this word got mixed up with the provincial English word lunch, which means a lump of bread; and so we have luncheon. Nutmeg, a hybrid compounded of an English and a French word. Meg is a corruption of the O. Fr. musge, from Lat. muscum, musk. Orchard = wort-yard, yard or garden for roots or plants. cognate of wart and root. Wort is a Ostrich, from Lat. avis struthio. Shakespeare spells it estridge in "Antony and Cleopatra," iii. 13. 197, "The dove will peck the estridge." (Avis is found as a prefix in bustard also.) Pastime that which enables one to pass the time. Pea-jacket (not connected with pea), a short thick jacket often worn by seamen; from the Dutch pije, a coarse woollen coat. Thus the word jacket is superfluous. In M. E. py was a coat; and we find it in Chaucer combining, with a French adjective, to make the hybrid courtepy, a short coat. Peal (of bells), a short form of the word appeal; a call or summons. (Compare penthouse and appentis; sample and example; scutcheon and escutcheon; squire and esquire; etc.) Penthouse (not connected with house), in reality a doublet of appendage, though not coming from it. O. Fr. appentis, from Lat. appendicium, from appendix, something hanging on to. (Pendere, to hang.) Periwinkle, a kind of evergreen plant; formed, by the addition of the diminutive le, from Lat. pervinca, from vincire, to bind. Periwinkle, a small mollusc with one valve. A corruption of the A. S. pinewincla, that is, a winkle eaten with a pin. Pickaxe (not connected with axe), a tool used in digging. A corruption of M. E. pickeys, from O. Fr. picois; and connected with peak, pike, and pick. Poach to put in the poke, pocket, or pouch. dressed so as to keep the yoke in a pouch. So poached eggs are eggs Porpoise (not connected with the verb poise); from Lat. porcum, a pig, and piscem, a fish. Posthumous (work), a work that appears after the death of the author; from Lat. postumus, the last. The h is an error; and the word has no connection with the Lat. humus, the ground. Privet, a half-evergreen shrub. A form of primet, a plant carefully cut and trimmed; and hence prim. (For change of m into v (or p), compare Molly and Polly; Matty and Patty, etc. V and p are both labials.) Proxy, a contraction of procuracy, the taking care of a thing for another. Lat. pro for, and cura, care. Quick, living. We have the word in quicklime, quicksand, quicksilver; and in the phrase "the quick and the dead." Quinsy, a bad sore throat, a contraction of O. Fr. squinancie, formed, by the addition of a prefixed and strengthening s, from Gr. kynanchē, a dog-throttling. Riding, one of the three divisions of Yorkshire. The oldest form is Trithing or Thrithing (from three and ing, part; as in farthing = fourth part, etc.) The t or th seems to have dropped from its similarity and nearness to the th in north and the t in east; as in North-thrithing, East-trithing, etc. Sexton, a corruption of sacristan, the keeper of the sacred vessels and vestments; from Lat. sacer, sacred. But the sexton is now only the grave-digger. (In the same way, sacristy was shortened into sextry.) Sheaf a collection shoved together. Shove gives also shovel; and the frequentatives shuffle and scuffle. Soup, a cognate of sop and sup. Splice (to join after splitting), a cognate form of split and splinter. Squirrel, from O. Fr. escurel; from Low Lat. scuriolus; from Gr. skia, a shadow, and oura, a tail. Hence the word means shadow-tail." Starboard, the steering side of a ship-the right, as one stands looking to the bow. Stew, the verb corresponding to stove. Steward, from A. S. stiward, from the full form stigweard; from stige, a sty, and weard, a keeper. Originally a person who looked after the domestic animals. Stirrup, modern form of A. S. stigrap, from stigan, to climb, and ràp, a rope. Cognates are sty, stile, stair. Straight, an old past participle of stretch. (Strait is a French form of the word strict, from Lat. strictus, tied up.) Strong, a nasalised form of stark. Derivatives are strength, strengthen, string, etc. Summerset (not connected either with summer or with set), or somersault, a corruption of Fr. soubresault, from Lat. supra, above, and saltum, a leap. (There is a connection between the b and the m-the one sliding into the other when the speaker has a cold.) Surgeon (properly a hand-worker), a contraction of chirurgeon; from Gr. cheir, the hand, and ergein, to work. Tackle, that which takes or grasps, holding the masts of a ship in their places. The le is the same as that in settle (a seat), girdle, etc. Tale, from A. S. talu, number. Derivatives are tell and till (box for money), but not talk, which is a Scandinavian word. Tansy, a tall plant, with small yellow flowers, used in medicine; from O. F. athanasie; from Gr. athanasia, immortality. Thorough, a doublet of through, and found in thorough-fare, thoroughbred, etc. (The dr, thr, or tr is also found in door, thrill, trill, drill, nostril, etc.) Treacle, from M. E. triacle, a remedy; from Lat. theriaca, an antidote against the bite of serpents; from Gr. therion, a wild beast or poisonous animal. Milton has the phrase "the sovran treacle of sound doctrine." (For the position of the r, compare trundle and turn; brid and bird; etc.) Truffle, an underground edible fungus; from Italian tartufola; tar being = Lat. terræ, of the ground, and tufola = tuber, a root. Trifle is a doublet of truffle. Twig, a thin branch of a tree. The tw here is the base of two, and is found also in twin, twilight, twice, twine; and probably also in tweak, twist, twinkle, etc. (Twit is not in this class; it comes from at witan, to throw blame on.) Verdigris (not connected with grease), the rust of brass or copper. From Lat. viride aeris, the green of brass. (The g is intrusive, and has not yet been accounted for.) Walrus, a kind of large seal; from Swedish vallross = a whale-horse. The older form of ross is found in Icelandic as hross, which is a doublet of the A. S. hors. The noise made by the animal somewhat resembles a neigh. Wassail, a merry carouse; from A. S. wes haél = Be well! Wes is the imperative of wesan to be (still existing in was); and hael is connected with hail! hale (Scand.), whole (Eng.), and health. Whole, a misspelling, now never to be corrected, of hole, the adjective connected with hale, heal, health, healthy, etc. The w is probably an intrusion from the S.-W. of England, where they say whoam for home, woat for oat, etc. If we write whole, we ought also to write wholy instead of holy. WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED IN MEANING. Abandon, to proclaim openly; to denounce; then to cast out. (From Low Lat. bannus, an edict.) The earlier meaning still survives in the phrase, "banns of marriage." Admire, to wonder at. Allow, to praise (connected with laud). Amuse, to cause to muse, to occupy the mind of. "Camillus set upon the Gauls, when they were amused in receiving their gold," says a writer of the sixteenth century. Animosity, high spirits; from Lat. animosus, brave. Artillery (great weapons of war), was used to include bows, crossbows, etc., down to the time of Milton. See P. L. ii. 715; and 1 Sam. xx. 40. Awkward, going the wrong way. From M. E. awk, contrary. "The awk end" was the wrong end. "With awkward wind" with contrary wind. Babe, doll. Spenser says of a pedlar"He bore a truss of trifles at his back, As bells, and babes, and glasses in his pack." Blackguard, the band of lowest kitchen servants, who had to look after the spits, pots, and pans, etc. Bombast (an inflated and pompous style of speaking or writing), cotton-wadding. Boor (a rough unmannerly fellow), a tiller of the soil; from the Dutch boawen, to till. (Compound neighbour.) In South Africa, a farmer is still called a boer. Brat (a contemptuous name for a child), a Celtic word meaning rag. In Wales it now means a pinafore. Brave, showy, splendid. By-and-by, at once. Carpet, the covering of tables as well as of floors. Carriage (that which carries) meant for merly that which was carried, or baggage. See Acts xxi. 15. Cattle, a doublet of chattels, property. Lat. capitalia, heads (of oxen, etc.) Chaucer says, "The avaricious man hath more hope in his catel than in Christ." Censure (blame) meant merely opinion; from the Lat. censeo, I think. Shakespeare, in Hamlet i. 3. 69, makes Polonius say: "Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judginent." Charity (almsgiving) meant love; from Lat. carus, dear, through the French. Cheat (to deceive for the purpose of gain) meant to seize upon a thing as escheated or forfeited. Cheer, face. "Be of good cheer"="Put a good face upon it." His cheer fell" ="His countenance fell." Churl (an uncourteous or disobliging person) meant a countryman. Der. churlish. (Shakespeare also uses the word in the sense of a miser.) Clumsy, stiff with cold. "When thou clomsest with cold," says Langland (14th century) art benumbed. (Cognates, clamp, cramp.) Companion, low fellow. Shakespeare has such phrases as "Companions, hence!" Conceit (too high an opinion of one's self) meant simply thought. Chaucer was called "a conceited clerk"="a learned man full of thoughts." From Lat. conceptus, a number of facts brought together into one general conception or idea. Shakespeare has the phrase "passing all conceit"=beyond all thought. Count (to number) meant to think (2 with 3, &c.) with; from Lat. computo, I compute or think with. Count is a doublet, through French, of compute. Cunning, able or skilled. Like the word craft, it has lost its innocent sense. Danger, jurisdiction, legal power over. The Duke of Venice says to the Merchant, "You stand within his danger, do you not?" M. V. iv. 1. 180. Defy, to pronounce all bonds of faith dissolved. Lat. fides, faith. Delicious, too scrupulous or finical. A writer of the seventeenth century says that idleness makes even "the soberest (most moderate) men delicious." Depart, part or divide. The older version of the Prayer-Book has "till death us depart" (now corrupted into do part). Disaster, an unfavourable star. A term from the old astrology. An older form is Assay. Shakespeare has such phrases as "the assay of arms." Explode, to drive out by clapping of the hands. The opposite of applaud. Lat. plaudo, I clap my hands. Explosion, a hissing a thing off the stage. Firmament, that which makes firm or strong. Jeremy Taylor (seventeenth century) says, "Custom is the firma ment of the law." Fond, foolish. The past participle of Garble, to sift or cleanse. Low Lat. garbellare, to sift corn. Garland, a king's crown; now a wreath of flowers. Gazette (Italian), a magpie. Hence the Ital. gazettare, to chatter like a magpie; to write tittle-tattle. (It was also the name of a very small coin, current in Venice, etc.) Generous, high-born. Lat. genus, race. Compare the phrases "a man of family;" Disease, discomfort, trouble. Shakespeare Harbinger, a person who prepared a har has, "She will disease our bitter mirth;' and Tyndale's version of Mark v. 35, is, "Thy daughter is dead: why diseasest thou the Master any further?" Duke, leader. Hannibal was called in old English writers, "Duke of Carthage." Ebb, shallow. "Cross the stream where it is ebbest," is a Lancashire proverb. (The word is a cognate of even.) Essay, an attempt. The old title of such a book was not "Essay on" but "Essay at." From Lat. exagium, a weighing. bour or lodging. Heathen, a person who lives on a heath. (Cf. pagan, person who lives in a pagus, or country district.) Hobby, an easy ambling nag. Idiot (Gr. idiòtes), a private person; a person who kept aloof from public busi ness. Cf. idiom; idiosyncrasy; etc. Imp, an engrafted shoot. Chaucer says: "Of feeble trees there comen wretched impes." Spenser has "Well worthy impa." |