COMMON WORDS WITH CURIOUS DERIVATIONS, AKCHDEACON" SMITH, M.A., VICAR OF ERITH. LONDON: BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET, 1865. COMMON WOEDS WITH CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. BANDON. Latin a, from, and bannum or bandum, a proclama- tion, which appears in the words banns, ban, and banish. So abandonment means, according to its etymology, the placing in a condition of outlawry ; thence, to place beyond the bounds of personal protection and privilege. From this it has descended lower to the simple sense of leav- ing ; the act, as it were, surviving, and the character, or motive of it, being lost sight of. Hence " abandonment" has a favourable, unfavourable, or indifferent force, according as natural laws or moral obligations are observed, neglected, violated, or do not enter into the question. B 2 COMMON WORDS WITH Abash, is the same word as abase. French abaisser, from the Greek (iaa-is, from (Zotivsiv, to go; that on which a thing goes or stands, its base. The modification serves to mark the distinction of meaning between the two words/' to abash " being as it were to abase a person in his own estimation, or feeling. Abate, was originally a word of stronger meaning than at present. It is now seldom used but as an intransitive verb, " the storm abates," except in such phrases as " to abate a nuisance;" but its origin is the French abattre, from the Low Latin battuere, to batter or beat down. Compare the wholesale destruction of game called a battue. Abet. It is apparently the unfavourable sense in which this word is at present used, as " to abet in a crime," that has sanctioned Webster's derivation of the word from abeter, to lure or deceive. Compare the English bait, as if it were luring on into wrong. But, inasmuch as the word meant at the first CUKIOUS DEKIVATIONS. 3 open and fair support, Skinner's derivation given by Richardson seems far preferable, that it is from the Saxon betan, to improve or be better. When one is said to beat another, for instance, in a game of skill, this is not a metaphor taken from cudgelling, but means to show himself superior, or, as it is said, the better player. So " to abet " is to improve the condition of another by one's own countenance and support, to better him. Abeyance. A state of suspension with the expectation or probability of revival, as a title of nobility is said sometimes to be in abeyance. The root is the French bayer, to gape or stand open-mouthed, as a wild beast at bay. Abeyance is, therefore, a state of gaping expectation ; and the word has been trans- ferred from the person waiting to the thing waited for. Able. The origin of this word appears more plainly in the French habile, from the Latin habilis, from habere, to have ; handy, having 4 COMMON WORDS WITH one's self well, or mentally possessed of resources. Abolish. Abolere, Latin, from oAAup, I de- stroy. Others give abolescere, from olescere, to grow ; so that abolish on that supposition has taken to itself the active sense of abo- lescere, to destroy, instead of to perish. Abominable. Ab and omen ; to be dis- carded and abhorred as a foul thing of evil omen. Hence, generally, hateful. Abridge, has often suggested the idea of a bridge, meaning, in some way, a short cut or easy road. It is, however, nothing more than the word abbreviate ; which, instead of the Latin abbreviare, from brevis, short, has come to us indirectly through the French abreger. This view does not seem to' be affected even if we connect it more immediately with the German abbrechen, to break off, for we are still linked with the Latin brevis, and the Greek j3/>aj£us, through the German brechen, and the English break. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 5 Abrogate. To cancel, or do away with. From the Latin abrogare ; rogare is to ask: rogare legem, to propose a law, that is, to ask the people, according to ancient Eoman custom, for their votes in its favour. The contrary process was expressed by the word abrogare, that is, to ask their votes for abo- lishing it ; whence " abrogate." Abstemious, from ab, and temetum, a strong mixed drink, would signify, in the first instance, abstinence, especially from the use, or excess, of intoxicating liquors; but has been extended, by usage, to strict tempe- rance in all ways. Absurd. Ab, and surdus, deaf, and also dissonant, or out of tune. Taken metaphorically, it expresses that which is unattuned to truth, and discordant from the proprieties of things. Accommodate. Commodum, advantage or convenience. Con, and modus, a limit. To accommodate a person is to do any anything b COMMON WORDS WITH which shall make the limits of his circum- stances commensurate with those of his requirements. The same idea of co-adjustment holds good when things and not persons are the subjects of accommodation, as when we speak of accommodating differences, or accommo- dating an event to a prediction. Accompany. See Companion. Accord (verb), to grant freely, and from the heart. Cor, cordis, the heart. Apparent analogies, as concordia, and the musical term concord, mislead into the association of chord, i. e. a cord or musical note or harmony, which has nothing to do with it. The same holds good of the noun "accord;" " with one accord," that is, with one mind or desire in common, not harmoniously, though the idea of musical harmony very naturally insinuates itself. Accost. Ad costam, to come to the side of a person with the presumed intention of CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 7 addressing him. Hence to accost has come to mean to address even from a distance. Account. Ad, and computare, to compute. So " count " is an abbreviated form of com- pute, which accounts for the spelling of the word with a p in the old English, still some- times kept up, as a comptroller. This, how- ever, is erroneous, being a confusion of the real etymology of " control." We speak, indeed of a Board of Control, meaning accounts; but as count is compu- tare, so control is contra rotulare, to counter- roll, or keep a check upon a parchment roll. Accoutrement. Latin consutura, a stitch or seam, from consuere, to sew together. This became the French coudre, to sow ; whence accoutrements, clothes, and other trappings or coverings, as being made of pieces shaped and sewed together. Accrue is from the French accroitre, and this from the Latin accrescere. Ad, to, and crescere, to grow. Another form is found in the word " accretion." 8 COMMON WORDS WITH Accustom. See Custom. Achieve. French achever, to bring to {chef) a head, or illustrious culmination; as " finish" is to bring to an end, or satisfactory con- clusion. So all things achieved are finished, but all things finished are not worthy to be called achieved. Acorn. Saxon cec or ac, an oak, and corn, corn or grain ; the corn, kernel, or seed of the oak. Acquaint seems clearly to be, as Skinner says, from accognitare, from cognitus, known. Menage hints at adcomitari, to accompany, which seems far-fetched. Yet quaint is from comptus. See Quaint. Those would not be without a show of reason who should say that quaint is cognitus and not comptus, but that, beginning with a faint sense of the latter, as " quaint attire," meaning studiously neat, had picked up the stronger sense of the former also, as " quaint erudition," meaning recondite. Acquit. Acquietare, from quies, peace or CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 9 quiet. To acquit was to grant a quittance, or quietance; th^ is, a release from his obligations for the quieting of the mind of the debtor. See Quit. We have a word of the same derivation expressing the intransitive aspect of quietare, " acquiesce." Adage. A sententious saying or proverb. Latin ad, and agere, to bring. So an adage is a sentence which brings a matter of con- duct to a point and condenses it into a portable and telling form. Address. Ad, and dirigere, to direct. The word comes out more plainly in the Italian addrizzare. To address is to move, as an active or neuter verb, in a straight line towards another; to present to him one's self, or some statement, salutation, or request ; and address is the faculty of selecting and employing means to secure attention or gain a purpose to which one directs or addresses one's self. 10 COMMON WORDS WITH Adept. A master, or skilful practitioner of an art. Adeptus is the Latin participle of the verb adipisci, to find. An adept, therefore, is one who by practice has learnt the best way of doing a thing, and shows his know- ledge by his skill. Adjourn, means to put off from day to day ; secondly, to put off to a particular day; and thirdly, to postpone generally. For the derivation, see Journal. Adore. This word is commonly derived from ad, and orare, to pray, as if it were no more than to pray; but adoration may be without prayer, as an act of reverence, homage, or worship. A better account is that it is more directly connected with os, oris, the mouth, than through the word orare, or rather that adorare itself had some- times the sense of kissing the hand to an object, which must have been one of the most ancient forms of adoration. It is alluded to in the Book of Job as among the fascinations of idolatry : — " If I beheld the sun as it shined, CUEIOUS DERIVATIONS. 11 Or the moon walking in brightness, And my heart hath been secretly enticed, Or my mouth hath kissed my hand." Advance. French avancer ; avant, forwards. Compare English " van," the front, and " vantage," as vantage ground ; also " advan- tage," that is, a circumstance of promotion implying benefit. Advocate. A private or professional sup- porter of the cause of another; and hence used also in the sense of a supporter of an opinion or a set of opinions. It is, literally, one called to the side of another to be his supporter. It is the Latin correlative of the Greek nap ccx Xv\ ro g, which, in the English translation of the bible, bears the sense sometimes of " comforter " and sometimes of " advocate." Affable. Latin affabilis, from ad, and/a^z, to speak. An affable person is one with whom it is easy to speak, in whom no haughtiness makes him difficult of approach. 12 COMMON WORDS WITH Agglomerate, See Conglomerate. Agony. Greek ayuv, agon, the contest of a public wrestler or prize-fighter in the ancient Greek games. Compare the title of Milton's Samson Agonistes. So agony is that internal struggle which we carry on within ourselves at times of great pain. Is there here an intimation that suffering is no essential part of our human lot, but that against which, as against an intruder, we feel instinctively that we have a right to struggle ? Agree, Agreeable. French agreer, to agree, from the Latin ad, and grains, pleasing or agreeable. Aim. Old French esmer, to aim, also written aesmer. In this older form we have the his- tory of the word plainly written. It is from cestimare, to estimate ; for what does the aimer at a material object but estimate distance, level, angles, and the like ? And what does the aimer at a moral object but estimate CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 13 motives and probabilities, and the lines of action and the effects of counter-action ? So to estimate and to aim are one and the same word. Ait. A small island in broad fresh- water streams. The sounds of ai and i are in some cases common ; so aisle is pronounced as isle, though they are not etymologically con- nected. The islets of the Thames above London are commonly called "aits." Alert. A most picturesque word. Italian alV erta, on the mound or rampart. It is the position of the warder on the watch-tower, or the sentinel upon the rampart. Watch- fulness and wakefulness, and alacrity when called for. Alarm. Italian alV arme, to arms. The first meaning is a cry to arms, and out of this flowed the secondary meaning of fear or fright. So in Joel, u Sound an alarm in my holy mountain." 14 COMMON WORDS WITH Allay. To appease, or quiet, from the Saxon lecgan, the English lay, to put down. Thus far the matter is plain, but the question oc- curs, is this allay the same as allay, other- wise alloy, as applied to metals ? On this opinions are divided. Richardson, apparently only on the ground of a common spelling, identifies them. Webster derives alloy from hi, lex, law, the debasement of the metal to the standard of the law. Upon the latter supposition, allay, to appease, would be the Saxon alecgan; allay, to abase, also spelt alloy, would \)Q the Latin allegare. Allege. Saxon alecgan; a, and lecgan, to lay down. Connected with lex and law, for law is something laid down. Compare the re- dundant expression, to lay down the law. Allegiance, Alligation, Alliance, are different forms of the same word, having their origin in ligare, adligare, to bind. Allow. It seems impossible to determine the derivation of this word. Some have it from allaudare, laus, praise. Some from allocare, CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 15 locus, a place assigned. Some seem to sup- pose an old verb of which lot, law, would be the root, to recognize as lawful. Such, cer- tainly, is the nearest approximation to its present usage, but there is no authority for such a supposition. "Ye do allow the deeds of the wicked." In this the sense is plainly that of allaudare. On the other hand, an allowance in the sense of a stated grant rather reminds us of allocare. Alms, is a curious corruption of the Greek i\£Yi[Ao to yield, which survives in our word "bow," and meant at first compliant, obedient, submissive. SoFoxe speaks of being " buxom and obedient to the Ordinance of the Church." 30 COMMON WORDS WITH 5ABAL. French cab ale y Hebrew gabbala, mystic tradition. A cabal, as the word is now com- monly used, means a company united in a close design, the Hebrew element of handing down the traditions of the association being lost sight of. By a quaint coincidence, the initial letters of the British Cabinet Ministers in 1671 formed the word " cabal." The names were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale. The notion of mystic tradition or sym- bolism though lost in " cabal," is preserved in the adjective "cabalistic." Cabbage, is from the old French cabus, from which is derived the modern chous, headed cole, from the Latin caput. Compare the heraldic term caboshed, beheaded. The verb "to cabbage" is to filch, as tailors are said to snip cloth to their own advantage. The idea seems to be that of snipping off the head of CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 31 your neighbours' vegetables by horticultural poaching. Cabinet, is the diminutive of " cabin," a word which occurs in all the European languages, as the French cabane, Spanish cabana, Ita- lian capanna, a cottage. Caitiff, a ruffian, rascal, or miscreant, is from the Italian cattivo, bad, which is from the Latin captivus, a captive, either because those captured by the law or the govern- ment would be worthless characters, or as suggesting, what is doubtless true, the ten- dency of servitude or slavery to debase the character. Cajole, is from the Norman French cage, a cage. So much seems clear; but the ques- tion is whether the word meant to coax into a cage, and so entrap, or keep up a wheedling talk, like a jay, or some such bird, in a cage. Calamity — calamus, a stalk — is a blighting influence upon the grain ; a bad harvest, in the strictest sense of the term, is a calamity. 32 COMMON WORDS WITH Hence it was used to express an influence of ill, individually or collectively. And so the word is always employed of such things as are wholly unconnected with man's agency, thus differing from disaster. Disasters are incurred, but calamities are, so to speak, sent. Calculate, to reckon ; calx, calculus, a peb- ble, used in primitive apparatus for count- ing or computing. The Chinese instrument of balls strung upon wires, each wire having its own deci- mal value, is an illustration of calculation in its literal sense. Calibre. The word is often used in a meta- phorical sense for power or force of mind or character. There can be little doubt that the Latin libra, scale, or balance, lies at the root of it ; but it may be either a corruption of " equilibrium," the proportions of a gun to the weight of the ball it has to carry ; or, qua libra, with what weight. The " calibre " is the bore of the gun, which by its diameter shows the weight of its ball. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 33 Cancel. Cancelli, rails, bars, or grating. So chancel, the part of a church within the rails or screen ; and chancellor, the judge who sat railed off from the body of the court. When documents are meant to be obliterated, or preserved, but in such a way as to indicate that they are no longer of force, it is common to cross and recross them with diagonal lines, like grating, whence the document is said to be cancelled. Candidate. The aspirant to political honours in ancient Rome, as he went about soliciting votes wore, for distinction's sake, a toga of a more shining white added by the fuller. Canon. Greek xai/wi/, connected with xccwn, a cane, and the English can or vessel, is first a hollow rule or cane used as a measure, then a law or rule. Sometimes, as ecclesi- astically, one who lives by a certain rule of the institution to which he belongs. The word is interesting as being identical with cannon, into which an additional n has been intro- D 34 COMMON WORDS WITH duced by way of distinction, so called from its hollow, tube-like form. Canopy. Greek xooi/oo7tb7ov, from ytum^ a gnat. A canopy is therefore, in the first instance, a mosquito curtain, and has advanced in dig- nity as to its application. CANVAS'(verb), to call in question, as to canvas a statement, also to solicit votes as for an election, is derived from cannabis, hemp. This made into coarse cloth would be the material of ships' sails or the painter's canvas. The same kind of cloth might be used as a strainer; hence, to canvas would be, literally, to strain off minute particles of sediment ; metaphorically, to sift and inspect the details of a statement, or to take, vote by vote, the elements of a constituency. Cardinal. Latin cardinalis, from cardo, cardinis y a hinge. A cardinal point is that on which something turns or hinges ; hence the sense of important, then dignified, and then, as a personal noun, a dignitary. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 35 Caress. Caritia, from the adjective cams, Latin for endearment. Caricature. From carrus, a cart; connected with many co-derivatives, as carriage, carry, career, charge, and others. We are bound therefore to the verb ca- ricare, to cart about, and a caricature would be originally either an absurd representation which would be likely to be of living cha- racters, carried about as, for instance, at fairs, or an over-charged, over-loaded description. Cavil. Cavum, a hollow; cavellum, a little hollow or hole ; to cavil is to seek to pick little holes ; cavillum, a banter. Ceremony is usually derived from Care, one of the principal cities of ancient Etruria, from which ancient Rome derived many of its social and political customs; hence its sense of a prescribed form for conducting a social or political transaction. Chagrin. French, spelt also in English shagreen, is a hard granulated leather, which 36 COMMON WORDS WITH chafes the limbs (it is used also for a certain kind of hard fish-skin), hence "chagrin" has the meaning of irritation, or galling vexation. Challenge. To impeach, and so force a man to clear himself, or to summon to account for himself, as the sentinel challenges the passer-by. As applied to statements, it means to dispute or call in question their truth or soundness. The word is an altered form of the Latin calumniari, to calumniate. Champion. Latin campio, from campus, a field. A man of the field or lists ; a man of battle, especially on behalf of some person or cause ; also an acknowledged chief in some department of competition. Chance, is a curious form of cadentia, & befal- ment, from cadere, to fall. We still use such phrases as, " It fell out by chance," which is, however, a redundancy. Character. Greek ^a^c-o-w, I groove or engrave; a sculptured form or symbol, as an alphabetical character ; taken for the ag- CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 37 gregate of the moral qualities, the social personality of the man, his stamp. Charm (verb), Latin carmen, a song,- or rather magical incantation. " To charm " is to reduce under the influence of witchery ; to bewitch and to enchant are words embodying the same idea. Coarse. As this word was originally spelt " course " there is reason to believe that the two are one, and that coarse meant, first, common, and then, by an easy transition, rough and unrefined : that which occurs in cursu, or common course. Companion. The derivation of this word is uncertain ; con, and panis, bread : so that a companion was originally a messmate; or, compago, compaginis, a lock or fastening, one fastened to another in friendly association. Conciliate. Concilium, a council. " To con- ciliate " is to take into a body associated for a common object; to win over, so as to induce to join in a companionship or council. By 38 COMMON WORDS WITH usage the collective element has been drop- ped, and we now speak of one person con- ciliating another. Conclave, Latin con, and clavis, a key, in the first instance meant a closed apartment, and afterwards the persons on whom a key was turned in close council. The jury locked up for a verdict, or the College of Cardinals for the election of a Pope, illustrate the primary and literal sense of a " conclave." Conglomerate. Latin con, and glomus, a ball or knot of wool or cotton entangled; hence, to bring into a state of complication by a process which stands opposed to un- ravelling. The familiar appearance called a " thief" in the wick of a candle is a con- glomeration. Control. Latin contra, over against, and rotulus, a roll, as of parchment, upon which accounts and such things were kept. The control would be the counter-roll, tally, or check; hence, to control in the sense of regu- lating expenditure or checking accounts, CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 39 from which it has passed to the wider mean- ing of regulation generally. Copy, is the Latin copia, abundance. To take a copy of anything is to tend to multiply the . original representation. A literary work becomes plentiful by the multiplication of copies. Corollary. The corollarium, from corolla, a chaplet, was a graceful donation of something given as a token of satisfaction and friend- ship, such as a chaplet of flowers, over and above what was paid for the wages of a work — a graceful and gratuitous superaddition. Used in mathematics and argument to ex- press a secondary inference over and above that which directly flows from the problem or premisses. Curmudgeon, is a curious Anglicism of the French cceur mechant, bad heart. Custom, French coutume, is from the Latin consuetudo ; the verb consuescere, to be ac- customed. 40 COMMON WORDS WITH [ECO Y. The « coy" in this word is the same in etymology as the old adjec- tive "coy," from quietus, modest, re- tiring, shy. The root meaning to soothe, or quiet, to speak peace. Its derived meaning, to speak peace where there is no peace, to allure into danger or the snare, as distin- guished from more open, violent, or noisy methods of attack and capture. In snaring birds the decoy was a bird of the same species as those hunted, which was tamed and trained to lure them into a snare or within shot ; but this is an application of the term, not the essence of it, which is ensnarement by quiet deception. Decrepit. We are apt to associate infirmity or disability, through extreme age, so closely with this word as to overlook the fact that such ideas are no essential part of it, but only associations that have sprung up about it. "Decrepit" is from de, down, or out of, and crepitus, from crepare, to make a noise. It expresses, not the disability, but the noise- CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 41 lessness of old age, when the ringing voice and joyous manner that made itself heard, and the firm step of manhood, have subsided into the subdued manner and movements of the aged, of which extreme bodily infirmity is the fullest manifestation. Defalcation. A diminution or subtraction from what is due to be rendered, as in the balance of an account. Falx is a sickle, so that defalcation might be a pruning of the accounts, or the amount due of whatever sort; but the word was also used for a falchion, which is derived from it, and in this way a defalcation would be rather an ampu- tation, or mutilation of them. Demur, is from the Latin demorari, which is from mora, delay ; to interpose a delay, as against a statement, or a legal proceeding, as implying a doubt or difficulty. Demure. Old French de murs, of manners, that is, good manners; Latin mores. The word has come to signify more than a due self-restraint. 42 COMMON WORDS WITH Disaster. A word of astrological origin, com- pounded of dis, and astrurn, a star. An ill- fated, or ill-starred event. For its difference from calamity, see Calamity. Discard. From dis, and carta, a card ; means, literally, to throw out of one's hand as a worthless card. Dupe, is said to be equivalent to the French huppe or hoopoe, a foolish bird, easily caught. The word may be thus classed with goose, booby, and gull. \ AGEE is the Latin acer, sharp, which has come to us through the French aigre. In English, eager is only used of things pertaining to character, disposition, or conduct. The French aigre, like the Latin acer, applies also to things sensational. So vinegar is vinum acrum> or vin aigre. Eliminate. Limen, Latin for threshold ; the threshold, by synecdoche, taken for the house. So " to eliminate" is to bring out from CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 43 the privacy or darkness of domestic seclusion into the broad and common light of day. Accordingly, its old and now obsolete mean- ing was to cast out of doors, discharge, or set at liberty. It is now used to mean — first, to make a general subject clear, by drawing out of it and parting off that which tends to darken or confuse; or secondly, to extract from such a general subject, or aggregate of subjects, a leading idea or principle which shall throw light upon the rest. Emancipate, to set at liberty. JE, Latin, out or away, and mancipare, to take formal possession. Manus, the hand, and capere, to take. According to the old Roman law there were distinct ceremonies both for the pur- chase and the liberation of slaves. When they were bought, the master formerly laid his hand upon them, in token of his posses- sion and mastership. As this process was called mancipium, its contrary is expressed in English by the word "emancipation." 44 COMMON WORDS WITH Emolument. Latin emolere, to grind by a mill. The sale of the article flour would be, in the first instance, emolument; thence the term was extended to profitable proceeds generally. Enchant. Latin cantus, cantare, in the sense of a magical incantation ; to draw under the influence of a spell, and, as it were, bewitch with delight. Compare the word Charm. Encroach. Low Latin incrocare, to hang by a hook. Compare French croc and crochet, and the English crook. "To encroach "is to hook up something that does not belong to you, and consequently to trespass upon your neighbour's premises or rights for the purpose. The angler who should poach upon a fish-preserve might illustrate the etymology of cs encroachment." Espousals, is the same word as "sponsals," but CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 45 derived through the French, as "sponsals," more directly from the Latin spondere, to pro- mise solemnly, to betroth. It is now used as synonymous with nuptials, but among the Jews, and at present in the Greek Church, the espousals or betrothal was distinct from the nuptials or actual marriage, and a con- siderable space of time might intervene. In the Marriage Service of the Church of Eng- land there is an amalgamation of the espou- sals and the nuptials. Euphuism. A certain affected style of speak- ing and writing fashionable for a time at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, having its origin in the fame of Lyly's two performances, " Euphues, or the Anatomy of Wit," and " Euphues and his England." This high-flown diction is ridiculed by Sir Walter Scott, in the character of Sir Piercie Shafton, in the " Monastery." Exchequer. A corruption of the old French eschequier. See Check. 46 COMMON WORDS WITH Exergue. Greek |£, out, and tpyov, a work, is used for a space or inscription upon a medal, coin, or other such surface, below the line to which the work of the engraver or sculptor descends. The name of the designer or sculptor would be placed on the " exergue." Extricate. Tricce in Latin are little knots or entanglements, such as the meshes of a net, or the feathers which grow about the legs of birds, and are likely to entangle them. So the teeth of the little mouse in the fable extricated the lion. ^AINT, in the sense of weak, languid, weary, is curious as belonging to the same root as feign, to pretend, viz. sefeindre, to pretend. So that fainting is, in the first instance, pretended inability or weakness, and has been extended to include that which is with- out pretence. Farce. Latin farcire, to stuff as with flour, herbs, and other ingredients in cookery. CUKIOUS DERIVATIONS. 47 Hence force-meat is farce-meat or stuffing. A farce is a comedy with little or no plot, but stuffed and crammed with ludicrous inci- dents and expressions. Feature. Jj&tmfactura^a, making, or making up of a compound whole or structure, as of a landscape, or the human figure. So Spenser, of creatures in general — " And to her service bind each living creature, Through secret understanding of their feature ; " that is, form or nature. So Chaucer, of man in particular — "What needeth it his feature to describe ?" Thence it passed into meaning the parts of the compound, as the lineaments of the face, and became plural. So Milton — "It is for homely features to keep home." The word is used in the sense of trait or characteristic, or observable circumstances in a case. Feeble. Deplorably weak. The modern French faible does not sug- gest the etymology of the word, which, how- 48 COMMON WORDS WITH ever, appears in the old form fieuble, and is confirmed by the Italian fievole, where the i 3 according to Italian analogy, indicates an ancient 7. So we arrive at the Latin fiebilis, from fiere, to weep, and the idea of tearful destitution, and lamentable weakness. Filigree. This is a French word, as is also the correspondent filigrave. The root is filum, a thread. Compare English " filament ; " and the word is meant to express the idea of work in the precious metals of a filamentous character, or thread- like fineness. It commonly consists actually of fine gold or silver threads or wires. Filter, to strain. Low Latin feltrum, felt, used originally for the purpose of a strainer. The word is principally interesting as bearing out the analogous derivation of Canvas, which see. Compare the compound form " infiltrate." Finance. Latin finis, an end, seems to em- • body the notion of a settlement or winding- up of accounts. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 49 Compare the English word " fine " as used for a pecuniary penalty, or payment on the renewal of a lease. Flatter. The root of the word is "flat;" to flatter is to touch gently, and stroke or smooth down with the flat hand or palm. Frantic. Excessively excited in mind. Greek qoyiv, the mind. The etymology of the word is more apparent under its other mode of spelling, with the initial ph instead of f. So we should have phrene, phrenetic, phrentic, phrantic, or frantic. Futile. Jj&tmfutilis, from fundere, to pour. The futile person was one who had little self- restraint or knowledge, and poured forth of his folly. Compare the proverb, " The mouth of fools poureth out foolishness." Thence the epithet was transferred to the sub- ject-matter, and a " futile pretext," for in- stance, is one which from inherent insolidity will not hold together. e 50 COMMON WORDS WITH jAFFER was originally a term of respect, but has degenerated into disrespect, being a contraction of godfather, as u gammer " of godmother. Galaxy — Greek ycH\u, y&Xocxrog, milk — the milky-way, which is composed of innumerable stars. The term has since been employed as a synonym for " constellation," and is taken metaphorically to express an assemblage of splendid things or persons. Gamboge, belongs to a class of nouns in which the names of materials keep up the recollec- tion of countries from which they were de- rived. Gamboge from Gambodia ; calico from Calicut ; millinery from Milan ; bayonet from Bayonne ; china from the country so called ; and others. Gammon. Though a distinction is preserved in modern cookery between ham and gammon, they have precisely the same derivation, CUKIOUS DERIVATIONS. 51 namely, the French jambon, of which gammon is a corruption, from jambe, a leg, whence ham. Garble (verb), is to select such extracts or quo- tations as may throw the colouring we desire upon statements or arguments based on those extracts. The word, it appears, was originally of examining spices. In Spanish garbillo is a coarse sieve, which must have been from the Latin cribellum, diminutive oicribrum, a sieve. As the garbler sifted the coarse and useless parts, or the dust and dross, from the valuable spices, so he who garbles rejects what is unavailable, artfully selecting Avhat conduces to his purpose of representation. Gentle. Gentilis, of good family ; gens, a family ; gentle manners come of gentle birth. " Genteel" is a form of the same word, but with refined speakers and writers is fast growing into disfavour. Gossip ; first meant a sponsor, and afterwards a familiar acquaintance, from " god" and " sib,'> meaning alliance or relationship. Familiar 52 COMMON WORDS WITH talk, especially among the illiterate, is apt to turn upon other people's affairs, whence the use of gossip in the sense of milder scandal. Grotesque ; like the strange forms used to decorate grottoes. Grotto is from xpv7TTog, hidden, whence the Low Latin grupta, and the English crypt. i ANDSOME, from * hand," at the first meant dexterous, and convenient or handy, accordingly as it was applied to things or persons. The essential natural connection between physical proportion on the one hand, and dexterity or excellence of physical movement and action appears in this word ; well-knit limbs being the most agile, and most graceful also. From the person gene- rally, to which it is still applied in Scotland, it was transferred to the features of the face, and, by analogy, to moral acts, in the sense of generous or liberal. CUKIOUS DERIVATIONS. 53 Harbinger. One who finds a harbour or auberge, that is, lodgment, preceding a royal personage in his travels for that purpose ; hence, a herald or fore-runner, as poets speak of birds as the harbingers of spring. Head. Greek asp a An', Latin caput, Saxon heafod, German haupt, English head. Heathen, from the German heide, a heath, were those who lived in the heathy or rural districts, as distinguished from the inhabitants of towns. So, like the Pagans, pagani, in- habitants of the pagi or villages ; they were . the last to be brought into contact with the Christianity of the cities. This is the deri- vation given by Vossius, instead of the more current one, that heathen is the same word as the Greek sfli/rj, nations. Hinder, from the Saxon hind, back, is remark- able by reason of the relation in which it stands to prevent. For as " hinder" is to go behind in order to retard or keep back, so to prevent, from Latin prevenire, to come before or to go ahead of one, for the same purpose. 54 COMMON WOKDS WITH DIOT. The Greek ISiuryg meant a person in private life as distinguished from one who held a public office. Usage assumed that the disqualification was want of ability, and the excess of such want was expressed by the term " idiot." Bishop Jeremy Taylor used the word in its old sense when he said that " humility is a duty in great ones, as well as idiots." Imbecile. Weak, infirm ; more commonly used now of weakness or infirmity of mind. Baculus, a staff; bacillum, a walking-stick. In and bacillum give the Latin imbecillis and imbecillus, one who through infirmity leans for support upon a stick. Immolate, to destroy or sacrifice. Latin immolare, to sprinkle the victim with coarse flour mixed with salt, called " mola salsa." Immunity, i/z, not, and munus in the sense of a public office. An immunity was at first an exemption from the necessity of serving a CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 55 public office, and afterwards an exemption from penalty or inconvenience generally. Impair, is probably from pejus, worse, which would give the verb impejorare, to make worse. Impeach, originally meant simply to stop or hinder. " A defluxion on my throat im- peached my utterance." — Howell. This was from the French empecher, to stop, which is from the Latin impingere, English to impinge. Interpolate. Inter, and polire, to polish, is used as simply equivalent to spurious inser- tions into the writings of another. From the structure of the word the original idea must have been the insertion of a new mean- ing rather than new matter. It is akin to the idea of gloze or gloss, which is to furbish, as it were, with an interpretation; and though gloss, in the sense of interpretation, comes directly from yXu have the two-fold meaning of marshal and F 66 COMMON WORDS WITH farrier. The marshal became in time the confidential servant of the lord, with inferior servants under him, and the title extended to certain legislative officers in courts of law, royal households, and the army ; hence, the verb " to marshal," applied to persons rather than objects, meaning to order, or set in array. Martinet. A formal disciplinarian, especially in military matters. So called from an officer of that name in the army of Louis XIV. Meddle. This is plainly derived from the * Latin medius, and is another form of the Eng- lish " middle ;" to meddle being impertinently to put oneself in the middle, between things or persons. But the Latin medius does not supply the latter syllable ; for this we are indebted to the common termination of Ger- man infinitives, eln. So mitteln, or ver- mitteln, in German is mediare, to mediate ; and to mediate unduly is to meddle. Mettle. This word is noticeable as being CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 67 identical with "metal/' and signified, first, the temper or spirit, and secondly, such tem- per and spirit as were animated by courage and right sensibility. So Shakespeare, " Gentlemen of brave mettle ; " and Milton, " A spirit of the greatest size and divinest mettle." Mew (verb), to confine. The word mue in French is a noun mean- ing change of feathers, from muer, to moult, connected with the Latin mutare, to change. The " mew " was the place of confinement and quiet for hawks during the moulting-season. Wordsworth speaks of "violets in their secret mews," that is, retreats. The word " mews," meaning stables, is the same. Mizen. A nautical term for the third or hind- most mast of a three-masted vessel ; from mezzano, in the middle, mezzo, Italian for middle. So the mizen-mast would be the middle mast of the three ; but this it is not. It appears that the " mizen" or main -mast of the older vessel would bear relatively the 68 COMMON WORDS WITH same position to the steersman as that which came to be called the " mizen" when in later and larger vessels the masts were multiplied. Muscle; as the " muscle " of the arm. Etymo- logists are singularly divided as to the origin of this common word. According to some it is so called from its likeness to the mollusk called a "muscle," musculus, from its apparent peeping out of its bivalves. If not mediately from musculns in this sense, it would be from the same word directly ; and the idea would be suggested by the likeness of the movements of the muscles to those of a mouse under some flexible covering. Mushroom, is an English corruption of the French mousseron, from mousse, moss, as indicating the moist nature of the ground in which mushrooms are found. Mutiny. Old French meute ; modern French has emeute ; Latin motus, from movere, to move ; an out-move, or outburst of insub- ordination. The Spanish has motin and amotinar, for a mutiny, and to rise in mutiny. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 69 I AMESAKE, is, first, one named after, for regard to, or for the sake of, another; and afterwards came to mean one bearing the same name, though only as a coincidence. Nausea, from the Greek i/auc, a ship, meant originally sea-sickness, and with its deriva- tives nauseous and nauseate has been ex- tended to mean a feeling of physical sickness, and also strong moral or emotional dislike. Nice. Latin nescius, ignorant. The "nice" man was at the first a simpleton ; so Chaucer says, "wise and nothing nice," that is, no wise ignorant. How did it come over to its meaning of accurate or fastidious, which seems to imply knowledge and taste rather than ignorance ? Not by being confounded with the Saxon nese, but because the diffi- dence of ignorance bore a resemblance to the fastidious slowness of discernment. It is reflexively that the quality of the person has 70 COMMON WORDS WITH passed over to the thing; once the chooser was nice, now the thing is chosen as being "nice." Noise. Such a kind or degree of sound as is obnoxious to the ear. Noxa from nocere, to hurt. In its etymology (C hurt " generally, and restricted in its signification as above. Nostril. Nose-thyrl; thyrl is Saxon for a long narrow passage ; compare the old street in Oxford called the Turl. Thyrl is con- nected with €C drill/ 5 as in the phrase, to drill a hole. A " nostril " then is the hole in the nose which Nature has drilled. Nuisance. From the Old French noisir, Latin nocere, to hurt ; in Italian nocenza means an- noyance, and looks at first sight as if it had the same derivation. But see Annoy- ance. BEISANCE, is the same word as " obedience." As in some other in- stances, both the direct Latin form CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 71 and the French derivative are in use, but are made distinct in meaning. Obeisance is the outward sign of obedience, or deference. Obliterate, is often connected directly with linere, litum, to smear, as if to obliterate were to smear out or efface ; but its direct deri- vation is litera, a letter, so that to obliterate is in the first instance to efface writing in particular, and secondarily to efface generally. It is true that the root of litera is linere, because some of the earliest writing would be on substances smeared so as to receive it ; for instance, the waxen tablets of the Romans. Obsequies. "Funeral rites" express the literal, as the adjective "obsequious" expresses the metaphorical, aspect of the Latin obsequi, to wait upon ; for as " obsequiousness " is the readiness, often the over-readiness to follow the dictates of another, so obsequies consist in literally following him to the grave. Ogle ; to eye askance, or look at furtively. 72 COMMON WORDS WITH The root is oculus, an eye, and the word is developed more plainly by the augeln, from auge, an eye. Ogre. An imaginary monster of an unearthly character. Orcus, the lower world, or, when per- sonified, the God of the infernal regions. Opportunity. Latin ob, over against, and partus, a harbour. An opportunity is something which occurs . in as timely a way as does the port for a storm-tost ship to run into. Ovation ; a triumph : but, according to Roman customs, of the second order. At the triumph oxen were sacrificed, but the sheep (ovis) when the victorious general on his return home was accorded an ovation ; hence the use of the term in the sense of (e triumph." Overture, has nothing to do with the word over, but with " overt." In French ouvrir is to begin, part, ouvert ; an overt act in English is one voluntarily undertaken or CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 73 commenced, with a will and purpose, and therefore consequently in a public way. The root is the Latin operire, opertus, to open, and stands opposed to covert, from co-operire, part, co-opertus, whence covert. To make an overture is to be the first to propose ; and the overture of an opera is the opening, commencement, or prelude. AGAN. An inhabitant of the pagi or villages, as distinguished from the inhabitants of cities, which were the centres of Christianity and the seats of bishops. The residence of the bishop with his staff of missionary clergy and cathe- dral made the city; issuing from the cities went the clergy, preaching the Gospel to the villagers or rustics, who, being less within the sphere of Christian influence, were re- garded as masses to be converted, under the name of Pagans. Palliate, from Latin pallium, a cloak, is to hide as with a cloak, to screen or suppress, <4 COMMON WORDS WITH to mitigate or excuse. It is a Latinism for the Saxon verb " to cloke," as in the English Liturgy, "that we should not dissemble nor cloke them." Palsy, is an English contraction of the Greek paralysis, from napd, by the side, and \vsiv, to loose or disable. It is a weakening, suspen- sion, or entire destruction of the functions of voluntary motion and sensation — the muscles and nerves. Paltry, is from the German palte, pidte, a rag or tatter. As rags and tatters in his clothing indicate the beggar, so paltry is nearly sy- nonymous with beggarly, with this distinction, that beggarly is in the first instance morally paltry, whereas paltry is in the first instance materially beggarly. So it would be more strictly correct to say beggarly demeanour, and a paltry exhibition ; in common parlance the epithets are interchanged. Pattern ; Latin pair onus, a patron, guardian, or guide; one consequently whom we are bound in some measure to follow. Thus CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 75 "pattern" would be used in its primary sense when applied to persons as a pattern of be- nevolence^ and in its secondary sense as an artistic model. Peculiar, characteristically belonging to, or il- lustrative of, the individual, is from peculiaris, a Roman term for that which is a man's own, — the allowed savings, for instance, of a slave. Like pecunia, money, its root is probably pecics, cattle, which was the earliest form of property, and for which money was after- wards substituted in exchange. When Jacob kept his father-in-law's cattle on the con- dition that he was to have a certain proportion of the increase of the flock, he received what became in the exact sense of the words his peculiar property. Pellitory, the commonest plant that grows on old English ruins, is a corruption of the Latin parietaria, from paries, a wall ; the wall- plant. It is formed with more attention to classic propriety than is usual among botani- cal terms. As murus is the exterior wall of 76 COMMON WORDS WITH cities, so paries is the interior wall of houses or castles. It is especially remarkable and touching to see the pellitory growing among the inner ruins of the ancient castle, on the walls of the chapel or the banquet-room. Pencil, was at the first a " paint-brush/' and, being a tuft of hair like a tail, was called penecillus, a little tail, whence te pencil." Pension — pendere, pensio, Latin, to weigh, a weighing out — is a word which carries us back to remote times, when a currency having succeeded to a system of barter, the distinction was not yet so distinctly marked as now between the value of coinage and the weight of metal ; large sums of money were originally weighed out : so the shekel of the Hebrews was a weight before it became a coin; so the Romans, when their city was in the hands of the Gauls, weighed out their ransom in scales, and the arrogant Brennus, throwing his victorious sword into the oppo- site scale, aggravated the " pension " of their ransom. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 77 Pensive, is a very picturesque word. Pensave is the frequentative of pendere, to weigh. Pensee in French, a thought, the result of mental weighing. A pensive figure or atti- tude is that in which the appearance of the person bespeaks that he is holding as it were an invisible balance of reflection. The idea is nearly akin to that of the word " ponder," ponderare, to weigh, from pondus (itself de- rived from pendere, to weigh), a weight. Pilgrim — Latin peregrinus, a foreigner, — one who wanders to foreign lands. In Italian the Latin r is commonly changed into 7, and peregrinus becomes pellegrino, whence " pil- grim." Pinion, comes through the French from the Latin pinna, penna, a feather or wing. Compare English "pen." Pinnacle, is from the same root as pinion ; Latin pinnaculum, from pinna, a feather : a member by which a building is as it were plumed off aloft. 78 COMMON WORDS WITH Pittance, a small allowance or dole : from the Low Latin word pittantia, for pietantia, from pius, pietas, piety or pity ; a gift of Christian compassion : afterwards any small donation. Plagiary, Plagiarist, Plagiarism, Pla- giarize, are derived from the Latin plagium, which was the sin of kidnapping children, and especially young slaves. The plagiarist was at first the purloiner of the book or manuscript, which he pub- lished as his own ; afterwards the word was extended to mean one w r ho quoted from the writings of another without acknowledging the source from which he drew. The metaphor seems to be based upon the idea of books as being the servants of an author's purpose, or the offspring of his mind. Poison, comes to us through the French from the Latin potio, a drink. A poison is a deadly potion. Poltroon. Pollice truncus, maimed of the thumb, which in times of conscription was CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 79 mutilated as a disqualification for serving in the wars; and though many other reasons might exist for such disinclination, it was imputed to cowardice, and poltroon means a coward. Pommel, to beat or bruize ; properly to strike with a knobbed instrument, or the fist. The root is the Latin pomum, an apple, used metaphorically for a knob or protuber- ance. So in heraldry a " cross pommee" is a cross knobbed at the ends. In Italian poma delta spada is the pommel of the sword. Hence to beat generally. It is commonly spelt " pummel." Precarious. Preces, prayer, precari, to pray. Of all blessings those are most certain which come from the unalterable benevolence of the Creator, and those most uncertain which hang upon the good- will of man. Who can calculate upon the humour of the great and powerful when a petition has to be presented to them? Hence precarious, that is, depend- ing upon the will of others to grant in return 80 COMMON WORDS WITH for our own prayers or petitions, has passed into a very proverb of uncertainty; and precarious in common usage means critical or perilous. Prevaricate. Varicare is from varus, bandy- legged; so that to prevaricate is literally to walk with a shuffling, shambling gait, and metaphorically to deal with words after a loose and shuffling manner. Prolix. Tediously and ineffectually length- ened out, as a prolix speech. Pro, out, and laxusj loose or flowing. It expresses the weak side of fluent, the one flowing with vigour and the other a dribbling shallowness of talk. Promulgate, is for provulgate by a corrupt change of the v into m. The etymology is more strictly adhered to in the word u di- vulge" of kindred meaning. To promulgate is to make public or common, from vulgas, the common public. Purchase ; French povrchasser, to seek after. Compare the English "chase." To purchase is CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 81 primarily to desire eagerly and strive to obtain ; but inasmuch as all objects of desire cost something to procure, to' purchase hence came to mean to buy. So Berners, using the word in its earlier sense, says, " Duke John of Brabant purchased (that is, desired) greatly that the Earl of Flanders should have his daughter in marriage." ]UAINT. Latin comptus, participle ofcomere, to trim. Quaint, old French cointe, meant at the first neatly and trimly arranged. Afterwards it was applied to the style of speech as indicating the nicety and refinement of learning, whence flowed the meanings of archaic and curious. Like curious, it expresses the idea of recondite and odd, as " quaint erudition," " a quaint figure." That which has passed away, and was yet in its way useful or graceful, retaining or ex- hibiting interest and excellence, yet of a by- gone character, is said to be quaint, when we view it from our own point of view. 82 COMMON WORDS WITH Quarantine. A ship arriving in port and suspected of being infected by contagious disease, or coming from certain countries liable to such diseases, was originally pro- hibited intercourse with the shore for forty days; whence quarantine, from the Italian quaranta, a corruption of the Latin quadra- ginta,£ovty ; the designation has been retained, though the period of the inhibition may be indefinite. Quarrel, is from the Latin querela, a com- . plaint; queri, to complain. So a sense of wrong or cause of complaint lies at the root of every quarrel. Quit. Latin quietare ; quies, quiet. To quit is to leave a place quiet, and in usage implies an intention of not returning to it. Com- pare Acquit. CURIOUS DERIVATIONS. 83 \ AC Y. As racy flavour of wine, or racy humour, is from "race," meaning family or breed, so racy is having the characteristic flavour of origin, savouring of the source; like generous, that is, as applied to flavour, rich and indicating a distinctive nature and excellence. Raiment, is an abbreviation of " arraiment," from the French arraier, which again is from the Gothic raidjan,to make ready; so in Saxon gercede, trappings. Rally, to bring together into order after con- fusion, as to rally troops. As Spenser spelt the word " re-allie," making it of three syllables : "Before they could new counsels re-allie ;" there can be little doubt that it is from re-alligare, to bind once again together. Rascal, Saxon for a worthless lean deer, metaphorically used for a worthless fellow. So Shakespeare, " Horns ! the noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal." 84 COMMON WOEDS WITH Ream. The printer's ream is twenty-one and a-half quires. The word exists in different forms in modern European languages, and the root is undoubtedly the Greek olp^^og, number. Reprieve. Latin reprobare. It has not, how- ever, the sense of reprove, which is to prove a charge back upon a person, and so to rebuke or censure him, but to send him back for a second proof or trial. As the word is now used it expresses rather the remission of an original sentence than the purpose of a second trial. Respite, from the Latin respicere, to look back, expresses another aspect of the word respect ; for as respect and regard indicate the , honour or esteem which induce us to look back on those so worthy of notice, respite expresses the delay of time occupied in doing so; hence to relieve by a pause or interval, of rest. Revel, noisy merriment and feasting ; at first such feasting kept up into the late night. CUKIOUS DERIVATIONS. 85 French reveiller, to awake, and this from the Latin vigilare, to watch. Compare the English " vigilant/' and " vigil." Ribbon, or Ribband. Three derivations are produced for this word. 1. Rib band or ript band, a fillet or narrow split band. 2. Rubent, Old French, from the Latin rubens, from rubere, to be red. 3. Re and bende or band ; such a circlet as can be easily bent or replicated. Rival. Rival is from rivus, a stream. Rivals are dwellers upon the banks of the same stream ; those who had nothing but the stream to divide them. So, according to Trench, they would naturally contend for their water- rights; but it is also conceivable that, as rivers form a natural boundary between tribes and nationalities, the hostile feeling of the rival tribes or nations may have been illus- trated by, but in no way flowing out of, the narrow water-line which separated them. 86 COMMON WORDS WITH AD, had formerly the sense of " set/' that is, serious, sedate. It is, indeed, only a shorter form of sedate. The quiet of seriousness has given way to the quiet of melancholy in the apprehension of the word. Salary, a fixed stipend, is from the Latin solarium, from sal, salt ; salt-money, given as part of their pay. This is the origin of the slang use of salt in the sense of money. Sample, a specimen of work or goods, is a shorter form of example, from the Latin ex- emplum, a portion shown as an example or pattern of the rest. Sarcasm, Greek with eyes complacently shut to eve^ thing on this side of Homer and Aristophanes, and so, sprawling headlong over bales of bombast lying about his feet 5 for bombast, if he had read English literature, he must have known meant, literally, cotton. He could not, of course, be expected, in his ignorance of the word, to appreciate the epithet of Shakespeare given in my quotation, " Evades them with a bombast circumstance Horribly stuffed with epithets of war ; " but perhaps he will more readily understand " bombast" to mean cotton-padding in the following extract given in his Select Glossary, by Archbishop Trench, from Stubbe's Anatomy of Abuses, " Doublets stuffed with four, five, or six pounds o\ bombast at the least. " A NOTICE OF CRITICISMS. 117 To the critic of The Spectator I have to express my sin- cere thanks, for pointing out a misprint, under the word " overture," which I had overlooked. Instead of operire, opertus, to open, it should have been aperire, apertus. That aperire in Latin means to open, and operire, to shut, are in- disputable truths. If anything detracts from their im- portance it is that the distinction is perfectly familiar to every young gentleman who, at a Classical Academy, may have enjoyed the benefit of " a quarter's Latin 5 " so this piece of advanced erudition need not have been so ostentatiously paraded. A less dyspeptic reviewer would have charitably corrected it by the next line, in which " covert " is derived from co-operire, co-opertus. But here my obligation to him ceases, at least on the score of any information he has afforded me. On my remarks on the words " agony " and " adore," he says that they are " funny reasoning." I cannot answer the charge of facetiousness in the abstract ; but I certainly think it noteworthy in the word " agony," that whereas the meaning of dyojv in the Greek was objective, a contest, or the place of it, — with us the exclusive usage of agony is subjective, namely, great pain. And I ventured to throw out, in the form of a question only, without insisting upon the idea, " Is there here an intimation, undesignedly appearing in human language, of a latent persuasion that suffering is nd part essentially of our human lot, but something against which we feel that we have a sort of natural right to struggle ? " Different minds are differently affected by such arguments. Some attribute weight to them, others are not so influenced. But I see no- thing " funny " about them. As to the sense of " adore " being derived better immedi- ately from os, oris, the mouth, than from orare, which is of course similarly derived, and so making the notion of adoration to be, first, homage, as in kissing the hand to an object, and secondly, prayer, I think I am not adopting any very " funny ,J mode of reasoning. Of course, os, oris, is the root of the word in either case 5 and I say that the word adorare undoubtedly had, fur at least one of its senses, in classic Latin, that of respectful 118 A NOTICE OF CRITICISMS. salutation, without any stronger sense of worship than is re- tained in our old word " worshipful." I am guilty only of thinking it more probable that the word changed from the sense of salutation to prayer, than from prayer to salutation. Next let me inform this reviewer that the deduction of y\(x>(j(Ta, the tongue, from y\6eiv,polire, as an obsolete root for yXoiog, lubricus, so that, as I have said, the tongue is " the glosed member," was assumed by Lennep, and is no " pure invention" of mine. I only wish it had been 5 I should have been not at all ashamed of it. For his objections to " decoy" and " calamity," I refer him to what I have already written on these two words. His next statement is more respectable, that "impeach" and empecher are from impedire, and not, as I have given it, irrtpingere. As to " impeach ; ' being derived from impedire, I do not abso- lutely deny it; but I confess that I prefer impingere, impactus, to impedire, impeditus, for the root of " impeach," and also " dis- patch," two words which, on either supposition, are co-com- pounds 5 especially when one looks not only at the French empdcher, but also at the Italian impacciare. So thinks Dr. C. F. Mahn, of Berlin, who in Webster's Dictionary gives imping- ere, instead of impedire, as the origin of " impeach," while Richardson gives impedire. I find also that Wedgwood sanctions this derivation of impingere and dispingere, as given by Diez, for " impeach " and " dispatch," impedire and depedire being quite ignored. Is it too much to be courteous over these nice points ? But there remains one word noticed by this reviewer which is peculiarly worthy of consideration, in connection with his remarks upon it 5 and here he has been led blindfold into a ditch, where I must take an affectionate leave of him. As he has made his bed, so he must lie. This happens in the very interesting word " reprieve." His derivation of this word is a remarkable proof of the fatal tendency of men to allow cobblers, especially eminent ones, to go beyond their lasts. " Reprieve " is derived from reprobare. It could not be other- wise. To suppose that it comes from the French reprendre, and the Latin reprehendere, is to believe a sheer impossibility. But unfortunately for many of us, critics and compilers of A NOTICE OF CRITICISMS. 119 Dictionaries in particular, Blackstone believed it. If it had been only the Spectator it would not have mattered ; but Blackstone, in this particular, made about as egregious a blunder as ever gained extensive acceptance and belief, on the mere ipse dixit of anybody The French language has no power to give to reprendre an etymological force absolutely wanting in reprehendere ; nor is reprise French for " reprieve," as in that case of course it must have been, but repit in its older form respit,the Latin respectus, and the English " respite." The v of reprieve absolutely requires the b of reprobare, and to derive it from reprehendere is /a most serious blunder of Latin scholar- ship. Moreover it shows a great want of English scholarship — a matter which, together with the transmutations of the German, Spanish, and Italian, most etymologists appear to me to study far too lightly. Yet the Greek and Latin words are wonderfully lighted up by these modern variations. That " re- prieve " is the same word, etymologically, as reprove and re- proof, is placed beyond question; for, in this now obsolete sense, it was used by Chaucer. In the same sense it was used by Spenser also, as in the following extract from the Faerie Queene, B. iii. c. 6, Collier's edition, just as he used " mieve" for move, and " prieve" for prove : — " But if the least (sleep) appeared, her eyes she streight reprieved ; " that is, reproved, wishing to keep awake, not to go to sleep ; in which case she might have been said to reprieve them. This identifies reprieve, with reprobare, and, with due de- ference to Blackstone, detaches it finally from reprehendere. So much for the objections of certain reviewers. I hope I have said enough to vindicate my derivations of the words in question. I have at least endeavoured to meet every specific objection to them which has come under my cognizance, and I trust that readers will at least give me credit for having entitled myself to the condescending and gracious, though upon the whole somewhat ungrammatical, commendation of the Westminster Revieiv — that of being " now and then some- times right." VA ERRATA, Page 29, for " Beigsam" read " Biegsam." Page 48, for " Filigrave" raze/ " Filigrane." Page 73, for " Operire" read " Aperire." Page 73, for " Opertus " read " Apertus." Page 79, for " Poma" read" Porno." Page 96, /or " Retabi " razd " Utabi." Page 103, /or " Bacon" read " Becon," and /or " Sussex' read " Suffolk." Page 108, /or " Passive " read " Past," m^ m ■ ^>^ -: