log. _Zigzag_, from French, and Ger. _zickzack_ areof unknown origin. _Shilly-shally_ is for _shill I, shall I?__Namby-pamby_ commemorates the poet Ambrose Philips, who was thusnicknamed by Pope and his friends. The weapon called a _snickersnee_--

 "'First let me say my catechism, Which my poor mammy taught to me. ' 'Make haste, make haste, ' says guzzling Jimmy, While Jack pulled out his _snickersnee_. " (THACKERAY, _Little Billee_, l. 21. )

is of Dutch origin and means something like "cut and thrust. " It isusually mentioned in connection with the Hollanders--

 "Among other customs they have in that town, one is, that none must carry a pointed knife about him; which makes the Hollander, who is us'd to _snik_ and _snee_, to leave his horn-sheath and knife a ship-board when he comes ashore. " (HOWELL, _Letter from Florence_, 1621. )

Here the reduplication is only apparent, for the older form was to_stick_ or _snee_, representing the Dutch verbs _steken_, to thrust, _snijden_ or _snijen_, to cut. The initial of the first verb has beenassimilated to that of the second--

 "It is our countrie custome onely to _stick_ or _snee_. " (GLAPTHORNE, _The Hollander_. )

Reduplication is responsible for _pickaback_, earlier _pickpack_, from_pack_, bundle. The modern form is due to popular association with_back_. 

[Page Heading: PREFIXED CONSONANTS]

Occasionally we have what is apparently the arbitrary prefixing of aconsonant, e. G. , _spruce_ for _pruce_ (p. 48). _Dapple gray_ correspondsso exactly to Fr. _gris pommelé_, Mid. Eng. _pomeli gris_, Ger. _apfelgrau_, and Ital. _pomellato_, "spotted, bespeckled, pide, _dapple-graie_, or fleabitten, the colour of a horse" (Florio), that itis hard not to believe in an unrecorded _*apple-gray_, especially as wehave _daffodil_ for earlier _affodil_, i. E. , _asphodel_. Cotgrave has_asphodile_ (_asphodèle_), "the _daffadill_, _affodill_, or _asphodill_, flower. " The playful elaboration _daffadowndilly_ is as old as Spenser. 

FOOTNOTES:

[42]

 "Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba, Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis, Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset, Iam non _Ionios_ esse, sed _Hionios_. " (_Catullus_, 84. )

[43] Apart from assimilation, there is a tendency in English tosubstitute _-m_ for _-n_, e. G. _grogram_ for _grogran_ (see p. 68). Inthe family name _Hansom_, for _Hanson_, we have dissimilation of _n_(see p. 57). 

[44] _Cf. _ the similar change in the family name _Banister_ (p. 179). 

[45] It may be noted here that a _buccaneer_ was not originally apirate, but a man whose business was the smoking of beef in the WestIndies. The name comes from a native word _boucan_, adopted into French, and explained by Cotgrave as a "woodden-gridiron whereon the cannibalsbroile pieces of men, and other flesh. "

[46] _Upholsterer_ has become specialised in sense; cf. _undertaker_ (offunerals), and _stationer_, properly a tradesman with a _station_ orstall. _Costermonger_ illustrates the converse process. It meantoriginally a dealer in _costards_, i. E. Apples. The French costermongerhas the more appropriate name of _marchand des quatre saisons_. 

[47] English _i_ sometimes occurs as an attempt at the French and Celtic_u_; cf. _brisk_ from _brusque_, _periwig_ (p. 69), and _whisky_ (p. 68). 

[48] Our ancestors appear to have been essentially pacific. With_fence_, for _defence_, we may compare Ger. _schirmen_, to fence, from_Schirm_, screen (cf. _Regenschirm_, umbrella), which, passing throughItalian and French, has given us _skirmish_, _scrimmage_, _scaramouch_(see p. 142), and Shakespearean _scrimer_, fencer (_Hamlet_, iv. 7). Soalso Ger. _Gewehr_, weapon, is cognate with Eng. _weir_, and meansdefence--

 "Cet animal est très méchant; Quand on l'attaque, il se défend. "

[49] "Now the time has come when the English will wish to ride. "

[50] _Cf. _ also Dan. _Kjöbenhavn_ (Copenhagen), the merchants' haven, the numerous Swedish place-names ending in _-köping_, e. G. _Jönköping_, and our own _Chippings_, or market-towns. 

[51] The knave of clubs. The name was also given to Lord Palmerston. 

CHAPTER VI

WORDS AND MEANINGS

We have all noticed the fantastic way in which ideas are linked togetherin our thoughts. One thing suggests another with which it isaccidentally associated in memory, the second suggests a third, and, inthe course even of a few seconds, we find that we have travelled fromone subject to another so remote that it requires an effort toreconstruct the series of links which connects them. The same thinghappens with words. A large number of words, despite great changes ofsense, retain the fundamental meaning of the original, but in many casesthis is quite lost. A truer image than that of the linked chain would bethat of a sphere giving off in various directions a number of rays eachof which may form the nucleus of a fresh sphere. Or we may say that ateach link of the chain there is a possibility of another chain branchingoff in a direction of its own. In Cotgrave's time to _garble_ (see p. 21) and to _canvass_, _i. E. _ sift through _canvas_, meant the samething. Yet how different is their later sense development. 

[Page Heading: BAN--BUREAU]

There is a word _ban_, found in Old High German and Anglo-Saxon, andmeaning, as far back as it can be traced, a proclamation containing athreat, hence a command or prohibition. We have it in _banish_, to putunder the _ban_. The proclamation idea survives in the _banns_ ofmarriage and in Fr. _arrière-ban_, "a proclamation, whereby those thathold authority of the king in mesne tenure, are summoned to assemble, and serve him in his warres" (Cotgrave). This is folk-etymology for OldFr. _arban_, Old High Ger. _hari-ban_, army summons. Slanting off fromthe primitive idea of proclamation is that of rule or authority. TheFrench for outskirts is _banlieue_, properly the "circuit of a league, or thereabouts" (Cotgrave) over which the local authority extended. Allpublic institutions within such a radius were associated with _ban_, e. G. , _un four_, _un moulin à ban_, "a comon oven or mill whereat allmen may, and every tenant and vassall must, bake, and grind" (Cotgrave). The French adjective _banal_, used in this connection, graduallydeveloped from the meaning of "common" that of "common-place, " in whichsense it is now familiar in English. [52]

_Bureau_, a desk, was borrowed from French in the 17th century. Inmodern French it means not only the desk, but also the office itself andthe authority exercised by the office. Hence our familiar _bureaucracy_, likely to become increasingly familiar. The desk was so called becausecovered with _bureau_, Old Fr. _burel_, "a thicke course cloath, of abrown russet, or darke mingled, colour" (Cotgrave), whence Mid. Eng. _borel_, rustic, clownish, lit. Roughly clad, which occurs as late asSpenser--

 "How be I am but rude and _borrel_, Yet nearer ways I know. " (_Shepherd's Calendar_, July, l. 95. )

With this we may compare the metaphorical use of _home-spun_--

 "What hempen _home-spuns_ have we swaggering here, So near the cradle of the fairy queen?" (_Midsummer Night's Dream_, iii. 1. )

The source of Old Fr. _burel_ is perhaps Lat. _burrus_, fiery, from Gk. πῦρ, fire. 

_Romance_ was originally an adverb. To write in the vulgar tongue, instead of in classical Latin, was called _romanice scribere_, Old Fr. _romanz escrire_. When _romanz_ became felt as a noun, it developed a"singular" _roman_ or _romant_, the latter of which gave the archaicEng. _romaunt_. The most famous of Old French romances are the epicpoems called _Chansons de geste_, songs of exploits, _geste_ coming fromthe Lat. _gesta_, deeds. Eng. _gest_ or _jest_ is common in the 16th and17th centuries in the sense of act, deed, and _jest_-book meant astory-book. As the favourite story-books were merry tales, the wordgradually acquired its present meaning. 

A part of our Anglo-Saxon church vocabulary was supplanted by Latin orFrench words. Thus Anglo-Sax. _ge-bed_, prayer, was gradually expelledby Old Fr. _preiere_ (_prière_), Lat. _precaria_. It has survived in_beadsman_--

 "The _beadsman_, after thousand aves told, For aye unsought-for slept among his ashes cold. " (KEATS, _Eve of St Agnes_. )

_beadroll_, and _bead_, now applied only to the humble device employedin counting prayers. 

Not only the Romance languages, but also German and Dutch, adopted, withthe Roman character, Lat. _scribere_, to write. English, on thecontrary, preserved the native to _write_, _i. E. _ to scratch (runes), giving to _scribere_ only a limited sense, to _shrive_. The curiouschange of meaning was perhaps due to the fact that the priestlyabsolution was felt as having the validity of a "written" law orenactment. 

[Page Heading: PUDDING--STICKLER]

The meaning which we generally give to _pudding_ is comparativelymodern. The older sense appears in _black pudding_, a sausage made ofpig's blood. This is also the meaning of Fr. _boudin_, whence _pudding_comes. A still older meaning of both words is intestine, a sense stillcommon in dialect. The derivation of the word is obscure, but it isprobably related to Fr. _bouder_, to pout, whence _boudoir_, lit. Asulking-room. 

A _hearse_, now the vehicle in which a coffin is carried, is used byShakespeare for a coffin or tomb. Its earlier meaning is a framework tosupport candles, usually put round the coffin at a funeral. Thisframework was so named from some resemblance to a harrow, [53] Fr. _herse_, Lat. _hirpex_, _hirpic-_, a rake. 

_Treacle_ is a stock example of great change of meaning. It is used inCoverdale's Bible (1535) for the "_balm_ in Gilead" of the _AuthorisedVersion_--

 "There is no more _triacle_ at Galaad. "[54] (Jeremiah, vii. 22. )

Old Fr. _triacle_ is from Greco-Lat. _theriaca_, a remedy against poisonor snake-bite (θήρ, a wild beast). In Mid. English and later it was usedof a sovereign remedy. It has, like _sirup_ (p. 146), acquired itspresent meaning _via_ the apothecary's shop. 

A _stickler_ is now a man who is fussy about small points of etiquetteor procedure. In Shakespeare he is one who parts combatants--

 "The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth, And, _stickler_-like, the armies separates. " (_Troilus and Cressida_, v. 8. )

An earlier sense is that of seeing fair-play. The word has beenpopularly associated with the _stick_, or staff, used by the umpires induels, and Torriano gives _stickler_ as one of the meanings of_bastoniere_, a verger or mace-bearer. But it probably comes from Mid. Eng. _stightlen_, to arrange, keep order (see p. 172, _n. _ 2). 

_Infantry_ comes, through French, from Italian. It means a collection of"infants" or juniors, so called by contrast with the proved veterans whocomposed the cavalry. 

The _pastern_ of a horse, defined by Dr Johnson as the knee, from"ignorance, madam, pure ignorance, " still means in Cotgrave and Florio"shackle. " Florio even recognises a verb to _pastern_, e. G. , _pastoiare_, "to fetter, to clog, to shackle, to _pastern_, to give(gyve). " It comes from Old Fr. _pasturon_ (_paturon_), a derivative of_pasture_, such shackles being used to prevent grazing horses fromstraying. _Pester_ (p. 167) is connected with it. The modern Fr. _paturon_ has changed its meaning in the same way. 

To _rummage_ means in the Elizabethan navigators to stow goods in ahold. A rummager was what we call a _stevedore_. [55] _Rummage_ is OldFr. _arrumage_ (_arrimage_), from _arrumer_, to stow, the middlesyllable of which is probably cognate with English _room_; cf. _arranger_, to put in "rank. "

The Christmas _waits_ were originally watchmen, Anglo-Fr. _waite_, OldFr. _gaite_, from the Old High German form of modern Ger. _Wacht_, watch. Modern French still has the verb _guetter_, to lie in wait for, and _guet_, the watch. _Minstrel_ comes from an Old French derivative ofLat. _minister_, servant. Modern Fr. _ménétrier_ is only used of acountry fiddler who attends village weddings. 

The _lumber_-room is supposed to be for _Lombard_ room, _i. E. _, the roomin which pawnbrokers used to store pledged property. The Lombardsintroduced into this country the three balls, said to be taken from thearms of the Medici family. 

[Page Heading: LIVERY--FAIRY]

_Livery_ is correctly explained by the poet Spenser--

 "What _livery_ is, we by common use in England know well enough, namely, that it is allowance of horse-meat, as they commonly use the word in stabling; as, to keep horses at _livery_; the which word, I guess, is derived of _livering_ or _delivering_ forth their nightly food. So in great houses, the _livery_ is said to be served up for all night, that is, their evening allowance for drink; and _livery_ is also called the upper weed (see p. 2) which a serving-man wears; so called, as I suppose, for that it was _delivered_ and taken from him at pleasure. " (_View of the State of Ireland. _)

This passage explains also _livery_ stable. [56] Our word comes from Fr. _livrée_, the feminine past participle of _livrer_, from Lat. _liberare_, to deliver. 

_Pedigree_ was in Mid. English _pedegrew_, _petigrew_, etc. Itrepresents Old Fr. _pie (pied) de grue_, crane's foot, from the shape ofa sign used in showing lines of descent in genealogical charts. Theolder form survives in the family name _Pettigrew_. Here it is anickname, like _Pettifer_ (pied de fer), iron-foot; cf. _Sheepshanks_. 

_Fairy_ is a collective, Fr. _féerie_, its modern use being perhaps dueto its occurrence in such phrases as _Faerie Queen_, _i. E. _, Queen ofFairyland. Cf. _paynim_, used by some poets for _pagan_, but really adoublet of _paganism_, occurring in _paynim host_, _paynim knight_, etc. The correct name for the individual _fairy_ is _fay_, Fr. _fée_, VulgarLat. _*fata_, connected with _fatum_, fate. This appears in Ital. _fata_, "a fairie, a witch, an enchantres, an elfe" (Florio). The _fatamorgana_, the mirage sometimes seen in the Strait of Messina, isattributed to the fairy Morgana of Tasso, the Morgan le Fay of our ownArthurian legends. 

Many people must have wondered at some time why the _clubs_ and _spades_on cards are so called. The latter figure, it is true, bears someresemblance to a spade, but no giant of fiction is depicted with a clubwith a triple head. The explanation is that we have adopted the Frenchpattern, _carreau_ (see p. 161), diamond, _cœur_, heart, _pique_, pike, spear-head, _trèfle_, trefoil, clover-leaf, but have given to the twolatter the names used in the Italian and Spanish pattern, which, insteadof the pike and trefoil, has the sword (Ital. _spada_) and mace (Ital. _bastone_). Etymologically both _spades_ are identical, the origin beingGreco-Lat. _spatha_, the name of a number of blade-shaped objects; _cf. _the diminutive _spatula_. 

_Wafer_, in both its senses, is related to Ger. _Wabe_, honeycomb. Wefind Anglo-Fr. _wafre_ in the sense of a thin cake, perhaps stamped witha honeycomb pattern. The cognate Fr. _gaufre_ is the name of a similarcake, which not only has the honeycomb pattern, but is also largelycomposed of honey. Hence our verb to _goffer_, to give a cellularappearance to a frill. 

[Page Heading: MEANINGS OF ADJECTIVES]

The meanings of adjectives are especially subject to change. _Quaint_now conveys the idea of what is unusual, and, as early as the 17thcentury, we find it explained as "strange, unknown. " This is the exactopposite of its original meaning, Old Fr. _cointe_, Lat. _cognitus_; cf. _acquaint_, Old Fr. _acointier_, to make known. It is possible to traceroughly the process by which this remarkable _volte-face_ has beenbrought about. The intermediate sense of trim or pretty is common inShakespeare--

 "For a fine, _quaint_, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten on't. " (_Much Ado_, iii. 4. )

We apply _restive_ to a horse that will not stand still. It meansproperly a horse that will not do anything else. Fr. _rétif_, Old Fr. _restif_, from _rester_, to remain, Lat. _re-stare_, has kept more ofthe original sense of stubbornness. Scot. _reest_, _reist_, means tostand stock-still--

 "Certain it was that Shagram _reisted_, and I ken Martin thinks he saw something. " (_Monastery_, Ch. 4. )

Dryden even uses _restive_ in the sense of sluggish--

 "So James the drowsy genius wakes Of Britain, long entranced in charms, _Restive_, and slumbering on its arms. " (_Threnodia Augustalis. _)

_Reasty_, used of meat that has "stood" too long, is the same word (cf. _testy_, Old Fr. _testif_, heady), and _rusty_ bacon is probablyfolk-etymology for _reasty_ bacon--

 "And then came haltyng Jone, And brought a gambone Of bakon that was _reasty_. " (SKELTON, _Elynour Rummyng_. )

_Sterling_ has an obscure history. It is from Old Fr. _esterlin_, a coinwhich etymologists of an earlier age connected with the _Easterlings_, or Hanse merchants, who formed one of the great mercantile communitiesof the Middle Ages; and perhaps some such association is responsible forthe meaning that _sterling_ has acquired; but chronology shows thistraditional etymology to be impossible. We find _unus sterlingus_ in amedieval Latin document of 1184, and the Old Fr. _esterlin_ occurs inWace's _Roman de Rou_ (Romaunt of Rollo the Sea King), which was writtenbefore 1175. Hence it is conjectured that the original coin was namedfrom the _star_ which appears on some Norman pennies. 

When Horatio says--

 "It is a nipping and an _eager_ air. " (_Hamlet_, i. 4. )

we are reminded that _eager_ is identical with the second part ofvin-_egar_, Fr. _aigre_, sour, Lat. _acer_, keen. It seems hardlypossible to explain the modern sense of _nice_, which in the course ofits history has traversed nearly the whole diatonic scale between"rotten" and "ripping. " In Mid. English and Old French it means foolish. Cotgrave explains it by "lither, lazie, sloathful, idle; faint, slack;dull, simple, " and Shakespeare uses it in a great variety of meanings. It is supposed to come from Lat. _nescius_, ignorant. The transitionfrom _fond_, foolish, which survives in "_fond_ hopes, " to _fond_, loving, is easy. French _fou_ is used in exactly the same way. _Cf. _also to _dote_ on, _i. E. _, to be foolish about. _Puny_ is Fr. _puîné_, from _puis né_, later born, junior, whence the _puisne_ justices. Miltonuses it of a minor--

 "He must appear in print like a _puny_ with his guardian. " (_Areopagitica. _)

_Petty_, Fr. _petit_, was similarly used for a small boy. 

In some cases a complimentary adjective loses its true meaning and takeson a contemptuous or ironic sense. None of us care to be called _bland_, and to describe a man as _worthy_ is to apologise for his existence. Wemay compare Fr. _bonhomme_, which now means generally an old fool, and_bonne femme_, good-wife, goody. _Dapper_, the Dutch for brave (_cf. _Ger. _tapfer_), and _pert_, Mid. Eng. _apert_, representing in meaningLat. _expertus_, have changed much since Milton wrote of--

 "The _pert_ fairies and the _dapper_ elves. " (_Comus_, l. 118. )

_Pert_ seems in fact to have acquired the meaning of its opposite_malapert_, though the older sense of brisk, sprightly, survives indialect--

 "He looks spry and _peart_ for once. " (Phillpotts, _American Prisoner_, Ch. 3. )

_Smug_, cognate with Ger. _schmuck_, trim, elegant, beautiful, has itsoriginal sense in Shakespeare--

 "And here the _smug_ and silver Trent shall run In a new channel, fair and evenly. " (1 _Henry IV. _, iii. 1. )

The degeneration of an adjective is sometimes due to its employment foreuphemistic purposes. The favourite substitute for _fat_ is _stout_, properly strong, [57] dauntless, etc. , cognate with Ger. _stolz_, proud. Precisely the same euphemism appears in French, e. G. , "une dame un peu_forte_. " _Ugly_ is replaced in English by _plain_, and in American by_homely_--

 "She is not so handsome as these, maybe, but her _homeliness_ is not actually alarming. " (MAX ADELER, _Mr Skinner's Night in the Underworld_. )

In the case of this word, as in many others, the American use preservesa meaning which was once common in English. Kersey's _Dictionary_ (1720)explains _homely_ as "ugly, disagreeable, course (coarse), mean. "

[Page Heading: INFLUENCE OF ASSOCIATION]

Change of meaning may be brought about by association. A _miniature_ isa small portrait, and we even use the word as an adjective meaningsmall, on a reduced scale. But the true sense of _miniature_ issomething painted in _minium_, red lead. Florio explains _miniatura_ as"a limning (see p. 63), a painting with vermilion. " Such paintings wereusually small, hence the later meaning. The word was first applied tothe ornamental red initial capitals in manuscripts. _Vignette_ stillmeans technically in French an interlaced vine-pattern on afrontispiece. [58] Cotgrave has _vignettes_, "vignets; branches, orbranch-like borders, or flourishes in painting, or ingravery. "

The degeneration in the meaning of a noun may be partly due to frequentassociation with disparaging adjectives. Thus _hussy_, _i. E. _ housewife, _quean_, [59] woman, _wench_, child, have absorbed such adjectives asimpudent, idle, light, saucy, etc. Shakespeare uses _quean_ only threetimes, and these three include "cozening _quean_" (_Merry Wives_, iv. 2)and "scolding _quean_" (_All's Well_, ii. 2). With _wench_, still usedwithout any disparaging sense by country folk, we may compare Fr. _garce_, lass, and Ger. _Dirne_, maid-servant, both of which are nowinsulting epithets, but, in the older language, could be applied to Joanof Arc and the Virgin Mary respectively. _Garce_ was replaced by_fille_, which has acquired in its turn a meaning so offensive that ithas now given way to _jeune fille_. _Minx_, earlier _minkes_, isprobably the Low Ger. _minsk_, Ger. _Mensch_, lit. Human, but used alsoin the sense of "wench. " For the consonantal change cf. _hunks_, Dan. _hundsk_, stingy, lit. Doggish. These examples show that the indignant"Who are you calling a _woman_?" is, philologically, in all likelihood acase of intelligent anticipation. 

[Page Heading: BUXOM--PLUCK]

Adjectives are affected in their turn by being regularly coupled withcertain nouns. A _buxom_ help-mate was once obedient, the word beingcognate with Ger. _biegsam_, flexible, yielding--

 "The place where thou and Death Shall dwell at ease, and up and down unseen Wing silently the _buxom_ air. " (_Paradise Lost_, ii. 840. )

An obedient nature is "_buxom_, blithe and debonair, " qualities whichaffect the physique and result in heartiness of aspect and a comelyplumpness. An _arch_ damsel is etymologically akin to an _arch_bishop, both descending from the Greek prefix ἀρχι, from ἀρχή, a beginning, first cause. Shakespeare uses _arch_ as a noun--

 "The noble duke my master, My worthy _arch_ and patron comes to-night. " (_Lear_, ii. 1. )

Occurring chiefly in such phrases as _arch_ enemy, _arch_ heretic, _arch_ hypocrite, _arch_ rogue, it acquired a depreciatory sense, whichhas now become so weakened that _archness_ is not altogether anunpleasing attribute. We may compare the cognate German prefix _Erz_. Ludwig has, as successive entries, _Ertz-dieb_, "an arch-thief, anarrant thief, " and _Ertz-engel_, "an arch-angel. " The meaning of_arrant_ is almost entirely due to association with "thief. " It meanslit. Wandering, vagabond, so that the _arrant_ thief is nearly relatedto the knight _errant_, and to the Justices in _eyre_, Old Fr. _eire_, Lat. _iter_, a way, journey. Fr. _errer_, to wander, stray, iscompounded of Vulgar Lat. _iterare_, to journey, and Lat. _errare_, tostray, and it would be difficult to calculate how much of each entersinto the composition of _le Juif errant_. 

As I have suggested above, association accounts to some extent forchanges of meaning, but the process is in reality more complex, andusually a number of factors are working together or in opposition toeach other. A low word may gradually acquire right of citizenship. "Thatarticle blackguardly called _pluck_" (Scott) is now much respected. Itis the same word as _pluck_, the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal--

 "During the Crimean war, _plucky_, signifying courageous, seemed likely to become a favourite term in Mayfair, even among the ladies. " (HOTTEN'S _Slang Dictionary_, 1864. )

Having become respectable, it is now replaced in sporting circles by themore emphatic _guts_, which reproduces the original metaphor. A word maydie out in its general sense, surviving only in some special meaning. Thus the poetic _sward_, scarcely used except with "green, " meantoriginally the skin or crust of anything. It is cognate with Ger. _Schwarte_, "the _sward_, or rind, of a thing" (Ludwig), which now meansespecially bacon-rind. Related words may meet with very different fatesin kindred languages. Eng. _knight_ is cognate with Ger. _Knecht_, servant, which had, in Mid. High German, a wide range of meanings, including "warrior, hero. " There is no more complimentary epithet than_knightly_, while Ger. _knechtisch_ means servile. The degeneration ofwords like _boor_, [60] _churl_, farmer, is a familiar phenomenon (cf. _villain_, p. 150). The same thing has happened to _blackguard_, themodern meaning of which bears hardly on a humble but useful class. Thename _black guard_ was given collectively to the kitchen detachment of agreat man's retinue. The _scavenger_ has also come down in the world, rather an unusual phenomenon in the case of official titles. Themedieval _scavager_[61] was an important official who seems to have beenoriginally a kind of inspector of customs. He was called in Anglo-French_scawageour_, from the noun _scawage_, showing. The Old French dialectverb _escauwer_ is of Germanic origin and cognate with Eng. _show_ andGer. _schauen_, to look. The _cheater_, now usually _cheat_, probablydeserved his fate. The _escheators_ looked after _escheats_, _i. E. _, estates or property that lapsed and were forfeited. The origin of theword is Old Fr. _escheoir_ (_échoir_), to fall due, Vulgar Lat. _ex*cadēre_ for _cadĕre_. Their reputation was unsavoury, and _cheat_ hasalready its present meaning in Shakespeare. He also plays on the doublemeaning--

 "I will be _cheater_ to them both, and they shall be exchequers to me. " (_Merry Wives_, i. 3. )

[Page Heading: CHEAT--BELCHER]

_Beldam_ implies "hag" as early as Shakespeare, but he also uses it inits proper sense of "grandmother, " _e. G. _, Hotspur refers to "old_beldam_ earth" and "our _grandam_ earth" in the same speech (1 _HenryIV. _, iii. 1), and Milton speaks of "_beldam_ nature"--

 "Then sing of secret things that came to pass When _Beldam_ Nature in her cradle was. " (_Vacation Exercise_, l. 46. )

It is of course from _belle-dame_, used in Mid. English for grandmother, as _belsire_ was for grandfather. Hence it is a doublet of _belladonna_. The masculine _belsire_ survives as a family name, _Belcher_[62]; and toJim Belcher, most gentlemanly of prize-fighters, we owe the _belcher_handkerchief, which had large white spots with a dark blue dot in thecentre of each on a medium blue ground. It was also known to the "fancy"as a "bird's-eye wipe. "

FOOTNOTES:

[52] Archaic Eng. _bannal_ already existed in the technical sense. 

[53] This is the usual explanation. But Fr. _herse_ also acquired themeaning "portcullis, " the pointed bars of which were naturally likenedto the blades of a harrow; and it seems possible that it is to thislater sense that we owe the older English meaning of _hearse_ (see p. 154). 

[54] "Numquid _resina_ non est in Galaad?" (_Vulgate. _)

[55] A Spanish word, Lat. _stipator_, "one that stoppeth chinkes"(Cooper). It came to England in connection with the wool trade. 

[56] In "livery and bait" there is pleonasm. _Bait_, connected with_bite_, is the same word as in bear-_baiting_ and fishermen's _bait_. Wehave it also, _via_ Old French, in _abet_, whence the aphetic _bet_, originally to egg on. 

[57] Hence the use of _stout_ for a "strong" beer. _Porter_ was once thefavourite tap of _porters_, and a mixture of stout and ale, now known as_cooper_, was especially relished by the brewery _cooper_. 

[58] Folk-etymology for _frontispice_, Lat. _frontispicium_, front view. 

[59] Related to, but not identical with, _queen_. 

[60] The older meaning of _boor_ survives in the compound _neighbour_, i. E. , _nigh boor_, the farmer near at hand. Du. _boer_ is of course thesame word. 

[61] English regularly inserts _n_ in words thus formed; cf. _harbinger_, _messenger_, _passenger_, _pottinger_, _etc. _

[62] Other forms of the same name are _Bowser_ and _Bewsher_. The form_Belcher_ is Picard--

 "On assomma la pauvre bête. Un manant lui coupa le pied droit et la tête. Le seigneur du village à sa porte les mit; Et ce dicton picard à l'entour fut écrit: '_Biaux chires_ leups, n'écoutez mie Mère tenchent (grondant) chen fieux (son fils) qui crie. '" (LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, iv. 16. )

CHAPTER VII

SEMANTICS

The convenient name semantics has been applied of late to the science ofmeanings, as distinguished from phonetics, the science of sound. Thecomparative study of languages enables us to observe and codify thegeneral laws which govern sense development, and to understand whymeanings become extended or restricted. One phenomenon which seems tooccur normally in language results from what we may call the simplicityof the olden times. Thus the whole vocabulary which is etymologicallyrelated to _writing_ and _books_ has developed from an old Germanic verbthat means to _scratch_ and the Germanic name for the _beech_. Ourearliest books were wooden tablets on which inscriptions were scratched. The word _book_ itself comes from Anglo-Sax. _bōc_, beech; _cf. _ Ger. _Buchstabe_, letter, lit. Beech-stave. Lat. _liber_, book, whence alarge family of words in the Romance languages, means the inner bark ofa tree, and _bible_ is ultimately from Greek βύβλος, the inner rind ofthe _papyrus_, the Egyptian rush from which _paper_ was made. [63]

The earliest measurements were calculated from the human body. AllEuropean languages use the _foot_, and we still measure horses by_hands_, while _span_ survives in table-books. _Cubit_ is Latin for_elbow_, the first part of which is the same as _ell_, cognate with Lat. _ulna_, also used in both senses. Fr. _brasse_, fathom, is Lat. _brachia_, the two arms, and _pouce_, thumb, means inch. A further setof measures are represented by simple devices: a _yard_[64] is a small"stick, " and the _rod_, _pole_, or _perch_ (cf. _perch_ for birds, Fr. _perche_, pole) which gives charm to our arithmetic is a larger one. A_furlong_ is a _furrow-long_. For weights common objects were used, _e. G. _, a _grain_, or a _scruple_, Lat. _scrupulus_, "a little sharpestone falling sometime into a man's shooe" (Cooper), for very smallthings, a _stone_ for heavier goods. Gk. δραχμά, whence our _dram_, means a handful. Our decimal system is due to our possession of ten_digits_, or fingers, and _calculation_ comes from Lat. _calculus_, apebble. 

[Page Heading: FINANCIAL TERMS]

A modern Chancellor of the Exchequer, considering his budget, is not sonear the reality of things as his medieval predecessor, who literallysat in his counting-house, counting up his money. For the _exchequer_, named from the Old Fr. _eschequier_ (_échiquier_), chess-board, was oncethe board marked out in squares on which the treasurer reckoned up withcounters the king's taxes. This Old Fr. _eschequier_, which has alsogiven _chequer_, is a derivative of Old Fr. _eschec_ (_échec_), check. Thus "_check_ trousers" and a "_chequered_ career" are both directlyrelated to an eastern potentate (see _chess_, p. 120. ). The_chancellor_ himself was originally a kind of door-keeper in charge of a_chancel_, a latticed barrier which we now know in church architectureonly. _Chancel_ is derived, through Fr. _chancel_ or _cancel_, from Lat. _cancellus_, a cross-bar, occurring more usually in the plural in thesense of lattice, grating. We still _cancel_ a document by drawing sucha pattern on it. In German _cancellus_ has given _Kanzel_, pulpit. The_budget_, now a document in which millions are mere items, was thechancellor's little bag or purse--

 "If tinkers may have leave to live, And bear the sow-skin _budget_, Then my account I well may give, And in the stocks avouch it. " (_Winter's Tale_, iv. 2. )

Fr. _bougette_, from which it is borrowed, is a diminutive of _bouge_, aleathern bag, which comes from Lat. _bulga_, "a male or _bouget_ ofleather; a purse; a bagge" (Cooper). Modern French has borrowed back our_budget_, together with several other words dealing with business andfinance. 

Among the most important servants of the exchequer were the_controllers_. We now call them officially _comptroller_, through amistaken association with Fr. _compte_, account. The controller hadcharge of the _counter-rolls_ (cf. _counterfoil_), from Old Fr. _contre-rolle_, "the copy of a role (of accounts, etc. ), a paralell ofthe same quality and content, with the originall" (Cotgrave). In French_contrôle_ has preserved the sense of supervision or verification whichit has lost in ordinary English. 

A very ancient functionary of the exchequer, the tally-cutter, wasabolished in the reign of George III. _Tallies_ (Fr. _tailler_, to cut)were sticks "scored" across in such a way that the notches could becompared for purposes of verification. Jack Cade preferred those goodold ways--

 "Our fore-fathers had no other books but the _score_ and the _tally_; thou hast caused books to be used. " (2 _Henry VI. _, iv. 7. )

This rudimentary method of calculation was still in use in the Kentishhop-gardens within fairly recent times; and some of us can remember veryold gentlemen asking us, after a cricket match, how many "notches" wehad "scored"--

 "The _scorers_ were prepared to _notch_ the runs. " (_Pickwick_, Ch. 7. )

This use of _score_, for a reckoning in general, or for twenty, occursin Anglo-Saxon, but the word is Scandinavian. The words _score_ and_tally_, originally of identical meaning, were soon differentiated, acommon phenomenon in such cases. For the exchequer _tally_ wassubstituted an "indented cheque receipt. " An _indenture_, chieflyfamiliar to us in connection with apprenticeship, was a duplicatedocument of which the "indented" or toothed edges had to correspond likethe notches of the score or tally. _Cheque_, earlier _check_, isidentical with _check_, rebuff. The metaphor is from the game of chess(see p. 120), to _check_ a man's accounts involving a sort of control, or pulling up short, if necessary. A _cheque_ is a method of paymentwhich makes "checking" easy. The modern spelling is due to popularassociation with _exchequer_, which is etymologically right, though thewords have reached their modern functions by very different paths. 

[Page Heading: OFFICIAL TITLES]

The development of the meaning of _chancellor_ can be paralleled in thecase of many other functionaries, once humble but now important. Thetitles of two great medieval officers, the _constable_ and the_marshal_, mean the same thing. _Constable_, Old Fr. _conestable_(_connétable_), is Lat. _comes stabuli_, stable fellow. _Marshal_, thefirst element of which is cognate with _mare_, while the secondcorresponds to modern Ger. _Schalk_, rascal, expresses the same idea inGerman. Both _constable_ and _marshal_ are now used of very highpositions, but Policeman X. And the _farrier-marshal_, or shoeing-smith, of a troop of cavalry, remind them of the base degrees by which they didascend. The _Marshalsea_ where Little Dorrit lived is for _marshalsy_, marshals' office, etc. The _steward_, or _sty-ward_, looked after hismaster's pigs. He rose in importance until, by the marriage of MarjorieBruce to Walter the _Stewart_ of Scotland, he founded the mostpicturesque of royal houses. The _chamberlain_, as his name suggests, attended to the royal comforts long before he became a judge ofwholesome literature. 

All these names now stand for a great number of functions of varyingimportance. Other titles which are equally vague are _sergeant_ (see p. 148) and _usher_, Old Fr. _uissier_[65] (_huissier_), lit. Door-keeper, Lat. _ostiarius_, a porter. Another official was the _harbinger_, whosurvives only in poetry. He was a forerunner, or vauntcourier, whopreceded the great man to secure him "harbourage" for the night, and hisname comes from Old Fr. _herberger_ (_héberger_), to shelter (see p. 164). As late as the reign of Charles II. We read that--

 "On the removal of the court to pass the summer at Winchester, Bishop Ken's house, which he held in the right of his prebend, was marked by the _harbinger_ for the use of Mrs Eleanor Gwyn; but he refused to grant her admittance, and she was forced to seek for lodgings in another place. " (HAWKINS, _Life of Bishop Ken_. )

[Page Heading: PARALLEL METAPHORS]

One of the most interesting branches of semantics, and the most usefulto the etymologist, deals with the study of parallel metaphors indifferent languages. We have seen (p. 29) how, for instance, the namesof flowers show that the same likeness has been observed by variousraces. The spice called _clove_ and the _clove_-pink both belong to Lat. _clavus_, a nail. The German for pink is _Nelke_, a Low Germandiminutive, _nail-kin_, of _Nagel_, nail. The spice, or _Gewürznelke_, is called in South Germany _Nägele_, little nail. A _clove_ of garlic isquite a separate word; but, as it has some interesting cognates, it maybe mentioned here. It is so called because the bulb _cleaves_ naturallyinto segments. [66] The German name is _Knoblauch_, for Mid. High Ger. _klobe-louch_, clove-leek, by dissimilation of one _l_. The Dutchdoublet is _kloof_, a chasm, gully, familiar in South Africa. 

Fr. _poison_, Lat. _potio_, _potion-_, a drink, and Ger. _Gift_, poison, lit. Gift, seem to date from treacherous times. On the other hand, Ger. _Geschenk_, a present, means something poured out (see _nuncheon_, p. 124), while a tip is in French _pourboire_ and in German _Trinkgeld_, even when accepted by a lifelong abstainer. In English we "ride a_hobby_, " _i. E. _, a hobby-horse, or wooden horse. German has the samemetaphor, "ein _Steckenpferd_ reiten, " and French says "enfourcher un_dada_, " _i. E. _, to bestride a gee-gee. _Hobby_, for Mid. Eng. _hobin_, a nag, was a proper name for a horse. Like _Dobbin_ and _Robin_, itbelongs to the numerous progeny of Robert. 

In some cases the reason for a metaphor is not quite clear to the modernmind. The bloodthirsty weasel is called in French _belette_, [67] littlebeauty, in Italian _donnola_, in Portuguese _doninha_, little lady, inSpanish _comadreja_, gossip (Fr. _commère_, Scot. _cummer_, p. 94), inBavarian _Schöntierlein_, beautiful little animal, in Danish _kjönne_, beautiful, and in older English _fairy_. [68] From Lat. _medius_ we get_mediastinus_, "a drugge (drudge) or lubber to doe all vile service inthe house; a kitching slave" (Cooper). Why this drudge should have aname implying a middle position I cannot say; but to-day in the North ofEngland a maid-of-all-work is called a _tweeny_ (between maid). 

A stock semantic parallel occurs in the relation between age andrespectability. All of us, as soon as we get to reasonable maturity, laygreat stress on the importance of deference to "elders. " It followsnaturally that many titles of more or less dignity should be evolvedfrom this idea of seniority. The Eng. _alderman_ is obvious. _Priest_, Old Fr. _prestre_[69] (_prêtre_), from Gk. πρεσβύτερος, comparative ofπρέσβυς, old, is not so obvious. In the Romance languages we have awhole group of words, _e. G. _, Fr. _sire_, _sieur_, _seigneur_, Ital. _signor_, Span. _señor_, with their compounds _monsieur_, _messer_, etc. , all representing either _senior_ or _seniorem_. Ger. _Eltern_, parents, is the plural comparative of _alt_, old, and the first elementof _seneschal_ (see _marshal_, p. 90) is cognate with Lat. _senex_. FromFr. _sire_ comes Eng. _sir_, and from this was formed the adjective_sirly_, [70] now spelt _surly_, which in Shakespeare still meanshaughty, arrogant--

 "See how the _surly_ Warwick mans the wall. " (3 _Henry VI. _, v. 1. )

[Page Heading: LIST--MATELOT]

A _list_, in the sense of enumeration, is a "strip. " The cognate Germanword is _Leiste_, border. We have the original meaning in "_list_slippers. " Fr. _bordereau_, a list, which became very familiar inconnection with the Dreyfus case, is a diminutive of _bord_, edge. _Label_ is the same word as Old Fr. _lambel_ (_lambeau_), rag. _Scroll_is an alteration, perhaps due to _roll_, of Mid. Eng. _scrow_ or_escrow_, from Old Fr. _escroue_, [71] rag, shred. _Docket_, earlier_dogget_, is from an old Italian diminutive of _doga_, cask-stave, whichmeant a bendlet in heraldry. _Schedule_ is a diminutive of Lat. _scheda_, "a scrowe" (Cooper), properly a strip of papyrus. Ger. _Zettel_, bill, ticket, is the same word. Thus all these words, more orless kindred in meaning, can be reduced to the primitive notion of stripor scrap. 

_Farce_, from French, means stuffing. The verb to _farce_, whichrepresents Lat. _farcire_, survives in the perverted _force_-meat. Aparallel is _satire_, from Lat. _satura_ (_lanx_), a full dish, hence amedley. Somewhat similar is the modern meaning of _magazine_, a"store-house" of amusement or information. 

The closest form of intimacy is represented by community of board andlodging, or, in older phraseology, "bed and board. " _Companion_, withits related words, belongs to Vulgar Lat. _*companio_, _companion-_, bread-sharer. The same idea is represented by the pleonastic Eng. _messmate_, the second part of which, _mate_, is related to _meat_. _Mess_, food, Old Fr. _mes_ (_mets_), Lat. _missum_, is in modernEnglish only military or naval, but was once the usual name for a dishof food--

 "Herbs and other country _messes_ Which the neat-handed Phillis dresses. " (_Allegro_, l. 85. )

With _mate_ we may compare Fr. _matelot_, earlier _matenot_, representing Du. _maat_, meat, and _genoot_, a companion. The latterword is cognate with Ger. _Genosse_, a companion, from _geniessen_, toenjoy or use together. In early Dutch we find also _mattegenoet_, through popular association with _matte_, hammock, one hammock serving, by a Box and Cox arrangement, for two sailors. 

_Comrade_ is from Fr. _camarade_, and this from Span. _camarada_, originally a "room-full, " called in the French army _une chambrée_. Thiscorresponds to Ger. _Geselle_, comrade, from _Saal_, room. The reductionof the collective to the individual is paralleled by Ger. _Bursche_, fellow, from Mid. High Ger. _burse_, college hostel; cf. _Frauenzimmer_, wench, lit. Women's room. It can hardly be doubted that _chum_ is acorrupted clip from _chamber-fellow_. [72] It is thus explained in a_Dictionary of the Canting Crew_ (1690), within a few years of itsearliest recorded occurrence, and the reader will remember Mr Pickwick'sintroduction to the _chummage_ system in the Fleet (Ch. 42). 

[Page Heading: CUMMER--GREENHORN]

English _gossip_, earlier _god-sib_, related in God, a sponsor, soondeveloped the subsidiary meanings of boon companion, crony, tippler, babbler, etc. , all of which are represented in Shakespeare. The case ofFr. _compère_ and _commère_, godfather and godmother, is similar. Cotgrave explains _commérage_ as "gossiping; the acquaintance, affinity, or league that growes betweene women by christning a child together, orone for another. " Ger. _Gevatter_, godfather, has also acquired thesense of Fr. _bonhomme_ (p. 80), Eng. _daddy_. From _commère_ comesScot. _cummer_ or _kimmer_--

 "A canty quean was Kate, and a special _cummer_ of my ain. " (_Monastery_, Ch. 8. )

While christenings led to cheerful garrulity, the wilder fun of weddingshas given the Fr. _faire la noce_, to go on the spree. In Ger. _Hochzeit_, wedding, lit. High time, we have a converse development ofmeaning. 

Parallel sense development in different languages sometimes gives us aglimpse of the life of our ancestors. Our verb to _curry_ (leather)comes from Old Fr. _corréer_[73] (_courroyer_), to make ready, put inorder, which represents a theoretical _*con-red-are_, the root syllableof which is Germanic and cognate with our _ready_. Ger. _gerben_, totan, Old High Ger. _garawen_, to make ready, is a derivative of _gar_, ready, complete, now used only as an adverb meaning "quite, " but cognatewith our _yare_--

 "Our ship-- Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split-- Is tight, and _yare_, and bravely rigg'd. " (_Tempest_, v. 1. )

Both _curry_ and _gerben_ must have acquired their restricted meaning ata time when there was literally nothing like leather. 

Even in slang we find the same parallelism exemplified. We call anold-fashioned watch a _turnip_. In German it is called _Zwiebel_, onion, and in French _oignon_. Eng. _greenhorn_ likens an inexperienced personto an animal whose horns have just begun to sprout. In Ger. _Gelbschnabel_, yellow-bill, and Fr. _bec-jaune_, we have the metaphorof the fledgling. Ludwig explains _Gelbschnabel_ by "chitty-face, "_chit_, cognate with _kit_-ten, being a general term in Mid. English fora young animal. From _bec-jaune_ we have archaic Scot. _beejam_, university freshman. Cotgrave spells the French word _bejaune_, andgives, as he usually does for such words, [74] a very full gloss, whichhappens, by exception, to be quotable--

 "A novice; a late prentice to, or young beginner in, a trade, or art; also, a simple, ignorant, unexperienced, asse; a rude, unfashioned, home-bred hoydon; a sot, ninny, doult, noddy; one that's blankt, and hath nought to say, when he hath most need to speake. "

The Englishman intimates that a thing has ceased to please by sayingthat he is "fed up" with it. The Frenchman says, "J'en ai soupé. " Boththese metaphors are quite modern, but they express in flippant form thesame figure of physical satiety which is as old as language. _Padding_is a comparatively new word in connection with literary composition, butit reproduces, with a slightly different meaning, the figure expressedby _bombast_, lit. Wadding, a derivative of Greco-Lat. _bombyx_, originally "silk-worm, " whence also _bombasine_. We may compare also"_fustian_ eloquence"--

 "And he, whose _fustian_'s so sublimely bad, It is not poetry, but prose run mad. " (POPE, _Prologue to the Satires_, l. 187. )

And a very similar image is found in the Latin poet Ausonius--

 "At nos illepidum, rudem libellum, _Burras_, quisquilias ineptiasque Credemus gremio cui fovendum?" (_Drepanio Filio. _)

Even to "take the cake" is paralleled by the Gk. λαβεῖν τὸν πυραμοῦντα, to be awarded the cake of roasted wheat and honey which was originallythe prize of him who best kept awake during a night-watch. 

In the proverbial expressions which contain the concentrated wisdom ofthe ages we sometimes find exact correspondences. Thus "to look agift-horse in the mouth" is literally reproduced in French and German. Sometimes the symbols vary, _e. G. _, the risk one is exposed to inacquiring goods without examination is called by us "buying a pig in apoke. "[75] French and German substitute the cat. We say that "a cat maylook at a king. " The French _dramatis personæ_ are a dog and a bishop. The "bird in hand" which we regard as the equivalent of two in the bushis in German compared advantageously with ten on the roof. 

[Page Heading: NAUTICAL METAPHOR]

Every language has an immense number of metaphors to describe thevarious stages of intoxication. We, as a seafaring nation, havenaturally a set of such metaphors taken from nautical English. In Frenchand German the state of being "half-seas over" or "three sheets in thewind, " and the practice of "splicing the main-brace" are expressed byvarious land metaphors. But the more obvious nautical figures are commonproperty. We speak of being _stranded_; French says "_échouer_ (to runashore) dans une entreprise, " and German uses _scheitern_, to strand, split on a rock, in the same way. 

Finally, we observe the same principle in euphemism, or that form ofspeech which avoids calling things by their names. Euphemism is theresult of various human instincts which range from religious reverencedown to common decency. There is, however, a special type of euphemismwhich may be described as the delicacy of the partially educated. It isa matter of common observation that for educated people a spade is aspade, while the more outspoken class prefers to call it a decoratedshovel. Between these two classes come those delicate beings whose workin life is--

 "le retranchement de ces syllabes sales Qui dans les plus beaux mots produisent des scandales; Ces jouets éternels des sots de tous les temps; Ces fades lieux-communs de nos méchants plaisants; Ces sources d'un amas d'équivoques infâmes, Dont on vient faire insulte à la pudeur des femmes. " (MOLIÈRE, _Les Femmes savantes_, iii. 2. )

In the United States refined society has succeeded in banning asimproper the word _leg_, which must now be replaced by _limb_, even whenthe possessor is a boiled fowl, and this refinement is not unknown inEngland. The coloured ladies of Barbados appear to have been equallysensitive--

 "Fate had placed me opposite to a fine turkey. I asked my partner if I should have the pleasure of helping her to a piece of the breast. She looked at me indignantly, and said, 'Curse your impudence, sar; I wonder where you larn manners. Sar, I take a lilly turkey _bosom_, if you please. '" (_Peter Simple_, Ch. 31. )

This tendency shows itself especially in connection with the moreintimate garments and articles intended for personal use. We have theabsurd name _pocket handkerchief_, _i. E. _, pocket hand-cover-head, for acomparatively modern convenience, the earlier names of which have moreof the directness of the Artful Dodger's "wipe. " Ben Jonson calls it a_muckinder_. In 1829 the use of the word _mouchoir_ in a Frenchadaptation of _Othello_ caused a riot at the Comédie Française. Historyrepeats itself, for, in 1907, a play by J. M. Synge was produced inDublin, but--

 "The audience broke up in disorder at the word _shift_. " (_Academy_, 14th Oct. 1911. )

This is all the more ludicrous when we reflect that _shift_, _i. E. _change of raiment, is itself an early euphemism for _smock_; _cf. _ Ital. _mutande_, "thinne under-breeches" (Florio), from a country and centurynot usually regarded as prudish. The fact is that, just as the low word, when once accepted, loses its primitive vigour (see _pluck_, p. 83), theeuphemism is, by inevitable association, doomed from its very birth. 

[Page Heading: SEMANTIC ETYMOLOGY]

I will now give a few examples of the way in which the study ofsemantics helps the etymologist. The _antlers_ of a deer are properlythe lowest branches of the horns, what we now call brow-antlers. Theword comes from Old Fr. _antoilliers_, which answers phonetically to aconjectured Lat. _*ante-oculares_, from _oculus_, eye. This conjectureis confirmed by the Ger. _Augensprosse_, brow-antler, lit. Eye-sprout. 

Eng. _plover_, from Fr. _pluvier_, could come from a Vulgar Lat. _*pluviarius_, belonging to rain. The German name _Regenpfeifer_, lit. Rain-piper, shows this to be correct. It does not matter, etymologically, whether the bird really has any connection with rain, for rustic observation, interesting as it is, is essentiallyunscientific. The _honey_suckle is useless to the bee. The _slow-worm_, which appears to be for _slay-worm_, strike-serpent, [76] is perfectlyharmless, and the toad, though ugly, is not venomous, nor does he bear ajewel in his head. 

_Kestrel_, a kind of hawk, represents Old Fr. _quercerelle_(_crécerelle_), "a kastrell" (Cotgrave). _Crécerelle_ is a diminutive of_crécelle_, a rattle, used in Old French especially of the leper'srattle or clapper, with which he warned people away from hisneighbourhood. It is connected with Lat. _crepare_, to resound. TheLatin name for the kestrel is _tinnunculus_, lit. A little ringer, derived from the verb _tinnire_, to clink, jingle, "tintinnabulate. "Cooper tells us that "they use to set them (kestrels) in pigeon houses, to make doves to love the place, bicause they feare away other haukeswith their ringing voyce. " This information is obtained from the Latinagriculturist Columella. This parallel makes it clear that Fr. _crécerelle_, kestrel, is a metaphorical application of the same word, meaning a leper's "clicket. "

The curious word _akimbo_ occurs first in Mid. English in the form _inkenebowe_. In half a dozen languages we find this attitude expressed bythe figure of a jug-handle, or, as it used to be called, a pot-ear. Theoldest equivalent is Lat. _ansatus_, used by Plautus, from _ansa_, ajug-handle. _Ansatus homo_ is explained by Cooper as "a man with hisarms _on kenbow_. " Archaic French for to stand with arms akimbo is"faire le pot a deux _anses_, " and the same striking image occurs inGerman, Dutch, and Spanish. Hence it seems a plausible conjecture that_kenebowe_ means "jug-handle. " This is confirmed by the fact that Drydentranslates _ansa_, "the eare or handle of a cuppe or pot" (Cooper), by"_kimbo_ handle" (Vergil, _Ecl. _ iii. 44). Eng. _bow_, meaning anythingbent, is used in many connections for handle. The first element may be_can_, applied to every description of vessel in earlier English, as itstill is in Scottish, or it may be some Scandinavian word. In fact thewhole compound may be Scandinavian. Thomas' _Latin Dictionary_ (1644)explains _ansatus homo_ as "one that in bragging manner strowteth up anddown with his armes _a-canne-bow_. "

[Page Heading: DEMURE--LUGGER]

_Demure_ has been explained as from Mid. Eng. _mure_, ripe, mature, withprefixed _de_. But _demure_ is the older word of the two, and while theloss of the atonic first syllable is normal in English (p. 61), it wouldbe hard to find a case in which a meaningless prefix has been added. Nordoes the meaning of _demure_ approximate very closely to that of ripe. It now has a suggestion of slyness, but in Milton's time meant sedate--

 "Come, pensive nun, devout and pure, Sober, stedfast, and _demure_. " (_Penseroso_, l. 31. )

and its oldest meaning is calm, settled, used of the sea. When weconsider that it is nearly equivalent to _staid_, earlier _stayed_, andcompare the equivalent terms in other languages, _e. G. _, Lat. _sedatus_, Fr. _rassis_, Ger. _gesetzt_, etc. , it seems likely that it is formedfrom the Old Norman _demurer_ (_demeurer_), to "stay, " just as _stale_is formed from Old Fr. _estaler_ (_étaler_), to display on a _stall_, or_trove_, in "treasure _trove_, " from Old Fr. _trover_ (_trouver_). 

The origin of _lugger_ is unknown, but the word is recorded a centurylater than _lugsail_, whence it is probably derived. The explanation of_lugsail_ as a _sail_ that is _lugged_ seems to be a piece offolk-etymology. The French for _lugsail_ is _voile de fortune_, and astill earlier name, which occurs also in Tudor English, is_bonaventure_, _i. E. _, good luck. Hence it is not unreasonable toconjecture that _lugsail_ stands for _*luck-sail_, just as the name_Higson_ stands for _Hickson_ (see p. 172). 

The _pips_ on cards or dice have nothing to do with apple pips. Theoldest spelling is _peeps_. In the Germanic languages they are called"eyes, " and in the Romance languages "points"; and the Romancederivatives of Lat. _punctus_, point, also mean "_peep_ of day. " Hencethe _peeps_ are connected with the verb to _peep_. 

The game called _dominoes_ is French, and the name is taken from thephrase _faire domino_, to win the game. _Domino_, a hooded cloak worn bypriests in winter, is an Italian word, apparently connected with Lat. _dominus_. French also has, in various games, the phrase _faire capot_, with a meaning like that of _faire domino_. _Capot_, related to Eng. _cap_ and Fr. _chapeau_, means properly a hooded cloak. The twometaphors are quite parallel, but it is impossible to say what was theoriginal idea. Perhaps it was that of extinguishing the opponent byputting, as it were, his head in a bag. 

The card game called _gleek_ is often mentioned in Tudor literature. Itis derived from Old Fr. _glic_, used by Rabelais, and the word is verycommon in the works of the more disreputable French poets of the 15thcentury. According to French archaeologists the game was also called_bonheur_, _chance_, _fortune_, and _hasard_. Hence _glic_ represents inall probability Ger. _Glück_, luck. [77] The Old French form _ghelicque_would correspond to Mid. High Ger. _gelücke_. The history of _tennis_(p. 10) and _trump_ (p. 9) shows that it is not necessary to find theGerman word recorded in the same sense. 

[Page Heading: SENTRY]

The word _sentry_, which occurs in English only, has no connection atall with _sentinel_, the earliest form of which is Ital. _sentinella_, of unknown origin. The older lexicographers obscured the etymology of_sentry_, which is really quite simple, by always attempting to treatit along with _sentinel_. It is a common phenomenon in militarylanguage that the abstract name of an action is applied to the buildingor station in which the action is performed, then to the group of menthus employed, and finally to the individual soldier. Thus Lat. _custodia_ means (1) guardianship, (2) a ward-room, watch-tower, (3) thewatch collectively, (4) a watchman. Fr. _vigie_, the look-out man onboard ship, can be traced back in a similar series of meanings to Lat. _vigilia_, watching. [78] A _sentry_, now a single soldier, was formerlya band of soldiers--

 "What strength, what art can then Suffice, or what evasion bear him safe Through the strict _senteries_ and stations thick Of angels watching round?" (_Paradise Lost_, ii. 410. )

and earlier still a watch-tower, _e. G. _, Cotgrave explains Old Fr. _eschauguette_ (_échauguette_) as "a _sentrie_, watch-tower, beacon. "The purely abstract sense survives in the phrase "to keep _sentry_"_i. E. _ guard--

 "Here toils, and Death, and Death's half-brother, Sleep, Forms terrible to view their _centry_[79] keep. " (DRYDEN, _Æneid_, vi. 277. )

It is a contracted form of _sanctuary_. In the 17th century it is apretty familiar word in this sense. [79] The earliest example I have comeacross is in Nashe--

 "He hath no way now to slyppe out of my hands, but to take _sentrie_ in the Hospital of Warwick. " (First Part of PASQUIL'S _Apologie_, 1590. )

Fr. _guérite_, a sentry box, can be traced back in the same way to OldFr. _garir_ (_guérir_), to save. Cotgrave explains it as "a place ofrefuge, and of safe retyrall, " also "a _sentrie_, or little lodge for asentinell, built on high. " It is to this latter sense that we owe Eng. _garret_. In medieval French _guérite_ means refuge, sanctuary--

 "Ceste roche est Ihesucrist meismes qui est li refuges et la _garite_ aus humbles. "[80]

If French had not borrowed _sentinelle_ from Italian, _guérite_ wouldprobably now mean "sentry"; _cf. _ the history of _vigie_ (p. 103), or of_vedette_, a cavalry sentry, but originally "a prying or peeping hole"(Florio), from Ital. _vedere_, to see. 

FOOTNOTES:

[63] Parchment (see p. 49) was invented as a substitute when the supplyof papyrus failed. 

[64] The "stick" meaning survives in the _yards_ of a ship. _Yard_ wasonce the general word for rod, wand. Thus the "cheating _yardwand_" ofTennyson's "smooth-faced snubnosed rogue" (_Maud_, I. I. 16) is apleonasm of the same type as _greyhound_ (p. 135). _Yard_, an enclosure, is a separate word, related to _garden_. The doublet _garth_, used inthe Eastern counties, is of Scandinavian origin--

 "I climb'd to the top of the _garth_, and stood by the road at the gate. " (TENNYSON, _The Grandmother_, l. 38. )

[65] As Old Fr. _uissier_ has given _usher_, I would suggest that thefamily names _Lush_ and _Lusher_, which Bardsley (_Dict. Of EnglishSurnames_) gives up, are for Old Fr. _l'uis_ (cf. _Laporte_) and_l'uissier_. In modern French _Lhuissier_ is not an uncommon name. 

[66] The _onion_, Fr. _oignon_, Lat. _unio_, _union-_, is so namedbecause successive skins form an harmonious one-ness. It is a doublet of_union_. 

[67] Perhaps a diminutive of Cymric _bele_, marten, but felt as from Fr. _belle_. 

[68] Dozens of similar names for the weasel could be collected from theEuropean languages and dialects. It is probable that these complimentarynames were propitiatory, the weasel being an animal regarded withsuperstitious dread. 

[69] Cf. _Prester_ John, the fabulous priest monarch of Ethiopia. 

[70] Cf. _lordly_, _princely_, etc. , and Ger. _herrisch_, imperious, from _Herr_, sir. 

[71] Modern Fr. _écrou_ is used only in the sense of prison register. 

[72] The vowel is not so great a difficulty as it might appear, and weactually have the same change in _comrade_ itself, formerly pronounced_cumrade_. In the London pronunciation the _u_ of such words as _but_, _cup_, _hurry_, etc. , represents roughly a continental short _a_. Thisfact, familiar to phoneticians but disbelieved by others, is one of thefirst peculiarities noted by foreigners beginning to learn English. Itis quite possible that _chum_ is an accidental spelling for _*cham_, just as we write _bungalow_ for _bangla_ (Bengal), _pundit_ for_pandit_, and _Punjaub_ for _Panjab_, five rivers, whence also probablythe liquid called _punch_, from its five ingredients. _Cf. _ alsoAmerican to _slug_, _i. E. _ to _slog_, which appears to represent Du. _slag_, blow--"That was for _slugging_ the guard" (Kipling, _An Error inthe Fourth Dimension_)--and the adjective _bluff_, from obsolete Du. _blaf_, broad-faced. 

[73] _Array_, Old Fr. _arréer_, is related. 

[74] This is a characteristic of the old dictionary makers. The gem ofmy collection is Ludwig's gloss for _Lümmel_, "a long lubber, a lazylubber, a slouch, a lordant, a lordane, a looby, a booby, a tony, a fop, a dunce, a simpleton, a wise-acre, a sot, a logger-head, a block-head, anickampoop, a lingerer, a drowsy or dreaming lusk, a pill-garlick, aslowback, a lathback, a pitiful sneaking fellow, a lungis, a tall slimfellow, a slim longback, a great he-fellow, a lubberly fellow, a lozel, an awkward fellow. "

[75] _Poke_, sack, is still common in dialect, _e. G. _ in the Kentishhop-gardens. It is a doublet of _pouch_, and its diminutive is _pocket_. 

[76] The meaning of _worm_ has degenerated since the days of the_Lindwurm_, the dragon slain by Siegfried. The Norse form survives in_Great Orme's Head_, the dragon's head. 

[77] Some derive it from Ger. _gleich_, like, used of a "flush. "

[78] This is why so many French military terms are feminine, e. G. , _recrue_, _sentinelle_, _vedette_, etc. 

[79] Skinner's _Etymologicon_ (1671) has the two entries, _centry_ pro_sanctuary_ and _centry_ v. _sentinel_. The spellings _centry_ and_centinel_, which were common when the words still had a collectivesense, are perhaps due to some fancied connection with _century_, ahundred soldiers. 

[80] "This rock is Jesus Christ himself, who is the refuge and sanctuaryof the humble. "

CHAPTER VIII

METAPHOR

Every expression that we employ, apart from those that are connectedwith the most rudimentary objects and actions, is a metaphor, though theoriginal meaning is dulled by constant use. Thus, in the above sentence, _expression_ means what is "squeezed out, " to _employ_ is to "twine in"like a basket maker, to _connect_ is to "weave together, " _rudimentary_means "in the rough state, " and an _object_ is something "thrown in ourway. " A classification of the metaphors in use in the European languageswould show that a large number of the most _obvious_ kind, _i. E. _ ofthose which "come to meet" one, are common property, while others wouldreflect the most striking habits and pursuits of the various races. Itwould probably be found that in the common stock of simple metaphor themost important contribution would come from agriculture, while inEnglish the nautical element would occur to an extent quite unparalleledin other European languages. [81] A curious agricultural metaphor which, though of Old French origin, now appears to be peculiar to English, isto _rehearse_, lit. To harrow over again (see _hearse_, p. 75). 

Some metaphors are easy to track. It does not require much philologicalknowledge to see that _astonish_, _astound_, and _stun_ all contain theidea of "thunder-striking, " Vulgar Lat. _*ex-tonare_. To _embarrass_ isobviously connected with _bar_, and to _interfere_ is to "strikebetween, " Old Fr. _entreferir_. This word was especially used in the16th century of a horse knocking its legs together in trotting, "to_interfeere_, as a horse" (Cotgrave). When we speak of a_prentice-hand_, sound _journeyman_ work, and a _masterpiece_, we revivethe medieval classification of artisans into learners, qualifiedworkmen, and those who, by the presentation to their guild of a finishedpiece of work, were recognised as past (passed) masters. 

But many of our metaphors are drawn from pursuits with which we are nolonger familiar, or from arts and sciences no longer practised. _Disaster_, _ill-starred_, and such adjectives as _jovial_, _mercurial_, are reminiscent of astrology. To bring a thing to the _test_ is to putit in the alchemist's or metallurgist's _test_ or trying-pot (cf. _test_-tube), Old Fr. _test_ (_têt_). This is related to Old Fr. _teste_(_tête_) head, from Lat. _testa_, tile, pot, etc. , used in Roman slangfor _caput_. Shakespeare has the complete metaphor--

 "Let there be some more _test_ made of my metal, [82] Before so noble and so great a figure Be stamp'd upon it. " (_Measure for Measure_, i. 1. )

[Page Heading: SHAMBLES--SPICK AND SPAN]

The old butchers' shops which adjoin Nottingham Market Place are stillcalled the _Shambles_. The word is similarly used at Carlisle, andprobably elsewhere; but to most people it is familiar only in themetaphorical sense of place of slaughter, generally regarded as asingular. Thus Denys of Burgundy says--

 "The beasts are in the _shambles_. " (_Cloister and Hearth_, Ch. 33. )

etymologically misusing the word, which does not mean slaughter-house, but the bench on which meat is exposed for sale. It is a very early loanfrom Lat. _scamnum_, a bench or form, also explained by Cooper as "astep or grice (see p. 118) to get up to bedde. " The same diminutive formoccurs in Fr. _escabeau_, an office stool, and Ger. _Schemel_, a stool. 

_Fusty_, earlier _foisty_, is no longer used in its proper sense. Itcomes from Old Fr. _fusté_, "_fusty_; tasting of the caske, smelling ofthe vessell wherein it hath been kept" (Cotgrave), a derivative of OldFr. _fust_ (_fût_) a cask. [83]

The smith's art has given us _brand-new_, often corrupted into_bran-new_. Shakespeare uses _fire-new_--

 "You should then have accosted her; and with some excellent jests, _fire-new_ from the mint, you should have banged the youth into dumbness. " (_Twelfth Night_, iii. 2. )

Modern German has _funkelnagelneu_, spark nail new; but in older Germanwe find also _spanneu_, _splinterneu_, chip new, splinter new; whichshows the origin of our _spick and span_ (new), _i. E. _, spike and chipnew. French has _tout battant neuf_, beating new, _i. E. _, fresh from theanvil. 

Many old hunting terms survive as metaphors. To be _at bay_, Fr. _auxabois_, is to be facing the baying hounds. The fundamental meaning ofOld Fr. _abaier_ (_aboyer_), of obscure origin, is perhaps to gapeat. [84] Thus a right or estate which is in _abeyance_ is one regardedwith open-mouthed expectancy. The _toils_ are Fr. _toiles_, lit. Cloths, Lat. _tela_, the nets put round a thicket to prevent the game fromescaping. To "beat about the bush" seems to be a mixture of twometaphors which are quite unlike in meaning. To "beat the bush" was theoffice of the beaters, who started the game for others, hence an oldproverb, "I will not beat the bush that another may have the birds. " To"go about the bush" would seem to have been used originally of ahesitating hound. The two expressions have coalesced to express the ideafor which French says "y aller par quatre chemins. " _Crestfallen_ and_white feather_ belong to the old sport of cock-fighting. _Jeopardy_ isOld Fr. _jeu parti_, a divided game, hence an equal encounter. To runfull _tilt_ is a jousting phrase. To _pounce_ upon is to seize in the_pounces_, the old word for a hawk's claws. The ultimate source is Lat. _pungere_, to prick, pierce. A goldsmith's _punch_ was also called a_pounce_, hence the verb to _pounce_, to make patterns on metal. Thenorthern past participle _pouncet_[85] occurs in _pouncet-box_, a metalperforated globe for scents--

 "And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held A _pouncet-box_, which ever and anon He gave his nose, and took't away again. " (1 _Henry IV. _, i. 3. )

To the language of hawking belongs also _haggard_. Cotgrave defines_faulcon (faucon) hagard_, as "a faulcon that preyed for her selfe longbefore she was taken. " Hence the sense of wild, untameable. The originalmeaning is hedge-hawk, the first syllable representing Old High Ger. _hag_, hedge. _Hag_, a witch, is of cognate origin. 

[Page Heading: SPORTING METAPHORS]

The antiquity of dicing appears in the history of Ger. _gefallen_, toplease, originally used of the "fall" of the dice. In Mid. High Germanit is always used with _wohl_, well, or _übel_, ill; e. G. , _es gefälltmir wohl_, it "falls out" well for me. There can be no reasonable doubtthat the _deuce!_ is a dicer's exclamation at making the lowest throw, two, Fr. _deux_. We still use _deuce_ for the two in cards, and Germanhas _Daus_ in both senses. Tennis has given us _bandy_, Fr. _bander_, "to _bandie_, at tennis" (Cotgrave). We now only bandy words orreproaches, but Juliet understood the word in its literal sense--

 "Had she affections and warm youthful blood, She'd be as swift in motion as a ball; My words would _bandy_ her to my sweet love, And his to me. " (_Romeo and Juliet_, ii. 5. )

Fowling has given us _cajole_, _decoy_, and _trepan_. Fr. _cajoler_, which formerly meant to chatter like a jay in a cage, has in modernFrench assumed the meaning of _enjôler_, earlier _engeoler_, "to incage, or ingaole" (Cotgrave), hence to entice. Fr. _geôle_, gaol, representsVulgar Lat. _*caveola_. _Decoy_, earlier also _coy_, is Du. _kooi_, cage. The later form is perhaps due to _duck-coy_. Du. _kooi_ is also ofLatin origin. It comes, like Fr. _cage_, from Vulgar Lat. _*cavea_, andhas a doublet _kevie_, whence Scot. _cavie_, a hen-coop. _Trepan_ wasformerly _trapan_, and belongs to _trap_--

 "Some by the nose with fumes _trapan_ 'em, As Dunstan did the devil's grannam. " (_Hudibras_, ii. 3. )

It is now equivalent to _kidnap_, _i. E. _ to _nab kids_ (children), oncea lucrative pursuit. The surgical _trepan_ is a different wordaltogether, and belongs to Greco-Lat. _trypanon_, an auger, piercer. To_allure_ is to bring to the _lure_, or bait. To the same group ofmetaphors belongs _inveigle_, which corresponds, with altered prefix, toFr. _aveugler_, to blind, Vulgar Lat. _*ab-oculare_. [86] A distantrelative of this word is _ogle_, which is of Low German origin; _cf. _Ger. _liebäugeln_ "to _ogle_, to smicker, to look amorously, to castsheeps-eyes, to cast amorous looks" (Ludwig). 

The archaic verb to _cozen_ is a metaphor of quite another kind. Everyyoung noble who did the grand tour in the 16th and 17th centuries spentsome time at Naples, "where he may improve his knowledge inhorsemanship" (Howell, _Instructions for Forreine Travell_, 1642). Nowthe Italian horse-dealers were so notorious that Dekker, writing about1600, describes a swindling "horse-courser" as a "meere jadishNon-politane, " a play on Neapolitan. The Italian name is _cozzone_, "ahorse-courser, a horse-breaker, a craftie knave" (Florio), whence theverb _cozzonare_, "to have perfect skill in all _cosenages_" (Torriano). The essential idea of to _cozen_ in the Elizabethans is that of sellingfaulty goods in a bad light, a device said to be practised by somehorse-dealers. At any rate the words for horse-dealer in all languages, from the Lat. _mango_ to the Amer. _horse-swapper_, mean swindler andworse things. _Cozen_ is a favourite word with the Elizabethandramatists, because it enables them to bring off one of those stock punsthat make one feel "The less Shakespeare he"--

 "_Cousins_, indeed; and by their uncle _cozen'd_ Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life. " (_Richard III. _, iv. 4. )

In the _Merry Wives of Windsor_ (iv. 5) there is a lot of word-play on"cousins-german" and "German cozeners. " An exact parallel to the historyof _cozen_ is furnished by the verb to _jockey_, from _jockey_, in itsolder sense of horse-dealer. 

[Page Heading: HORTICULTURE]

_Scion_ is a metaphor from the garden. It is Fr. _scion_, "a scion; ayoung and tender plant; a shoot, sprig, or twig" (Cotgrave). Ger. _Sprössling_, sproutling, is also used of an "offshoot" from a "stock. "We have a similar metaphor in the word _imp_. We now _graft_ trees, amisspelling of older _graffe_, Fr. _greffe_, Greco-Lat. _graphium_, apencil, from the shape of the slip. But the older word was _imp_, whichwe find also used of inserting a new feather into the wing or tail of ahawk, or fitting a small bell-rope to a larger one. The art of graftingwas learnt from the Romans, who had a post-classical verb_imputare_, [87] to graft, which has given Eng. _imp_, Ger. _impfen_, Fr. _enter_, and is represented in most other European languages. _Imp_ wasused like _scion_, but degenerated in meaning. In Shakespeare it hasalready the somewhat contemptuous shade of meaning which we find in Ger. _Sprössling_, and is only used by comic characters. Thus Pistoladdresses Prince Hal--

 "The heavens thee guard and keep, most royal _imp_ of fame. " (2 _Henry IV. _, v. 5. )

But Thomas Cromwell, in his last letter to Henry VIII. , speaks of--

 "That most noble _imp_, the prince's grace, your most dear son. "

The special sense of "young devil" appears to be due to the frequentoccurrence of such phrases as "_imps_ (children) of Satan, " "the deviland his _imps_, " etc. Ger. _impfen_ also means to vaccinate. Our earlierterm _inoculate_[88] originally meant to graft, and, in fact, _engraft_was also used in this sense. 

_Zest_ is quite obsolete in its original meaning of a piece of orangepeel used to give piquancy to wine. It is a French word of unknownorigin, properly applied to the inner skin of fruit and nuts. Cotgraveexplains it as "the thick skinne, or filme whereby the kernell of awallnut is divided. "

FOOTNOTES:

[81] It would be interesting to trace the rise and spread of nauticalmetaphor in English. We have a good example of the transition from thebucolic to the nautical in the expression "To lose the _ship_ for aha'porth of tar. " Few people who use this metaphor know that _ship_ ishere the dialect pronunciation of _sheep_; cf. _Ship Street_, at Oxford(and elsewhere), for _Sheep Street_. Tar was, and is, used as a medicinefor sheep, but in this particular case the allusion seems to be ratherto the marking of sheep with tar; _cf. _ "tarred with the same brush, "_i. E. _, members of the same flock. 

[82] See _mettle_, p. 144. 

[83] Lat. _fustis_, a staff, cudgel, gave also Old Fr. _fust_, a kind ofboat, whence obsolete Eng. _foist_ in the same sense. Both meanings seemto go back to a time when casks and boats were "dug out" instead ofbeing built up. 

[84] Related are _bouche béante_, or _bée_, mouth agape; _bâiller_, toyawn; and _badaud_, "a gaping hoydon" (Cotgrave, _badault_). 

[85] _Cf. _ the _Stickit_ Minister. 

[86] Or perhaps _*alboculare_, as _albus oculus_, lit. White eye, isused of blindness in an early Vulgar Latin glossary. 

[87] Of uncertain origin. Lat. _putare_, to cut (cf. _amputate_), or Gk. ἔμφυτος, implanted?

[88] From _oculus_, eye, in the sense of bud. 

CHAPTER IX

FOLK-ETYMOLOGY

The sound, spelling, and even the meaning of a word are often pervertedby influences to which the collective name of folk-etymology has beengiven. I here use the term to include all phenomena which are due to anykind of misunderstanding of a word. A word beginning with _n_ sometimesloses this sound through its being confused with the _n_ of theindefinite article _an_. Thus _an adder_ and _an auger_ are for _anadder_ (_cf. _ Ger. _Natter_) and _a nauger_, Mid. Eng. _navegor_, properly an instrument for piercing the _nave_ of a wheel. _Apron_ wasin Mid. English _naprun_, from Old Fr. _naperon_, a derivative of_nappe_, cloth. The _aitch-bone_ was formerly the _nache-bone_, from OldFr. _nache_, buttock, Vulgar Lat. _*natica_ for _nates_. _Nache_ isstill used by French butchers. _Humble-pie_ is a popular perversion of_umble-pie_, _i. E. _, a pie made from the _umbles_, or inferior parts ofthe stag. But _umble_ is for earlier _numble_, Old Fr. _nomble_, formed, with dissimilation, from Lat. _lumbulus_, diminutive of _lumbus_, loin;cf. _niveau_ (p. 58). Thus _humble-pie_ has etymologically no connectionwith humility. _Umpire_ represents Old Fr. _non per_ (_pair_), notequal, the _umpire_ being a third person called in when arbitratorscould not agree. This appears clearly in the following extract from amedieval letter--

 "And if so be that the said arbitrators may not accord before the said feast of Allhalowes, then the said parties be the advise abovesaid are agreed to abide the award and ordinance of an _noumper_ to be chosen be the said arbitrators. " (_Plumpton Correspondence_, 1431. )

For the sense we may compare Span. _tercero_, "the third, a broaker, amediator" (Percyvall). _An eyas_ falcon is for _a neyas_ falcon, Fr. _niais_, foolish, lit. Nestling, related to _nid_, nest. Rosenkrantzuses it in the literal sense--

 "But there is, sir, an aiery of children, little _eyases_, that cry out on the top of question, and are most tyranically clapped for't. " (_Hamlet_, ii. 2. )

Somewhat similar is the loss in French of initial _a_ in _la boutique_for _l'aboutique_, Greco-Lat. _apotheca_, and _la Pouille_ for_l'Apouille_, Apulia, or of the initial _l_ in _ounce_, a kind oftiger-cat, from Fr. _once_, earlier _lonce_, "the _ounce_, a ravenousbeast" (Cotgrave), taken as _l'once_. It is almost a doublet of _lynx_. 

The opposite has happened in the case of _a newt_ for _an ewt_ and _anick-name_ for _an eke-name_. _Eke_, also, occurs in the first stanza ofJohn Gilpin. It is cognate with Ger. _auch_, also, and Lat. _augere_, toincrease. _Nuncle_, the customary address of a court fool to hissuperiors--

 "How now, _nuncle_! Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters. " (_Lear_, i. 4. )

is for _mine uncle_. We also find _naunt_. _Nonce_ occurs properly onlyin the phrase _for the nonce_, which is for earlier _for then ones_, where _then_ is the dative of the definite article. Family names like_Nash_, _Nokes_ are aphetic for _atten ash_, at the ash, _atten oakes_, at the oaks. The creation of such forms was perhaps helped by ourtendency to use initial _n_ in Christian names, e. G. , _Ned_ for_Edward_, _Noll_ for _Oliver_, _Nell_ for _Ellen_. 

[Page Heading: AGGLUTINATION OF THE ARTICLE]

Agglutination of the definite article is common in French, e. G. , _lingot_, ingot, _lierre_, ivy, for _l'ierre_, Lat. _hedera_, and thedialect _lévier_, sink, for _évier_, Lat. _aquarium_, whence Eng. _ewer_. The derivation of Fr. _landier_, andiron, is unknown, but the_iron_ of the English word is due to folk-etymology. Such agglutinationoccurs often in family names such as _Langlois_, lit. The Englishman, _Lhuissier_, the usher (see p. 90), and some of these have passed intoEnglish, e. G. , _Levick_ for _l'évêque_, the bishop. 

The two words _alarm_ and _alert_ include the Italian definite article. The first is Ital. _all'arme_, to arms, for _a le arme_, and the secondis _all'erta_ for _alla (a la) erta_, the last word representing Lat. _erecta_. With rolled _r_, _alarm_ becomes _alarum_, whence the aphetic_larum_--

 "Then we shall hear their _larum_, and they ours. " (_Coriolanus_, i. 4. )

Ger. _Lärm_, noise, is the same word. In Luther's time we also find_Allerm_. 

We have the Arabic definite article in a great many words borrowed fromSpanish. _Alcalde_, or _alcade_, and _alguazil_, common in Elizabethanliterature, are two old friends from the _Arabian Nights_, the _cadi_and the _wazir_, or _vizier_. The Arabic article also occurs in _acton_, Old Fr. _auqueton_, now _hoqueton_, for _al qutn_ (cotton), becauseoriginally used of a wadded coat--

 "But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail, Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail; Through shield, and jack, and _acton_ past, Deep in his bosom broke at last. " (SCOTT, _Lay_, iii. 6. )

In _alligator_, Span. _el lagarto_, the lizard, from Lat. _lacertus_, wehave the Spanish definite article. See also _lariat_, p. 24. 

A foreign word ending in a sibilant is sometimes mistaken for a plural. Thus Old Fr. _assets_ (_assez_), enough, Lat. _ad satis_, has given Eng. _assets_, plural, with a barbarous, but useful, singular _asset_. _Cherry_ is for _cheris_, from a dialect form of Fr. _cerise_, and_sherry_ for _sherris_, from _Xeres_ in Spain (see p. 51). Falstaffopines that--

 "A good _sherris_-sack[89] hath a twofold operation in it. " (2 _Henry IV. _, iv. 3. )

_Pea_ is a false singular from older _pease_, Lat. _pisum_. Perhaps thefrequent occurrence of _pease-soup_, not to be distinguished from_pea-soup_, is partly responsible for this mistake. _Marquee_, a largetent, is from Fr. _marquise_. With this we may class the heathen_Chinee_ and the _Portugee_. Milton wrote correctly of--

 "The barren plains Of Sericana, where _Chineses_ drive With sails and wind their cany waggons light. " (_Paradise Lost_, iii. 438. )

It has been ingeniously suggested that _Yankee_ has been derived in thesame way from Du. _Jan Kees_, John Cornelius, supposed to have been anickname for early Dutch colonists. It is more probably the Dutch dim. _Janke_, i. E. Johnny. The vulgarism _shay_ for _chaise_[90] is ofsimilar formation. _Corp_, for _corpse_, is also used provincially. _Kickshaws_ is really a singular from Fr. _quelque chose_--

 "Art thou good at these _kickshawses_, knight?" (_Twelfth Night_, i. 3. )

Cotgrave spells it _quelkchoses_ (s. V. _fricandeau_). 

[Page Heading: FALSE SINGULARS AND DOUBLE PLURALS]

_Skate_ has a curious history. It is a false singular from Du. _schaats_. This is from _escache_, an Old French dialect form of_échasse_, stilt, which was used in the Middle Ages for a wooden leg. Itis of German origin, and is related to _shank_. _Cf. _, for the sensedevelopment, Eng. _patten_, from Fr. _patin_, a derivative of _patte_, foot, cognate with _paw_. _Skates_ are still called _pattens_ by thefenmen of Cambridgeshire. We also had formerly a doublet from Old Fr. _escache_ directly, but in the older sense, for Cotgrave has _eschasses_(_échasses_), "stilts, or _scatches_ to go on. " _Row_, a disturbance, belongs to _rouse_, a jollification--

 "The king doth wake to-night and takes his _rouse_. " (_Hamlet_, i. 4. )

of uncertain origin, but probably aphetic for _carouse_, _drink carouse_being wrongly separated as _drink a rouse_. The bird called a _wheatear_was formerly called _wheatears_, a corruption of a name best explainedby its French equivalent _cul blanc_, "the bird called a whittaile"(Cotgrave). We may compare the bird-name _redstart_, where _start_ meansrump. 

Conversely a word used in the plural is sometimes regarded as asingular, the result being a double plural. Many Latin neuter pluralswere adopted into French as feminine singulars, e. G. , _cornua_, _corne_, horn; _labra_, _lèvre_, lip; _vela_, _voile_, sail. It is obvious thatthis is most likely to occur in the case of plurals which are used for apair, or set, of things, and thus have a kind of collective sense. _Breeches_ or _breeks_ is a double plural, Anglo-Sax. _brēc_ beingalready the plural of _brōc_. In Mid. English we still find _breche_ or_breke_ used of this garment. _Trousers_ was earlier _trouses_, pluralof _trouse_, now _trews_, and was used especially of Irish nativecostume. The latest researches throw doubt on the identity of thesewords with Fr. _trousse_, a page's short breeches. The etymology whichnow finds most favour is Irish and Gaelic _triubhas_, from Late Lat. _tubracci_ or _tribracci_, which is supposed to be a corrupted compoundfrom _tibia_, leg, shank, and _braccæ_, breeches. _Bodice_ is for_bodies_, as _pence_ is for _pennies_. Cotgrave explains _corset_ by "apaire of _bodies_ for a woman, " and the plural sense occurs as late asHarrison Ainsworth--

 "A _pair of bodice_ of the cumbrous form in vogue at the beginning of the last century. " (_Jack Sheppard_, Ch. 1. )

_Trace_, of a horse, is the Old Fr. Plural _trais_[91] (_traits_) of_trait_, "a teame-trace" (Cotgrave). _Apprentice_ is the plural of Fr. _apprenti_, formerly _apprentif_, a derivative of _apprendre_, to learn, hence a disciple. _Invoice_ is the plural of the obsolete _invoy_, fromFr. _envoi_, sending. 

In the _Grecian steps_, at Lincoln, we have a popular corruption of thecommon Mid. Eng. And Tudor _grece_, _grese_, plural of Old Fr. _gré_, step, from Lat. _gradus_. Shakespeare spells it _grize_--

 "Let me speak like yourself; and lay a sentence, Which, as a _grize_, or step, may help these lovers Into your favour. " (_Othello_, i. 3. )

[Page Heading: SINGULARS FROM PLURALS]

Scot. _brose_, or _brewis_, was in Mid. Eng. _browes_, from Old Fr. _brouez_, plural of _brouet_, a word cognate with our _broth_. From thisassociation comes perhaps the use of _broth_ as a plural in some of ourdialects. _Porridge_, not originally limited to oatmeal, seems to becombined from _pottage_ and Mid. Eng. _porrets_, plural of _porret_, leek, a diminutive from Lat. _porrum_. _Porridge_ is sometimes used asa plural in Scottish--

 "They're fine, halesome food, they're grand food, _parritch_. " (_Kidnapped_, Ch. 3. )

and in the northern counties of England people speak of taking "a few"porridge, or broth. _Baize_, now generally green, is for earlier_bayes_, the plural of the adjective _bay_, now used only of horses;_cf. _ Du. _baai_, baize. The origin of the adjective _bay_, Fr. _bai_, forms of which occur in all the Romance languages, is Lat. _badius_, "ofbay colour, bayarde" (Cooper). Hence the name _Bayard_, applied toFitzJames' horse in _The Lady of the Lake_ (v. 18), and earlier to thesteed that carried the four sons of Aymon. _Quince_ is the plural of_quin_, from the Norman form of Old Fr. _coin_ (_coing_), which isderived from Gk. κυδώνιον. _Truce_ is the plural of Mid. Eng. _trewe_(lit. Truth, faith) with the same meaning. Already in Anglo-Saxon it isfound in the plural, probably as rendering Lat. _induciæ_. _Lettuce_, Mid. Eng. _letows_, seems also to be a plural, from Fr. _laitue_, Lat. _lactuca_. 

_Earnest_ in the sense of pledge--

 "And, for an _earnest_ of a greater honour, He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor. " (_Macbeth_, i. 3. )

has nothing to do with the adjective _earnest_. It is the Mid. Eng. _ernes_, earlier _erles_, which survives as _arles_ in some of ourdialects. The verb to _earl_ is still used in Cumberland of "enlisting"a servant with a shilling in the open market. The Old French word was_arres_ or _erres_, now written learnedly _arrhes_, a plural from Lat. _arrha_, "an _earnest_ penny, _earnest_ money" (Cooper). The existenceof Mid. Eng. _erles_ shows that there must have been also an Old Frenchdiminutive form. For the apparently arbitrary change of _l_ to _n_ wemay compare _banister_ for _baluster_ (see p. 60). 

The _jesses_ of a hawk--

 "If I do prove her haggard, [92] Though that her _jesses_ were my dear heart-strings, I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind, To prey at fortune. " (_Othello_, iii. 3. )

were the thongs by which it was held or "thrown" into the air. _Jess_ isthe Old Fr. _jes_, the plural of _jet_, from _jeter_, to throw. InColman's _Elder Brother_ we read of a gentleman who lounged and chatted, "not minding time a _souse_, " where _souse_ is the plural of Fr. _sou_, halfpenny. From Fr. _muer_, to moult, Lat. _mutare_, we get Fr. _mue_, moulting, later applied to the coop or pen in which moulting falconswere confined, whence the phrase "to _mew_ (up)"--

 "More pity, that the eagles should be _mew'd_, While kites and buzzards prey at liberty. " (_Richard III. _, i. 1. )

When, in 1534, the royal _mews_, or hawk-houses, near Charing Cross wererebuilt as stables, the word acquired its present meaning. 

_Chess_, Old Fr. _esches_ (_échecs_), is the plural of _check_, Fr. _échec_, from Persian _shāh_, king. By analogy with the "game of kings, "the name _jeu des dames_ was given in French to draughts, still called_dams_ in Scotland. _Draught_, from _draw_, meant in Mid. English a"move" at chess. The etymology of _tweezers_ can best be made clear bystarting from French _étui_, a case, of doubtful origin. This became inEnglish _etwee_, or _twee_, _e. G. _, Cotgrave explains _estui_ (_étui_)as "a sheath, case, or box to put things in; and (more particularly) acase of little instruments, as sizzars, bodkin, penknife, etc. , nowcommonly termed an _ettwee_. " Such a case generally opens book-fashion, each half being fitted with instruments. Accordingly we find it called asurgeon's "pair of _twees_, " or simply _tweese_, and later a "pair of_tweeses_. " The implement was named from the case (_cf. _ Fr. _boussole_, p. 127), and became _tweezers_ by association with _pincers_ (Fr. _pinces_), _scissors_, etc. 

[Page Heading: ANALOGY]

The form of a word is often affected by association with some other wordwith which it is instinctively coupled. Thus _larboard_, for Mid. Eng. _ladeboard_, _i. E. _ loading side, is due to _starboard_, steering side. _Bridal_, for _bride-ale_, from the liquid consumed at marriagefestivities, is due to analogy with _betrothal_, _espousal_, etc. A16th-century Puritan records with satisfaction the disappearance of--

 "Church-ales, helpe-ales, and soule-ales, called also dirge-ales, and heathenish rioting at _bride-ales_. " (HARRISON, _Description of England_, 1577. )

_Rampart_ is from Old Fr. _rempar_, a verbal noun from _remparer_, torepair; _cf. _ Ital. _riparo_, "a _rampire_, a fort, a banke" (Florio). By analogy with Old Fr. _boulevart_ (_boulevard_), of German origin andidentical with our _bulwark_, [93] _rempar_ became _rempart_. The olderEnglish form occurs in the obsolete _rampier_ or _rampire_, whichsurvive in the dialect _ramper_, embankment, causeway. For the spelling_rampire_ we may compare _umpire_ (p. 113). The apple called a_jenneting_, sometimes "explained" as for _June-eating_, was once spelt_geniton_, no doubt for Fr. _jeanneton_, a diminutive of _Jean_. It iscalled in French _pomme de Saint-Jean_, and in German _Johannisapfel_, because ripe about St John's Day (June 24). The modern form is due tosuch apple names as _golding_, _sweeting_, _codlin_, _pippin_. 

In the records of medieval London we frequently come across thedistinction made between people who lived "in the city, " Anglo-Fr. _deinz (dans) la cité_, and "outside the city, " Anglo-Fr. _fors (hors)la cité_. The former were called _deinzein_, whence our _denizen_, andthe latter _forein_. [94] The Anglo-French form of modern Fr. _citoyen_was _citein_, which became _citizen_ by analogy with _denizen_. Thefollowing passage from a medieval London by-law shows how rigid was thedivision between "denizen" and "foreign" traders--

 "Item, qe nulle pulletere _deinzeyn_ n'estoise a Carfeux del Ledenhalle deins mesoun ne dehors, ove conilles, volatilie, n'autre pulletrie pur vendre ... Issint qe les _forreins_ pulleters, ove lour pulletrie, estoisent par eux mesmes, et vendent lour pulletrie sur le cornere de Ledenhalle, sanz ceo qe ascuns pulletere _deinzein_ viegne ou medle en vent ou en achate ove eux, ne entre eux. "[95] (_Liber Albus. _)

Even words which have opposite meanings may affect each other byassociation. Thus Lat. _reddere_, to give back, became Vulgar Lat. _*rendere_ by analogy with _prendere_ (_prehendere_), to take away;hence Fr. _rendre_. Our word _grief_, from Fr. _grief_, is derived froma Vulgar Lat. _*grĕvis_, heavy (for _grăvis_), which is due to _lĕvis_, light. 

[Page Heading: TITMOUSE--PURLIEU]

The plural of _titmouse_ is now usually _titmice_, by analogy with_mouse_, _mice_, with which it has no connection. The second part of theword is Anglo-Sax. _māse_, used of several small birds. It is cognatewith Ger. _Meise_, titmouse, and Fr. _mésange_, "a titmouse, ortittling" (Cotgrave). _Tit_, of Norse origin, is applied to varioussmall animals, and occurs also as a prefix in _titbit_ or _tidbit_. Cf. _tomtit_ (p. 37). 

The Spanish word _salva_, "a taste, a salutation" (Percyvall), was usedof the pregustation of a great man's food or drink. We have given thename to the tray or dish from which the "assay" was made, but, byanalogy with _platter_, _trencher_, we spell it _salver_. In anothersense, that of a "salutation" in the form of a volley of shot, we havecorrupted it into _salvo_. With the use of Span. _salva_ we may comparethat of Ital. _credenza_, lit. Faith, "the taste or assaie of a princesmeate and drinke" (Florio), whence Fr. _crédence_, side-board, used inEnglish only in the ecclesiastical compound _credence table_, and Ger. _credenzen_, to pour out. 

In spoken English the ending _-ew_, _-ue_, of French origin, has beenoften changed to _-ee_, _-ey_. Thus _pedigree_ was formerly _pedigrew_(see p. 77). The fencing term _veney_--

 "I bruised my shin the other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence--three _veneys_ for a dish of stewed prunes. " (_Merry Wives_, i. 1. )

also spelt _venew_, is from Fr. _venue_, "a _venny_ in fencing"(Cotgrave). _Carew_ has become _Carey_, and _Beaulieu_, in Hampshire, iscalled _Bewley_. Under the influence of these double forms we sometimesget the opposite change, e. G. , _purlieu_, now generally used of theoutskirts of a town, is for _purley_, a strip of disforested woodland. This is a contraction of Anglo-Fr. _pour-allée_, used to translate thelegal Lat. _perambulatio_, a going through. A change of _venue_[96] issometimes made when it seems likely that an accused person, or afootball team, will not get justice from a local jury. This _venue_ isin law Latin _vicinetum_, neighbourhood, which gave Anglo-Fr. _visné_, and this, perhaps by confusion with the _venire facias_, or jurysummons, became _venew_, _venue_. 

In the preceding examples the form has been chiefly affected. In theword _luncheon_ both form and meaning have been influenced by theobsolete _nuncheon_, a meal at noon, Mid. Eng. _none-chenche_, for_*none-schenche_, noon draught, from Anglo-Sax. _scencan_, [97] to pour. Drinking seems to have been regarded as more important than eating, forin some counties we find this _nuncheon_ replaced by _bever_, theAnglo-French infinitive from Lat. _bibere_, to drink. _Lunch_, a pieceor hunk, especially of bread, also used in the sense of a "snack" (_cf. _Scot. "piece"), was extended to _luncheon_ by analogy with _nuncheon_, which it has now replaced--

 "So munch on, crunch on, take your _nuncheon_, Breakfast, supper, dinner, _luncheon_. " (BROWNING, _Pied Piper of Hamelin_. )

[Page Heading: WRONG ASSOCIATION]

The term folk-etymology is often applied in a narrower sense to thecorruption of words through a mistaken idea of their etymology ororigin. The tendency of the uneducated is to distort an unfamiliar orunintelligible word into some form which suggests a meaning. Some casesmay have originated in a kind of heavy jocularity, as in_sparrow-grass_ for _asparagus_ or _sparagus_ (see p. 66), or RogueRiderhood's _Alfred David_ for _affidavit_--

 "'Is that your name?' asked Lightwood. 'My name?' returned the man. 'No; I want to take a _Alfred David_. '" (_Our Mutual Friend_, Ch. 12. )

In others there has been a wrong association of ideas, _e. G. _, the_primrose_, _rosemary_, and _tuberose_ have none of them originally anyconnection with the _rose_. _Primrose_ was earlier _primerole_, an OldFrench derivative of Latin _primula_; _rosemary_, French _romarin_, isfrom Lat. _ros marinus_, sea-dew; _tuberose_ is the Latin adjective_tuberosus_, bulbous, tuberous. Or attempts are made at translation, such as Sam Weller's _Have his carcase_ for _Habeas Corpus_, or thecurious names which country folk give to such complaints as_bronchitis_, _erysipelas_, etc. To this class belongs PrivateMulvaney's perversion of _locomotor ataxy_--

 "'They call ut _Locomotus attacks us_, ' he sez, 'bekaze, ' sez he, 'it attacks us like a locomotive. '" (_Love o' Women. _)

Our language is, owing to our borrowing habits, particularly rich inthese gems. Examples familiar to everybody are _crayfish_ from Fr. _écrevisse_, _gilly-flower_ from Fr. _giroflée_, _shame-faced_ for_shamefast_. Other words in which the second element has been alteredare _causeway_, earlier _causey_, from the Picard form of Fr. _chaussée_, Lat. (_via_) _calciata_, _i. E. _, made with lime, _calx_;_penthouse_, for _pentice_, Fr. _appentis_, "the _penthouse_ of a house"(Cotgrave), a derivative of Old Fr. _appendre_, to hang to. Fr. _hangar_, a shed, now introduced into English by aviators asunnecessarily as _garage_ by motorists, may also contain the same ideaof "hanging. "

In _hiccough_, for earlier _hickup_, an onomatopœic word, the spelling, suggested by _cough_, has not affected the pronunciation. _Surcease_ isFr. _sursis_, past participle of _surseoir_, "to _surcease_, pawse, intermit, leave off, give over, delay or stay for a time" (Cotgrave), Lat. _supersedere_. _Taffrail_ has been confused with _rail_, its olderform being _tafferel_, from Du. _tafereel_, diminutive of _tafel_, picture, from Lat. _tabula_. It meant originally the flat part of thestern of a ship ornamented with carvings or pictures. This is called_tableau_ in nautical French. Fr. _coutelas_, an augmentative of Old Fr. _coutel_ (_couteau_), knife, gave Eng. _cutlass_, which has no moreetymological connection with "cutting" than a _cutler_, Fr. _coutelier_, or a _cutlet_, Fr. _côtelette_, little rib, Lat. _costa_. _Cutlas_ waspopularly corrupted into _curtal-axe_, the form used by Rosalind--

 "A gallant _curtal-axe_ upon my thigh, A boar-spear in my hand. " (_As You Like It_, i. 3. )

We have a similar corruption in _pick-axe_, Mid. Eng. _pikeys_, Old Fr. _piquois_, _picquois_, "a pickax" (Cotgrave), from the verb _piquer_. The word _posthumous_ has changed its meaning through folk-etymology. Itrepresents the Latin superlative _postumus_, latest born. By associationwith _humus_, ground, earth, it came to be used of a child born, or awork published, after its author's death, a meaning which thederivatives of _postumus_ have in all the Romance languages. 

The first part of the word has been distorted in _pursy_, short-winded--

 "And _pursy_ insolence shall break his wind With fear and horrid flight. " (_Timon of Athens_, v. 5. )

Fr. _poussif_, from Lat. _pulsus_, throbbing. It was formerly used alsoin connection with horses--

 "You must warrant this horse clear of the glanders, and _pursyness_. " (_The Gentleman's Dictionary_, 1705. )

[Page Heading: ARQUEBUS--JAUNTY]

_Arquebus_, Fr. _arquebuse_, is a doublet of _hackbut_, Old Fr. _haquebute_, "an _haquebut_, or _arquebuse_; a caliver" (Cotgrave). Thecorruption is due to _arcus_, bow. Both _arquebus_ and _hackbut_ arecommon in Scott--

 "His arms were halbert, axe, or spear, A cross-bow there, a _hackbut_ here, A dagger-knife, and brand. " (_Marmion_, v. 3. )

The origin is Du. _haakbus_, hook-gun, the second element of whichappears in _blunderbuss_. The first part of this word has undergone somany popular transformations that it is difficult to say which was theoriginal form. Ludwig has _Donner-büchs, Blunder-büchs, oder Muszketon_, "a thunder-box; a _blunder-buss_; a musketoon; a wide-mouthed brass-gun, carrying about twenty pistol bullets at once. " It was also called inGerman _Plantier-büchs_, from _plantieren_, to plant, set up, becausefired from a rest. Du. _bus_, like Ger. _Büchse_, means both "box" and"gun. " In the _bushes_, or axle-boxes, of a cart-wheel, we have the sameword. The ultimate origin is Greek πύξος, the box-tree, whence also thelearned word _pyx_. Fr. _boîte_, box, is cognate, and Fr. _boussole_, mariners' compass, is from the Italian diminutive _bossola_, "a boxethat mariners keepe their compasse in. Also taken for the compasse"(Florio). 

_Scissors_ were formerly _cizars_ (_cf. _ Fr. _ciseaux_), connected withLat. _cædere_, to cut. The modern spelling is due to association withLat. _scissor_, a cutter, tailor, from _scindere_, to cut. _Runagate_ iswell known to be a corrupt doublet of _renegade_, one who has "denied"his faith. _Recreant_, the present participle of Old Fr. _recreire_, Vulgar Lat. _*recredere_, to change one's faith, contains very much thesame idea; cf. _miscreant_, lit. Unbeliever. _Jaunty_, spelt _janty_ byWycherley and _genty_ by Burns, is Fr. _gentil_, wrongly brought intoconnection with _jaunt_. 

In some cases of folk-etymology it is difficult to see to what idea thecorruption is due. [98] The mollusc called a _periwinkle_ was inAnglo-Saxon _pinewincla_, which still survives in dialect as_pennywinkle_. It appears to have been influenced by the plant-name_periwinkle_, which is itself a corruption of Mid. Eng. _pervenke_, fromLat. _pervinca_; _cf. _ Fr. _pervenche_. The material called _lutestring_was formerly _lustring_, Fr. _lustrine_, from its glossiness. A_wiseacre_ is "one that knows or tells truth; we commonly use it _inmalam partem_ for a fool" (Blount, _Glossographia_, 1674). This comes, through Dutch, from Ger. _Weissager_, commonly understood as_wise-sayer_, but really unconnected with _sagen_, to say. The Old HighGer. _wīzago_, prophet, is cognate with Eng. _witty_. The military andnaval word _ensign_ is in Shakespeare corrupted, in both its meanings, into _ancient_. Thus Falstaff describes his tatterdemalion recruits as--

 "Ten times more dishonourable ragged than an old-faced _ancient_. " (1 _Henry IV. _, iv. 2. )

while _Ancient_ Pistol is familiar to every reader. A _cordwainer_, fromOld Fr. _cordouanier_, "a shoomaker, a _cordwainer_" (Cotgrave), workedwith _cordouan_, "Cordovan leather; which is properly a goat's skintanned. " The modern French form _cordonnier_ is due to association with_cordon_, a thong, bootlace, etc. _Witch-elm_ has nothing to do withwitches. It is for older _weech-elm_, _wiche-elm_, and belongs toAnglo-Sax. _wīcan_, to bend. _Service-tree_ is a meaningless corruptionof Mid. Eng. _serves_, an early loan word from Lat. _sorbus_. 

In the case of a double-barrelled word, folk-etymology usually affectsone half only, e. G. , _verdigris_ is for Fr. _vert-de-gris_, for Old Fr. _vert de Grece_, Greek green. The reason for the name is unknown. Cotgrave calls it "Spanish green. " Mid. English had the more correct_vertegresse_ and _verte Grece_ (_Promptorium Parvulorum_, 1440). Thecavalry trumpet-call _boot and saddle_ is for Fr. _boute-selle_, lit. "put saddle. " _Court card_ is for _coat card_, a name given to thesecards from the dresses depicted on them. Florio has _carta di figura_, "a _cote_ carde. " The card game called _Pope Joan_ would appear to be insome way corrupted from _nain jaune_, lit. "yellow dwarf, " its Frenchname. 

[Page Heading: "PREPOSTEROUS" PERVERSIONS]

But occasionally the results of folk-etymology are literally_preposterous_. [99] The Fr. _choucroute_ is from _sūrkrūt_, a dialectpronunciation of Ger. _Sauer-kraut_, sour cabbage, so that the firstsyllable, meaning "sour, " has actually been corrupted so as to mean"cabbage. " Another example, which I have never seen quoted, is the nameof a beech-wood near the little town of Remilly in Lorraine. The treesof this wood are very old and curiously twisted, and they are called inFrench _les jolis fous_, where _fou_ (Lat. _fagus_) is the Old Frenchfor "beech" (_fouet_, whip, is its diminutive). This is rendered inGerman as _tolle Buchen_, mad beeches, the _fou_ having beenmisunderstood as referring to the fantastic appearance of the trees. 

_Forlorn hope_ is sometimes used metaphorically as though the _hope_were of the kind that springs eternal in the human breast. In militarylanguage it now means the leaders of a storming party--

 "The _forlorn hope_ of each attack consisted of a sergeant and twelve Europeans. " (_Wellington's Despatches_, 1799. )

but was earlier used of soldiers in any way exposed to special danger. Cotgrave has _enfans perdus_, "perdus; or the _forlorne hope_ of a campe(are commonly gentlemen of companies). " It is from obsolete Du. _verloren hoop_, where _hoop_, cognate with Eng. _heap_, is used for aband or company. In 16th-century German we find _ein verlorener Haufe_. Both the Dutch and German expressions are obsolete in this sense. 

The military phrase _to run the gauntlet_ has no connection with_gauntlet_, glove. The older form _gantlope_--

 "Some said he ought to be tied neck and heels; others that he deserved to _run the gantlope_. " (_Tom Jones_, vii. 1. )

It is a punishment of Swedish origin from the period of the ThirtyYears' War. The Swedish form is _gatlopp_, in which _gat_ is cognatewith Eng. _gate_, in its northern sense of "street, " and _lopp_ withEng. _leap_ and Ger. _laufen_, to run. 

The _press-gang_ had originally nothing to do with "pressing. " Whensoldiers or seamen were engaged, they received earnest money called_prest_-money, _i. E. _, an advance on "loan, " Old Fr. _prest_ (_prêt_), and the engagement was called _presting_ or _impresting_. Florioexplains _soldato_ (see p. 154), lit. "paid, " by "_prest_ with paie assoldiers are. " The popular corruption to _press_ took place naturally asthe method of enlistment became more "pressing. "

The _black art_ is a translation of Old Fr. _nigromance_, "nigromancie, conjuring, the _black art_" (Cotgrave); but this is folk-etymology for_nécromantie_, Greco-Lat. _necromantia_, divination by means of thedead. The popular form _négromancie_ still survives in French. To_curry favour_ is a corruption of Mid. Eng. "to curry _favel_. " Theexpression is translated from French. Palsgrave has _curryfavell_, aflatterer, "estrille faveau, " _estriller_ (_étriller_) meaning "to curry(a horse). " _Faveau_, earlier _fauvel_, is the name of a horse in thefamous _Roman de Fauvel_, a satirical Old French poem of the early 14thcentury. He symbolises worldly vanity carefully tended by all classes ofsociety. The name is a diminutive of Fr. _fauve_, tawny, cognate withEng. _fallow_ (deer). (See also p. 192, _n. _)

A very curious case of folk-etymology is seen in the old superstition ofthe _hand of glory_. This is understood to be a skeleton hand from thegallows which will point out hidden treasure--

 "Now mount who list, And close by the wrist Sever me quickly the Dead Man's fist. " (INGOLDSBY, _The Hand of Glory_. )

It is simply a translation of Fr. _main de gloire_. But the Frenchexpression is a popular corruption of _mandragore_, from Lat. _mandragora_, the mandragore, or mandrake, to the forked roots of whicha similar virtue was attributed, especially if the plant were obtainedfrom the foot of the gallows. 

[Page Heading: CONTAMINATION]

Akin to folk-etymology is contamination, _i. E. _, the welding of twowords into one. This can often be noticed in children, whose linguisticinstincts are those of primitive races. I have heard a child, on herfirst visit to the Zoo, express great eagerness to see the _canimals_(_camels_ × _animals_), which, by the way, turned out to be thegiraffes. A small boy who learnt English and German simultaneouslyevolved, at the age of two, the word _spam_ (_sponge_ × Ger. _Schwamm_). In a college in the English midlands, a student named _Constantine_, whosat next to a student named _Turpin_, once heard himself startlinglyaddressed by a lecturer as _Turpentine_. People who inhabit the frontierof two languages, and in fact all who are in any degree bilingual, mustinevitably form such composites occasionally. The _h_ aspirate of Fr. _haut_, Lat. _altus_, high, can only be explained by the influence ofOld High Ger. _hōh_ (_hoch_). The poetic word _glaive_ cannot be derivedfrom Lat. _gladius_, sword, which has given Fr. _glai_, an archaic namefor the gladiolus. We must invoke the help of a Gaulish word _cladebo_, sword, which is related to Gaelic _clay-more_, big sword. It has beensaid that in this word the swords of Cæsar and Vercingetorix still crosseach other. In Old French we find _oreste_, a storm, combined from_orage_ and _tempeste_ (_tempête_). Fr. _orteil_, toe, represents themixture of Lat. _articulus_, a little joint, with Gaulish _ordag_. A_battledore_ was in Mid. English a washing beetle, which is in Provençal_batedor_, lit. Beater. Hence it seems that this is one of the very fewProvençal words which passed directly into English during the period ofour occupation of Guienne. It has been contaminated by the cognate_beetle_. 

_Cannibal_ is from Span. _canibal_, earlier _caribal_, i. E. _Carib_, the_n_ being perhaps due to contamination with Span. _canino_, canine, voracious. It can hardly be doubted that this word suggestedShakespeare's _Caliban_. _Seraglio_ is due to confusion between theTurkish word _serai_, a palace, and Ital. _serraglio_, "an inclosure, aclose, a padocke, a parke, a cloister or secluse" (Florio), whichbelongs to Lat. _sera_, a bolt or bar. 

_Anecdotage_ is a deliberate coinage ascribed to John Wilkes--

 "When a man fell into his _anecdotage_, it was a sign for him to retire from the world. " (DISRAELI, _Lothair_, Ch. 28. )

[Page Heading: ARBOUR--FRET]

In some cases it is impossible to estimate the different elements in aword. _Arbour_ certainly owes its modern spelling to Lat. _arbor_, atree, but it represents also Mid. Eng. _herbere_, _erbere_, which comes, through French, from Lat. _*herbarium_. But this can only meanherb-garden, so that the sense development of the word must have beenaffected by _harbour_, properly "army-shelter, " ultimately identicalwith Fr. _auberge_ (p. 164). When Dryden wrote--

 "Tardy of aid, _unseal_ thy heavy eyes, Awake, and with the dawning day arise. " (_The Cock and the Fox_, 247. )

he was expressing a composite idea made up from the verb _seal_, Old Fr. _seeler_ (_sceller_), Lat. _sigillare_, and _seel_, Old Fr. _ciller_, Vulgar Lat. _*ciliare_, from _cilium_, eye-brow. The latter verb, meaning to sew together the eyelids of a young falcon, was once a commonword--

 "Come, _seeling_ night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day. " (_Macbeth_, iii. 2. )

The verb _fret_ is Anglo-Sax. _fretan_, to eat away (_cf. _ Ger. _fressen_). _Fret_ is also used of interlaced bars in heraldry, in whichsense it corresponds to Fr. _frette_ with the same meaning; for thisword, which also means ferrule, a Vulgar Lat. _*ferritta_ (_ferrum_, iron) has been suggested. When Hamlet speaks of--

 "This majestical roof _fretted_ with golden fire, " (_Hamlet_, ii. 3. )

is he thinking of _frets_ in heraldry, or of _fretwork_, or are thesetwo of one origin? Why should _fret_, in this sense, not come from_fret_, to eat away, since _fretwork_ may be described as the "eatingaway" of part of the material? Cf. _etch_, which comes, through Dutch, from Ger. _ätzen_, the factitive of _essen_, to eat. But the German for_fretwork_ is _durchbrochene Arbeit_, "broken-through" work, and OldFr. _fret_ or _frait_, Lat. _fractus_, means "broken. " Who shall decidehow much our _fretwork_ owes to each of these possible etymons?

That form of taxation called excise, which dates from the time ofCharles I. , has always been unpopular. Andrew Marvell says that_Excise_--

 "With hundred rows of teeth the shark exceeds, And on all trades like cassowar she feeds. "

Dr Johnson defines it as "a hateful tax levied upon commodities, andadjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired bythose to whom excise is paid, " an outburst which Lord Mansfieldconsidered "actionable. " The name, like the tax, came from theNetherlands, where it was called _accijs_--

 "'Twere cheap living here, were it not for the monstrous _excises_ which are impos'd upon all sorts of commodities, both for belly and back. " (HOWELL, _Letter from Amsterdam_, 1619. )

In modern Dutch it has become _accijns_, through confusion with _cijns_, tax (Lat. _census_; _cf. _ Ger. _Zins_, interest). But the Dutch word isfrom Fr. _accise_, which appears in medieval Latin as _accisia_, asthough connected with "cutting" (cf. _tallage_, from Fr. _tailler_, tocut), or with the "incidence" of the tax. It is perhaps a perversion ofItal. _assisa_, "an imposition, or taxe, or assesment" (Torriano); butthere is also an Old Fr. _aceis_ which must be related to Latin_census_. 

When folk-etymology and contamination work together, the result issometimes bewildering. Thus _equerry_ represents an older _querry_ or_quirry_, still usual in the 18th century. Among my books is--

 "The Compleat Horseman, or Perfect Farrier, written in French by the Sieur de Solleysell, _Querry_ to the Present King of France" (1702). 

The modern spelling is due to popular association with Lat. _equus_. But this _querry_ is identical with French _écurie_, stable, just as inScottish the _post_ often means the _postman_. And _écurie_, older_escurie_, is from Old High Ger. _scura_[100] (_Scheuer_, barn). Theword used in modern French in the sense of our _equerry_ is _écuyer_, older _escuier_, Lat. _scutarius_, shield-bearer, whence our word_esquire_. This _écuyer_ is in French naturally confused with _écurie_, so that Cotgrave defines _escuyrie_ as "the stable of a prince, ornobleman; also, a _querry_-ship; or the duties, or offices belongingthereto; also (in old authors) a _squire's_ place; or, the dignity, title, estate of an esquire. "

[Page Heading: PLEONASM]

Ignorance of the true meaning of a word often leads to pleonasm. Thus_greyhound_ means _hound-hound_, the first syllable representing Icel. _grey_, a dog. _Peajacket_ is explanatory of Du. _pij_, earlier _pye_, "py-gown, or rough gown, as souldiers and seamen wear" (Hexham). _OnGreenhow Hill_ means "on green hill hill, " and _Buckhurst Holt Wood_means "beech wood wood wood, " an explanatory word being added as itspredecessor became obsolete. The second part of _salt-cellar_ is not thesame word as in _wine-cellar_. It comes from Fr. _salière_, "asalt-_seller_" (Cotgrave), so that the _salt_ is unnecessary. We speakpleonastically of "_dishevelled_ hair, " while Old Fr. _deschevelé_, lit. Dis-haired, now replaced by _échevelé_, can only be applied to a person, e. G. , _une femme toute deschevelée_, "discheveled, with all her hairedisorderly falling about her eares" (Cotgrave). The word _cheer_ meantin Mid. English "face. " Its French original _chère_ scarcely survivesexcept in the phrase _faire bonne chère_, lit. "make a good face, " ameaning preserved in "to be of good _cheer_. " In both languages themeaning has been transferred to the more substantial blessings whichthe pleasant countenance seems to promise, and also to the felicityresulting from good treatment. The true meaning of the word is so lostthat we can speak of a "_cheerful_ face, " _i. E. _, a face full of face. 

[Page Heading: UNEXPLAINED DISTORTIONS]

But there are many words whose changes of form cannot be altogetherexplained by any of the influences that have been discussed in this andthe preceding chapters. Why should _cervelas_, "a large kind of sausage, well season'd, and eaten cold in slices" (Kersey's _Eng. Dict. _, 1720), now be _saveloy_? We might invoke the initial letters of _sausage_ toaccount for part of the change, but the _oy_ remains a mystery. _Cervelas_, earlier _cervelat_, comes through French from Ital. _cervellato_, "a kinde of dry sausage" (Florio), said to have beenoriginally made from pig's brains. For _hatchment_ we find in the 16thcentury _achement_, and even _achievement_. It is archaic Fr. _hachement_, the ornamental crest of a helmet, etc. , probably derivedfrom Old Fr. _achemer_, variant of _acesmer_, to adorn. Hence both theFrench and English forms have an unexplained _h-_, the earlier_achement_ being nearer the original. French _omelette_ has abewildering history, but we can trace it almost to its present form. Tobegin with, an _omelet_, in spite of proverbs, is not necessarilyassociated with eggs. The origin is to be found in Lat. _lamella_, athin plate, [101] which gave Old Fr. _lamelle_. Then _la lamelle_ wastaken as _l'alamelle_, and the new _alamelle_ or _alemelle_ became, withchange of suffix, _alemette_. By metathesis (see p. 59) this gave_amelette_, still in dialect use, for which modern French hassubstituted _omelette_. The _o_ then remains unexplained, unless weadmit the influence of the old form _œuf-mollet_, a product offolk-etymology. 

_Counterpane_ represents Old Fr. _coute-pointe_, now corruptly_courte-pointe_, from Lat. _culcita puncta_, lit. "stitched quilt";_cf. _ Ger. _Steppdecke_, counterpane, from _steppen_, to stitch. In OldFrench we also find the corrupt form _contrepointe_ which gave Eng. _counterpoint_--

 "In ivory coffers I have stuff'd my crowns; In cypress chests my arras, _counterpoints_, Costly apparel, tents and canopies. " (_Taming of the Shrew_, ii. 1. )

in modern English replaced by _counterpane_. Mid. English has also themore correct form _quilt-point_, from the Old Norman _cuilte(pur)pointe_, which occurs in a 12th-century poem on St Thomas ofCanterbury. The hooped petticoat called a _farthingale_ was spelt byShakespeare _fardingale_ and by Cotgrave _vardingall_. This is Old Fr. _verdugalle_, of Spanish origin and derived from Span. _verdugo_, a(green) wand, because the circumference was stiffened with flexibleswitches before the application of whalebone or steel to this purpose. The _crinoline_, as its name implies, was originally strengthened withhorse-hair, Lat. _crinis_, hair. To return to the _farthingale_, theinsertion of an _n_ before _g_ is common in English (see p. 84, _n. _ 2), but the change of the initial consonant is baffling. The modern Fr. _vertugadin_ is also a corrupt form. _Isinglass_ seems to be anarbitrary perversion of obsolete Du. _huyzenblas_ (_huisblad_), sturgeonbladder; _cf. _ the cognate Ger. _Hausenblase_. 

Few words have suffered so many distortions as _liquorice_. The originalis Greco-Lat. _glycyrrhiza_, lit. "sweet root, " corrupted into lateLat. _liquiritia_, whence Fr. _réglisse_, Ital. _legorizia_, _regolizia_, and Ger. _Lakritze_. The Mid. English form _licoris_ wouldappear to have been influenced by _orris_, a plant which also has asweet root, while the modern spelling is perhaps due to _liquor_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[89] _Sack_, earlier also _seck_, is Fr. _sec_, dry, which, withspurious _t_, has also given Ger. _Sekt_, now used for champagne. 

[90] Fr. _chaise_, chair, for older _chaire_, now used only of a pulpitor professorial chair, Lat. _cathedra_, is due to an affectedpronunciation that prevailed in Paris in the 16th century. 

[91] The fact that in Old French the final consonant of the singulardisappeared in the plural form helped to bring about suchmisunderstandings. 

[92] For _haggard_ see p. 108. 

[93] In Old French confusion sometimes arose with regard to finalconsonants, because of their disappearance in the plural (see p. 118, _n. _). In _gerfaut_, gerfalcon, for Old Fr. _gerfauc_, the less familiarfinal _-c_ was, as in _boulevart_, replaced by the more usual _-t_. 

[94] An unoriginal _g_ occurs in many English words derived from French, e. G. , _foreign_, _sovereign_, older _sovran_, _sprightly_ for_spritely_, i. E. , _sprite-like_, _delight_, from Old Fr. _delit_, whichbelongs to Lat. _delectare_. 

[95] "Also, that no 'denizen' poulterer shall stand at the 'Carfax' ofLeadenhall in a house or without, with rabbits, fowls, or other poultryto sell ... And that the 'foreign' poulterers, with their poultry, shallstand by themselves, and sell their poultry at the corner of Leadenhall, without any 'denizen' poulterer coming or meddling in sale or purchasewith them, or among them. "

The word _carfax_, once the usual name for a "cross-way, " survives atOxford and Exeter. It is a plural, from Fr. _carrefour_, Vulgar Lat. _*quadrifurcum_ (for _furca_), four-fork. 

[96] This word is getting overworked, _e. G. _, "The Derbyshire Golf Clublinks were yesterday the _venue_ of a 72-hole match" (_NottinghamGuardian_, 21st Nov. 1911). 

[97] _Cf. _ Ger. _schenken_, to pour, and the Tudor word _skinker_, adrawer, waiter (1 _Henry IV. _, ii. 4). 

[98] Perhaps it is the mere instinct to make an unfamiliar word "looklike something. " Thus Fr. _beaupré_, from Eng. _bowsprit_, cannotconceivably have been associated with a fair meadow; and _accomplice_, for _complice_, Lat. _complex_, _complic-_, can hardly have beenconfused with _accomplish_. 

[99] Lat. _præposterus_, from _præ_, before, and _posterus_, behind. 

[100] This etymology is, however, now regarded as doubtful, and it seemslikely that Old Fr. _escurie_ is really derived from _escuyer_. If so, there is no question of contamination. 

[101] We have a parallel in Fr. _flan_, Eng. _flawn_, Ger. _Fladen_, etc. , a kind of omelet, ultimately related to Eng. _flat_--

 "The feast was over, the board was clear'd, The _flawns_ and the custards had all disappear'd. " (INGOLDSBY, _Jackdaw of Rheims_. )

Cotgrave has _flans_, "flawnes, custards, eggepies; also, roundplanchets, or plates of metall. "

CHAPTER X

DOUBLETS

The largest class of doublets is formed by those words of Latin originwhich have been introduced into the language in two forms, the popularform through Anglo-Saxon or Old French, and the learned through modernFrench or directly from Latin. Obvious examples are _caitiff_, _captive_; _chieftain_, _captain_; _frail_, _fragile_. Lat. _discus_, aplate, quoit, gave Anglo-Sax. _disc_, whence Eng. _dish_. In Old Frenchit became _deis_ (_dais_), Eng. _dais_, and in Ital. _desco_, "a deske, a table, a boord, a counting boord" (Florio), whence our _desk_. We havealso the learned _disc_ or _disk_, so that the one Latin word hassupplied us with four vocables, differentiated in meaning, but eachhaving the fundamental sense of a flat surface. 

_Dainty_, from Old Fr. _deintié_, is a doublet of _dignity_. _Ague_ isproperly an adjective equivalent to _acute_, as in Fr. _fièvre aigue_. The _paladins_ were the twelve peers of Charlemagne's _palace_, and aCount _Palatine_ is a later name for something of the same kind. One ofthe most famous bearers of the title, Prince Rupert, is usually calledin contemporary records the _Palsgrave_, from Ger. _Pfalzgraf_, lit. Palace count, Ger. _Pfalz_ being a very early loan from Lat. _palatium_. _Trivet_, Lat. _tripes_, _triped-_, dates back to Anglo-Saxon, its"rightness" being due to the fact that a three-legged stool stands firmon any surface. In the learned doublets _tripod_ and _tripos_ we havethe Greek form. _Spice_, Old Fr. _espice_ (_épice_), is a doublet of_species_. The medieval merchants recognised four "kinds" of spice, viz. , saffron, cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs. 

_Coffin_ is the learned doublet of _coffer_, Fr. _coffre_, from Lat. _cophinus_. It was originally used of a basket or case of any kind, andeven of a pie-crust--

 "Why, thou say'st true; it is a paltry cap; A custard-_coffin_, a bauble, a silken pie. " (_Taming of the Shrew_, iv. 3. )

Its present meaning is an attempt at avoiding the mention of theinevitable, a natural human weakness which has popularised in Americathe horrible word _casket_ in this sense. The Greeks, fearing death lessthan do the moderns, called a coffin plainly σαρκοφάγος, flesh-eater, whence indirectly Fr. _cercueil_ and Ger. _Sarg_. 

The homely _mangle_, which comes to us from Dutch, is a doublet of thewarlike engine called a _mangonel_--

 "You may win the wall in spite both of bow and _mangonel_. " (_Ivanhoe_, Ch. 27. )

which is Old French. The source is Greco-Lat. _manganum_, apparatus, whence Ital. _mangano_, with both meanings. The verb _mangle_, tomutilate, is unrelated. 

[Page Heading: SULLEN--MONEY]

_Sullen_, earlier _soleyn_, is a popular doublet of _solemn_, in itssecondary meaning of glum or morose. In the early Latin-Englishdictionaries _solemn_, _soleyn_, and _sullen_ are used indifferently toexplain such words as _acerbus_, _agelastus_, _vultuosus_. Shakespearespeaks of "customary suits of _solemn_ black" (_Hamlet_, i. 2), butmakes Bolingbroke say--

 "Come, mourn with me for that I do lament, And put on _sullen_ black incontinent. " (_Richard II. _, v. 6. )

while the "_solemn_ curfew" (_Tempest_, v. 1) is described by Milton as"swinging slow with _sullen_ roar" (_Penseroso_, l. 76). The meaning of_antic_, a doublet of _antique_, has changed considerably, but theprocess is easy to follow. From meaning simply ancient it acquired thesense of quaint or odd, and was applied to grotesque[102] work in art orto a fantastic disguise. Then it came to mean buffoon, in which senseShakespeare applies it to grim death--

 "For within the hollow crown That rounds the mortal temples of a king, Keeps death his court; and there the _antic_ sits, Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp. " (_Richard II. _, iii. 2. )

and lastly the meaning was transferred to the capers of the buffoon. From Old High Ger. _faltan_ (_falten_), to fold, and _stuol_ (_Stuhl_), chair, we get Fr. _fauteuil_. Medieval Latin constructed the compound_faldestolium_, whence our ecclesiastical _faldstool_, a litany desk. _Revel_ is from Old Fr. _reveler_, Lat. _rebellare_, so that it is adoublet of _rebel_. Holyoak's _Latin Dictionary_ (1612) has _revells orrouts_, "concursus populi illegitimus. " Its sense development, from ariotous concourse to a festive gathering, has perhaps been affected byFr. _réveiller_, to wake, whence _réveillon_, a Christmas Eve supper, or"wake. " Cf. Ital. _vegghia_, "a watch, a wake, a _revelling a nights_"(Florio). 

The very important word _money_ has acquired its meaning by one of thoseaccidents which are so common in word-history. The Roman _mint_ wasattached to the temple of Juno _Moneta_, _i. E. _, the admonisher, from_monēre_, and this name was transferred to the building. The Romansintroduced _moneta_, in the course of their conquests, into French(_monnaie_), German (_Münze_), and English (_mint_). The French andGerman words still have three meanings, viz. , mint, coin, change. Wehave borrowed the French word and given it the general sense representedin French by _argent_, lit. Silver. The Ger. _Geld_, money, has noconnection with _gold_, but is cognate with Eng. _yield_, as in "the_yield_ of an investment, " of which we preserve the old form in_wergild_, payment for having killed a man (Anglo-Sax. _wer_). To returnto _moneta_, we have a third form of the word in _moidore_--

 "And fair rose-nobles and broad _moidores_ The waiter pulls out of their pockets by scores. " (INGOLDSBY, _The Hand of Glory_. )

from Port. _moeda de ouro_, money of gold. 

Sometimes the same word reaches us through different languages. Thus_charge_ is French and _cargo_ is Spanish, both belonging to a VulgarLat. _*carricare_ from _carrus_, vehicle. In old commercial records weoften find the Anglo-Norman form _cark_, a load, burden, which survivesnow only in a metaphorical sense, e. G. _carking_, _i. E. _ burdensome, care. Lat. _domina_ has given us through French both _dame_ and_dam_, [103] and through Spanish _duenna_; while Ital. _donna_ occurs inthe compound _madonna_ and the _donah_ of the East End costermonger. Lat. _datum_, given, becomes Fr. _dé_ and Eng. _die_ (plural _dice_). Its Italian doublet is _dado_, originally cubical pedestal, hence partof wall representing continuous pedestal. _Scrimmage_ and _skirmish_ arevariant spellings of Fr. _escarmouche_, from Ital. _scaramuccia_, ofGerman origin (see p. 64, _n. _). But we have also, more immediately fromItalian, the form _scaramouch_. Blount's _Glossographia_ (1674)mentions _Scaramoche_, "a famous Italian Zani (see p. 45), or mimick, who acted here in England, 1673. " _Scaramouch_ was one of the stockcharacters of the old Italian comedy, which still exists as theharlequinade of the Christmas pantomime, and of which some tracessurvive in the Punch and Judy show. He was represented as a cowardlybraggart dressed in black. The golfer's _stance_ is a doublet of thepoet's _stanza_, both of them belonging to Lat. _stare_, to stand. _Stance_ is Old French and _stanza_ is Italian, "a _stance_ or staffe ofverses or songs" (Florio). A _stanza_ is then properly a pause orresting place, just as a _verse_, Lat. _versus_, is a "turning" to thebeginning of the next line. 

[Page Heading: FROM FRENCH DIALECTS]

Different French dialects have supplied us with many doublets. Old Fr. _chacier_ (_chasser_), Vulgar Lat. _*captiare_, for _captare_, afrequentative of _capere_, to take, was in Picard _cachier_. This hasgiven Eng. _catch_, which is thus a doublet of _chase_. In _cater_ (seep. 63) we have the Picard form of Fr. _acheter_, but the true Frenchform survives in the family name _Chater_. [104] In late Latin the neuteradjective _capitale_, capital, was used of property. This has given, through Old Fr. _chatel_, our _chattel_, while the doublet _catel_ hasgiven _cattle_, now limited to what was once the most important form ofproperty. Fr. _cheptel_ is still used of cattle farmed out on a kind ofprofit-sharing system. This restriction of the meaning of _cattle_ isparalleled by Scot. _avers_, farm beasts, from Old Fr. _aver_[105](_avoir_), property, goods. The history of the word _fee_, Anglo-Sax. _feoh_, cattle, cognate with Lat. _pecus_, whence _pecunia_, money, alsotakes us back to the times when a man's wealth was estimated by hisflocks and herds; but, in this case, the sense development is exactlyreversed. 

Fr. _jumeau_, twin, was earlier _gemeau_, still used by Corneille, andearlier still _gemel_, Lat. _gemellus_, diminutive of _geminus_, twin. From one form we have the _gimbals_, or twin pivots, which keep thecompass horizontal. Shakespeare uses it of clockwork--

 "I think, by some odd _gimmals_, or device, Their arms are set like clocks, still to strike on. " (1 _Henry VI. _, i. 2. )

and also speaks of a _gimmal_ bit (_Henry V. _, iv. 2). In the 17thcentury we find numerous allusions to _gimmal_ rings (variously spelt). The toothsome _jumble_, known to the Midlands as "brandy-snap, " is thesame word, this delicacy having apparently at one time been made inlinks. We may compare the obsolete Ital. _stortelli_, lit. "littletwists, " explained by Torriano as "winding simnels, wreathed _jumbals_. "

An accident of spelling may disguise the origin and meaning of a word. _Tret_ is Fr. _trait_, in Old French also _tret_, Lat. _tractus_, pull(of the scale). It was usually an allowance of four pounds in a hundredand four, which was supposed to be equal to the sum of the "turns of thescale" which would be in the purchaser's favour if the goods wereweighed in small quantities. _Trait_ is still so used in modern French. 

[Page Heading: METTLE--GLAMOUR]

A difference in spelling, originally accidental, but perpetuated by anapparent difference of meaning, is seen in _flour_, _flower_; _metal_, _mettle_. _Flour_ is the _flower_, _i. E. _ the finest part, of meal, Fr. _fleur de farine_, "_flower_, or the finest meale" (Cotgrave). In the_Nottingham Guardian_ (29th Aug. 1911) I read that--

 "Mrs Kernahan is among the increasing number of persons who do not discriminate between _metal_ and _mettle_, and writes 'Margaret was on her _metal_. '"

It might be added that this author is in the excellent company ofShakespeare--

 "See whe'r their basest _metal_ be not mov'd. " (_Julius Cæsar_, i. 1. )

There is no more etymological difference between _metal_ and _mettle_than between the "temper" of a cook and that of a sword-blade. 

_Parson_ is a doublet of _person_, the priest perhaps being taken as"representing" the Church, for Lat. _persona_, an actor's mask, from_per_, through, and _sonare_, to sound, [106] was also used of a costumedcharacter or _dramatis persona_. _Mask_, which ultimately belongs to anArabic word meaning buffoon, has had a sense development exactlyopposite to that of _person_, its modern meaning corresponding to theLat. _persona_ from which the latter started. _Parson_ shows the popularpronunciation of _er_, now modified by the influence of traditionalspelling. We still have it in _Berkeley_, _clerk_, _Derby_, _sergeant_, as we formerly did in _merchant_. Proper names, in which the orthographydepends on the "taste and fancy of the speller, " or the phonetictheories of the old parish clerk, are often more in accordance with thepronunciation, _e. G. _, _Barclay_, _Clark_, _Darby_, _Sargent_, _Marchant_. _Posy_, in both its senses, is a contraction of _poesy_, theflowers of a nosegay expressing by their arrangement a sentiment likethat engraved on a ring. The latter use is perhaps obsolete--

 "A hoop of gold, a paltry ring That she did give me; whose _posy_ was For all the world like cutler's _poetry_ Upon a knife: 'Love me and leave me not. '" (_Merchant of Venice_, v. 1. )

The poetic word _glamour_ is the same as _grammar_, which had in theMiddle Ages the sense of mysterious learning. From the same source wehave the French corruption _grimoire_, "a booke of conjuring"(Cotgrave). _Glamour_ and _gramarye_ were both revived by Scott--

 "A moment then the volume spread, And one short spell therein he read; It had much of _glamour_ might. " (_Lay of the Last Minstrel_, iii. 9. )

 "And how he sought her castle high, That morn, by help of _gramarye_. " (_Ibid. _, v. 27. )

For the change of _r_ to _l_ we have the parallel of _flounce_ for older_frounce_ (p. 60). _Quire_ is the same word as _quair_, in the "King's_Quair_" _i. E. _ book. Its Mid. English form is _quayer_, Old Fr. _quaer_, _caer_ (_cahier_), Vulgar Lat. _*quaternum_, for _quaternio_, "a _quier_ with foure sheetes" (Cooper). 

[Page Heading: EASTERN DOUBLETS]

Oriental words have sometimes come into the language by very diverseroutes. _Sirup_, or _syrup_, _sherbet_, and (_rum_)-_shrub_ are ofidentical origin, ultimately Arabic. _Sirup_, which comes throughSpanish and French, was once used, like _treacle_ (p. 75), of medicinalcompounds--

 "Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the drowsy _syrups_ of the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep Which thou ow'dst yesterday. " (_Othello_, iii. 3. )

_Sherbet_ and _shrub_ are directly borrowed through the medium oftravellers--

 "'I smoke on _srub_ and water, myself, ' said Mr Omer. " (_David Copperfield_, Ch. 30. )

_Sepoy_, used of Indian soldiers in the English service, is the same as_spahi_, the French name for the Algerian cavalry. Both come ultimatelyfrom a Persian adjective meaning "military, " and the French form was atone time used also in English in speaking of Oriental soldiery--

 "The Janizaries and _Spahies_ came in a tumultuary manner to the Seraglio. " (HOWELL, _Familiar Letters_, 1623. )

_Tulip_ is from Fr. _tulipe_, formerly _tulipan_, "the delicate flowercalled a _tulipa_, _tulipie_, or Dalmatian cap" (Cotgrave). It is adoublet of _turban_. The German _Tulpe_ was also earlier _Tulipan_. 

The humblest of medieval coins was the _maravedi_, which came from Spainat an early date, though not early enough for Robin Hood to have said toIsaac of York--

 "I will strip thee of every _maravedi_ thou hast in the world. " (_Ivanhoe_, Ch. 33. )

The name is due to the Moorish dynasty of the _Almaravides_ or_Marabouts_. This Arabic name, which means hermit, was given also to akind of stork, the _marabout_, on account of the solitary and soberhabits which have earned in India for a somewhat similar bird the name_adjutant_ (p. 34). 

_Cipher_ and _zero_ do not look like doublets, but both of them comefrom the same Arabic word. The medieval Lat. _zephyrum_ connects the twoforms. _Crimson_ and _carmine_, both of them ultimately from OldSpanish, are not quite doublets, but both belong to _kermes_, thecochineal insect, of Arabic origin. 

The relationship between _cipher_ and _zero_ is perhaps better disguisedthan that between _furnish_ and _veneer_, though this is by no meansobvious. _Veneer_, spelt _fineer_ by Smollett, is Ger. _fournieren_, borrowed from Fr. _fournir_[107] and specialised in meaning. Ebers'_German Dict. _ (1796) has _furnieren_, "to inlay with several sorts ofwood, to _veneer_. "

The doublets selected for discussion among the hundreds which exist inthe language reveal many etymological relationships which would hardlybe suspected at first sight. Many other words might be quoted which arealmost doublets. Thus _sergeant_, Fr. _sergent_, Lat. _serviens_, _servient-_, is almost a doublet of _servant_, the present participle ofFr. _servir_. The fabric called _drill_ or _drilling_ is from Ger. _Drillich_, "tick, linnen-cloth woven of _three_ threads" (Ludwig). Thisis an adaptation of Lat. _trilix_, _trilic-_, which, through Fr. _treillis_, has given Eng. _trellis_. We may compare the older _twill_, of Anglo-Saxon origin, cognate with Ger. _Zwilch_ or _Zwillich_, "linnenwoven with a _double_ thread" (Ludwig). _Robe_, from French, is cognatewith _rob_, and with Ger. _Raub_, booty, the conqueror decking himselfin the spoils of the conquered. _Musk_ is a doublet of _meg_ in_nutmeg_, Fr. _noix muscade_. In Mid. English we find _note-mugge_, andCotgrave has the diminutive _muguette_, "a nutmeg"; _cf. _ modern Fr. _muguet_, the lily of the valley. Fr. _dîner_ and _déjeuner_ bothrepresent Vulgar Lat. _*dis-junare_, to break fast, from _jejunus_, fasting. The difference of form is due to the shifting of the accent inthe Latin conjugation, e. G. , _dis-junáre_ gives Old Fr. _disner_(_dîner_), while _dis-júnat_ gives Old Fr. _desjune_ (_déjeune_). 

[Page Heading: BANJO--SAMITE]

_Admiral_, earlier _amiral_, comes through French from the Arab. _amir_, an emir. Its Old French forms are numerous, and the one which hassurvived in English may be taken as an abbreviation of Arab. _amir albahr_ emir on the sea. Greco-Lat. _pandura_, a stringed instrument, hasproduced an extraordinary number of corruptions, among which somephilologists rank _mandoline_. Eng. _bandore_, now obsolete, was once afairly common word, and from it, or from some cognate Romance form, comes the negro corruption _banjo_--

 "'What is this, mamma? it is not a guitar, is it?' 'No, my dear, it is called a _banjore_; it is an African instrument, of which the negroes are particularly fond. '" (MISS EDGEWORTH, _Belinda_, Ch. 18. )

Florio has _pandora_, _pandura_, "a musical instrument with threestrings, a kit, a croude, [108] a rebecke. " _Kit_, used by Dickens--

 "He had a little fiddle, which at school we used to call a _kit_, under his left arm. " (_Bleak House_, Ch. 14. )

seems to be a clipped form from Old French dialect _quiterne_, for_guiterne_, Greco-Lat. _cithara_. Cotgrave explains _mandore_ as a"_kitt_, small gitterne. " The doublet _guitar_ is from Spanish. 

The two pretty words _dimity_ and _samite_--

 "An arm Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, Clothed in white _samite_, mystic, wonderful, Holding the sword. " (TENNYSON, _Morte d'Arthur_, l. 29. )

are both connected with Gk. μίτος, thread. _Dimity_ is the plural, _dimiti_, of Ital. _dimito_, "a kind of course cotton or flanell"(Florio), from Greco-Lat. _dimitus_, double thread (cf. _twill_, p. 148). _Samite_, Old Fr. _samit_, whence Ger. _Samt_, velvet, is inmedieval Latin _hexamitus_, six-thread; this is Byzantine Gk. ἑξάμιτον, whence also Old Slavonic _aksamitu_. The Italian form is _sciamito_, "akind of sleave, feret, or filosello silke" (Florio). The word _feret_used here by Florio is from Ital. _fioretto_, little flower. It wasalso called _floret_ silk. Florio explains the plural _fioretti_ as "akind of course silke called _f[l]oret_ or _ferret_ silke, " and Cotgravehas _fleuret_, "course silke, _floret_ silke. " This doublet of_floweret_ is not obsolete in the sense of tape--

 "'Twas so fram'd and express'd no tribunal could shake it, And firm as red wax and black _ferret_ could make it. " (INGOLDSBY, _The Housewarming_. )

_Parish_ and _diocese_ are closely related, _parish_, Fr. _paroisse_, representing Greco-Lat. _par-oikia_ (οἶκος, a house), and _diocese_coming through Old French from Greco-Lat. _di-oikesis_. _Skirt_ is theScandinavian doublet of _shirt_ from Vulgar Lat. _ex-curtus_, which hasalso given us _short_. The form without the prefix appears in Fr. _court_, Ger. _kurz_, and the English diminutive _kirtle_--

 "What stuff wilt have a _kirtle_ of?" (2 _Henry IV. _, ii. 4. )

These are all very early loan words. 

[Page Heading: BROKER--WALNUT]

A new drawing-room game for amateur philologists would be to tracerelationships between words which have no apparent connection. Indiscussing, a few years ago, a lurid book on the "Mysteries of ModernLondon, " _Punch_ remarked that the existence of a _villa_ seemed to beproof presumptive of that of a _villain_. This is etymologically true. An Old French _vilain_, "a villaine, slave, bondman, servile tenant"(Cotgrave), was a peasant attached to his lord's _ville_ or domain, Lat. _villa_. For the degeneration in meaning we may compare Eng. _boor_ and_churl_ (p. 84), and Fr. _manant_, a clodhopper, lit. A dweller (see_manor_, p. 9). A _butcher_, Fr. _boucher_, must originally have dealtin goat's flesh, Fr. _bouc_, goat; _cf. _ Ital. _beccaio_, butcher, and_becco_, goat. Hence _butcher_ and _buck_ are related. The extension ofmeaning of _broker_, an Anglo-Norman form of _brocheur_, shows theimportance of the wine trade in the Middle Ages. A _broker_ was atfirst[109] one who "broached" casks with a _broche_, which means inmodern French both brooch and spit. The essential part of a _brooch_ isthe pin or spike. 

When Kent says that Cornwall and Regan--

 "Summon'd up their _meiny_, straight took horse. " (_Lear_, ii. 4. )

he is using a common Mid. English and Tudor word which comes, throughOld Fr. _maisniee_, from Vulgar Lat. _*mansionata_, a houseful. A_menial_ is a member of such a body. An Italian cognate is _masnadiere_, "a ruffler, a swashbuckler, a swaggerer, a high way theefe, a hackster"(Florio). Those inclined to moralise may see in these words a proof thatthe arrogance of the great man's flunkey was curbed in England earlierthan in Italy. Old Fr. _maisniee_ is now replaced by _ménage_, VulgarLat. _*mansionaticum_. A derivative of this word is _ménagerie_, firstapplied to the collection of household animals, but now to a "wild beastshow. "

A _bonfire_ was formerly a _bone-fire_. We find _bane-fire_, "ignisossium, " in a Latin dictionary of 1483, and Cooper explains _pyra_ by"_bone-fire_, wherein men's bodyes were burned. " Apparently the word isdue to the practice of burning the dead after a victory. Hexham has_bone-fire_, "een _been-vier_, dat is, als men victorie brandt. "_Walnut_ is related to _Wal_es, Corn_wall_, the _Wall_oons, _Wall_achiaand Sir William _Wall_ace. It means "foreign" nut. This very wide spread_wal_ is supposed to represent the Celtic tribal name _Volcæ_. It wasapplied by the English to the Celts, and by the Germans to the Frenchand Italians, especially the latter, whence the earlier Ger. _welscheNuss_, for _Walnuss_. The German Swiss use it of the French Swiss, hencethe canton _Wallis_ or _Valais_. The Old French name for the _walnut_ is_noix gauge_, Lat. _Gallica_. The relation of _umbrella_ to _umber_ ispretty obvious. The former is Italian--

 "A little shadow, a little round thing that women bare in their hands to shadow them. Also a broad brimd hat to keepe off heate and rayne. Also a kinde of round thing like a round skreene that gentlemen use in Italie in time of sommer or when it is very hote, to keepe the sunne from them when they are riding by the way. " (Florio. )

_Umber_ is Fr. _terre d'ombre_, shadow earth--

 "I'll put myself in poor and mean attire, And with a kind of _umber_ smirch my face. " (_As You Like It_, i. 3. )

_Ballad_, originally a dancing song, Prov. _ballada_, is a doublet of_ballet_, and thus related to _ball_. We find a late Lat. _ballare_, todance, in Saint Augustine, but the history of this group of words isobscure. The sense development of _carol_ is very like that of ballad. It is from Old Fr. _carolle_, "a kinde of dance wherein many may dancetogether; also, a _carroll_, or Christmas song" (Cotgrave). The form_corolla_ is found in Provençal, and _carolle_ in Old French is commonlyused, like Ger. _Kranz_, garland, and Lat. _corona_, of a social orfestive ring of people. Hence it seems a reasonable conjecture that theorigin of the word is Lat. _corolla_, a little garland. 

[Page Heading: TOCSIN--MERINO]

Many "chapel" people would be shocked to know that _chapel_ meansproperly the sanctuary in which a saint's relics are deposited. The namewas first applied to the chapel in which was preserved the _cape_ orcloak of St Martin of Tours. The doublet _capel_ survives in _CapelCourt_, near the Exchange. Ger. _Kapelle_ also means orchestra ormilitary band. _Tocsin_ is literally "touch sign. " Fr. _toquer_, totap, beat, cognate with _touch_, survives in "_tuck_ of drum" and_tucket_--

 "Then let the trumpets sound The _tucket_ sonance and the note to mount. " (_Henry V. _, iv. 2. )

while _sinet_, the diminutive of Old Fr. _sin_, sign, has given_sennet_, common in the stage directions of Elizabethan plays in a sensevery similar to that of _tucket_. 

_Junket_ is from Old Fr. _joncade_, "a certaine spoone-meat, made ofcreame, rose-water, and sugar" (Cotgrave), Ital. _giuncata_, "a kinde offresh cheese and creame, so called bicause it is brought to market uponrushes; also a _junket_" (Florio). It is thus related to _jonquil_, which comes, through French, from Span. _junquillo_, a diminutive fromLat. _juncus_, rush. The plant is named from its rush-like leaves. _Ditto_, Italian, lit. "said, " and _ditty_, Old Fr. _dité_, are bothpast participles, [110] from the Latin verbs _dico_ and _dicto_respectively. The _nave_ of a church is from Fr. _nef_, stilloccasionally used in poetry in its original sense of ship, Lat. _navis_. It is thus related to _navy_, Old Fr. _navie_, a derivative of _navis_. Similarly Ger. _Schiff_ is used in the sense of nave, though themetaphor is variously explained. 

The old word _cole_, cabbage, its north country and Scottish equivalent_kail_, Fr. _chou_ (Old Fr. _chol_), and Ger. _Kohl_, are all from Lat. _caulis_, cabbage; cf. _cauli_flower. We have the Dutch form in _colza_, which comes, through French, from Du. _kool-zaad_, cabbage seed. _Cabbage_ itself is Fr. _caboche_, a Picard derivative of Lat. _caput_, head. In modern French _caboche_ corresponds to our vulgar "chump. " A_goshawk_ is a _goose hawk_, so called from its preying on poultry. _Merino_ is related to _mayor_, which comes, through French, from Lat. _maior_, greater. Span. _merino_, Vulgar Lat. _*majorinus_, means botha magistrate and a superintendent of sheep-walks. From the lattermeaning comes that of "sheepe driven from the winter pastures to thesommer pastures, or the wooll of those sheepe" (Percyvall). _Portcullis_is from Old Fr. _porte coulisse_, sliding door. Fr. _coulisse_ is stillused of many sliding contrivances, especially in connection with stagescenery, but in the portcullis sense it is replaced by _herse_ (see p. 75), except in the language of heraldry. The masculine form _coulis_means a clear broth, or _cullis_, as it was called in English up to the18th century. This suggests _colander_, which, like _portcullis_, belongs to Lat. _colare_, "to streine" (Cooper), whence Fr. _couler_, toflow. 

_Solder_, formerly spelt _sowder_ or _sodder_, and still so pronouncedby the plumber, represents Fr. _soudure_, from the verb _souder_; cf. _batter_ from Old Fr. _batture_, _fritter_ from Fr. _friture_, and_tenter_ (hooks)[111] from Fr. _tenture_. Fr. _souder_ is from Lat. _solidare_, to consolidate. Fr. _sou_, formerly _sol_, a halfpenny, comes, like Ital. _soldo_, from Lat. _solidus_, the meaning of whichappears also in the Italian participle _soldato_, a soldier, lit. A paidman. This Italian word has passed into French and German, displacing theolder cognates _soudard_ and _Söldner_, which now have a depreciatorysense. Eng. _soldier_ is of Old French origin. It is represented inmedieval Latin by _sol[i]darius_, glossed _sowdeor_ in a vocabulary ofthe 15th century. As in _solder_, the _l_ has been re-introduced bylearned influence, but the vulgar _sodger_ is nearer the originalpronunciation. 

FOOTNOTES:

[102] _I. E. _, grotto painting, Ital. _grottesca_, "a kinde of ruggedunpolished painters worke, anticke worke" (Florio). 

[103] See p. 120. The aristocracy of the horse is still testified to bythe use of _sire_ and _dam_ for his parents. 

[104] Sometimes this name is for _cheater_, _escheatour_ (p. 84). 

[105] Cf. _avoirdupois_, earlier _avers de pois_ (_poids_), goods soldby weight. 

[106] It is possible that this is a case of early folk-etymology andthat _persona_ is an Etruscan word. 

[107] This is the accepted etymology; but it is more probable that_furnieren_ comes from Fr. _vernir_, to varnish. 

[108] See _Crowther_, p. 176. 

[109] But the early use of the word in the sense of middle-man points tocontamination with some other word of different meaning. 

[110] But the usual Italian past participle of _dire_ is _detto_. 

[111] Hooks used for stretching cloth. 

CHAPTER XI

HOMONYMS

Modern English contains some six or seven hundred pairs or sets ofhomonyms, _i. E. _, of words identical in sound and spelling but differingin meaning and origin. The _New English Dictionary_ recognisesprovisionally nine separate nouns _rack_. The subject is a difficult oneto deal with, because one word sometimes develops such apparentlydifferent meanings that the original identity becomes obscured, andeven, as we have seen in the case of _flour_ and _mettle_ (p. 144), adifference of spelling may result. When Denys of Burgundy said to thephysician--

 "Go to! He was no fool who first called you _leeches_. " (_Cloister and Hearth_, Ch. 26. )

he was unaware that both _leeches_ represent Anglo-Sax. _læce_, healer. On the other hand, a resemblance of form may bring about a contaminationof meaning. The verb to _gloss_, or _gloze_, means simply to explain ortranslate, from Greco-Lat. _glossa_, tongue; but, under the influence ofthe unrelated _gloss_, superficial lustre, it has acquired the sense ofspecious interpretation. 

That part of a helmet called the _beaver_--

 "I saw young Harry, with his _beaver_ on, His cuisses on his thigh, gallantly arm'd, Rise from the ground like feather'd Mercury. " (1 _Henry IV. _, iv. 1. )

has, of course, no connection with the animal whose fur has been usedfor some centuries for expensive hats. It comes from Old Fr. _bavière_, a child's bib, now replaced by _bavette_, from _baver_, to slobber. 

It may be noted _en passant_ that many of the revived medieval wordswhich sound so picturesque in Scott are of very prosaic origin. Thus the_basnet_--

 "My _basnet_ to a prentice cap, Lord Surrey's o'er the Till. " (_Marmion_, vi. 21. )

or close-fitting steel cap worn under the ornamental helmet, is Fr. _bassinet_, a little basin. It was also called a _kettle hat_, or _pot_. Another obsolete name given to a steel cap was a privy _pallet_, fromFr. _palette_, a barber's bowl, a "helmet of Mambrino. " To a brilliantliving monarch we owe the phrase "mailed fist, " a translation of Ger. _gepanzerte Faust_. _Panzer_, a cuirass, is etymologically a _pauncher_, or defence for the paunch. We may compare an article of female apparel, which took its name from a more polite name for this part of theanatomy, and which Shakespeare uses even in the sense of _Panzer_. Imogen, taking the papers from her bosom, says--

 "What is here? The scriptures of the loyal Leonatus, All turn'd to heresy? Away, away, Corrupters of my faith! You shall no more Be _stomachers_ to my heart. " (_Cymbeline_, iii. 4. )

[Page Heading: COMPOUND--CHASE]

Sometimes homonyms seem to be due to the lowest type of folk-etymology, the instinct for making an unfamiliar word "look like something" (see p. 128, _n. _). To this instinct we owe the nautical _companion_ (p. 165). _Trepan_, for _trapan_, to entrap, cannot have been confused with thesurgical _trepan_ (p. 109), although it has been assimilated to it. The_compound_ in which the victims of "Chinese slavery" languished is theMalay _kampong_, an enclosure. 

The scent called _bergamot_ takes its name from _Bergamo_, in Italy, whence also Shakespeare's _bergomask_ dance--

 "Will it please you to see the epilogue, or hear a _Bergomask_ dance between two of our company?" (_Midsummer Night's Dream_, v. 1. )

but the _bergamot_ pear is derived from Turkish _beg armudi_, prince'spear. With _beg_, prince, cf. _bey_ and _begum_. The _burden_ of a songis from Fr. _bourdon_, "a drone, or dorre-bee; also, the humming, orbuzzing, of bees; also, the drone of a bag-pipe" (Cotgrave). It is ofdoubtful origin, but is not related to _burden_, a load, which isconnected with the verb to _bear_. 

To _cashier_, _i. E. _, break, a soldier, is from Du. _casseeren_, whichis borrowed from Fr. _casser_, to break, Lat. _quassare_, frequentativeof _quatere_, to shatter. In the 16th and 17th centuries we also find_cass_ and _cash_, which come immediately from French, and are thusdoublets of _quash_. Cotgrave has _casser_, "to _casse_, _cassere_, discharge. " The past participle of the obsolete verb to _cass_ is stillin military use--

 "But the colonel said he must go, and he (the drum horse) was _cast_ in due form and replaced by a washy, bay beast, as ugly as a mule. " (KIPLING, _The Rout of the White Hussars_. )

The other _cashier_ is of Italian origin. He takes charge of the _cash_, which formerly meant "counting-house, " and earlier still "safe, " fromItal. _cassa_, "a merchant's _cashe_, or counter" (Florio). This comesfrom Lat. _capsa_, a coffer, so that _cash_ is a doublet of _case_, Fr. _caisse_. The goldsmith's term _chase_ is for _enchase_, Fr. _enchâsser_, "to _enchace_, or set, in gold, etc. " (Cotgrave), from_châsse_, coffer, shrine, also from Lat. _capsa_. From the same wordcomes (window) _sash_. 

_Gammon_, from Mid. Eng. _gamen_, now reduced to _game_, survives as aslang word and also in the compound _backgammon_. In a _gammon_ of baconwe have the Picard form of Fr. _jambon_, a ham, an augmentative of_jambe_, leg. Cotgrave has _jambon_, "a _gammon_. " _Gambit_ is related, from Ital. _gambetto_, "a tripping up of one's heels" (Torriano). A_game_ leg is in dialect a _gammy_ leg. This is Old Fr. _gambi_, "bent, crooked, bowed" (Cotgrave), which is still used in some French dialectsin the sense of lame. It comes from the same Celtic root as _jambe_. 

_Host_, an army, now used only poetically or metaphorically, is from OldFr. _ost_, army, Lat. _hostis_, enemy. The _host_ who receives us is OldFr. _oste_ (_hôte_), Lat. _hospes_, _hospit-_, guest. These two _hosts_are, however, ultimately related. It is curious that, while modern Fr. _hôte_ (_hospes_) means both "host" and "guest, " the other _host_(_hostis_) is, very far back, a doublet of _guest_, the ground meaningof both being "stranger. " "It is remarkable in what opposite directionsthe Germans and Romans have developed the meaning of the old hereditaryname for 'stranger. ' To the Roman the stranger becomes an enemy; amongthe Germans he enjoys the greatest privileges, a striking confirmationof what Tacitus tells us in his _Germania_. "[112] In a dog _kennel_ wehave the Norman form of Fr. _chenil_, related to _chien_; but _kennel_, a gutter--

 "Go, hop me over every _kennel_ home. " (_Taming of the Shrew_, iv. 3. )

is a doublet of _channel_ and _canal_. 

[Page Heading: MANŒUVRE--MYSTERY]

 "Oh villain! thou stolest a cup of sack eighteen years ago, and wert taken with the _manner_. " (1 _Henry IV. _, ii. 4. )

says Prince Hal to Bardolph. In the old editions this is spelt _manour_or _mainour_ and means "in the act. " It is an Anglo-French doublet of_manœuvre_, late Lat. _manu-opera_, handiwork, and is thus related toits homonym _manner_, Fr. _manière_, from _manier_, to handle. Anotherdoublet of _manœuvre_ is _manure_, now a euphemism for dung, butformerly used of the act of tillage--

 "The _manuring_ hand of the tiller shall root up all that burdens the soil. " (MILTON, _Reason of Church Government_. )

_Inure_ is similarly formed from Old Fr. _enœuvrer_, literally "to workin, " hence to accustom to toil. 

John Gilpin's "good friend the _calender_, " _i. E. _ the cloth-presser, has nothing to do with the _calendar_ which indicates the _calends_ ofthe month, nor with the _calender_, or Persian monk, of the _ArabianNights_, whom Mr Pecksniff described as a "one-eyed _almanack_"--

 "'A one-eyed _calender_, I think, sir, ' faltered Tom. 

 "'They are pretty nearly the same thing, I believe, ' said Mr Pecksniff, smiling compassionately; 'or they used to be in my time. '" (_Martin Chuzzlewit_, Ch. 6. )

The verb to _calender_, to press and gloss cloth, etc. , is from Old Fr. _calendrer_ (_calandrer_), "to sleeke, smooth, plane, or polish, linnencloth, etc. " (Cotgrave). This word is generally considered to be relatedto _cylinder_, a conjecture which is supported by obsolete Fr. _calende_, used of the "rollers" by means of which heavy stones aremoved. 

A craft, or association of _masters_, was once called a _mistery_ (for_mastery_ or _maistrie_), usually misspelt _mystery_ by association witha word of quite different origin and meaning. This accidentalresemblance is often played on--

 "Painting, sir, I have heard say, is a _mystery_; but what _mystery_ there should be in hanging, if I should be hanged, I cannot imagine. " (_Measure for Measure_, iv. 2. )

For the pronunciation, cf. _mister_, for _master_, and _mistress_. [113]The French for "mistery" is _métier_, earlier _mestier_, "a trade, occupation, _misterie_, handicraft" (Cotgrave), from Old Fr. _maistier_, Lat. _magisterium_. In its other senses Fr. _métier_ represents Lat. _ministerium_, service. 

_Pawn_, a pledge, is from Old Fr. _pan_, with the same meaning. Theorigin of this word, cognates of which occur in the Germanic languages, is unknown. The _pawn_ at chess is Fr. _pion_, a pawn, formerly also afoot-soldier, used contemptuously in modern French for a juniorassistant master. This represents a Vulgar Lat. _*pedo_, _pedon-_, from_pes_, foot; _cf. _ Span. _peon_, "a footeman, a _pawne_ at chesse, apioner, or laborer" (Percyvall). In German the _pawn_ is called _Bauer_, peasant, a name also given to the knave in the game of euchre, whenceAmerican _bower_[114]--

 "At last he put down a _right bower_[115] Which the same Nye had dealt unto me. " (BRET HARTE, _The Heathen Chinee_. )

[Page Heading: QUARRY--QUARREL]

When Jack Bunce says--

 "If they hurt but one hair of Cleveland's head, there will be the devil to _pay_, and no pitch hot. " (_Pirate_, Ch. 36. )

he is using a nautical term which has no connection with Fr. _payer_. To_pay_, _i. E. _ to pitch (a ship), is from Old Fr. _peier_ or _poier_, Lat. _picare_, from _pix_, pitch. Fr. _limon_, a lime, has given Eng. _lemon_, [116] but "_lemon_ sole" is from Fr. _limande_, a flat-fish, dab. A _quarry_ from which stone is obtained was formerly _quarrer_, Old Fr. _quarrière_ (_carrière_), a derivative of Lat. _quadrus_; cf. _quadratarius_, "a squarer of marble" (Cooper). The _quarry_ of thehunter has changed its form and meaning. In Mid. English we find_quarré_ and _quirré_, from Old Fr. _cuirée_, now _curée_, "a (dog's)reward; the hounds' fees of, or part in, the game they have killed"(Cotgrave). The Old French form means "skinful" (cf. _poignée_, fistful), the hounds' reward being spread on the skin of the slainanimal. It is thus related to _cuirass_, originally used of leathernarmour. In Shakespeare _quarry_ usually means a heap of dead game--

 "Would the nobility lay aside their ruth, And let me use my sword, I'd make a _quarry_ With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high As I could pick my lance. " (_Coriolanus_, i. 1. )

In modern English it is applied rather to the animal pursued. Related tothe first _quarry_ is _quarrel_, the square-headed bolt shot from acrossbow--

 "It is reported by William Brito that the arcubalista or arbalist was first shewed to the French by our king Richard the First, who was shortly after slain by a _quarrel_ thereof. " (CAMDEN, _Remains concerning Britain_. [117])

It comes from Old Fr. _carrel_, of which the modern form, _carreau_, isused of many four-sided objects, _e. G. _, a square tile, the diamond atcards, a pane of glass. In the last sense both _quarrel_ and _quarry_are still used by glaziers. 

In a "_school_ of porpoises" we have a Dutch word for crowd. The olderspelling is _scull_--

 "And there they fly, or die, like scaled _sculls_, Before the belching whale. " (_Troilus and Cressida_, v. 5. )

A _sorrel_ horse and the plant called _sorrel_ are both French words ofGerman origin. The adjective, used in venery of a buck of the thirdyear, is a diminutive of Old Fr. _sor_, which survives in _hareng saur_, red herring, and is perhaps cognate with Eng. _sear_--

 "The _sere_, the yellow leaf. " (_Macbeth_, v. 3. )

The plant name is related to _sour_. Its modern French form _surelle_occurs now only in dialect, having been superseded by _oseille_, whichappears to be due to the mixture of two words meaning sour, sharp, viz. , Vulgar Lat. _*acetula_ and Greco-Lat. _oxalis_. 

The verb _tattoo_, to adorn the skin with patterns, is Polynesian. Themilitary _tattoo_ is Dutch. It was earlier _tap-to_, and was the signalfor closing the "taps, " or taverns. The first recorded occurrence of theword is in Colonel Hutchinson's orders to the garrison of Nottingham, the original of which hangs in the Nottingham City Library--

 "If any-one shall bee found tiplinge or drinkinge in any taverne, inne, or alehouse after the houre of nyne of the clock at night, when the _tap-too_ beates, he shall pay 2s. 6d. " (1644. )

_Cf. _ Ger. _Zapfenstreich_, lit. Tap-stroke, the name of a play whichwas produced some years ago in London under the title "Lights Out. "Ludwig explains _Zapfenschlag_ or _Zapfenstreich_ as "die Zeit da dieSoldaten aus den Schencken heimgehen müssen, the _taptow_. "

_Tassel_, in "_tassel_ gentle"--

 "O, for a falconer's voice, To lure this _tassel_-gentle back again. " (_Romeo and Juliet_, ii. 2. )

is for _tercel_ or _tiercel_, the male hawk, "so tearmed, because he is, commonly, a third part less than the female" (Cotgrave, s. V. _tiercelet_). The true reason for the name is doubtful. The pendentornament called a _tassel_ is a diminutive of Mid. Eng. _tasse_, a heap, bunch, Fr. _tas_. _Tent_ wine is Span. _vino tinto_, _i. E. _, coloured--

 "Of this last there's little comes over right, therefore the vintners make _Tent_ (which is a name for all wines in Spain, except white) to supply the place of it. " (Howell, _Familiar Letters_, 1634. )

The other _tent_ is from the Old French past participle of _tendre_, tostretch. 

The Shakesperian _utterance_--

 "Rather than so, come, fate, into the list, And champion me to the _utterance_. " (_Macbeth_, iii. 1. )

is the Fr. _outrance_, in _combat à outrance_, _i. E. _, to the extreme, which belongs to Lat. _ultra_. It is quite unconnected with the verb to_utter_, from _out_. 

[Page Heading: WRONG ASSOCIATION]

We have seen how, in the case of some homonyms, confusion arises, and apopular connection is established, between words which are quiteunrelated. The same sort of association often springs up between wordswhich, without being homonyms, have some accidental resemblance in formor meaning, or in both. Such association may bring about curious changesin sound and sense. _Touchy_, which now conveys the idea ofsensitiveness to _touch_, is corrupted from _tetchy_--

 "_Tetchy_ and wayward was thy infancy. " (_Richard III. _, iv. 4. )

The original meaning was something like "infected, tainted, " from OldFr. _teche_ (_tache_), a spot. The word _surround_ has completelychanged its meaning through association with _round_. It comes from OldFr. _suronder_, to overflow, Lat. _super-undare_, and its meaning andorigin were quite clear to the 16th-century lexicographers. Thus Cooperhas _inundo_, "to overflowe, to _surround_. " A French bishop carries a_crosse_, and an archbishop a _croix_. These words are of separateorigin. From _crosse_, which does not mean "cross, " comes our derivative_crosier_, carried by both bishops and archbishops. It is etymologicallyidentical, as its shape suggests, with the shepherd's _crook_, and thebat used in playing _lacrosse_. 

The prophecy of the pessimistic _ostler_ that, owing to motor-cars--

 "_'Osses_ soon will all be in the circusses, And if you want an _ostler_, try the work'uses. " (E. V. LUCAS. )

shows by what association the meaning of _ostler_, Old Fr. _hostelier_(_hôtelier_), has changed. A _belfry_ has nothing to do with _bells_. Old Fr. _berfroi_ (_beffroi_) was a tower used in warfare. It comes fromtwo German words represented by modern _bergen_, to hide, guard, and_Friede_, peace, so that it means "guard-peace. " The triumph of the form_belfry_ is due to association with _bell_, but the _l_ is originallydue to dissimilation, since we find _belfroi_ also in Old French. Thesame dissimilation is seen in Fr. _auberge_, inn, Prov. _alberga_, whichcomes from Old High Ger. _hari_, an army, and _bergen_; _cf. _ our_harbour_ (p. 2) and _harbinger_ (p. 90). _Scabbard_ is from Old Fr. _escauberc_, earlier _escalberc_, by dissimilation for _escarberc_, fromOld High Ger. _scār_, a blade (_cf. _ plough_share_), and _bergen_. Cf. _hauberk_, guard-neck, from Ger. _Hals_, [118] neck. 

[Page Heading: WRONG ASSOCIATION]

The _buttery_ is not so named from _butter_, but from _bottles_. It isfor _butlery_, as _chancery_ (see p. 88) is for _chancelry_. It is not, of course, now limited to bottles, any more than the _pantry_ to breador the _larder_ to bacon, Fr. _lard_, Lat. _laridum_. The _spence_, aphetic for _dispense_, is now known only in dialect--

 "I am gaun to eat my dinner quietly in the _spence_. " (_Old Mortality_, Ch. 3. )

but has given us the name _Spencer_. The _still-room_ maid is notextinct, but I doubt whether the _distilling_ of strong waters is nowcarried on in the region over which she presides. A _journeyman_ hasnothing to do with _journeys_ in the modern sense of the word, but works_à la journée_, by the day. _Cf. _ Fr. _journalier_, "a _journey man_;one that workes by the day" (Cotgrave), and Ger. _Tagelöhner_, literally"day-wager. " On the other hand, a _day-woman_ (_Love's Labour's Lost_, i. 2) is an explanatory pleonasm (cf. _greyhound_, p. 135) for the oldword _day_, servant, milkmaid, etc. , whence the common surname _Day_ andthe derivative _dairy_. 

A _briar_ pipe is made, not from _briar_, but from the root of heather, Fr. _bruyère_, of Celtic origin. A _catchpole_ did not catch _polls_, _i. E. _ heads, nor did he catch people with a _pole_, although a veryingenious implement, exhibited in the Tower of London Armoury, iscatalogued as a _catchpole_. The word corresponds to a French compound_chasse-poule_, catch-hen, in Picard _cache-pole_, the official's chiefduty being to collect dues, or, in default, poultry. For _pole_, fromFr. _poule_, cf. _polecat_, also an enemy of fowls. The_companion_-ladder on ship-board is a product of folk-etymology. Itleads to the _kampanje_, the Dutch for _cabin_. This may belong, like_cabin_, to a late Lat. _capanna_, hut, which has a very numerousprogeny. _Kajuit_, another Dutch word for cabin, earlier _kajute_, hasgiven us _cuddy_. 

A _carousal_ is now regarded as a _carouse_, but the two are quiteseparate, or, rather, there are two distinct words _carousal_. One ofthem is from Fr. _carrousel_, a word of Italian origin, meaning apageant or carnival with chariot races and tilting. This word, obsoletein this sense, is sometimes spelt _el_ and accented on the lastsyllable--

 "Before the crystal palace, where he dwells, The armed angels hold their _carousels_. " (ANDREW MARVELL, _Lachrymæ Musarum_. )

Ger. _Karussell_ means a roundabout at a fair. Our _carousal_, if it isthe same word, has been affected in sound and meaning by _carouse_. Thiscomes, probably through French, from Ger. _garaus_, quite out, in thephrase _garaus trinken_, _i. E. _, to drink bumpers--

 "The queen _carouses_ to thy fortune, Hamlet. " (_Hamlet_, v. 2. )

Rabelais says that he is not one of those--

 "Qui, par force, par oultraige et violence, contraignent les compaignons trinquer voyre _carous_ et _alluz_[119] qui pis est. " (_Pantagruel_, iii. , Prologue. )

The spelling _garous_, and even _garaus_, is found in 17th-centuryEnglish. 

[Page Heading: FOOTPAD--PESTER]

It is perhaps unnecessary to say that a _maul-stick_, Dutch _maal-stok_, paint-stick, has nothing to do with the verb to _maul_, formerly to_mall_, [120] _i. E. _, to hammer. Nor is the painter's _lay-figure_connected with our verb to _lay_. It is also, like so many art terms, ofDutch origin, the _lay_ representing Du. _lid_, limb, cognate with Ger. _Glied_. [121] The German for lay-figure is _Gliederpuppe_, joint-doll. Sewel's _Dutch Dict. _ (1766) has _leeman_, or _ledeman_, "a statue, withpliant limbs for the use of a painter. " A _footpad_ is not arubber-soled highwayman, but a _pad_, or robber, who does his work onfoot. He was also called a _padder_--

 "'Ye crack-rope _padder_, born beggar, and bred thief!' replied the hag. " (_Heart of Midlothian_, Ch. 29. )

_i. E. _, one who takes to the "road, " from Du. _pad_, path. _Pad_, anambling nag, a "roadster, " is the same word. 

_Pen_ comes, through Old French, from Lat. _penna_, "a penne, quil, orfether" (Cooper), while _pencil_ is from Old Fr. _pincel_ (_pinceau_), apainter's brush, from Lat. _penicillus_, a little tail. The modernmeaning of _pencil_, which still meant painter's brush in the 18thcentury, is due to association with _pen_. The older sense survives inoptics and in the expression "pencilled eyebrows. " The _ferrule_ of awalking-stick is a distinct word from _ferule_, an aid to education. Thelatter is Lat. _ferula_, "an herbe like big fenell, and maye be calledfenell giant. Also a rodde, sticke, or paulmer, wherewith children arestriken and corrected in schooles; a cane, a reede, a walking staffe"(Cooper). _Ferrule_ is a perversion of earlier _virrel_, _virrol_, Fr. _virole_, "an iron ring put about the end of a staffe, etc. , tostrengthen it, and keep it from riving" (Cotgrave). 

The modern meaning of _pester_ is due to a wrong association with_pest_. Its earlier meaning is to hamper or entangle--

 "Confined and _pestered_ in this pinfold here. " (_Comus_, l. 7. )

It was formerly _impester_, from Old Fr. _empestrer_ (_empêtrer_), "to_pester_, intricate, intangle, trouble, incumber" (Cotgrave), originallyto "hobble" a grazing horse with _pasterns_, or shackles (see _pastern_, p. 76). 

_Mosaic_ work is not connected with _Moses_, but with the _muses_ and_museum_. It comes, through French, from Ital. _mosaico_, "a kinde ofcurious stone worke, of divers colours, checkie worke" (Florio), whichis Vulgar Lat. _musaicum opus_. _Sorrow_ and _sorry_ are quiteunrelated. _Sorrow_ is from Anglo-Sax. _sorg_, _sorh_, cognate with Ger. _Sorge_, anxiety. _Sorry_, Mid. Eng. _sori_, is a derivative of _sore_, cognate with Ger. _sehr_, very, lit. "painfully"; _cf. _ English "_sore_afraid, " or the modern "_awfully_ nice, " which is in South Germany _argnett_, "_vexatiously_ nice. "

It is probable that _vagabond_, Lat. _vagabundus_, has no etymologicalconnection with _vagrant_, which appears to come from Old Fr. _waucrant_, present participle of _waucrer_, a common verb in the Picarddialect, perhaps related to Eng. _walk_. Cotgrave spells it _vaucrer_, "to range, roame, vagary, wander, idly (idle) it up and down. " Cotgravealso attributes to it the special meaning of a ship sailing "whitherwind and tide will carry it, " the precise sense in which it is used inthe 13th-century romance of _Aucassin et Nicolette_. 

Other examples of mistaken association are _scullion_ and _scullery_ (p. 43), and _sentry_ and _sentinel_ (p. 102). Many years ago _Punch_ had apicture by Du Maurier called the "_Vikings_ of Whitby, " followed by acompanion picture, the "_Viqueens_. " The word is not _vi-king_ but_vik-ing_, the first syllable probably representing an Old Norse form ofAnglo-Sax. _wīc_, encampment. 

FOOTNOTES:

[112] Kluge, _Etymologisches Wörterbuch_. 

[113] Now abbreviated to _miss_ in a special sense. 

[114] The _Bowery_ of New York was formerly a homestead. 

[115] Knave of trumps. 

[116] In modern French the lemon is called _citron_ and the citron_cédrat_. 

[117] In the chapter on "_Artillery_. " So also, in the _AuthorisedVersion_--"Jonathan gave his _artillery_ (his bow and arrows) unto hislad, and said unto him, 'Go, carry them into the city. '" (1 Samuel, xx. 40. ) It is curious that the words _artillery_ and _gun_ both belong tothe pre-gunpowder period. 

[118] Hence, or rather from Du. _hals_, the _hawse_-holes, the "throat"through which the cable runs. 

[119] Ger. _all aus_, all out. 

[120] Hence the _Mall_ and _Pall-Mall_, where games like croquet wereplayed. 

[121] The _g-_ represents the Old High German prefix _gi-_, _ge-_. _Cf. _Eng. _luck_ and Ger. _Glück_. 

CHAPTER XII

FAMILY NAMES

In the study of family names we come across very much the same phenomenaas in dealing with other words. They are subject to the same phoneticaccidents and to the distortions of folk-etymology, being "alteredstrangely to significative words by the common sort, who desire to makeall to be significative" (Camden, _Remains concerning Britain_). Doublets and homonyms are of frequent occurrence, and the origin of somenames is obscured by the well-meaning efforts of early philologists. Itmight be expected that a family name would by its very nature tend topreserve its original form. This is, however, not the case. In oldparish registers one often finds on one page two or three differentspellings for the same name, and there are said to be a hundred andthirty variants of _Mainwaring_. [122] The telescoped pronunciation oflong names such as Cholmondeley, Daventry, Marjoribanks, Strachan, is afamiliar phenomenon, and very often the shorter form persistsseparately, _e. G. _, _Posnett_ and _Poslett_ occur often in Westmorelandfor _Postlethwaite_; _Beecham_ exists by the side of _Beauchamp_; _SaintClair_ and _Saint Maur_ are usually reduced to _Sinclair_ and_Seymour_; _Boon_[123] and _Moon_ disguise the aristocratic _Bohun_ and_Mohun_. In a story by Mr Wells, _Miss Winchelsea's Heart_, the name_Snooks_ is gradually improved to _Sevenoaks_, from which in allprobability it originally came, via _Senoaks_; cf. _sennight_ for_seven-night_, and such names as _Fiveash_, _Twelvetrees_, etc. Folk-etymology converts _Arblaster_, the cross-bowman, into _Alabaster_, _Thurgod_ into _Thoroughgood_, and the Cornish _Hannibal_ into_Honeyball_. _Beaufoy_ is a grammatical monstrosity. Its older form is_Beaufou_, fine beech (see p. 129), with an ambiguous second syllable. _Malthus_ looks like Latin, but is identical with _Malthouse_, just as_Bellows_ is for _Bellhouse_, _Loftus_ for _Lofthouse_, and _Bacchus_, fined for intoxication, Jan. 5, 1911, for _Bakehouse_. But many oddnames which are often explained as corruptions may also have theirface-value. The first _Gotobed_ was a sluggard, _Godbehere_ was fond ofthis pious form of greeting, and _Goodbeer_ purveyed sound liquor. With_Toogood_, perhaps ironical, we may compare Fr. _Troplong_, and with_Goodenough_ a lady named _Belle-assez_, often mentioned in the PipeRolls. _Physick_ occurs as a medieval nickname. 

Family names fall into four great classes, which are, in descendingorder of size, local, baptismal, functional, and nicknames. But we havea great many homonyms, names capable of two or more explanations. Thus_Bell_ may be for Fr. _le bel_ or from a shop-sign, _Collet_ adiminutive of _Nicholas_ or an aphetic form of _acolyte_. _Dennis_ isusually for _Dionysius_, but sometimes for _le Danois_, the Dane;_Gillott_, and all family names beginning with _Gill-_, may be from_Gillian_ (see p. 46), or from Fr. _Guillaume_. A famous member of thelatter family was _Guillotin_, the humanitarian doctor who urged theabolition of clumsy methods of decapitation. His name is a doublediminutive, like Fr. _diablotin_, goblin. _Leggatt_ is a variant of_Lidgate_, swing gate, and of _Legate_. _Lovell_ is an affectionatediminutive or is for Old Fr. _louvel_, little wolf. It was also in Mid. English a dog's name, hence the force of the rime--

 "The Rat (Ratcliffe), the Cat (Catesby), and _Lovell_, our dog, Rule all England under the Hog. " (1484. )

It has a doublet _Lowell_. The name _Turney_, well known in Nottingham, is from the town of _Tournay_, or is aphetic for _attorney_. In thefollowing paragraphs I generally give only one source for each name, butit should be understood that in many cases two or more are possible. Theforms also vary. 

[Page Heading: BAPTISMAL NAMES]

Baptismal names often give surnames without any suffix. Sometimes theseare slightly disguised, e. G. , _Cobbett_ (Cuthbert), _Garrett_ (Gerard), _Hammond_, Fr. _Hamon_ (Hamo), _Hibbert_ (Hubert), _Jessop_ (Joseph), _Neil_ (Nigel), _Custance_ (Constance); or they preserve a name nolonger given baptismally, e. G. , _Aldridge_ (Alderic), _Bardell_(Bardolph), _Goodeve_ (Godiva), _Goodlake_ (Guthlac), _Goodrich_(Goderic), _Harvey_[124] (Hervey, Fr. _Hervé_), _Mayhew_ (Old Fr. _Mahieu_, Matthew). With the help of diminutive suffixes we get _Atkin_(Adam), _Bodkin_ (Baldwin), _Larkin_ (Lawrence), _Perkin_, _Parkin_(Peter), _Hackett_ (Haco), _Huggin_, _Hutchin_, _Hewett_, _Hewlett_, _Howitt_ (Hugh), _Philpot_ (Philip), _Tibbet_ (Theobald or Isabella), _Tillet_ (Matilda), _Wilmot_ (William), _Wyatt_ (Guy), _Gilbey_, _Gibbon_ (Gilbert), etc. , with numerous variants and furtherderivatives. The changes that can be rung on one favourite name arebewildering, _e. G. _, from _Robert_ we have _Rob_, _Dob_, _Hob_, and_Bob_; the first three with a numerous progeny, while _Bob_, now thefavourite abbreviation, came into use too late to found a large dynasty. From _Richard_ we have _Richards_ and _Richardson_, and from its threeabbreviations _Rick_, _Dick_, _Hick_, with their variants _Rich_, _Digg_, _Hig_, _Hitch_, one of the largest families of surnames in thelanguage. [125] As the preceding examples show, family names arefrequently derived from the mother. Other examples, which are not quiteobvious, are _Betts_ (Beatrice), _Sisson_ (Cecilia), _Moxon_ and_Padgett_ (Margaret, Moggy, Madge, Padge), _Parnell_ (Petronilla), _Ibbotson_ (Ib, Isabella), _Tillotson_ (Matilda). One group of surnamesis derived from baptismal names given according to the season of theChurch. Such are _Pentecost_, _Pascal_, whence Cornish _Pascoe_, _Nowell_, and _Middlemas_, a corruption of _Michaelmas_. [126] With thesemay be grouped _Loveday_, a day appointed for reconciliations. 

[Page Heading: LOCAL NAMES]

Surnames derived from place of residence often contain a preposition, e. G. , _Atwood_, _Underhill_, and sometimes the article as well, e. G. , _Atterbury_, _Bythesea_. In _Surtees_, on the Tees, we have a Frenchpreposition and an English river name. Sometimes they preserve a wordotherwise obsolete. _Barton_, a farmyard, originally a barley-field, hasgiven its name to about thirty places in England, and thus, directly orindirectly, to many families. _Bristow_ preserves what was once theregular pronunciation of _Bristol_. The famous north country name _Peel_means castle, as still in the Isle of Man. It is Old Fr. _pel_ (_pal_), stake, and the name was originally given to a wooden hill-fort orstockade. 

Many places which have given family names have themselves disappearedfrom the map, while others, now of great importance, are of too recentgrowth to have been used in this way. Many of our family names are takenfrom those of continental towns, especially French and Flemish. Camdensays, "Neither is there any village in Normandy that gave notdenomination to some family in England. " Such are _Bullen_ or _Boleyn_(Boulogne), _Cullen_ (Cologne), _Challis_ (Calais), _Challen_ (Châlon), _Chaworth_ (Cahors), _Bridges_[127] (Bruges), _Druce_ (Dreux), _Gaunt_(_Gand_, Ghent), _Lubbock_ (Lübeck), _Luck_ (_Luick_, Liège), _Mann_ (leMans), _Malins_ (_Malines_, Mechlin), _Nugent_ (Nogent), _Hawtrey_(Hauterive), and _Dampier_ (Dampierre). To decide which is theparticular _Hauterive_ or _Dampierre_ in question is the work of thegenealogist. _Dampierre_ (_Dominus Petrus_) means _Saint Peter_. In somecases these names have been simplified, _e. G. _, Camden notes that_Conyers_, from _Coigniers_, lit. Quince-trees, becomes _Quince_. 

French provinces have given us _Burgoyne_, _Champain_. _Gascoyne_ or_Gaskin_, and _Mayne_, and adjectives formed from names of countries, provinces and towns survive in _Allman_ (_Allemand_), _Brabazon_ (_leBrabançon_, the Brabanter), _Brett_ (_le Bret_ or _le Breton_[128]), _Pickard_ (_le Picard_), _Poidevin_[129] (_le Poitevin_), _Mansell_, OldFr. _Mancel_ (_le Manceau_, inhabitant of Maine or le Mans), _Hanway_and _Hannay_ (_le Hannuyer_, the Hainaulter), _Loring_ (_le Lorrain_), assimilated to _Fleming_, _Champneys_ (_le Champenois_), with which wemay compare _Cornwallis_, from the Old French adjective _cornwaleis_, man of Cornwall. To these may be added _Pollock_, which occasionallymeans the Pole, or _Polack_--

 "Why then the _Polack_ never will defend it. " (_Hamlet_, iv. 4. )

_Janaway_, the Genoese, and _Haunce_, from the famous _Hanse_confederation. _Morris_ means sometimes _Moorish_ (see p. 49), and_Norris_, besides having the meaning seen in its contracted form_nurse_, Fr. _nourrice_, may stand for _le Noreis_, the Northerner. Westill have a _Norroy_ king-at-arms, lit. North king, who holds officenorth of the Trent. 

In some cases the territorial _de_ remains, e. G. , _Dolman_ is sometimesthe same as _Dalmain_, _d'Allemagne_, _Daubeney_ is _d'Aubigné_, _Danvers_ is _d'Anvers_ (Antwerp), _Devereux_ is _d'Évreux_, a townwhich takes its name from the _Eburovices_, and _Disney_ is _d'Isigny_. With these may be mentioned _Dubberley_, Fr. _du Boulay_, of the birchwood, and _Dawnay_, from Old Fr. _aunai_, [130] a grove of alders. Thelast governor of the Bastille was the Marquis de _Launay_ (_l'aunai_). There is a large group of such words in French, coming from Latincollectives in _-etum_; _d'Aubray_ is from Lat. _arboretum_, and hasgiven also the dissimilated form _Darblay_, famous in Englishliterature. Other examples are _Chesney_, _Chaney_, etc. , theoak-grove, [131] _Pomeroy_, the apple-garden. 

Names of French origin are particularly subject to corruption andfolk-etymology. We have the classic example of Tess _Durbeyfield_. [132]Camden, in his _Remains concerning Britain_, gives, among other curiousinstances, _Troublefield_ for _Turberville_. _Greenfield_ is usuallyliteral (cf. _Whitfield_, _Whittaker_, _Greenacre_, etc. ), butoccasionally for _Grenville_. _Summerfield_ is for _Somerville_. Thenotorious _Dangerfield_ was of Norman ancestry, from _Angerville_. _Mullins_ looks a very English name, but it is from Fr. _moulin_, mill, as _Musters_ is from Old Fr. _moustier_, monastery. _Phillimore_ is acorruption of _Finnemore_, Fr. _fin amour_. 

[Page Heading: OCCUPATIVE NAMES]

When we come to names which indicate office or trade, we have todistinguish between those that are practically nicknames, such as_King_, _Duke_, _Bishop_, _Cæsar_[133] (Julius Cæsar was a famouscricketer of the old school), and those that are to be taken literally. Many callings now obsolete have left traces in our surnames. The verycommon name _Chapman_ reminds us that this was once the general term fora dealer (see p. 67), one who spends his time in _chaffering_ or"_chopping_ and changing. " The _grocer_, or _engrosser_, _i. E. _, the manwho bought wholesale, Fr. _en gros_, [134] came too late to supplant thefamily name _Spicer_. _Bailey_, Old Fr. _bailif_ (_bailli_), representsall sorts of officials from a Scotch magistrate to a man in possession. _Bayliss_ seems to be formed from it like Williams from William. _Chaucer_, Old Fr. _chaucier_, now replaced by _chaussetier_, "ahosier, or hose-maker" (Cotgrave), is probably obsolete as an Englishsurname. Mr _Homer's_ ancestors made helmets, Fr. _heaume_. _Jenner_ isfor _engenour_, engineer (see _gin_, p. 65). In _Ferrier_ traditionalspelling seems to have triumphed over popular pronunciation (_farrier_), but the latter appears in _Farrar_. Chaucer's _somonour_ survives as_Sumner_. _Ark_ was once a general name for a bin, hence the name_Arkwright_. Nottingham still has a Fletcher Gate, Lister Gate, andPilcher Gate. It is not surprising that the trade of _fletcher_, Old Fr. _fleschier_ (_Fléchier_), arrow-maker, should be obsolete. The_Fletchers_ have absorbed also the _fleshers_, _i. E. _ butchers, whichexplains why they so greatly outnumber the _Bowyers_ (see p. 178), _Boyers_, etc. _Lister_, earlier _littester_, gave way to _dighester_, whence the name _Dexter_, well known in Nottingham, and this is nowreplaced by _dyer_. A _Pilcher_ made _pilches_, or mantles; _cf. _ thecognate Fr. Name _Pelissier_, a maker of _pelisses_. [135] _Kiddier_ wasonce equivalent to pedlar, from _kid_, a basket. Sailors still speak ofthe bread-_kid_. For the name _Wait_, see p. 76. The ancestor of the_Poyser_ family made scales (_poises_), or was in charge of a publicbalance. _Faulkner_, falconer, _Foster_, _Forster_, forester, and_Warner_, warrener, go together. With the contraction of _Warner_ we maycompare _Marner_, mariner. _Crowther_ means fiddler. The obsolete_crowd_, a fiddle, is of Celtic origin. It gave Old Fr. _rote_, the nameof the instrument played by the medieval minstrels--

 "Saxon minstrels and Welsh bards were extracting mistuned dirges from their harps, _crowds_, and _rotes_. " (_Ivanhoe_, Ch. 41. )

_Kemp_ is an old English word for warrior, champion. It represents, like Ger. _kämpfen_, to fight, a very early loan from Lat. _campus_, inthe sense of battle-field. 

[Page Heading: OBSOLETE CALLINGS]

_Pinder_, the man in charge of the pound or pinfold, was the name of afamous wicket-keeper of the last century. The still more famouscricketing name of _Trumper_ means one who blows the trump. Cf. _Horner_and _Corner_, which have, however, alternative origins, a maker of horncups and a _coroner_[136] respectively. A dealer in _shalloon_ (see p. 47) was a _Chaloner_ or _Chawner_. _Parminter_, a tailor, is as obsoleteas its Old French original _parmentier_, a maker of _parements_, deckings, from _parer_, Lat. _parare_, to prepare. A member of the_Parmentier_ family popularised the cultivation of the potato in Francejust before the Revolution, hence _potage Parmentier_, potato soup. The_white tawer_ still plies his trade, but is hardly recognisable in_Whittier_. _Massinger_ is a corruption of _messenger_. The _Todhunter_, or fox-hunter, used to get twelve pence per fox-head from the parishwarden. _Coltman_ is simple, but _Runciman_, the man in charge of the_runcies_ or _rouncies_, is less obvious. _Rouncy_, a nag, is a commonword in Mid. English. It comes from Old Fr. _roncin_ (_roussin_), and isprobably a derivative of Ger. _Ross_, horse. The Spanish form is_rocin_, "a horse or jade" (Minsheu, 1623), whence Don Quixote's charger_Rocin-ante_, "a jade formerly. "

A park keeper is no longer called a _Parker_, nor a maker of palings andpalisades a _Palliser_. An English sea-king has immortalised the tradeof the _Frobisher_, or furbisher, and a famous bishop bore theappropriate name of _Latimer_, for _Latiner_. With this we may compare_Lorimer_, for _loriner_, harness-maker, a derivative, through OldFrench, of Lat. _lorum_, "a thong of leather; a coller or other thing, wherewith beastes are bounden or tyed; the reyne of a brydle" (Cooper). The _Loriners_ still figure among the London City Livery Companies, asdo also the _Bowyers_, _Broderers_, _Fletchers_ (see p. 176), _Horners_(see p. 177), _Pattenmakers_, _Poulters_ and _Upholders_ (see p. 63). _Scriven_, Old Fr. _escrivain_ (_écrivain_), is now usually extended to_Scrivener_. For _Cator_ see p. 63. In some of the above cases the namemay have descended from a female, as we have not usually a separate wordfor women carrying on trades generally practised by men. In French thereis a feminine form for nearly every occupation, hence such names as_Labouchère_, the lady butcher, or the butcher's wife. 

The meaning of occupative names is not always on the surface. It would, for instance, be rash to form hasty conclusions as to the pursuits ofRichard _Kisser_, whose name occurs in medieval London records. Heprobably made _cuisses_, [137] thigh armour, Fr. _cuisse_, thigh, Lat. _coxa_. A _Barker_ employed bark for tanning purposes. _Booker_ is adoublet of _Butcher_. A _Cleaver_ was, in most cases, a mace-bearer, OldFr. _clavier_ (_Clavier_ is a common family name in France) from Lat. _clava_, a club. He may, however, have sometimes been a porter, as OldFr. _clavier_ also means key-bearer, Lat. _clavis_, a key. A _Croker_, or _Crocker_, sold _crocks_, _i. E. _, pottery. A _Lander_, or _Launder_, was a washer-man, Fr. _lavandier_. A _Sloper_ made "slops, " _i. E. _, loose upper garments, overalls. A _Reeder_ or _Reader_ thatched withreeds. A _Walker_ walked, but within a circumscribed space. He was alsocalled a _Fuller_, Fr. _fouler_, to trample, or a _Tucker_, from a verbwhich perhaps meant once to "tug" or "twitch. " In the following passagesome manuscripts have _toukere_ for _walkere_--

 "And his clothis ben maad schyninge and white ful moche as snow, and which maner clothis a _fullere_, or _walkere_ of cloth, may not make white on erthe. " (WYCLIF, _Mark_, ix. 2. )

The fuller is still called _Walker_ in Germany. _Banister_ is acorruption of _balestier_, a cross-bow man; cf. _banister_ for_baluster_ (p. 60). 

Some of the occupative names in _-ward_ and _-herd_ are ratherdeceptive. _Hayward_ means hedge[138] guard. _Howard_ is phoneticallythe Old French name Huard, but also often represents Hayward, Hereward, and the local Haworth, Howarth. For the social elevation of the_sty-ward_, see p. 90. _Durward_ is door-ward. The simple _Ward_, replaced in its general sense by _warden_, _warder_, etc. , is one of ourcommonest surnames. Similarly _Herd_, replaced by _herdsman_, is borneas a surname by one who, if he attains not to the first three, isusually held more honourable than the thirty. The hog-herd survives as_Hoggart_; _Seward_ is sometimes for sow-herd; _Calvert_ representscalf-herd, and _Stoddart_ stot-herd, _i. E. _, bullock-herd:--

 "'Shentlemans!' cried Andie, 'Shentlemans, ye hielant _stot_! If God would give ye the grace to see yersel' the way that ithers see ye, ye would throw your denner up. '" (_Catriona_, Ch. 15. )

_Lambert_ is in some cases lamb-herd, and _Nutter_ is in all probabilitya perversion of neat-herd, through the North Country and Scot. _nowt-herd_. It is a common surname in Lancashire, and Alice Nutter wasone of the Lancashire Witches. 

[Page Heading: NICKNAMES]

In a sense all personal names are nicknames (see p. 114), since they allgive that additional information which enables us to distinguish oneperson from another. The practice of giving nicknames suggested byappearance, physique, or habits is common to the European languages;but, on the whole, our nicknames compare very unfavourably with those ofsavage nations. We cannot imagine an English swain calling hislady-love "Laughing Water. " From Roman times onward, European nicknamesare in their general character obvious and prosaic, and very many ofthem are the reverse of complimentary. The most objectionable haveeither disappeared, [139] or the original meaning has become so obscuredas to cease to give offence to the possessor. When a man had any choicein the matter, he naturally preferred not to perpetuate a grotesque nameconferred on some ancestor. Medieval names were conferred on theindividual, and did not become definitely hereditary till theReformation. In later times names could only be changed by form of law. It is thus that _Bugg_ became _Norfolk Howard_, a considerabletransformation inspired by a natural instinct to "avoid the opinion ofbaseness, " as Camden puts it. We no longer connect _Gosse_ with _goose_, nor _Pennefather_ with a miser. Cotgrave has _pinse-maille_(_pince-maille_), "a pinch peny, scrape-good, nigard, miser, _penie-father_. " In _Purcell_ we lose Old Fr. _pourcel_ (_pourceau_), little pig, _Fitch_ no longer means a pole-cat, nor _Brock_ a badger. Onthe other hand, we generally regard _Gosling_ as a nickname, while it ismore often a variant of _Jocelyn_. 

Names descriptive of appearance or habits often correspond prettyclosely with those that are found in French. In some cases they areprobably mere translations. Examples are: _Merryweather_ (_Bontemps_), _Drinkwater_ (_Boileau_[140]), _Armstrong_ (_Fortinbras_), _Lilywhite_(_Blanchefleur_). Among colour names we have _Black_, _Brown_, _White_, and _Grey_, but seem to miss _red_. The explanation is that for thiscolour we have adopted the Northern form _Reid_ (_Read_, _Reed_), orsuch French names as _Rudge_ (_rouge_), _Rouse_ (_roux_), _Russell_(_Rousseau_). With the last of these, Old Fr. _roussel_, cf. _Brunel_and _Morel_. Fr. _blond_ has given _Blount_, _Blunt_, and the diminutive_Blundell_, which exist by the side of the fine old English name_Fairfax_, from Mid. Eng. _fax_, hair. Several other French adjectiveshas given us surnames, e. G. , _Boon_ (_bon_), _Bonner_ (_débonnaire_), _Grant_ (_grand_), _Curtis_ (_courtois_), _Power_ (_pauvre_), etc. _Payn_ is the French adjective _païen_, pagan, Lat. _paganus_, in earlyuse as a personal name. 

[Page Heading: FOLK-ETYMOLOGY]

But many apparent nicknames are products of folk-etymology. _Coward_ isfor _cowherd_, _Salmon_ for _Salomon_, _Bone_ for _Boon_ (v. S. ), _Dedman_ is a corruption of _Debenham_. _Playfair_ means play-fellow, from an old word connected with the verb to _fare_, to journey. _Patch_may sometimes have meant a jester, from his parti-coloured garments, butis more often a variant of _Pash_, _Pask_, a baptismal name given tochildren christened at Easter, Old Fr. _Pasque_ (_Pâque_). Easter eggsare still called _pash_, _pace_, or _paste_ eggs in the north ofEngland. _Blood_ is a Welsh name, son of _Lud_; cf. _Bevan_, _Bowen_, etc. _Coffin_ is Fr. _Chauvin_, a derivative of Lat. _calvus_, bald. Ithas a variant _Caffyn_, the name of a famous cricketer. _Dance_, forDans, is related to Daniel as Wills is to William. In the same way_Pearce_ comes from Peter or Pierre. The older form of the name _Pearce_was borne by the most famous of ploughmen, as it still is by the mostfamous of soapmakers. Names such as _Bull_, _Peacock_, _Greenman_, aresometimes from shop or tavern signs. It is noteworthy that, as asurname, we often find the old form _Pocock_. The _Green Man_, still acommon tavern sign, represented a kind of "wild man of the woods"; _cf. _the Ger. Sign _Zum wilden Mann_. 

In these remarks on surnames I have only tried to show in general termshow they come into existence, "hoping to incur no offence herein withany person, when I protest in all sincerity, that I purpose nothing lessthan to wrong any whosoever" (Camden). Many names are susceptible ofalternative explanations, and it requires a genealogist, and generallysome imagination, to decide to which particular source a given familycan be traced. The two arguments sometimes drawn from armorial bearingsand medieval Latin forms are worthless. Names existed before escutcheonsand devices, and these are often mere puns, _e. G. _, the _Onslow_ family, of local origin, from Onslow in Shropshire, has adopted the excellentmotto _festina lente_, "on slow. " The famous name _Sacheverell_ islatinised as _De Saltu Capellæ_, of the kid's leap. This agrees with theoldest form _Sau-cheverell_, which is probably from a French placecalled Sault-Chevreuil du Tronchet (Manche). The fact that _Napier_ ofMerchiston had for his device _n'a pier_, no equal, does not make it anythe less true that his ancestors were, like Perkin Warbeck's parents, "really, respectable people" (see p. 57). 

Dr Brewer, in his _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_, says of his ownname--

 "This name, which exists in France as Bruhière and Brugière, is not derived from the Saxon _briwan_ (to brew), but the French _bruyère_ (heath), and is about tantamount to the German _Plantagenet_ (broom plant). "

A "German" Plantagenet should overawe even a Norfolk Howard. A moreinteresting identification, and a true one, is that of the name of thegreat engineer _Telford_, a corruption of _Telfer_, with _Taillefer_, the "iron cleaver. "

[Page Heading: DAFT]

A curious feature in nomenclature is the local character of somenicknames. We have an instance of this in the Notts name _Daft_[141]--

 "A _Daft_ might have played in the Notts County Eleven in 1273 as well as in 1886. " (BARDSLEY. )

The only occurrence of the name in the Hundred Rolls for the year 1273is in the county of Notts. 

FOOTNOTES:

[122] This is probably the record for a proper name, but does not by anymeans equal that of the word _cushion_, of the plural of which aboutfour hundred variants are found in old wills and inventories. 

[123] Another origin of this name is Fr. _le bon_. 

[124] "The last two centuries have seen the practice made popular ofusing surnames for baptismal names. Thus the late Bishop of Carlisle wasHarvey Goodwin, although for several centuries Harvey has been obsoleteas a personal name" (Bardsley). Camden already complains that "surnamesof honourable and worshipful families are given now to mean men'schildren for christian names. " Forty years ago there was hardly a morepopular name than _Percy_, while at the present day the admonition, "Be'ave yerself, _'Oward_, " is familiar to the attentive ear. 

[125] It is even possible that _Hood_, _Hudson_, sometimes belong here, as _Hud_ appears to have been used as a North Country alternative forRichard, though it is hard to see why. For proofs see BARDSLEY, _Dict. Of English Surnames_, s. V. _Hudd_. 

[126] Such a corruption, though difficult to explain phonetically, isnot without example in uneducated or childish speech. Cf. _tiddlebat_ or_tittlebat_, for _stickleback_. In _stickler_ (p. 76) we have theopposite change. 

[127] Of course also of English origin. 

[128] Hence also the name _Britton_. 

[129] Whence the perversion _Portwine_, examples of which occur in the_London Directory_. 

[130] Old Fr. _vernai_, whence our _Verney_, _Varney_, has the samemeaning; cf. _Duverney_, the name of a famous dancer. Old Fr. _verne_, alder, is of Celtic origin. 

[131] Cf. _Chenevix_, old oak, a name introduced by the Huguenots. 

[132] Other examples quoted by Mr Hardy are _Priddle_, from _Paridelle_, and _Debbyhouse_--"The _Debbyhouses_ who now be carters were once the_de Bayeux_ family" (_Tess of the d'Urbervilles_, v. 35). 

[133] These names are supposed to have been generally conferred inconsequence of characters represented in public performances andprocessions. In some cases they imply that the bearer was in theemployment of the dignitary. We find them in other languages, _e. G. _, Fr. _Leroy_, _Leduc_, _Lévêque_; Ger. _König_, _Herzog_, _Bischof_. _Lévêque_ has given Eng. _Levick_, _Vick_, and (Trotty) _Veck_. 

[134] _Gross_, twelve dozen, seems to be of Germanic origin, theduodecimal hundred, Ger. _Grosshundert_, being Norse or Gothic. But Ger. _Grosshundert_ means 120 only. 

[135] _Surplice_, Old Fr. _surpelis_, is a compound of the same word. Itwas worn "over fur" in unheated medieval churches. 

[136] Another, and commoner, source of the name is from residence at a"corner. "

[137] See quotation from _Henry IV. _ (p. 155). 

[138] The obsolete _hay_, hedge, is also a common surname, _Hay_, _Haig_, _Haigh_, etc. 

[139] The following occur in the index to Bardsley's _EnglishSurnames_:--Blackinthemouth, Blubber, Calvesmawe, Cleanhog, Crookbone, Damned-Barebones, Drunkard, Felon, Greenhorn, Halfpenny, Hatechrist, Hogsflesh, Killhog, Leper, Mad, Measle, Milksop, Outlaw, Peckcheese, Peppercorn, Poorfish, Pudding, Ragman, Scorchbeef, Sourale, Sparewater, Sweatinbed, Twopenny, Widehose. Some of these are still found. 

[140] Cf. Also Ital. _Bevilacqua_. 

[141] This word has degenerated. It is a doublet of _deft_. 

CHAPTER XIII

ETYMOLOGICAL FACT AND FICTION

Romance and Germanic etymology dates from the middle of the 19thcentury, and is associated especially with the names of two greatGermans, Friedrich Diez, who published his _Wörterbuch der romanischenSprachen_ in 1853, and Jakob Grimm, whose _Deutsches Wörterbuch_ datesfrom 1852. These two men applied in their respective fields ofinvestigation the principles of comparative philology, and reduced to ascience what had previously been an amusement for the learned or theignorant. 

[Page Heading: EARLY ETYMOLOGISTS]

Men have always been fascinated by word-lore. The Greeks and Romansplayed with etymology in a somewhat metaphysical fashion, a famousexample of which is the derivation of _lucus a non lucendo_. Medievalwriters delight in giving amazing information as to the origin of thewords they use. Their method, which may be called learnedfolk-etymology, consists in attempting to resolve an unfamiliar wordinto elements which give a possible interpretation of its meaning. ThusPhilippe de Thaün, who wrote a kind of verse encyclopedia at thebeginning of the 12th century, derives the French names of the days ofthe week as follows: _lundi_, day of light (_lumière_), _mardi_, day oftoil or martyrdom (_martyre_), _mercredi_, day of market (_marché_), _jeudi_, day of joy (_joie_), _vendredi_, day of truth (_vérité_), _samedi_, day of sowing (_semence_). Here we perhaps have, not so muchcomplete ignorance, as the desire to be edifying, which ischaracteristic of the medieval etymologists. 

Playful or punning etymology also appears very early. Wace, whose _Romande Rou_ dates from about the middle of the 12th century, gives thecorrect origin of the word _Norman_--

 "Justez (_put_) ensemble _north_ et _man_ Et ensemble dites _northman_. "

But he also records the libellous theory that _Normendie_ comes from_north mendie_ (begs). We cannot always say whether an early etymologyis serious or not, but many theories which were undoubtedly meant forjokes have been quite innocently accepted by comparatively modernwriters. [142]

The philologists of the Renaissance period were often very learned men, but they had no knowledge of the phonetic laws by which sound change isgoverned. Nor were they aware of the existence of Vulgar Latin, whichis, to a much greater extent than classical Latin, the parent of theRomance languages. Sometimes a philologist had a pet theory which thefacts were made to fit. Hellenists like Henri Estienne believed in theGreek origin of the French language, and Périon even derived _maison_from the Gk. οἶκον (οἶκος, a house) by the simple method ofprefixing an _m_. At other periods there have been Celtomaniacs, _i. E. _, scholars who insisted on the Celtic origin of French. 

The first English etymological dictionary which aims at something likecompleteness is the _Guide into the Tongues_ of John Minsheu, publishedin 1617. This attempts to deal not only with English, but with ten otherlanguages. It contains a great deal of learning, much valuableinformation for the student of Tudor literature, and some amazingetymologies. "To _purloine_, [143] or get privily away, " is, saysMinsheu, "a metaphor from those that picke the fat of the _loines_. "_Parmaceti_, a corruption of _spermaceti_--

 "And telling me, the sovereign'st thing on earth Was _parmaceti_ for an inward bruise. " (1 _Henry IV. _, i. 3. )

he derives from Parma, which has given its name to _parmesan_ cheese. Onthe word _cockney_[144] he waxes anecdotic, always a fatal thing in anetymologist--

 "_Cockney_, or _cockny_, applied only to one borne within the sound of Bow-bell, that is, within the City of London, which tearme came first out of this tale: That a cittizens sonne riding with his father out of London into the country, and being a novice and meerely ignorant how corne or cattell increased, asked, when he heard a horse _neigh_, what the horse did; his father answered, the horse doth _neigh_; riding farther he heard a _cocke_ crow, and said, doth the _cocke neigh_ too?"

[Page Heading: EARLY ETYMOLOGISTS]

Molière often makes fun of the etymologists of his time and has ratherunfairly caricatured, as Vadius in _Les Femmes savantes_, the greatscholar Gilles Ménage, whose _Dictionnaire étymologique_, published in1650, was long a standard work. Molière's mockery and the fantasticnature of some of Ménage's etymologies have combined to make him a buttfor the ignorant, but it may be doubted whether any modern scholar, using the same implements, could have done better work. For Ménage theone source of the Romance languages was classical Latin, and every wordhad to be traced to a Latin word of suitable form or sense. Thus Fr. _haricot_[145] is connected by him with Lat. _faba_, a bean, _via_ theconjectural "forms" _*fabarius_, _*fabaricus_, _*fabaricotus_, _*faricotus_, _*haricotus_, a method to which no problem isinsoluble. [146] He suggests that Fr. _geindre_, or _gindre_, [147]baker's man, comes from Lat. _gener_, son-in-law, because the baker'sman always marries the baker's daughter; but this practice, commonthough it may be, is not of sufficiently unfailing regularity toconstitute a philological law. Perhaps his greatest achievement was thederivation of Span. _alfana_, [148] a mare, from Lat. _equus_, a horse, which inspired a well-known epigram--

 "_Alfana_ vient d'_equus_, sans doute, Mais il faut avouer aussi Qu'en venant de là jusqu'ici Il a bien changé sur la route. "

These examples show that respect for Ménage need not prevent his workfrom being a source of innocent merriment. But the above epigram losessome of its point for modern philologists, to whom equations that lookequally fantastic, _e. G. _ Eng. _wheel_ and Gk. κύκλος, [149] are mattersof elementary knowledge. On the other hand, a close resemblance betweenwords of languages that are not nearly related is proof presumptive, andalmost positive, that the words are quite unconnected. The resemblancebetween Eng. _nut_ and Ger. _Nuss_ is the resemblance of first cousins, but the resemblance of both to Lat. _nux_ is accidental. Even in thecase of languages that are near akin, it is not safe to jump toconclusions. The Greek cousin of Lat. _deus_ is not θεός, God, but Ζεύς, Jupiter. 

[Page Heading: ANECDOTIC ETYMOLOGY]

An etymology that has anything to do with a person or an anecdote is tobe regarded with suspicion. For both we want contemporary evidence, and, in the case of an anecdote, we never, to the best of my knowledge, getit. In Chapter III. Are a number of instances of words formed accordingto authentic evidence from names of persons. But the old-fashionedetymologist will not be denied his little story. Thus, in explanation of_spencer_ (p. 40), I find in a manual of popular information of the lastcentury, [150] that--

 "His Lordship, when Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, being out a-hunting, had, in the act of leaping a fence, the misfortune to have one of the skirts of his coat torn off; upon which his lordship tore off the other, observing, that to have but one left was like a pig with one ear! Some inventive genius took the hint, and having made some of these half-coats, out of compliment to his lordship, gave them the significant cognomen of _Spencer_!"

This is what Pooh-Bah calls "corroborative detail intended to giveartistic verisimilitude to a bald and unconvincing narrative. " From thesame authority we learn that--

 "_Hurly-burly_[151] is said to owe its origin to Hurleigh and Burleigh, two neighbouring families, that filled the country around them with contest and violence. "

and that--

 "The word _boh!_ used to frighten children, was the name of Boh, a great general, the son of Odin, whose very appellation struck immediate panic in his enemies. "[152]

The history of _chouse_ exemplifies the same tendency. There is no doubtthat it comes from a Turkish word meaning interpreter, spelt _chaus_ inHakluyt and _chiaus_ by Ben Jonson. The borrowing is parallel to that of_cozen_ (p. 110), interpreters having a reputation little superior tothat of horse-dealers. But a century and a half after the introductionof the word we come across a circumstantial story of a Turkish _chiaus_who swindled some London merchants of a large sum in 1609, the yearbefore Jonson used the word in the _Alchemist_. "Corroborative detail"again. The story may be true, but there is not an atom of evidence forit, and Skinner, who suggests the correct derivation in his_Etymologicon_ (1671), does not mention it. Until contemporary evidenceis adduced, the story must be regarded as one of those fables which havebeen invented in dozens by early etymologists, and which are perpetuatedin popular works of reference. It is an article of faith in Yorkshirethat the coarse material called _mungo_ owes its name to the inventorof the machine used in its fabrication, who, when it stuck at a firsttrial, exclaimed with resolution, "It _mun go_. "

Many stories have been composed _après coup_ to explain the American_hoodlum_ and the Australian _larrikin_, which are both older than our_hooligan_ (see p. 12). The origin of _hoodlum_ is quite obscure. Thestory believed in Australia with regard to _larrikin_ is that an Irishpoliceman, giving evidence of the arrest of a rough, explained that theaccused was _a-larrikin'_ (larking) in the street, and this wasmisunderstood by a reporter. But there appears to be not the slightestfoundation for this story. The word is perhaps a diminutive of thecommon Irish name _Larry_, also immortalised in the stirring ballad--

 "The night before _Larry_ was stretched. "

As I write, there is a correspondence going on in the Nottingham papersas to the origin of the nickname _Bendigo_, borne by a local bruiser andevangelist. According to one account, he was one of triplets, whom ajocular friend of the family nicknamed Shadrach, Meschach, and_Abed-Nego_, the last of which was the future celebrity. It is at anyrate certain that his first challenge (_Bell's Life_, 1835) was signed"Abed-Nego of Nottingham. " The rival theory is that, when he was playingin the streets and his father appeared in the offing, his companionsused to warn him by crying "_Bendy go!_" This theory disregards theassertion of the "oldest inhabitant" that the great man was never called_Bendy_, and the fact, familiar to any observer of the local dialect, that, even if he had been so called, the form of warning would havebeen, "Look aht, Bendy, yer daddy's a-coomen. "

In the Supplement to Littré there is an article on _domino_, in whichhe points out that investigation must start from the phrase _fairedomino_ (see p. 102). He also quotes an absurd anecdote from a localmagazine, which professes to come from a "vieille chronique. " Littrénaturally wants to know what chronicle. In Scheler's _Dictionnaireétymologique_ (Brussels, 1888), it is "proved, " by means of the samestory elaborated, "que c'est là la véritable origine du mot dont nousparlons. "

[Page Heading: ANECDOTIC ETYMOLOGY]

In Brewer's _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_, s. V. _sirloin_, we readthat "it is generally said that James I. Or Charles II. Knighted theloin of beef, but Henry VIII. Had done so already. " This sounds like adetermination to get at the root of things, but does not go far enough. The word is found in the 15th century, and Fr. _surlonge_, from which itcomes, in the 14th. It is compounded of _sur_, over, and _longe_, aderivative of Lat. _lumbus_, loin. The belief in the knightly origin ofthe _sirloin_ was so strong that we find it playfully called the_baronet_ (_Tom Jones_, iv. 10). Hence, no doubt, the name _baron_ ofbeef for the double sirloin. _Tram_ is persistently connected with a Mr_Outram_, who flourished about 1800. This is another case of intelligentanticipation, for the word is found in 1555. It means log or beam, andwas probably first applied to a log-road laid across bad ground, what iscalled in America a "corduroy" road. On the other hand, the obvious andsimple derivation of _beef-eater_, _i. E. _ a man who is in the enviableposition of being sure of his daily allowance, [153] has been obscured bythe invention of an imaginary Fr. _*beaufetier_, waiter at theside-board. Professor Skeat attributes the success of this myth to itsinclusion in Mrs Markham's _History of England_. But the mostindestructible of all these superstitions is connected with the word_cabal_. It comes from a Hebrew word meaning hidden mystery, and isfound in the chief Romance languages. The word is of frequent occurrencein English long before the date of Charles II. 's acrostic ministry, [154]though its modern meaning has naturally been affected by this historicconnection. 

Even anecdotic etymologies accepted by the most cautious modernauthorities do not always inspire complete confidence. _Martinet_ issupposed to come from the name of a well-known French officer whore-organised the French infantry about 1670. But we find it used byWycherley in 1676, about forty years before Martinet's death. Moreoverthis application of the name is unknown in French, which has, however, aword _martinet_ meaning a kind of cat-o'-nine-tails. In English_martinet_ means the leech-line of a sail, hence, possibly, rope's end, and Wycherley applies the term to a brutal sea-captain. The mostrenowned of carriers is probably Hobson, of Cambridge. He was sung byMilton, and bequeathed to the town Hobson's conduit which cleanses theCambridge gutters. To him is also ascribed the phrase _Hobson's choice_, from his custom of refusing to let out his horses except in strictrotation. But we find a merchant venturer, living in Japan, using"_Hodgson's_ choice" fourteen years before the carrier left this worldand became a legendary figure--

 "We are put to _Hodgson's choise_ to take such previlegese as they will geve us, or else goe without. " (_Correspondence of Richard Cocks_, Oct. 1617. )

[Page Heading: BACK-FORMATIONS]

The most obvious etymology needs to be proved up to the hilt, and theprocess is rich in surprises. _Cambridge_ appears to be the _bridge_over the _Cam_. But the river's older name, which it preserves above thetown, is the _Granta_, and Bede calls the town itself _Grantacester_. Camden, in his _Britannia_ (trad. Holland, 1637), notes that the countywas called "in the English Saxon" _Grentbrigseyre_, and comments on thedouble name of the river. Nor can he "easily beleeve that _Grant_ wasturned into _Cam_; for this might seeme a deflexion some what too hardlystreined, wherein all the letters but one are quite swallowed up. "_Grantabrigge_ became, by dissimilation (see p. 57), _Gantabrigge_, _Cantabrigge_ (cf. _Cantab_), _Cantbrigge_, and, by assimilation (see p. 56), _Cambridge_, the river being rechristened from the name of thetown. 

A _beggar_ is not etymologically one who _begs_, or a _cadger_ one who_cadges_. In each case the verb is evolved from the noun. About the year1200 Lambert le _Bègue_, the Stammerer, is said to have founded areligious order in Belgium. The monks were called after him in medievalLatin _beghardi_ and the nuns _beghinæ_. The Old Fr. _begard_ passedinto Anglo-French with the meaning of mendicant and gave our _beggar_. From _béguine_ we get _biggin_, a sort of cap--

 "Sleep with it (the crown) now! Yet not so sound, and half so deeply sweet, As he, whose brow with homely _biggin_ bound, Snores out the watch of night. " (2 _Henry IV. _, iv. 4. )

_Cadger_, or rather its Scottish form _cadgear_, a pedlar, occurs aboutone hundred and fifty years earlier than the verb to _cadge_. We find, noted as foreign words, in 16th-century Dutch, the words _cagie_, abasket carried on the back, and _cagiaerd_, one who carries such abasket. These must be of French origin, and come, like the obsolete Eng. _cadge_, [155] a panier, from _cage_, for the history of which see p. 109. _Cadger_ is used in Scottish of an itinerant fish merchant with hisgoods carried in paniers by a pony--

 "Or die a _cadger_ pownie's death, At some dyke-back. " (BURNS, _Epistle to J. Lapraik_. )

_Tobacco_ does not take its name from the island of Tobago, but from thenative name of the tube through which the Caribs smoked it. 

The traditional derivation of _vaunt_ is from Fr. _vanter_, and thisfrom a late Lat. _vanitare_, to talk emptily, used by St Augustine. Thislooks very simple, but the real history of these words is mostcomplicated. In Mid. English we regularly find _avaunt_, which comesfrom Old Fr. _avanter_, to put forward, from _avant_, before. This getsmixed up during the Tudor period with another _vaunt_ from Fr. _vanter_, to extol, the derivation of which can only be settled when its earliestform is ascertained. At present we find _venter_ as early as _vanter_, and this would represent Lat. _venditare_ (frequentative of _vendere_, to sell), to push one's goods, "to do anything before men to set forthhimselfe and have a prayse; to _vaunt_; to crake; to brag" (Cooper). 

[Page Heading: ETYMOLOGICAL TESTS]

A sound etymology must fulfil three conditions. It must not violate therecognised laws of sound change. The development of meaning must beclearly traced. This must start from the earliest or fundamental senseof the word. It goes without saying that in modern corruptions we aresometimes faced by cases which it would be difficult to explainphonetically (see p. 136). There are, in fact, besides the generalphonetic and semantic laws, a number of obscure and accidentalinfluences at work which are not yet codified. As we have seen (p. 188), complete apparent dissimilarity of sound and sense need not prevent twowords from being originally one[156]; but we have to trace them bothback until dissimilarity becomes first similarity and then identity. 

The word _peruse_ meant originally to wear out, Old Fr. _par-user_. Inthe 16th century it means to sort or sift, especially herbs, and henceto scrutinise a document, etc. But between the earliest meaning and thatof sifting there is a gap which no ingenuity can bridge, and, until thisis done, we are not justified in regarding the modern _peruse_ asidentical with the earlier. [157]

The maxim of Jakob Grimm, "von den Wörtern zu den Sachen, " is too oftenneglected. In dealing with the etymology of a word which is the name ofan object or of an action, we must first find out exactly what theoriginal object looked like or how the original action was performed. The etymologist must either be an antiquary or must know where to go forsound antiquarian information. I will illustrate this by three wordsdenoting objects used by medieval or Elizabethan fighting men. 

A fencing _foil_ is sometimes vaguely referred to the verb _foil_, tobaffle, with which it has no connection. The Fr. _feuille_, leaf, isalso invoked, and compared with Fr. _fleuret_, a foil, the idea beingthat the name was given to the "button" at the point. Now the earliest_foils_ and _fleurets_ were not buttoned; first, because they werepointless, and secondly, because the point was not used in earlyfencing. It was not until gunpowder began to bring about the disuse ofheavy armour that anybody ever dreamt of thrusting. The earliest fencingwas hacking with sword and buckler, and the early _foil_ was a roughsword-blade quite unlike the implement we now use. _Fleuret_ meant inOld French a sword-blade not yet polished and hilted, and we find itused, as we do Eng. _foil_, of an apology for a sword carried by agallant very much down at heel. As late as Cotgrave we find _floret_, "afoile; a sword with the _edge_ rebated. " Therefore _foil_ is the same asFr. _feuille_, [158] which in Old French meant sword-blade, and is stillused for the blade of a saw; but the name has nothing to do with whatdid not adorn the tip. It is natural that Fr. _feuille_ should beapplied, like Eng. _leaf_, _blade_, to anything flat (_cf. _ Ger. _Blatt_, leaf), and we find in 16th-century Dutch the borrowed word_folie_, used in the three senses of leaf, metal plate, broadsword, which is conclusive. 

[Page Heading: PETRONEL]

We find frequent allusions in the 16th and 17th centuries to a weaponcalled a _petronel_, a flint-lock fire-arm intermediate in size betweenan arquebus and a pistol. It occurs several times in Scott--

 "'Twas then I fired my _petronel_, And Mortham, steed and rider, fell. " (_Rokeby_, i. 19. )

On the strength of a French form, _poitrinal_, it has been connectedwith Fr. _poitrine_, chest, and various explanations are given. Theearliest is that of the famous Huguenot surgeon Ambroise Paré, whospeaks of the "mousquets _poitrinals_, que l'on ne couche en joue, àcause de leur calibre gros et court, mais qui se tirent _de lapoitrine_. " I cannot help thinking that, if the learned author hadattempted this method of discharging an early fire-arm, his anatomicalexperience, wide as it was, would have been considerably enlarged. Minsheu (1617) describes a _petronell_ as "a horseman's peece first usedin the Pyrenean mountaines, which hanged them alwayes _at their breast_, readie to shoote, as they doe now at the horse's breast. " Thisinformation is derived from Claude Fauchet, whose interesting_Antiquités françoises et gauloises_ was published in 1579. Phillips, inhis _New World of Words_ (1678) tells us that this "kind of harquebuse, or horseman's piece, is so called, because it is to aim _at a horse'sbrest_, as it were _poictronel_. " When we turn from fiction to fact, wefind that the oldest French name was _pétrinal_, explained by Cotgraveas "a _petronell_, or horse-man's peece. " It was occasionally corrupted, perhaps owing to the way in which the weapon was slung, into_poitrinal_. This corruption would be facilitated by the 16th-centurypronunciation of _oi_ (p_ei_trine). The French word is borrowed eitherfrom Ital. _petronello_, _pietronello_, "a petronell" (Florio), or fromSpan. _pedreñal_, "a _petronall_, a horse-man's peece, ita dict. Quod_silice petra_ incenditur" (Minsheu, _Spanish Dictionary_, 1623). ThusMinsheu knew the origin of the word, though he had put the fiction inhis earlier work. We find other forms in Italian and Spanish, but theyall go back to Ital. _pietra_, _petra_, or Span. _piedra_, _pedra_, stone, flint. The usual Spanish word for flint is _pedernal_. Our word, as its form shows, came direct from Italian. [159] The new weapon wasnamed from its chief feature; _cf. _ Ger. _Flinte_, "a light gun, ahand-gun, pop-gun, arquebuss, fire-arm, fusil or fusee"[160] (Ludwig). The substitution of the flint-lock for the old match-lock brought abouta re-naming of European fire-arms, and, as this substitution was firsteffected in the cavalry, _petronel_ acquired the special meaning ofhorse-pistol. It is curious that, while we find practically all theFrench and Italian fire-arm names in 17th-century German, a naturalresult of the Thirty Years' War, _petronel_ does not appear to berecorded. The reason is probably that the Germans had their own name, viz. , _Schnapphahn_, snap-cock, the English form of which, _snaphaunce_, seems also to have prevailed over _petronel_. Cotgrave has _arquebuse àfusil_, "a _snaphaunce_, " and explains _fusil_ as "a fire-steele for atinder-box. " This is medieval Lat. _focile_, from _focus_, fire, etc. 

[Page Heading: HELMETS]

The most general name for a helmet up to about 1450 was _basnet_, or_bacinet_. This, as its name implies (see p. 156), was a basin-shapedsteel cap worn by fighting men of all ranks. The knights and nobles woreit _under_ their great ornamental helms. [161] The _basnet_ itself wasperfectly plain. About the end of the 16th century the usual Englishhelmets were the _burgonet_ and _morion_. [162] These were often verydecorative, as may be seen by a visit to any collection of old armour. Spenser speaks of a "guilt engraven _morion_" (_Faerie Queene_, vii. 7). Between the basnet and these reigned the _salet_ or _salade_, on whichJack Cade puns execrably--

 "Wherefore, on a brick wall have I climbed into this garden, to see if I can eat grass, or pick a _sallet_ another while, which is not amiss to cool a man's stomach this hot weather. And I think this word _sallet_ was born to do me good, for many a time, but for a _sallet_, my brain-pan had been cleft with a brown-bill. " (2 _Henry VI. _, iv. 10. )

It comes, through Fr. _salade_, from Ital. _celata_, "a scull, a helmet, a morion, a _sallat_, a headpiece" (Florio). The etymologists of the17th century, familiar with the appearance of "guilt engraven morions, "connected it with Lat. _cælare_, to engrave, and this derivation hasbeen repeated ever since without examination. Now in the Tower of LondonArmoury is a large collection of _salets_, and these, with the exceptionof one or two late German specimens from the ornate period, are plainsteel caps of the simplest form and design. The _salet_ was, in fact, the _basnet_ slightly modified, worn by the rank and file of15th-century armies, and probably, like the _basnet_, worn under theknight's tilting helm. There is no Italian verb _celare_, to engrave, but there is a very common verb _celare_, to conceal. A steel cap wasalso called in Italian _secreta_, "a thinne steele cap, or close skull, worne under a hat" (Florio), and in Old French _segrette_, "an yronskull, or cap of fence" (Cotgrave). Both words are confirmed by Duez, who, in his _Italian-French Dictionary_ (1660), has _secreta_, "unesecrette, ou segrette, un morion, une bourguignotte, armure de testepour les picquiers. " Ergo, the _salet_ belongs to Lat. _celare_, tohide, secrete. 

We now _caulk_ a ship by forcing oakum into the seams. Hence the verb to_caulk_ is explained as coming from Mid. Eng. _cauken_, to tread, OldFr. _cauquer_, _caucher_, Lat. _calcare_, from _calx_, heel. This makesthe process somewhat acrobatic, although this is not, philologically, avery serious objection. But we _caulk_ the ship or the seams, not theoakum. Primitive _caulking_ consisted in plastering a wicker coraclewith clay. The earliest _caulker_ on record is Noah, who pitched[163]his ark within and without with pitch. In the Vulgate (_Genesis_, vi. 14), the _pitch_ is called _bitumen_ and the verb is _linere_, "to daub, besmear, etc. " Next in chronological order comes the mother of Moses, who "took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and withpitch" (_Exodus_, ii. 3), _bitumine ac pice_ in the Vulgate. Bitumen, ormineral pitch, was regularly applied to this purpose, even byElizabethan seamen. Failing this, anything sticky and unctuous was used, _e. G. _, clay or lime. _Lime_ now means usually calcium oxide, but itsoriginal sense is anything viscous; _cf. _ Ger. _Leim_, glue, and ourbird-_lime_. The oldest example of the verb to _caulk_ is about 1500. In Mid. English we find to _lime_ used instead, _e. G. _, in reference tothe ark--

 "Set and _limed_ agen the flood" (c. 1250), and--

 "_Lyme_ it with cleye and pitche within and without. " (Caxton, 1483. )

Our _caulk_ is in medieval Latin _calcare_, and this represents a rareLatin verb _calicare_, to plaster with lime, from _calx_, lime. Almostevery language which has a nautical vocabulary uses for our _caulk_ averb related to Fr. _calfater_. This is of Spanish or Portuguese origin. The Portuguese word is _calafetar_, from _cal_, lime, and _afeitar_, toput in order, trim, etc. 

[Page Heading: GHOST-WORDS]

The readiness of lexicographers to copy from each other sometimes leadsto ludicrous results. The origin of the word _curmudgeon_ is quiteunknown; but, when Dr Johnson was at work on his dictionary, he receivedfrom an unknown correspondent the suggestion that it was a corruption ofFr. _cœur méchant_, wicked heart. Accordingly we find in his dictionary, "It is a vitious manner of pronouncing _cœur méchant_, Fr. An unknowncorrespondent. " John Ash, LL. D. , who published a very completedictionary in 1775, gives the derivation "from the French _cœur_, unknown, and _méchant_, a correspondent, " an achievement which, saysTodd, "will always excite both in foreigners and natives a harmlesssmile!"

It is thus that "ghost-words" come into existence. Every considerableEnglish dictionary, from Spelman's _Glossarium_ (1664) onward, has theentry _abacot_, "a cap of state, wrought up into the shape of twocrowns, worn formerly by English kings. " This "word" will no longerappear in dictionaries, the editor of the _New English Dictionary_having laid this particular ghost. [164] _Abacot_ seems to be a misprintor misunderstanding for a _bicocket_, a kind of horned head-dress. Itcorresponds to an Old Fr. _bicoquet_ and Span. _bicoquete_, cap, thederivation of which is uncertain. Of somewhat later date is _brooch_, "apainting all in one colour, " which likewise occurs in all dictionariesof the 18th and 19th centuries. This is due to Miège (_French Dict. _1688) misunderstanding Cotgrave. There is a Fr. _camaïeu_, a derivativeof _cameo_, which has two meanings, viz. , a cameo _brooch_, and amonochrome painting with a cameo effect. Miège appears to have taken thesecond meaning to be explanatory of the first, hence hisentry--_brooch_, "camayeu, ouvrage de peinture qui n'est que d'unecouleur. " In Manwayring's _Seaman's Dictionary_ (1644), the old word_carvel_, applied to a special build of ship, is misprinted _carnell_, and this we find persisting, not only in the compilations of suchwriters as Bailey, Ash, etc. , but even in technical dictionaries of the18th century "by officers who serv'd several years at sea and land. " TheAnglo-Saxon name for the kestrel (see p. 100) was _stangella_, stone-yeller (_cf. _ nightin_gale_), which appears later as _stonegall_and _staniel_. In the 16th century we find the curious spelling_steingall_, _e. G. _, Cooper explains _tinnunculus_ as "a kistrel, or akastrell; a _steyngall_. " In Cotgrave we find it printed _fleingall_, aform which recurs in several later dictionaries of the 17th century. Hence, somewhere between Cooper and Cotgrave, an ornithologist orlexicographer must have misprinted _fleingall_ for _ſteingall_ by thecommon mistake of _fl_ for _ſt_, and the ghost-word persists into the18th century. 

The difficulty of the etymologist's task is exemplified by the completemystery which often enshrouds a word of comparatively recentappearance. A well-known example is the word _Huguenot_, for whichfifteen different etymologies have been proposed. We first find it usedin 1550, and by 1572 the French word-hunter Tabourot, generally known asdes Accords, has quite a number of theories on the subject. He is worthquoting in full--

 "De nostre temps ce mot de _Huguenots_, ou _Hucnots_ s'est ainsi intronisé: quelque chose qu'ayent escrit quelques-uns, que ce mot vient _Gnosticis hæreticis qui luminibus extinctis sacra faciebant_, selon Crinit: ou bien du Roy Hugues Capet, ou de la porte de Hugon à Tours par laquelle ils sortoient pour aller à leur presche. Lors que les pretendus Reformez implorerent l'ayde des voix des Allemans, aussi bien que de leurs armees: les Protestans estans venus parler en leur faveur, devant Monsieur le Chancelier, en grande assemblee, le premier mot que profera celuy qui portoit le propos, fut, _Huc nos venimus_: Et apres estant pressé d'un reuthme (_rhume_, cold) il ne peut passer outre; tellement que le second dit le mesme, _Huc nos venimus_. Et les courtisans presents qui n'entendoient pas telle prolation; car selon la nostre ils prononcent _Houc nos venimous_, estimerent que ce fussent quelques gens ainsi nommez: et depuis surnommerent ceux de la Religion pretenduë reformee, _Hucnos_: en apres changeant _C_ en _G_, _Hugnots_, et avec le temps on a allongé ce mot, et dit _Huguenots_. Et voylà la vraye source du mot, s'il n'y en a autre meilleure. "[165]

The only serious etymology is Ger. _Eidgenoss_, oath companion, whichagrees pretty well with the earliest recorded Swiss-French form, _eiguenot_, in Bonivard's _Chronique de Genève_. 

[Page Heading: UNSOLVED PROBLEMS]

The engineering term _culvert_ first appears about 1800, and there isnot the slightest clue to its origin. The victorious march of the uglyword _swank_ has been one of the linguistic phenomena of recent years. There is a dialect word _swank_, to strut, which may be related to thecommon Scottish word _swankie_, a strapping youth--

 "I am told, young _swankie_, that you are roaming the world to seek your fortune. " (_Monastery_, Ch. 24. )

But, in spite of the many conjectures, plausible or otherwise, whichhave been made, neither the etymology of _swank_ nor its sudden inroadinto the modern language are at present explained. The word _ogre_, first used by Perrault in his _Contes de Fées_ (1697), has occasionedmuch grave and learned speculation. Perhaps the philologists of thefuture may theorise as sapiently as to the origin of _jabberwock_ and_bandersnatch_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[142] The following "etymologies" occur, in the same list with a numberwhich are quite correct, in a 16th-century French author, Tabourot desAccords:--

_Bonnet_, de _bon_ et _net_, pource que l'ornement de la teste doitestre tel. 

_Chapeau_, quasi, _eschappe eau_; aussi anciennement ne le souloit onporter que par les champs en temps de pluye. 

_Chemise_, quasi, sur _chair mise_. 

_Velours_, quasi, _velu ours_. 

_Galant_, quasi, _gay allant_. 

_Menestrier_, quasi, _meine estrier_ des espousées. 

_Orgueil_, quasi, _orde gueule_. 

_Noise_, vient de _nois_ (_noix_), qui font _noise_ et bruit portéesensemble. 

_Parlement_, pource qu'on y _parle et ment_!

[143] Old Fr. _pourloignier_, to remove; cf. _éloigner_. 

[144] A very difficult word. Before it was applied to a Londoner itmeant a milksop. It is thus used by Chaucer. Cooper renders _deliciasfacere_, "to play the wanton, to dally, to play the _cockney_. " In thissense it corresponds to Fr. _acoquiné_, made into a _coquin_, "madetame, inward, familiar; also, growne as lazy, sloathful, idle, as abeggar" (Cotgrave). 

[145] Thought to be a Mexican word. 

[146] "Sache que le mot _galant homme_ vient d'_élégant_; prenant le _g_et l'_a_ de la dernière syllabe, cela fait _ga_, et puis prenant _l_, ajoutant un _a_ et les deux dernières lettres, cela fait _galant_, etpuis ajoutant _homme_, cela fait _galant homme_. " (Molière, _Jalousie duBarbouillé_, scène 2. )

[147] Old Fr. _joindre_, Lat. _junior_. 

[148] Of Arabic origin. 

[149] That is, they are both descended from the same Indo-Germanicoriginal. Voltaire was thus, superficially, right when he describedetymology as a science in which the vowels do not count at all and theconsonants very little. 

[150] _Pulleyn's Etymological Compendium_, 3rd ed. , revised and improvedby M. A. Thoms (Tegg & Co. , 1853). 

[151] _Cf. _ Fr. _hurluberlu_, which occurs in Rabelais, and in Rostand's_Cyrano de Bergerac_. 

[152] _Tit-Bits_, which honoured the _Romance of Words_ with a notice(8th June 1912), approvingly quoted these three "etymologies" as beingseriously propounded by the author. This is dramatic justice. 

[153] The following explanation, given in Miège's _French Dictionary_(1688), is perhaps not far wrong: "C'est ainsi qu'on appelle pardérision les _Yeomen of the Guard_ dans la cour d'Angleterre, qui sontdes gardes à peu près comme les cent Suisses en France. Et on leur donnece nom-là, parce qu' à la cour ils ne vivent que de bœuf: par oppositionà ces collèges d'Angleterre, où les écoliers ne mangent que du mouton. "

[154] An acrostic of this kind would have no point if it resulted in ameaningless word. In the same way the Old Fr. _Fauvel_, whence our_curry favour_ (see p. 131), has a medieval explanation of the acrostickind. It is supposed to be formed from the initial letters of the vices_Flatterie_, _Avarice_, _Vilenie_, _Variété_, _Envie_, _Lâcheté_. 

[155] There is also a word _cadge_, explained in the glossary to a bookon falconry (1615) as a kind of frame on which an itinerant vendor ofhawks carried his birds. But it is unrecorded in literature and laboursunder the suspicion of being a ghost-word. Its first occurrence, outsidethe dictionaries, is, I believe, in Mr Maurice Hewlett's _Song ofRenny_--"the nominal service of a pair of gerfalcons yearly, in goldenhoods, upon a golden _cadge_" (Ch. 1). 

[156] This seems to have been realised by the author of the_Etymological Compendium_ (see p. 188, _n. _ 2), who tells us that the"term _swallow_ is derived from the French _hirondelle_, signifyingindiscriminately voracious, literally a marshy place, that absorbs or_swallows_ what comes within its vortex. "

[157] It is much more likely that it originated as a misunderstanding of_pervise_, to survey, look through, earlier printed _peruise_. We have asimilar misunderstanding in the name _Alured_, for _Alvred_, i. E. _Alfred_. The influence of spelling upon sound is, especially in thecase of words which are more often read than heard, greater than isgenerally realized. Most English people pronounce a _z_ in names like_Dalziel_, _Mackenzie_, _Menzies_, etc. , whereas this _z_ is really amodern printer's substitution for an old symbol which had nearly thesound _y_ (_Dalyell_, etc. ). 

[158] And therefore identical with the _foil_ of _tinfoil_, _counterfoil_, etc. 

[159] It is a diminutive of some word which appears to be unrecorded(_cf. _ Fr. _pistolet_ for the obsolete _pistole_). Charles Reade, whosearchæology is very sound, makes Denys of Burgundy say, "_Petrone_ norharquebuss shall ever put down Sir Arbalest" (_Cloister and Hearth_, Ch. 24); but I can find no other authority for the word. 

[160] _Fusee_, in this sense, occurs in _Robinson Crusoe_. 

[161] Over the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral hangshis cumbrous tilting helmet. But the magnificent recumbent bronze effigybelow represents him in his fighting kit, basnet on head. 

[162] _Burgonet_, Fr. _bourguignotte_, is supposed to mean _Burgundian_helmet. The origin of _morion_ is unknown, but its use by Scott in_Ivanhoe_--"I have twice or thrice noticed the glance of a _morrion_from amongst the green leaves. " (Ch. 40)--is an anachronism by fourcenturies. Both words are used vaguely as general names for helmet. 

[163] See _pay_ (p. 160). It will be found that all verbs of this natureare formed from the name of the substance applied. 

[164] See letter by Dr Murray, afterwards Sir James Murray, in the_Athenæum_, Feb. 4, 1884. 

[165] The _Encyclopædia Britannica_ does not imitate the wise reticenceof Tabourot's saving clause, but pronounces authoritatively for the_porte de Hugon_ fable. 

INDEX

 abacot, 201

 abet, 77, _n. _

 abeyance, 108

 abominable, 3, _n. _

 abominate, 3

 abracadabra, 15, _n. _ 2

 accomplice, 128, _n. _

 acquaint, 78

 acton, 115

 adder, 113

 adjutant, 34, 147

 admiral, 148

 affidavit, 4

 ague, 139

 aitch-bone, 113

 akimbo, 100

 Alabaster, 170

 alarm, 115

 alarum, 115

 albert chain, 39

 alcade, 115

 alderman, 92

 Aldridge, 171

 Alec, 70

 alert, 115

 _alfana_, 187

 Alfred David, 125

 alguazil, 115

 alibi, 4

 alley, 69

 alligator, 115

 Allman, 173

 allure, 110

 alone, 62

 Alured, 195, _n. _ 2

 A. M. , 4

 ampersand, 57

 analysis, 6

 _ananas_, 32, _n. _ 1

 ancient, 128

 andiron, 115

 Andrea Ferrara, 50

 anecdotage, 132

 animal, 4

 anlace, 59

 Annabel, 58

 _ansatus_, 100

 antic, 141

 antlers, 99

 ant-lion, 32

 _apache_, 12

 _Apfelsine_, 31

 appeach, 62

 appendicitis, 11

 apprentice, 118

 apricot, 20

 apron, 57, 113

 Arabella, 58

 arbour, 133

 arch, 83

 argosy, 50

 _aringo_, 21

 Arkwright, 176

 arles, 119

 armada, 2

 _armée_, 2

 Armitage, 5

 Armstrong, 180

 aroma, 6

 arquebus, 127

 arrant, 83

 arras, 47

 array, 95, _n. _

 _arrière-ban_, 72

 artillery, 161, _n. _

 assassin, 22

 assegai, 25

 asset, 116

 assize, 62

 assoil, 10

 astonish, 106

 astound, 106

 Atkin, 171

 atlas, 6

 atomy, 62

 _atout_, 9

 Atterbury, 172

 Atwood, 172

 _auberge_, 133, 164

 Aubray, 174

 _Augensprosse_, 99

 auger, 113

 avers, 143

 avoirdupois, 143, _n. _ 2

 ayah, 26

 Bacchus, 170

 'baccy, 66

 bacinet, 198

 bachelor's buttons, 30

 backgammon, 158

 _badaud_, 108, _n. _ 1

 Bailey, 175

 _bâiller_, 108, _n. _ 1

 bait, 77, _n. _

 baize, 119

 Bakerloo, 66

 bald, 38

 bald-faced stag, 38

 ballad, 152

 ballet, 152

 baluster, 60

 ban, 72

 banal, 73

 bandore, 149

 bandy, 109

 banish, 72

 Banister, 179

 banister, 60

 _banlieue_, 73

 banjo, 149

 bannal, 73, _n. _

 banns, 72

 Barclay, 145

 Bardell, 171

 Barker, 178

 baron, 191

 barracking, 13

 bartisan, 14

 Barton, 172

 Bart's, 66

 basilisk, 38

 basnet, 156, 198

 bastinado, 26, _n. _ 2

 _battant neuf_, 107

 batter, 154

 battledore, 132

 _Bauer_, 160

 bay, 108, 119

 Bayard, 119

 Bayliss, 175

 bead, 74

 beadroll, 74

 beadsman, 74

 _béante_, 108, _n. _ 1

 beat the bush, 108

 Beaufoy, 170

 Beaulieu, 123

 _beaupré_, 128, _n. _

 beaver, 155

 _bec-jaune_, 96

 bedlam, 61

 Beecham, 169

 beef-eater, 191

 beejam, 96

 beg, 193

 begum, 157

 belcher, 85

 beldam, 85

 _belette_, 91

 belfry, 164

 Bell, 170

 Bella, 70

 belladonna, 85

 Bellows, 170

 Bendigo, 190

 _benêt_, 45

 bergamot, 157

 _bergeronnette_, 34

 bergomask, 157

 Bert, 70

 bess, 42

 bet, 77, _n. _

 _bête à bon Dieu_, 35

 Betts, 172

 betty, 42

 bever, 124

 beverage, 60

 Bewsher, 85, _n. _

 bey, 157

 bezant, 49

 bible, 86

 biggin, 193

 bike, 66

 bilbo, 50

 billiments, 66

 Billingsgate, 48

 billy-cock, 40

 binnacle, 63

 bird-lime, 200

 Bishop, 175

 biz, 67

 black art, 130

 blackguard, 84

 Blood, 181

 Blount, 181

 bluff, 94, _n. _

 Blundell, 181

 blunderbuss, 127

 Blunt, 181

 Bob, 172

 bobby, 45

 bodice, 118

 Bodkin, 171

 boer, 84, _n. _ 1

 _boîte_, 127

 Boleyn, 173

 bombasine, 96

 bombast, 96

 _bona-fide_, 4

 Bone, 181

 bonfire, 151

 _bonhomme_, 80

 _bonne femme_, 80

 Bonner, 181

 bonus, 4

 boojum, 16

 book, 86

 Booker, 178

 boom, 17

 Boon, 170, 181

 boor, 84

 boot and saddle, 129

 _bordereau_, 93

 borel, 73

 boss, 20

 _boudoir_, 75

 _boulevard_, 121

 _boussole_, 127

 _boutique_, 114

 _bouvreuil_, 33

 Bovril, 16

 bowdlerise, 41

 bower, 160

 Bowery, 160, _n. _ 2

 bowie, 39

 Bowser, 85, _n. _

 Bowyer, 176

 boycott, 41

 Boyer, 176

 Brabazon, 173

 brand new, 107

 brandy, 68

 branks, 8

 _brasse_, 87

 Brazil, 51

 breeches, 117

 breeks, 117

 Brett, 173

 Brewer, 182

 briar, 165

 bridal, 121

 Bridges, 173

 brig, 67

 brigantine, 67

 brisk, 63, _n. _ 2

 Bristow, 173

 Britton, 173, _n. _ 2

 Brock, 180

 Broderer, 178

 broker, 150

 bronze, 48

 brooch, 151, 202

 brose, 118

 brougham, 39

 Bruin, 36

 Brunel, 181

 buccaneer, 61, _n. _

 _Büchse_, 127

 _Buchstabe_, 86

 buck, 150

 Buckhurst Holt, 135

 budget, 88

 bugle, 69

 Bull, 181

 Bullen, 173

 bulwark, 121

 buncombe, 48

 bungalow, 94, _n. _

 bunkum, 48

 burden, 157

 bureau, 73

 burgonet, 199

 Burgoyne, 173

 Burke, 41

 _Bursche_, 94

 bus, 69

 bushes, 127

 butcher, 150

 buttery, 165

 buxom, 82

 Bythesea, 172

 cab, 66

 cabal, 192

 cabbage, 153

 _caboche_, 153

 cad, 66

 caddie, 66

 cadge, 193

 Cæsar, 175

 Caffyn, 181

 cage, 109

 _cahier_, 146

 caitiff, 139

 cajole, 109

 calculation, 87

 calendar, 159

 calender, 159

 _calfater_, 201

 Caliban, 132

 callant, 68

 calumet, 24

 Calvert, 179

 cambric, 47

 Cambridge, 193

 camomile, 32

 canary, 51

 cancel, 88

 cancer, 35

 _canif_, 55

 canker, 35

 cannibal, 132

 canter, 68

 canvass, 72

 cape, 26

 Capel Court, 152

 _capestro_, 67

 _capot_, 102

 captain, 139

 captive, 139

 carat, 21

 Carew, 123

 Carfax, 122, _n. _ 2

 cargo, 142

 cark, 142

 carmine, 147

 carnell, 202

 carol, 152

 carousal, 166

 carouse, 166

 cartridge, 61

 case, 157

 cash, 157

 cashier, 18, 157

 cashmere, 47

 casket, 140

 cass, 157

 cast, 157

 caste, 26

 catch, 143

 catchpole, 165

 cate, 62

 cater, 63

 caterpillar, 33

 catkin, 33

 Catonet, 41

 Cator, 62

 cattle, 143

 caucus, 13

 caudle, 7

 cauliflower, 153

 caulk, 200

 causeway, 125

 caveat, 4

 _cavestrolo_, 67

 cavie, 109

 celandine, 30

 _cercueil_, 140

 _cerf-volant_, 38

 cervelas, 136

 chabouk, 26

 _chaise_, 116, _n. _ 2

 Challen, 173

 Challis, 173

 Chaloner, 177

 chamberlain, 90

 _chambrée_, 94

 chameleon, 32

 Champain, 173

 Champneys, 174

 chancel, 88

 chancellor, 88

 chancery, 165

 Chaney, 174

 _Chantecler_, 36

 chap, 67

 _chapeau_, 26

 chapel, 26, 152

 chaperon, 27

 chaplet, 26

 Chapman, 175

 chapman, 67

 chare, 2

 charge, 142

 charwoman, 2

 chase, 143, 157

 Chater, 143

 _chaton_, 33

 chattel, 143

 Chaucer, 175

 _chauvin_, 13

 chawbuck, 26

 Chawner, 177

 Chaworth, 173

 cheat, 84

 check, 87, 120

 cheer, 135

 chelidonium, 30

 _chenapan_, 55

 Chenevix, 174, _n. _ 2

 _chenille_, 33

 _cheptel_, 143

 cheque, 89

 chequer, 87

 _chercher_, 57

 cherry, 116

 Chesney, 174

 chess, 120

 Chesterfield, 40

 cheval-de-frise, 47, _n. _ 1

 _chevalet_, 39

 _chevaucher_, 66

 chewet, 37

 chieftain, 139

 chime, 8

 Chinee, 116

 Chippendale, 40

 Chipping, 67, _n. _

 chit, 96

 chore, 2

 chortle, 16

 _chou_, 153

 _choucroute_, 129

 chouse, 189

 chuet, 37

 chum, 94

 churl, 84

 cinch, 24

 cinematograph, 11

 cipher, 147

 cit, 66

 citizen, 122

 Clark, 145

 _Claude_, 45

 claymore, 132

 Cleaver, 178

 clerk, 145

 clothes-horse, 39

 clove, 91

 club, 78

 cobalt, 44

 Cobbett, 171

 cobra, 26

 cockney, 186

 cocoa, 23

 cocoa-nut, 23

 coffer, 140

 Coffin, 181

 coffin, 140

 cognovit, 4

 colander, 154

 _Colas_, 45

 cole, 153

 Collet, 170

 colon, 6

 colonel, 58

 Coltman, 177

 colza, 153

 _comadreja_, 92

 comma, 6

 _commère_, 94

 companion, 93, 165

 compassion, 2

 _compère_, 94

 complex, 4

 compound, 157

 comptroller, 88

 comrade, 94

 connect, 105

 constable, 89

 _contrôle_, 88

 controller, 88

 Conyers, 173

 coon, 64

 cooper, 81, _n. _

 coopering, 67

 _cordonnier_, 128

 cordwainer, 128

 _corne_, 117

 Corner, 177

 Cornwall, 151

 Cornwallis, 174

 corp, 116

 corsair, 22

 costermonger, 63, _n. _ 1

 _couleuvre_, 7

 counterpane, 137

 counterpoint, 137

 court-card, 129

 Coward, 181

 coward, 36

 cowslip, 30

 cozen, 110

 crack, 67

 _cracovienne_, 50

 crane, 38

 crane's bill, 29

 cratch, 8

 cravat, 48

 crayfish, 125

 credence table, 123

 crestfallen, 108

 _crétin_, 45

 crew, 64

 Cri, 66

 crimson, 147

 crinoline, 137

 Crocker, 178

 Croker, 178

 crowd, 176

 crowfoot, 29

 Crowther, 176

 crosier, 164

 cubit, 87

 Cuddy, 36

 cuddy, 165

 cuirass, 161

 Cullen, 173

 cullis, 154

 culverin, 7, 38

 culvert, 203

 cummer, 92, 95

 _curée_, 161

 curmudgeon, 201

 currant, 49

 curry, 95

 curry favour, 131

 curtal axe, 126

 Curtis, 181

 cushion, 169, _n. _

 cuss, 68

 Custance, 171

 _custodia_, 103

 cutlass, 60, 126

 cutler, 126

 cutlet, 126

 _dada_, 91

 dado, 142

 daffadowndilly, 71

 daffodil, 71

 Daft, 183

 Dago, 45

 dahlia, 31

 dainty, 139

 dairy, 165

 dais, 139

 daisy, 29

 Dalmain, 174

 Dalziel, 195

 dam, 120, 142

 damask, 47

 dame, 142

 _dame-jeanne_, 44

 Dampier, 173

 damson, 49

 Dance, 181

 dandelion, 30

 dandy, 45

 Dangerfield, 175

 Danvers, 174

 dapper, 80

 dapple-gray, 71

 darbies, 40

 Darblay, 174

 Darby, 145

 Daubeney, 174

 dauphin, 34

 _Daus_, 109

 _davier_, 42

 davit, 42

 Dawnay, 174

 Day, 165

 day-woman, 165

 _dé_, 61, 131

 dead men's fingers, 30

 Debbyhouse, 175, _n. _ 1

 debenture, 5

 decoy, 109

 Dedman, 181

 _déjeuner_, 148

 delf, 48

 deliberate, 1

 delight, 122, _n. _ 1

 demijohn, 44

 demure, 101

 denizen, 122

 Dennis, 170

 Denry, 70

 Depew, 8

 _dérive_, 55

 derrick, 40

 derring-do, 15

 derringer, 39

 desk, 139

 deuce, 109

 _Deus_, 188

 Devereux, 174

 Dexter, 176

 dexterity, 3

 _di_, 8

 _diablotin_, 171

 _diane_, 10

 diaper, 52

 dice, 142

 Dick, 172

 dickens, 44

 dicky bird, 37

 die, 142

 _Dietrich_, 42

 Digg, 172

 digit, 87

 dimity, 149

 _dinde_, 52

 _dindon_, 52

 _dîner_, 148

 diocese, 150

 dirge, 5

 dirk, 20

 _dirk_, 42

 _Dirne_, 82

 disaster, 106

 disc, 139

 dish, 139

 dishevelled, 135

 disk, 139

 dismal, 8

 Disney, 174

 ditto, 153

 ditty, 153

 Dob, 172

 Dobbin, 91

 docket, 93

 dodo, 33

 dogma, 6

 doily, 40

 Dolman, 174

 doll, 43

 dollar, 49

 dominie, 5

 domino, 102, 191

 _Dompfaffe_, 34

 donah, 142

 _doninha_, 92

 donkey engine, 38

 _donna_, 142

 _donnola_, 92

 do re me fa sol la si, 7

 dornick, 47

 dote, 80

 dotterel, 33

 dowlas, 48

 _Drachen_, 38

 dragon, 38

 dragoon, 38

 Drakensberg, 31

 dram, 87

 drat, 65

 draught, 120

 drawing-room, 65

 drill, 148

 drilling, 148

 Drinkwater, 180

 dropsy, 61

 drub, 26, _n. _ 2

 Druce, 173

 drugget, 52

 Dubberley, 174

 ducat, 49

 duenna, 142

 duffel, 48

 Duke, 175

 _dummer Peter, Michel_, 45

 dunce, 45

 Dupuy, 8

 Durbeyfield, 175

 Durward, 179

 duty, 11

 Duverney, 174, _n. _. 1

 D. V. , 4

 _dyrk_, 42

 eager, 80

 earnest, 119

 easel, 18, 39

 _échouer_, 97

 _écouvillon_, 43

 _écrou_, 93, _n. _

 _écurie_, 135

 _écuyer_, 135

 _effendi_, 22

 _Eisenhut_, 29

 eke, 114

 elbow, 87

 ell, 87

 _Eltern_, 92

 embarrass, 106

 emir, 148

 Emmot, 36

 employ, 105

 endeavour, 11

 ensign, 128

 epitome, 6

 equerry, 134

 'Erb, 70

 ermine, 48

 errant, 83

 _Erz-_, 83

 _escabeau_, 107

 escheat, 84

 eschew, 64

 esquire, 64, 135

 etch, 18, 133

 _étincelle_, 59

 ewer, 115

 example, 64

 exchequer, 87

 excise, 134

 exeat, 4

 exit, 4

 expression, 105

 eyas, 114

 eyre, 83

 _faire la noce_, 95

 Fairfax, 181

 fairy, 77, 92

 falconet, 38

 faldstool, 141

 fane, 58

 farce, 93

 Farrar, 176

 farrier, 176

 farthingale, 137

 _Fata Morgana_, 77

 Faulkner, 176

 _fauteuil_, 141

 _Fauvel_, 131, 192, _n. _

 fay, 77

 feckless, 12

 fed up, 96

 fee, 143

 feeble, 58

 fellow-feeling, 2

 felon, 24

 fence, 64

 fender, 64

 ferret, 33, 149

 Ferrier, 176

 ferrule, 167

 ferule, 167

 fetish, 26

 feverfew, 30

 fiat, 4

 filbert, 35

 filibuster, 61

 _fille_, 82

 fire-new, 107

 firkin, 21, _n. _ 2

 Fitch, 180

 fives, 10

 flail, 58

 flawn, 136, _n. _

 fleingall, 202

 Fletcher, 176

 floret, 150

 florin, 49

 flounce, 60

 flour, 144

 flower, 144

 foil, 196

 foist, 107, _n. _

 folio, 6

 fond, 80

 foot, 86

 footpad, 167

 force-meat, 93

 foreign, 122

 forget-me-not, 30

 forlorn hope, 18, 129

 Forster, 176

 Foster, 176

 _fou_, 80

 _fouet_, 129

 _Frauenzimmer_, 94

 fragile, 139

 frail, 58, 139

 freebooter, 61

 fret, 133

 fretwork, 133

 frieze, 47

 fritter, 154

 Frobisher, 177

 _froncle_, 25

 frontispiece, 82, _n. _ 1

 frounce, 60

 fruiterer, 63

 fuchsia, 31

 fugleman, 59

 Fuller, 178

 _funkelnagelneu_, 107

 furlong, 87

 furlough, 18

 _furoncle_, 25

 fusee, 198

 _fusil_, 198

 fustian, 47, 96

 fustian-anapes, 46

 fusty, 107

 Galvanism, 40

 gambit, 158

 gamboge, 51

 game, 158

 gammon, 158

 gammy, 158

 gamut, 6

 gantlope, 130

 gaol, 109

 garage, 125

 garble, 21, 72

 _garce_, 82

 garibaldi, 39

 garret, 104

 Garrett, 171

 gas, 16

 Gascoyne, 173

 Gaskin, 173

 _gaufre_, 78

 Gaunt, 173

 gauntlet, 130

 geezer, 12

 _gefallen_, 109

 _geindre_, 187

 _Gelbschnabel_, 96

 _Geld_, 142

 generous, 3

 geneva, 68

 genius, 4

 gent, 66

 geranium, 30

 _gerben_, 95

 _gerfaut_, 121, _n. _

 _Geschenk_, 91

 _Geselle_, 94

 _Gevatter_, 95

 _Gewehr_, 64, _n. _

 Gibbon, 172

 _Gift_, 91

 gift horse, 97

 Gilbey, 171

 Gillott, 170

 gilly-flower, 125

 gimbals, 144

 gimmal, 144

 gin, 65, 68

 _gindre_, 187

 gingham, 52

 gist, 10

 _glai_, 132

 glaive, 132

 glamour, 13, 60, 145

 gleek, 102

 gloss, 155

 gloze, 155

 Godbehere, 170

 goffer, 78

 Gogs, 65

 gonfalon, 57

 Goodbeer, 170

 Goodenough, 170

 Goodeve, 171

 Goodlake, 171

 Goodrich, 171

 gorilla, 27

 goshawk, 153

 Gosling, 180

 Gosse, 180

 gossip, 94

 Gotobed, 170

 _goupil_, 35

 graft, 111

 grail, 13

 grain, 87

 gramarye, 146

 grampus, 33

 Grant, 181

 Great Orme, 99, _n. _

 Grecian steps, 118

 Greenfield, 175

 greengage, 32

 greenhorn, 95

 Greenhow, 135

 Greenman, 181

 greyhound, 135

 grief, 122

 _grimaldello_, 42

 grimalkin, 43

 _grimoire_, 146

 grize, 118

 grocer, 175

 grog, 68

 grogram, 56, _n. _, 68

 gross, 175, _n. _ 3

 grotesque, 141, _n. _

 _guérite_, 103

 guillotine, 170

 guinea, 51

 guinea-fowl, 51

 guinea-pig, 32, 51

 guitar, 149

 guts, 84

 guy, 45

 Habeas Corpus, 125

 hack, 66

 hackbut, 127

 Hackett, 171

 hag, 109

 haggard, 108

 haggis, 37, _n. _

 _Hahnenfuss_, 29

 Haig, 179, _n. _

 half a mo', 66

 halibut, 35

 Hammond, 171

 hand, 87

 hand of glory, 131

 _hangar_, 125

 Hannay, 174

 Hannibal, 170

 Hansom, 56, _n. _

 hansom, 53, _n. _

 Hanway, 173

 harangue, 23, 55

 harbinger, 2, 90, 164

 harbour, 2, 133, 164

 harry, 2

 Harvey, 171

 hatchell, 12

 hatchment, 136

 hauberk, 164

 Haunce, 174

 _haut_, 132

 haversack, 18, _n. _

 'haviour, 66

 hawse, 164, _n. _

 Hawtrey, 173

 Hay, 179, _n. _

 Hayward, 179

 hearse, 75

 heart's ease, 30

 heckle, 12

 hempie, 67

 Herd, 179

 Hereford, 2

 _herrisch_, 92, _n. _ 2

 Hewett, 171

 Hewlett, 171

 Hibbert, 171

 hiccough, 125

 Hick, 172

 Hig, 172

 hinterland, 14

 hippopotamus, 32

 Hitch, 172

 Hob, 172

 hobby, 91

 hobgoblin, 37

 Hobson's choice, 192

 _Hochzeit_, 95

 hock, 68

 Hoggart, 179

 holland, 47

 hollyhock, 35

 homely, 81

 Homer, 176

 homespun, 73

 _homme_, 55

 Honeyball, 170

 honeysuckle, 99

 _honte_, 55

 Hood, 172

 hooligan, 12

 Horner, 177

 horse-coper, 67

 host, 2, 158

 Howard, 179

 Howitt, 171

 Hudson, 172

 Huggin, 171

 Huguenot, 203

 humble pie, 113

 hunks, 82

 hurly-burly, 70, 189

 hussar, 22

 hussy, 82

 Hutchin, 171

 Ib, 70

 Ibbotson, 172

 ill-starred, 106

 imp, 111

 indenture, 89

 index, 4

 Indian corn, 52

 Indian ink, 52

 indigo, 51

 infantry, 76

 innuendo, 3

 inoculate, 112

 insult, 3

 interfere, 106

 inure, 159

 inveigle, 110

 invoice, 118

 _Irrgarten_, 63

 isinglass, 137

 item, 4

 jack, 42, 44

 jackanapes, 45

 jackass, 37

 jackdaw, 37

 jacket, 44

 Janaway, 174

 _jaquette_, 37

 Jarvey, 41

 jaunty, 127

 jean, 47

 jemmy, 42

 Jenner, 176

 jenneting, 121

 Jenny wren, 37

 jeopardy, 108

 jesses, 120

 Jessop, 171

 jest, 74

 jilt, 46

 jingo, 13

 jockey, 45, 111

 _Johannisapfel_, 121

 _jolis fous_, 129

 _Jönköping_, 67, _n. _

 jonquil, 153

 joss, 27

 journeyman, 106, 165

 jovial, 106

 jug, 43

 Juggins, 43, _n. _

 jumble, 144

 junket, 153

 _Jütte_, 42

 Kafir, 26, _n. _ 1

 kail, 153

 _Kanzel_, 88

 _Kapelle_, 152

 Kemp, 176

 kennel, 158

 kerseymere, 47

 kestrel, 100

 kickshaws, 116

 Kiddier, 176

 kidnap, 110

 kilderkin, 21

 kilt, 19

 kimmer, 95

 King, 175

 kirtle, 150

 Kisser, 178

 kit, 149

 kitcat, 42

 kite, 38

 kittle, 59

 _Kjöbenhavn_, 67, _n. _

 _kjönne_, 92

 _Klaus_, 42

 kloof, 91

 knapsack, 18

 knave, 55

 _Knecht_, 84

 knickerbockers, 44

 knight, 84

 _Knoblauch_, 91

 _Kohl_, 153

 _kooi_, 109

 kraal, 25

 laager, 18

 label, 93

 Labouchère, 178

 lace, 24

 lacrosse, 164

 lady-bird, 35

 lady's bedstraw, 35

 lady's garter, 35

 lady's slipper, 35

 Lambert, 179

 _Lambertsnuss_, 35

 lampoon, 9

 lancegay, 25

 Lander, 178

 _landier_, 115

 landscape, 18

 _Langlois_, 115

 lanterloo, 69

 larboard, 121

 larder, 165

 lariat, 24, 115

 Larkin, 171

 larkspur, 29

 _Lärm_, 115

 larrikin, 12, 190

 larum, 115

 lasso, 24

 lateen, 51

 Latimer, 177

 _Launay_, 174

 Launder, 178

 _lavandière_, 34

 lawn, 47

 lay-figure, 18, 166

 leaguer, 18

 leech, 155

 legend, 3

 Leggatt, 171

 lemon, 160

 lemon sole, 160

 lettuce, 119

 level, 58

 _lévier_, 115

 Levick, 115, 175, _n. _ 2

 _lèvre_, 117

 _Lhuissier_, 90, _n. _, 115

 libel, 42

 _liber_, 86

 _liebäugeln_, 110

 _lierre_, 115

 Lilywhite, 180

 limb, 98

 limbeck, 63

 limbo, 5

 lime, 56

 Limehouse, 48

 limner, 63

 linden, 56

 _Lindwurm_, 99, _n. _

 _lingot_, 115

 liquorice, 137

 list, 93

 Lister, 176

 little Mary, 43

 littoral, 14

 Liverpool, 56

 livery, 77

 lobelia, 31

 locomotor ataxy, 125

 lockram, 48

 Loftus, 170

 Lombard, 56

 lone, 62

 'longing, 66

 loo, 69

 lords and ladies, 30

 Lorimer, 177

 Loring, 174

 Loveday, 172

 love in a mist, 30

 Lovell, 171

 Lowell, 171

 _Löwenmaul_, 30

 _Löwenzahn_, 30

 L. S. D. , 4

 Lubbock, 173

 lucifer, 4

 Luck, 173

 _lucus_, 184

 lugger, 101

 lugsail, 101

 lumber-room, 76

 _Lümmel_, 96, _n. _

 luncheon, 124

 lupus, 35

 Lush, 90, _n. _

 Lusher, 90, _n. _

 lutestring, 128

 Lyndhurst, 56

 Mabel, 58

 macadamise, 41

 Mackenzie, 195

 mackintosh, 39

 Macnab, 19, _n. _

 Macpherson, 19, _n. _

 Madeira, 51

 madge owl, 37

 madonna, 142

 magazine, 93

 magenta, 39, _n. _

 maggot, 59

 magnet, 48

 magnolia, 31

 magpie, 37

 mailed fist, 156

 _main de gloire_, 131

 Mainwaring, 169

 majolica, 48

 Malins, 173

 malkin, 42

 Mall, 166, _n. _ 2

 malmsey, 51

 Malthus, 170

 malvoisie, 51

 mammet, 43

 _manant_, 150

 mandarin, 27

 mandoline, 149

 manger, 8

 mangle, 140

 mangonel, 140

 Mann, 173

 manner, 158

 manœuvre, 159

 manor, 9

 Mansell, 173

 mansworn, 15, _n. _ 1

 manual, 3

 manure, 159

 marabout, 147

 maravedi, 147

 marble, 69

 _marchand des quatre saisons_, 63, _n. _

 Marchant, 145

 _Marienkäfer_, 35

 _marionnette_, 43

 marmalade, 31

 Marner, 176

 marquee, 116

 Marriot, 36

 marshal, 89

 Marshalsea, 90

 _marsouin_, 32

 Martello tower, 60

 martin, 37

 martinet, 192

 _martin-pêcheur_, 37

 mascot, 13

 mask, 145

 _masnadiere_, 151

 Massinger, 177

 masterpiece, 106

 match, 8

 mate, 93

 _matelot_, 93

 Maud, 70

 maudlin, 61

 maul, 166

 _Maulbeere_, 58

 maul-stick, 166

 maxim, 39

 maximum, 4

 Mayhew, 171

 Mayne, 173

 mayor, 153

 maze, 63

 mazurka, 49

 _mediastinus_, 92

 _Meerschwein_, 32

 _Meerschweinchen_, 51

 megrims, 35

 meiny, 151

 melon, 31

 _ménage_, 151

 ménagerie, 151

 mend, 62

 ménétrier, 76

 menial, 151

 Menzies, 195

 merchant, 67

 mercurial, 106

 merino, 153

 Merryweather, 180

 mesmerism, 40

 mess, 93

 _messer_, 92

 messmate, 93

 metal, 144

 _métier_, 160

 mettle, 144

 mews, 120

 miasma, 6

 Middlemas, 172

 milliner, 48

 miniature, 81

 minstrel, 76

 mint, 142

 minx, 82

 miscreant, 127

 miser, 4

 misnomer, 9

 miss, 160, _n. _ 1

 mister, 160

 mistery, 159

 mizen, 9

 mob, 66

 Mohock, 12

 moidore, 142

 _moineau_, 34

 money, 141

 monkey, 36

 monkey-wrench, 38

 monkshood, 29

 _monnaie_, 142

 _monsieur_, 92

 Moon, 170

 Morel, 181

 morion, 199

 Morris, 174

 morris dance, 49

 morris pike, 49

 mosaic, 168

 mosquito, 39, 59

 Mother Carey's chicken, 36

 _mouchoir_, 99

 _moustique_, 59

 Moxon, 172

 muckinder, 99

 _muguet_, 148

 mulberry, 58

 mulligrubs, 35

 Mullins, 175

 mungo, 190

 _Münze_, 142

 _mûre_, 58

 mushroom, 56

 musk, 148

 musket, 38

 muslin, 47

 mustang, 23

 Musters, 175

 _mutande_, 99

 mystery, 159

 _Nägele_, 91

 namby-pamby, 70

 Napier, 57, 182

 napkin, 57

 _nappe_, 57

 Nash, 114

 naunt, 114

 nausea, 6

 nave, 153

 navvy, 68

 navy, 153

 nectar, 6

 nectarine, 6

 Ned, 114

 Neddy, 36

 _négromancie_, 131

 negus, 40

 neighbour, 84, _n. _ 1

 Neil, 171

 _Nelke_, 91

 Nell, 114

 newt, 114

 nice, 80

 nickel, 44

 nickname, 114

 nickum, 45

 nickumpoop, 45

 _Nicodème_, 45

 nicotine, 40

 niddering, 15

 nincompoop, 45

 ninny, 45

 ninnyhammer, 45

 _niveau_, 58

 noddy, 45

 noddypeak, 45

 _noix gauge_, 152

 Nokes, 114

 Noll, 114

 nonce, 114

 Norfolk Howard, 180

 Norman, 185

 Norris, 174

 Norroy, 174

 nostrum, 4

 Nowell, 172

 Nugent, 173

 nuncheon, 124

 nuncle, 114

 nurse, 174

 nut, 188

 nutmeg, 148

 Nutter, 179

 _nux_, 188

 object, 105

 obligation, 3

 obvious, 105

 odium, 4

 odsbodikins, 65

 ogle, 110

 ogre, 204

 _oignon_, 95

 _oiseau de Saint Martin_, 37

 Old Nick, 44

 omelet, 136

 omen, 4

 omnibus, 5

 onion, 91, _n. _ 1

 Onslow, 182

 orange, 31

 _oreste_, 132

 oriel, 58

 orlop, 18

 orrery, 40

 _orteil_, 132

 ortolan, 33

 _oseille_, 162

 ostler, 55, 164

 ounce, 114

 pad, 167

 padder, 167

 padding, 96

 Padgett, 172

 _padrastro_, 25

 paj, 66

 paladin, 139

 Palatine, 139

 palaver, 26

 pallet, 156

 Palliser, 177

 Pall Mall, 166, _n. _ 2

 palmer, 33

 Palsgrave, 139

 palsy, 61

 Pam, 69

 pamphlet, 41

 pandy, 5

 pantaloons, 44

 pantry, 165

 _Panzer_, 156

 paper, 86

 parable, 26

 _parbleu_, 65

 parchment, 49

 parish, 61, 150

 Parker, 177

 Parkin, 171

 parley, 26

 parmaceti, 186

 parmesan, 186

 Parminter, 177

 Parnell, 172

 parole, 26

 parrot, 36

 parse, 5

 parson, 145

 Partlet, 36

 partridge, 61

 Pascal, 172

 Pascoe, 172

 pasquinade, 41

 pastern, 76

 past master, 106

 Patch, 181

 patch, 8

 pathos, 6

 patten, 117

 patter, 69

 _paume_, 10

 pauper, 4

 Pav, 66

 pawn, 160

 pay, 160

 Payn, 181

 paynim, 77

 pea, 116

 peach, 49, 62

 peajacket, 135

 peal, 62

 Pearce, 181

 _pecunia_, 143

 pedigree, 77, 123

 Peel, 173

 pelargonium, 30

 _pèlerin_, 58

 _Pelissier_, 176

 pen, 167

 pencil, 167

 Pennefather, 180

 Pentecost, 172

 penthouse, 125

 peon, 160

 perch, 87

 periwig, 63, _n. _ 2

 periwinkle, 128

 Perkin, 171

 Perrot, 36

 person, 145

 pert, 80

 peruse, 195

 pester, 76, 167

 _Peterchen_, 42

 petrel, 36

 petronel, 197

 Pettifer, 77

 Pettigrew, 77

 petty, 80

 pew, 8

 _Pfalz_, 139

 Phillimore, 175

 Philpot, 171

 Physick, 170

 pickaback, 71

 pick-axe, 126

 Pickard, 173

 pie, 37

 piebald, 38

 _pierrot_, 36

 pig-iron, 38

 Pilcher, 176

 pilgrim, 58

 pinchbeck, 40

 Pinder, 177

 pine-apple, 32

 _pion_, 160

 pips, 102

 plain, 81

 plaudit, 5

 Playfair, 181

 plover, 99

 pluck, 83

 pocket, 97, _n. _

 pocket-handkerchief, 98

 Pocock, 181

 Poidevin, 173

 _pointe_, 66

 poison, 91

 poke, 97

 polecat, 165

 polka, 49

 Pollock, 174

 Poll parrot, 36

 _polonaise_, 50

 polony, 49

 pomander, 57

 pomcitron, 32

 pomegranate, 32

 _Pomeranze_, 31

 Pomeroy, 174

 _pomme de pin_, 32

 ponder, 1

 Pope Joan, 129

 porcelain, 39

 porcupine, 32

 porpoise, 32

 porridge, 118

 port, 51

 portcullis, 154

 porter, 81, _n. _

 Portugee, 116

 Portwine, 173, _n. _ 3

 Poslett, 169

 Posnett, 169

 possum, 64

 posthumous, 126

 _post-mortem_, 4

 posy, 145

 _potence_, 40

 _Potz_, 65

 _pouce_, 87

 _Pouille_, 114

 poulterer, 63

 pounce, 108

 pouncet-box, 108

 _pourboire_, 91

 Power, 181

 power, 9

 pow-wow, 14

 Poyser, 176

 prayer, 74

 premises, 6

 premisses, 6

 premium, 4

 prentice, 63, 106

 prepense, 1

 preposterous, 129, _n. _

 press-gang, 130

 Prester John, 92, _n. _ 2

 Priddle, 175, _n. _ 1

 priest, 92

 primrose, 125

 proctor, 61

 pub, 66

 pudding, 74

 puisne, 80

 pun, 66

 punch, 94, _n. _

 pundigrion, 66

 _pundit_, 94, _n. _

 Punjaub, 94, _n. _

 puny, 80

 Purcell, 180

 purley, 124

 purlieu, 123

 purloin, 186

 pursy, 126

 purview, 4

 _Puy de Dôme_, 8

 puzzle, 64

 python, 6

 pyx, 6, 127

 quaint, 78

 quair, 146

 quarrel, 161

 quarry, 160

 quarto, 6

 quean, 82

 querry, 134

 query, 5

 quilt, 137

 quince, 119

 quintal, 21

 quire, 146

 quirry, 134

 quirt, 24

 quorum, 6

 rack, 155

 radius, 4

 raiment, 61

 rampart, 121

 ramper, 121

 ranch, 23

 rank, 23

 rappee, 9

 Read, 181

 Reader, 178

 reasty, 79

 _reata_, 24

 rebus, 5

 recreant, 127

 recruit, 64

 redstart, 117

 Reed, 181

 Reeder, 178

 _Regenpfeifer_, 99

 _Regenschirm_, 64, _n. _

 Reginald, 36

 rehearse, 106

 Reid, 181

 _reine Claude_, 32

 reist, 79

 relent, 3

 remainder, 9

 remnant, 9

 Renard, 35

 _rendre_, 122

 renegade, 127

 requiem, 5

 restive, 79

 revel, 141

 revelly, 10

 Reynold, 36

 Rich, 172

 Rick, 172

 _Rittersporn_, 29

 rival, 3

 Rob, 172

 rob, 148

 robe, 148

 Robin, 91

 robin, 37

 Rocinante, 177

 romance, 74

 Ronald, 36

 rosemary, 125

 _rossignol_, 42

 roster, 18

 _rote_, 176

 rouncy, 177

 Rouse, 181

 rouse, 117

 row, 117

 Rudge, 181

 rudimentary, 105

 rum, 68

 rummage, 76

 runagate, 127

 Runciman, 177

 Russell, 181

 rusty, 79

 sabotage, 11

 Sacheverell, 182

 sack, 116, _n. _ 1

 sake, 2

 saker, 38

 salade, 199

 salary, 3

 salet, 199

 Salmon, 181

 salt-cellar, 135

 salver, 123

 salvo, 123

 samite, 149

 samphire, 35

 sample, 64

 _Samt_, 149

 sandwich, 39

 Sandy, 70

 _Sankt Peters Vogel_, 36

 Saragossa, 51

 sarcenet, 47

 sardine, 48

 _Sarg_, 140

 Sargent, 145

 sash, 158

 sassafras, 30

 satire, 93

 saveloy, 136

 saxifrage, 30

 scabbard, 164

 scallion, 48

 scaramouch, 64, _n. _, 142

 scavenger, 84

 schedule, 93

 _scheitern_, 97

 _Schemel_, 107

 _schirmen_, 64, _n. _

 _Schöntierlein_, 92

 school, 56, 162

 scintilla, 4

 scion, 111

 scissors, 127

 score, 89

 scrimer, 64, _n. _

 scrimmage, 64, _n. _, 142

 Scriven, 178

 scroll, 93

 scruple, 87

 scull, 162

 scullery, 43

 scullion, 43

 'sdeath, 65

 seal, 133

 sea-lion, 32

 sear, 162

 search, 57

 secretary, 34

 sedan, 52

 seel, 133

 seesaw, 70

 _sehr_, 168

 _Seide_, 27

 _seigneur_, 92

 _Sekt_, 116, _n. _ 1

 _selig_, 45

 sendal, 47

 seneschal, 92

 senior, 4

 sennet, 153

 _señor_, 92

 sentinel, 102

 sentry, 102

 sepoy, 146

 seraglio, 132

 serge, 27

 sergeant, 148

 serpent, 38

 servant, 148

 service-tree, 129

 Seward, 179

 sexton, 61

 Seymour, 169

 shalloon, 47

 shallop, 55

 shallot, 48

 shambles, 106

 shame-faced, 125

 shark, 33

 shawm, 24

 shay, 116

 Sheepshanks, 77

 sherbet, 146

 sherry, 51, 116

 shift, 99

 shilly-shally, 70

 ship, 105

 shirk, 33

 shirt, 150

 short, 150

 shrapnel, 39

 shrew, 34

 shrewd, 34

 shrive, 74

 shrub, 146

 _sieur_, 92

 _signor_, 92

 silhouette, 40

 silk, 27

 silly, 45

 silly Johnny, 45

 Sinclair, 169

 sinister, 3

 sir, 92

 sire, 92, 142, _n. _

 sirloin, 191

 sirup, 146

 Sisson, 172

 sizar, 62

 size, 62

 sjambok, 26

 skate, 117

 skeeter, 65

 sketch, 18, 22

 skew, 64

 skinker, 124, _n. _ 2

 skipper, 17

 skirmish, 61, 64, _n. _, 142

 skirt, 150

 slave, 22

 slim, 20

 Sloper, 178

 slow-worm, 99

 slug, 94, _n. _

 slug-horn, 14

 smock, 99

 smug, 81

 snap, 18

 snapdragon, 29

 snaphaunce, 198

 snapsack, 18

 snark, 16

 snickersnee, 70

 Snooks, 170

 soccer, 66

 solder, 154

 soldier, 154

 _Söldner_, 154

 solemn, 140

 sorrel, 162

 sorrow, 168

 sorry, 168

 _soudard_, 154

 _souillon_, 43

 souse, 120

 sovereign, 122, _n. _ 1

 spade, 78

 _spahi_, 146

 span, 87

 spaniel, 49

 sparagus, 66

 sparrow-grass, 125

 spatula, 78

 spec', 67

 species, 140

 spence, 165

 Spencer, 65, 165

 spencer, 39, 188

 spice, 64, 140

 Spicer, 175

 spick and span, 107

 spinning-jenny, 42

 Spitalfields, 64

 spite, 65

 Spittlegate, 64

 splay, 65

 sponge, 56

 Spoonerism, 60

 sport, 65

 sprightly, 122, _n. _ 1

 sprite, 64

 _Sprössling_, 111

 spruce, 48

 squarson, 66

 squire, 64

 stable, 56

 stage, 64

 staid, 101

 stain, 65

 stale, 101

 stance, 143

 staniel, 202

 stank, 26

 stanza, 143

 starboard, 121

 stationer, 63, _n. _ 1

 _Steckenpferd_, 91

 _Steinbrech_, 30

 steingall, 202

 _Steppdecke_, 137

 sterling, 79

 stevedore, 76, _n. _

 steward, 90

 Stewart, 90

 stickler, 75, 172, _n. _ 2

 still-room, 165

 stimulus, 4

 Stoddart, 179

 stomacher, 156

 stone, 87

 stonegall, 202

 _Storchschnabel_, 29

 _stortelli_, 144

 stout, 81

 stranded, 97

 stun, 106

 sullen, 140

 Summerfield, 175

 Sumner, 176

 supercilious, 3

 surcease, 126

 surly, 92

 surplice, 176, _n. _

 surround, 164

 Surtees, 172

 swank, 203

 sward, 84

 sweet William, 30

 sympathy, 2

 synopsis, 6

 syrup, 146

 tabby, 47

 taffrail, 126

 taint, 64

 talisman, 22

 tallage, 134

 tally, 88

 talon, 9

 Tammany, 14

 tandem, 4

 tank, 26

 tankard, 59

 tansy, 30

 tantalise, 41

 _tante_, 70

 tarantella, 50

 tarantula, 50

 tartan, 19, 47

 tassel, 163

 'tater, 66

 tattoo, 18, 162

 tawdry, 65

 tease, 12

 teasel, 12

 'tec, 65

 teetotaller, 6

 teetotum, 6

 Telford, 182

 'tench, 65

 tender, 64

 tenet, 4

 tennis, 10

 tent, 163

 tenter-hooks, 154

 termagant, 46

 test, 106

 testy, 79

 tetchy, 163

 _tête_, 106

 thimble, 61

 Thoroughgood, 170

 Tibbet, 171

 Tibert, 36

 tick, 67

 tidbit, 123

 tiddlebat, 172, _n. _ 2

 'Tilda, 70

 Tillet, 171

 Tillotson, 172

 tilt, 108

 _tinnunculus_, 100

 tinsel, 59

 tire, 63

 tit, 123

 titbit, 123

 titmouse, 123

 tittlebat, 172, _n. _ 2

 tittle-tattle, 70

 'Tizer, 69

 tobacco, 194

 toby jug, 44

 tocsin, 152

 Todhunter, 177

 toils, 108

 _tolle Buchen_, 129

 tomtit, 37

 Tono-Bungay, 16

 Toogood, 170

 Tooley St. , 65

 touchy, 163

 tousle, 12

 Towser, 12

 toy, 18

 Tozer, 12

 trace, 118

 tram, 191

 traveller's joy, 30

 treacle, 75

 trellis, 148

 trepan, 109

 tret, 144

 trews, 117

 tribunal, 4

 _Trinkgeld_, 91

 tripod, 140

 tripos, 140

 trivet, 139

 trivial, 3

 trouble, 59

 Troublefield, 175

 trousers, 117

 trove, 61, 101

 troy, 50

 truce, 119

 trump, 9

 Trumper, 177

 tuberose, 125

 Tucker, 178

 tucket, 153

 tuck of drum, 153

 tulip, 147

 turban, 147

 turkey, 52

 Turney, 171

 turnip, 95

 tweeny, 92

 tweezers, 120

 twill, 148

 Tybalt, 36

 umber, 152

 umbrella, 152

 umpire, 113

 uncouth, 2

 Underhill, 172

 undertaker, 63, _n. _ 1

 unkempt, 2

 unseal, 133

 upholder, 178

 upholsterer, 63

 usher, 90

 usquebaugh, 68

 utterance, 163

 vagabond, 168

 vagrant, 168

 Valais, 152

 vambrace, 62

 vamose, 10

 vamp, 61

 van, 62, 69

 vane, 58

 vanguard, 62

 _varech_, 55

 Varney, 174, _n. _ 1

 'varsity, 69

 _varsovienne_, 50

 vaunt, 194

 vauntcourier, 62

 Veck, 175, _n. _ 2

 _vedette_, 104

 vellum, 56

 veneer, 147

 venew, 123

 veney, 123

 venom, 56

 venue, 124

 verdigris, 129

 _verheeren_, 2

 Verney, 174, _n. _ 1

 verse, 143

 _vertugadin_, 137

 vet, 66

 veto, 4

 Vick, 175, _n. _ 2

 victoria, 39

 videlicet, 4

 vie, 65

 _vigie_, 103

 vignette, 81

 viking, 168

 villa, 150

 villain, 150

 vinegar, 80

 _viva-voce_, 4

 viz. , 4

 _voile_, 117

 voltaism, 40

 vril, 16, _n. _

 wafer, 78

 wag, 67

 Wait, 176

 waits, 76

 Wales, 151

 Walker, 178

 Wallachia, 151

 wallet, 59

 _Wallis_, 152

 Walloon, 151

 walnut, 151

 Ward, 179

 warison, 14

 Warner, 176

 Wat, 36

 wattle, 59

 weed, 2

 week-end, 12

 Weenen, 31

 weir, 64, _n. _

 wellington, 39

 wench, 82

 wergild, 142

 wheatear, 117

 wheel, 189

 whisky, 63, _n. _ 2, 68

 white feather, 108

 Whittaker, 175

 Whittier, 177

 wig, 69

 Wilmot, 171

 wipe, 66

 wire, 66

 wiseacre, 128

 wistaria, 31

 witch-elm, 128

 worsted, 48

 write, 74

 Wyatt, 171

 Xeres, 51

 yacht, 18

 Yankee, 116

 yard, 87

 yare, 95

 _Ysopet_, 41

 zany, 45

 _Zentner_, 21

 zero, 147

 zest, 112

 _Zettel_, 93

 zigzag, 70

 _zijde_, 27

 _Zins_, 134

 Zoo, 66

 zounds, 65

 _Zwiebel_, 95

 _Zwilch_, 148

 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH

Transcriber's Endnotes:

 The text remains as printed, with the following exceptions:

 Page 60. Chapter V. "colonets" amended to _colonnettes_. "... But to the bulging colonnettes on which it rests. "

 Page 174. Chapter XII. "Northener" amended to _Northerner_. "... May stand for _le Noreis_, the Northerner. "

 Page 177. Chapter XII. "palissades" amended to _palisades_. "... Maker of palings and palisades ... "

 Page 186. Chapter XIII. Diacriticals amended on Greek text. "... From the Gk. οἶκον (οἶκος, a house) ... "

 Page 222. Index. "sire, 92, 131, n. " amended to _sire, 92, 142, n_.