Some Interesting Words.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2078, 31 October 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

Some Interesting Words.

O.\'E of the moat interesting results of the stady of language is the elacfdation which it affords of the history of mankind. In the larger sphere of oomparAtive philology, . important disooveries regarding the relations of various races have been made. In some cases a common origin hat been proved for the widely dissimilar languages of different nations ; in others, the Inflnenoe of one people upon ita Imm civilised neighbours is oHarly shown. If, en the other hand, we confine oar inquiries to our own langnage, the historical associations whioh it presents are no less interesting. The suocesaivotaces whioh predominated in the early days of the history of Great Britain, have eactolett its Impress upon oar language, in whioh Oeltie, Latin, Saxon, Danish, and Norman elements are strangely intermingled. Even now, o« commercial intercourse with the Inhabitants of every quarter of the globe is ever enriching onr vocabulary with trorwwed terms and phrases. Hence, it is hardly to be wondered that Bach a composite language affords an ample field for research, we may trace ia ii the gradual progress of civilisation, and follow the changes of national idew and feelings, the elevation of some words, fin debasement of many others. We may reoognise the halfforgotten names of men onoe famotts for their oharaotera and achievements, and of places onoe renowned for their produce and manufactures. Finally, we may recall statei of sooiety whioh hava long sine* passed away, and find ia modem phrases vestiges «f {ha manners and onstoms of other days. It is to these records of the minor details of life that we would briefly oall attention, as an investigation possessing the doable interest of investing with greater reality the history of the past, and of throwing a new light onjhe bearing of words otherwise inexplicable. This Glass of words has undoubtedly been increased by ■tartling derivations, due more to the imagination and ingenuity of their raventort than to any certain foundation in f aot. But eves those whioh are univnaally recognised form a considerable category, from which we may seleot a tew of the more interesting specimens. We would first remind our readers of the derivations of two words applied to a peculiar form ol wealth— the substantive /w and the adjective pecuniary, which, though so widely different in form, recall to us tat nme idea through fhe vehicle oi different languages. Thsy are both I taken from words— the one Saxon, fhe other Latin— signifying ' cattle, ' and {has take era back to the times when flocks and herds were ! the chief property of our ancestors, the evidence as well as the source of their wealth. It Is curious how, from this first signification, the words came to be considered applicable to wealth of any kind, and have now Tbeoome almost limited in meaning to property in the form of money. To the lame days of primitive simplicity we may also undoubtedly attribute the word rtvalt, when the pastoral dwellers by the same stream (Latin rivut) would not unfreqnently he brought into unfriendly compelition with eaoh other. Some words and ex* pressions are derived from the time when but few persons could boast of what we should eonaider the most elementary education. The word signature, for example, had a more literal application in the days when the art of writing was known but to a few monks and scholars, and when kings and barons, no tens than their humbler followers, affixed their cross or sign, to any documents requiring their assent. Again, when we speak of abstruse calmtlatton*, we make unthinking reference to the primitive method of counting by means of pebbles (calculi), resorted io by the Romans. It is remarkable how many of the terms relating to books and the external materials made use of by our ancestors to preserve their thoughts and the records of their lives. In book itself, it is generally acknowledged we have a proof of how a primitive race, generally believed to have been the Goths, employed the durable wood of the boe or beech tree on which to inscribe their reoords. Library and kindred words in our own and other modern languages indicate the use of the liber or inner bark of a tree as a writing material{whilecode from caudex, the trunk of a tree, points to ! the wooden tablets smeared with wax on whioh the ancients originally wrote. The thin wooden leaves or tablets were not like the volumina, rolled within one another, but like those of our books, lay one over another. The stilus, or iron-pointed implement used for writing on these tablets, has its modern form in onr style, whioh has come to be applied less to the manner of writing than to the mode of expression. Hence its significance has been extended so as to apply to arts other than that of composition. As advancing civilisation brcughi to the Western world the art of making a writing material from strips of the inner rind of the Egyptian papyrus glued together tranversely, the word paper was in« troduoea*, to be applied as time went on to textures made of various substances. The Greek name of the same plant (byblos) gives us a word used with reference to books in the composite forms of W&Kographer, HbHomania, and so forth. It is worthy Of remark that In England, as wall as in France, Germany, and other Earopeaa oountriea, the simple form ef this Greek word for book, our Bible, has oome to b» resisted t« One Book, to the exolusion of all others. From scheda a Latin word for a strip of papyrus rind, hai also descended oar schedule. The transition from tablets to paper m a writing material has also a monument in volume, whioh in spite of its significance as a role of paper, is applied to the neatly folded books whioh have taken the place of that earnbrous form of literature. More than one instance of a similar retention of a word the aotual signification of which obsolete, might easily be adduced. The word indenture refers to an anoient precaution against forgery resorted to in the oase of important contracts. The duplioate dooumente, of which each party retained one, were irregularly indented in precisely the same manner, so that upon comparison they might exactly tally. A vignette portrait has also lost the aooompumment whioh alone made the name appropriate, namely, the vine-leaves and tendrils which in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ue. qally formed its ornamontal border. The directions in the English Prayer-book, again are still known as rubrics (from Latin ruber, red), although it is now the exception rather than the rule to see them printed as originally, in red letters. Once more, we apply without any sense of incongruity the name of pen (from Latin penna, a feather) to all those modern appliances which rival, if they have not yet superseded, the quill, to whioh alone the word is really appropriate. Several words oome down to ua derived from oustomn connected with eleotion to publio offices. The word candidate (from Latin candtdm, white) in one of these. It was customary among the Romans for any suitor for oflioe to appear in a peculiar dress denoting his position. His toga was loose, so that he might show the people the sears of the wounds received in the cause of the commonwealth, and artificially whitened in token of fidelity and humility. Again, ambition — a word of whioh the significance has been widened to embrace the most overpoworing of all the passions of the human heart— refers primarily to the same practice of these same candidates of repairing to tno forum and others plaoes of publio resort, and their ' going round ' (Ltitin ambientn) among the people, endeavouring to ingratiate themselves by friendly words and greetings. From the anoient practice of seoret votiDg by means of • balls ' we haye the word ballot, which is erroneously applied to all secret voting, even when, as in the oase of our parliamentary elections, voting-papers, and not balls, are employed. Nor must we omit another word of similhr origin — that is, ostracism. This word siguitled among the Greeks the temporary banishment which might be inflicted by six thousand votes of the Athenian people upon any person suspected of designs ng&inst the liberty of the state. The name arose from the votes being recorded upon a bit of burnt day or an earthenware tile shaped like » shell (Gr. ottrakon, a shell). It is closely allied to the Greek ostreon, or Lttin ostrea, an oyßter. A somewhat similiar practice existed run on q the Syracusans, where it went by the name of pctalism, from the leaf (Gr. pctalon) on whioh the name of the ofiendor was written. With the caprice o!

Itpffiatts, tfliM vnt&'biu entualj 1 paused away wSre taa Athdhyfa calfom gives qi s word express*^ of eetoill exotusidn. It hai been said that there is hardly an inititution ol anoient times which hsa not some memorial in oar language. The sacrifices of Greeks and Romans are commemorated in the word immolate, from the habit of throwing meal (Lfttin mola) upon the head of tho viotim. The word oontemplate was probably ■led eriginally of th« angnrs wh» frequeated the temple* of the goia r temple meaning originally ' a plaoe ont off, ' and hanoe ' reserved. ' Oar word funeral is borrowed from a Latin i word of nmiliar signification, whioh in its tarn is connected with fumus, smoke, thus giving as an allusion to the anoient habit of ' burning the bodiei of the dead. Another word connected withth« rites aooording to the dead— that is, dirge— it of Christian origin . It is * contraction of the first word of the antlphon in the office for the d«ad, taken from th« eighth Terse of the fifth Psalm : • Dirige, bominaa meus, ' &a. fLead or direot me, 0 Lord,' *c.). From a Roman law-term of Greek origin we hare the word paraphernalia, signifying strictly those articles of personal Property, bpsides her jointure, which were at is disposal of a woman after tht death of hex husband. From a detail of Roman military life we t*aoe the derivation of the wot&tubsidy, originally applied only to assistanoe in arms, but generalised to signify help of any kind, especially pecuniary aid. Salary meant originally 1 salt-money, ' or money given to th« ioldien for salt. With the inoonsistenoy frequently found in language, the name survived after money had taken the plaoe of suoh rations. Striotly speaking, the word stipend is liable to the same etymological objection, since thejmeaning of the word is a certain quantity of small ooins estimated by weight. The derivation of the word tragedy has been a fruitful field of controversy. It is undoubtedly the ease that this olass of drama was originally of anything bat a mournful and pathetio character, and was a remnant of the winter festival in honour of the god Dionysus. Tha word ii coined from the Greek tragot, a goat ; bat various reasons have been assigned for this connection. Some assert that a goat was the prize awarded to the beat extempore poem in honour of the god ; others, that {he first actors were dressed lfke satyrs, m goat-skins, A more likely explanation is Chat a goat wai sacrificed at the ringing ef the song. It is curious to remark how many names applied to persons, in allusion either to their characters or occupations, can be traoed to aome custom ef other days. The very word person is an example of this kind of derivatives. It waa first applied to the masks whioh it waa customary lor actors to wear. These covered the whole head, with an opening for the mouth, that the voioe might sound through (Latin versonare). The transition was easy from the disguise of the actor to the character whioh he represented, and the word was ultimately extended beyond the scenio language to denote the human being who has a part to play in the world. Sycophant is compounded of two Greek words (sycon, pftanMs), signifying literally a ' fis-shewer ', that is, one who brings figs to light by shaking the tree. It has been conjeotured, also, thai ' flg-shewer ' perhaps referred to one who Informed against persons exporting figs from Attioa, or plundering sacred fig-trees. Sycophant meant originally a common informer, and henoe a slanderer ; but it wai never used in the modern sense of a flatterer. Another word of somewhat similiar meaning, parasite, sprung from no such contemptible trade. The original bearers of the name were a class of ptiests who probably had their meals in common (Latin parcaiteo, to sit beside). Bat very early with the Greeks the term oame to be applied to one who lives at the expense of the great, gaining this position by adulation and servility. Also of Greek origin is pedagogue [paidag&goi), signifying, first, rather the slave who conducted the ohila>»fepj to the plaoe of instruction, than, as now, the master who gnides his mind in tha way of knowledge. ' In later times a chancellor gained his name from the place which it was customary for him to ocoupy near the the lattice-work icreen (cancellus) whioh fenced off the judgment-seat from the body of the oourt. The same Latin derivation gives us the chancel of a ohureh, from the fact of its being screened of!, and what is more remarkable, the verb to cancel, that is, to strike out anything whioh is written by making cross-lines over it. Several of the names of different trades will at once occur to our readers. Thug, a stationer is one who had a ' station ' or stand in the market-place for the sale of books, in order to attract the passer-by as customers. An upholsterer, originally upholdster, was, it would seem, an auctioneer, who ' held up ' his wares in order to shew them off. The double -«r in this word is superfluous, as in pault-er-tr. A h*herd<ulier was so called from his selling a stuff called hapertat in old French, which is supposed to be from a Scandinavian word meaning pedlars' wares, from the haversack in whioh they were carried. Two military terms have curious origins. Sentinel has been traoed through Italian to the Latin sentina, the hold of a ship, and is thus equivalent to the Latin sentinator, the man who pumps bilge-water out of a ship. It is curious to mark how the name of a naval official of whom constant vigilance was required, has been wholly transferred to a post requiring equal watchfulness in the sister service. The other term to whioh we would call attention is hussar, a Hungarian word signifying 'twentieth.' In explanation of this derivation, it is°related that when Matthias Gorvinus ascended the Hungarian throne in 1459, the dread of imminent foreign invasion caused him to command an immediate levy of troops. The oavalry he raised by a decree ordering that one man should be enrolled out of ' twenty' in every village, who should provide among themselves for his subsistence and pay. We may pass now to some words of the same nature of less honourable signifioanoe. Assassin remains in our language as the dread memorial of the domination of an odious sect in Palestine whioh flourished in the thirteenth century, the HashNhin (drinkers of hashish, an intoxioating drink or deaoction of the Cannabts indica, a kind of hemp). The • Old Man of the mountain ' roused his followers' spirits by help of this drink, and sent them to stab his enemies, especially the leading Crusaders. The emissaries of this body waged for two hundred years a treacherous warfare alike against Jew, Christian, and orthdox Mohammedan. Among the distinguished men who fell viotims to their murderous daggers were the Marquis of Monteferrat in 1192, Louis of Bavaria in 1213, and the Khan of Tartary some forty years later. The buccaneers, who at a later date were hardly less dreaded, _ derived their name from the boucan or gridiron on whioh the original settlers &t Hayti were accustomed to broil or smoke for future conlumption the flesh of the animals they had killed for their skins. The word is said to be Caribbean, and to mean ' a place where meat is imokc-dried.' Some of the contemptuous terms in our language have been attributed to remarkable origins. In scamp, we have a deserter from the fierd of battle (Latin ex, and campus), a parallel word to de-camp ; and m scoundrel, 'a loathsome fellow, ' ' one to scunner or be disgusted at.' The old word scunner, still used as a term of Btrong dislike in Lowland Scotch, meant also *to shrink through fear, ' so that scunner el is equivalent to one who shrinks, a coward. Poltroon is ' one who lies in bed, ' instead of bestirring himself. Several words have passed from a literal to a figurative sense, and have thus become much wider in signification. Thus vilhan originally meant merely a farm-servant ; pagan, a dweller in a village ; knave, a boy ; idiot, & private person ; heathen, a dweller on a heath ; gazette, a small coin ; and brat, a rag or clout, : especially a child's bib or apron. Treacle meant an antidote against the bites of serpents ; intoxicate, to drug or poison ; coward, a bob -tailed hare; and butcher, a slaughterer merely of he-goats. Brand and stigmatise still mean to mark with infamy, although the praotjoal signifioanoe of the words is now chiefly a matter of hiitoiT. Under the Bq.

mans, a elate wbo had proved dishonest, or had attempted to rcn away from bis master, was branded with the three letters f u *r, a tbicf or rascal ; -while it may not be generally known that in England the custom of bran- S dtug th 9 ohoek of a felon with an F was only abolished by etatue nome sixty years ago. These examples of a elrjss of words denoting traces of customs of other days, might easily Jfe D 6 largely multiplied ; but enough has been said to remind oar readers of ono aspect of the historioal value of our language— that is, ihe impress of the thoughts and practices of past generations stamped upon the words which are used in the familiar intercourse of life.