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 ENGLISH EOOTS. 
 
DUBLIN : PRINTED BY ROBERT CHAPMAN. 
 
(9^(i 
 
 ENGLISH ROOTS: 
 
 AND 
 
 THE DERIVATION OF WORDS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 TWO LECTUKES 
 
 ENLARGED : 
 
 WITH A SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 EDWARD NEWENHAM HOARE, M. A. 
 
 DEAN OF WATERFORD ; 
 CHAPLAIN TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND, 
 
 Cl^irJi €biti0«, taafullK rcfaiscb. 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 
 HODGES, SMITH, AND CO., 104, GRAFTON-STREET. 
 
 BOOKSELLERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO., STATIONERS'-HALL COURT. 
 MDCCCLXIII. 
 
.S 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY f\J^ £i i iyj 
 
 GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERIC, EARL OF^ CARLISLE, K.G. 
 
 LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND, 
 
 ETC., ETC., ETC., 
 
 A 
 
 OEIGINALLT ADDEE8SED TO THE MBMBEBS OF THE 
 
 WATERFORD MECHANICS' SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE, 
 
 OF WHICH HIS EXCELLENCY IS 
 
 PATRON, 
 [bt permission] 
 
 WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF ADMIRATION AND RESPECT 
 
 FOE 
 
 HIS PUBLIC SERVICES AND PRIVATE VIRTUES 
 
 BT 
 
 HIS excellency's 
 
 OBEDIENT AND OBLIGED 
 
 HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 EDWARD N. HOARE. 
 
 031 
 
"We often hear of public-spirited individuals, of men who 
 are friendly to the poor and the working classes, of liberal- 
 minded persons anxious for the diffusion of knowledge, and the 
 cultivation of intellectual pursuits. But no one has a right to 
 assume such titles — to take credit for both zeal and knowledge, 
 if he have done nothing in his neighbourhood to promote a 
 popular Lecture." — Lord Brougham. 
 
PEEFACE 
 
 TO THE FIKST EDITION. 
 
 The following Lectures were delivered, at the 
 close of a course on various subjects, for the 
 Summer Session, 1855, by members of the 
 Waterford Mechanics' Scientific Institute, 
 of which the author has the honour to be a Vice- 
 President ; and, at the request of his audience, 
 he now commits them to the press. 
 
 The derivation of words is a subject which has, 
 of late, attracted much attention, and upon which 
 several useful works have been published. The 
 writer of the following pages has confined him- 
 self to words derived from the Anglo-Saxon, 
 having being led to the consideration of this 
 branch of the subject by the perusal of the cu- 
 rious and scarce work of Verstegan, entitled — 
 A Restitution of decayed Intelligence in Anti- 
 quities, concerning the most noble and renowned 
 English Nation ; of which the first Edition was 
 published in 1605, and dedicated to King James I. 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 To this interesting work the writer is indebted, 
 in a great measure, not only for his first impres- 
 sions on the subject, but also for much of the 
 information contained in this volume, more espe- 
 cially as it relates to the derivation of Proper 
 names, and the origin of Titles of honour and of 
 office.* 
 
 While many of the derivations given in these 
 Lectures have not been met with elsewhere, the 
 greater number have been suggested by reference 
 to the researches of others. The author desires 
 particularly to acknowledge the valuable assist- 
 ance derived from the excellent and comprehen- 
 sive Etymological Dictionary of the English 
 Language^ by Dr. Richardson. Nor must he 
 omit to record his obligations to the Diversions 
 of Pv.rley^ under which quaint title, Horne Tooke 
 gave to the world his ingenious philological 
 disquisitions, f 
 
 It may be proper to state that much has been 
 
 * The Edition from which quotations have been made in this 
 Volume is that of 1634. 
 
 t The following, amongst others, have likewise been consulted : — 
 Lye's Diet. Saxon ; Somner's Lexicon ; Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon 
 Grammar and Dictionary; Benson's Vocab. Anglo-Saxonicum ; and 
 Halli well's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial words ; as also 
 Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries ; Winning's Comparative Philo- 
 logy ; Archbishop Whately's Synonyms ; Dean Trench's Lectures ; 
 Professor Sullivan's Dictionary ; and Richardson's Study of Language. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 added to the following Lectures, which, the time 
 usually allotted to such addresses would not allow 
 of being included when they were delivered. 
 
 In thus addressing such bodies as Mechanics' 
 Institutes, the author follows, at humble distance, 
 the example of some of the most distinguished 
 public characters of the present day ; and he feels 
 that, so far from the adoption of such a course 
 being in any way derogatory to the office of a 
 minister of religion, it constitutes an important, 
 although it be but a secondary, part of his duty, 
 to promote, by every means within his power, 
 such objects of general utility as the members of 
 all religious persuasions can unite to carry into 
 effect, with a view to the physical, moral, and 
 social improvement of his fellow-countrymen of 
 all classes and creeds. 
 
 Foremost amongst such objects, may be reckoned 
 the establishment of popular lectures, as a means 
 of advancing the great cause of educational 
 progress, to which the author is happy to add the 
 following humble contribution. 
 
 Deanery, Waterford. 
 August 1, 1855. 
 
PEEFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 A SECOND Edition of tliis work having been 
 called for, the author has taken occasion carefully 
 to revise tlie whole, at the same time making 
 several additions to the Lectures as they originally 
 appeared.* 
 
 A Supplement has also been appended, in which 
 will be found upwards of four hundred additional 
 words, traced to their Anglo-Saxon roots. These 
 have been arranged in alphabetical order, although 
 not given in a formal catalogue; and will, the 
 author hopes, prove interesting to the general 
 reader, as well as useful to teachers, many of whom 
 have introduced this work as a text-book into their 
 schools. The Commissioners of National Educa- 
 tion in Ireland have also purchased copies of the 
 work, for the Teachers trained in their Model 
 Schools in Dublin. 
 
 * The additions to the Lectures extend to eight pages in each. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 The adoption of this work as a class-book in 
 schools, has given it a place in educational litera- 
 ture which the author could never have antici- 
 pated, and which if he had foreseen, would 
 probably have led him to adopt a different mode of 
 treating the subject. He does not regret this, 
 however, as perhaps the more simple method and 
 style of popular Lectures, in illustrating what is 
 generally considered a " dry" subject, may prove 
 more entertaining, and at the same time not less 
 iustructive, than if the same amount of informa- 
 tion had been conveyed through the medium of a 
 more formal and elaborate treatise. 
 
 Deanery, Waterford, 
 January \st, 1856. 
 
PKEFACE 
 
 TO THIKD EDITION. 
 
 This Edition will be found to be, for the most 
 part, a reprint of the Second ; the whole having 
 been, however, carefully revised, and some few 
 additions having been made. 
 
 Since the publication of the former Editions 
 of this work, the substance of the following 
 Lectures has been delivered, as an address to 
 u Working Men's Associations," in different places 
 in England , where the volume has had considerable 
 circulation. 
 
 Deanery, Waterford. 
 Jan. 1, 1863. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION—British not spoken by the present English ; 
 nor Irish by all the People of Ireland — Mixture of Races 
 in Ireland — Origin of Diversities of Langiaage — Teuton, 
 Founder of Saxon Race — Manus or Noah — Origin of the Term 
 Babbler — First Arrival of Saxons in Britain — Brittany 
 formerly called Armorica — Sasonaghs — Saxons, wherefore so 
 called — England, why so named, and by whom, — Origin of 
 the Names of Goths, Vandals, Lombards, and Welsh — 
 Invasion of the Danes — Norman Conquest — Efforts to sup- 
 press the Anglo-Saxon — the Conquest proved a Means of 
 spreading the Saxon Language — Norman-French the Lan- 
 guage of the Court — Saxon the People's Language to this 
 Day — Normans soon adopted the English Tongue — their 
 Original Language had been Teutonic — Words derived from 
 Latin introduced chiefly in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth 
 Centuries — Normans the Possessors of the Soil, and Saxons 
 Tillers of the Land — ^Words relating to Agriculture chiefly 
 Saxon — Animals in the Field called by Saxon Names ; but 
 Animal Food when killed, by Norman-French — Bacon, an 
 Exception — Origin of the Phrase, To save le's Bacon — 
 Days of the Week, and Seasons of the Year, retain their 
 Saxon Names ; but the Months derived from Latin — Origin 
 of Names of Days of the Week — Lent and Easter, wherefore 
 so called — Derivation of Almanac — the Saxons counted Time 
 by the Nights, and the Age of Man by the Winters — ^Words 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 relating to Handicraft-Trades, Saxon — Words applicable to 
 Warfare, French — Nautical Terms and Phrases, Saxon — 
 Words relating to Science and Government, of Greek Origin 
 — simple Nouns and Verbs, Saxon; but Adjectives and De- 
 rivatives, taken from Foreign Languages — Monosyllables 
 prevail in Anglo-Saxon — Dealers in Necessaries of Life 
 called "Monger," from Saxon — those in Luxuries, "Mer- 
 chant," from the French — Shires in England, but Counties in 
 Ireland — Derivation of various Words of Saxon Origin [for 
 Particulars of which, see Index to Words at the End of 
 the Volume] — Home Tooke's Etymology of Conjunctions, 
 Adverbs, and Prepositions — Interjections — "Pagans" and 
 " Heathen" are of similar Signification — Words pronounced 
 alike, but of different Meanings and Origin — the Names of 
 the Parts of the Human Body, of Plants and Trees, and of 
 Animals, of Saxon Derivation, and, for the most part. 
 Monosyllables, 1 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Derivation of various W6rds of Saxon Origin, continued [for 
 Particulars of which, see Index to Words at the End of the 
 Volume] — Origin of " Carouse" and " Wassail," and of 
 " Drinking Healths" — Vortigem and Rowena — Law Terms 
 — the Royal Assent — Divisions in Houses of Lords and Com- 
 mons — Disposition to borrow Words from French — Anecdote 
 by Verstegan connected with newly introduced Words — 
 Necessity of Words of Saxon Origin in English — less Saxon 
 in Ireland than in England — Changes in Pronunciation of 
 Words — " Irishisms" — Words made to rhyme, indicating the 
 Pronunciation at the Time when the Poets flourished — 
 Instances from Pope, Swift, Cowper, and Lady Mary 
 Wortley — Changes in Orthography of many such Words — 
 Pronunciation of Words, like the Fashions, arbitrary — Pre- 
 fixes and Afiixes of Saxon Origin — Titles of Honour and of 
 Office — Derivation of various Saxon Christian Names — 
 Surnames — Expressive Character of the English Language — 
 Preponderance of Words of Saxon Origin — exemplified by 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Pack. 
 Annotations from, or Reference to, Milton, Shakspeare, Swift, 
 Scott, Gray, Cowper, Byron, Pope, and Tennyson — Dr. 
 Johnson's Style less Saxon — Advantage of Words borrowed 
 from Latin and Greek — Synonyms — Importance of Simplicity 
 and Clearness of Style — Saxon generally preferable to 
 adopted Words — Prevalence of the English Language, 70 to 130 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Remarks on the Proportion of Words in the English Language 
 derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and the Character of such 
 Words, as compared with those of other Origin — Additional 
 Anglo-Saxon Words, with many now obsolete, and those still 
 in LTse, derived from them [for Particulars of which, see Index 
 to Words at the End of the Volume] — Remarks of Grimm 
 on the English Language — and of Harrison in Hollinshed's 
 Chronicle — Conclusion, . . . . . 131 to 209 
 
 INDICES. 
 
 Index to Words explained in the Lectures and Supplement — 
 Index to Proper Names — Table of Reference to Classes of 
 Words, and their Derivations, . . . . 210 to 223 
 
"I SHOULD think that person a very injudicious friend to Mechanics' 
 Institutes, who should pretend that, in your reading rooms and lecture 
 rooms, the means were afforded of turning out your members as 
 finished scholars, or ready-made philosophers, or of conferring those 
 distinctions which must always be the reward of the midnight oil of 
 the student, or the life-long researches of the experimentalist. But, if 
 it be the object to raise the toiling masses of our countrymen above 
 the range of sordid cares and low desires — to enliven the weary toil 
 and drudgery of life with the countless graces of literature, and the 
 sparkling play of fancy — to clothe the lessons of duty and of prudence 
 in the niost instructive as well as the most inviting forms — to throw 
 open to eyes, dull and bleared with the irksome monotony of their daily 
 task-work, the rich resources and bountiful prodigalities of nature — to 
 dignify the present with the lessons of the past and the visions of 
 the future — to make the artisans of our crowded workshops and the 
 inhabitants of our most sequestered villages alive to all that is going 
 on in the big universe around them, and, amidst all the startling and 
 repelling distinctions of our country, to place all upon the equal 
 domain of intellect and of genius; — if these objects — and they are 
 neither slight nor trivial- — are worthy of acceptance and approval, I 
 think they can be satisfactorily attained by the means which Mechanics' 
 Institutes place at your disposal ; and it is upon grounds like these 
 that I urge you to tender them your encouragement and support." — 
 Lectures cmd Addresses ; hy the Earl of Carlisle. 
 
ENGLISH EOOTS, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 " If we knew the original of all the words we meet with, we 
 should thereby be very much helped to know the ideas they were 
 first applied to, and made to stand for." — Locke. 
 
 The subject of our lecture this evening is, as 
 announced in the Syllabus — English Roots, and 
 THE Derivation of Words from the ancient 
 Anglo-Saxon Language. 
 
 At first, I had written it for our Secretary, to 
 whose valuable services the *'Waterford Me- 
 chanics' Institute" is so much indebted, as simply 
 a lecture On English Roots. But if I had stopped 
 there, without any further explanation of my 
 subject, it might, perhaps, have been thought 
 that I was about to deliver a lecture on the 
 vegetable productions of England ; and those of 
 my audience who are engaged in farming pur- 
 suits, or who take an interest in agricultural 
 
 B 
 
Z LECTURE I. 
 
 improvements, might have come here this evening 
 expecting a dissertation on the culture of turnips, 
 parsnips, and mangold-worzel ; while my fair 
 hearers might have been disappointed at not 
 being entertained with some interesting accounts 
 of bulbous roots, chrysanthemums, dahlias, and 
 other flower roots, with useful instruction in 
 horticulture. 
 
 To prevent the possibility of any such misap- 
 prehension, I added an explanation, to show that 
 the subject of my lecture is the root of words, 
 and that not of words generally in the English 
 tongue, which is a very mixed language, com- 
 prising words of Saxon and Celtic origin, w'ith 
 some Danish, as well as many derived from the 
 French, and from the languages of ancient Greece 
 and Rome ; but on the derivation of words from 
 the Anglo-Saxon, of w^hich the English language 
 is chiefly composed, as 1 hope to convince you in 
 the course of this lecture. 
 
 It may, perhaps, appear strange, that address- 
 ing an Irish audience, I should choose a disser- 
 tation on the Anglo-Saxon, rather than upon the 
 Celtic tongue, which is, undoubtedly, of equal 
 antiquity, while it is no less expressive, and, I 
 believe much more poetic. But, in the first 
 place, I must plead ignorance of that language, 
 of which the Irish is a branch ; and, in the next 
 place, if I could discourse upon it, few, if any, 
 of my audience would understand me. I have, 
 
LECTURE I. . 3 
 
 therefore, chosen the language which is the root 
 of that which we all speak, instead of that which 
 was spoken by the original inhabitants of this 
 country. And although it may, at first sight, 
 appear strange that an Irishman should be unac- 
 quainted with the Irish tongue, it is in reality 
 no more strange than that the present inhabitants 
 of England are ignorant of the original British, 
 still spoken in Wales. As the English speak, 
 not the British of the original inhabitants of 
 Britain, but the Anglo-Saxon, as now formed 
 into English; so the Irish generally speak, not 
 the Celtic tongue of the original inhabitants of 
 Ireland, but the same language with their English 
 fellow-subjects. Nor should this circumstance 
 offend a reasonable feeling of nationality amongst 
 us. As our English neighbours are justly proud 
 of the name of Britons, although they neither 
 speak the original language of Britain, nor have 
 a common descent from the aboriginal inhabi- 
 tants of the island ; so we may boast of the name 
 of Irish, of which, I hope, none of us will ever 
 be ashamed, notwithstanding that we do not 
 generally speak the original language of Ireland, 
 and although, to a great extent, we are the de- 
 scendants of English settlers, of the twelfth, six- 
 teenth, or seventeenth centuries, rather than of 
 the aboriginal inhabitants of the island; with, 
 however, more of the intermixture of races than 
 prevails in England, producing, we flatter our- 
 
 b2 
 
4 LECTURE I. 
 
 selves, a union of the good qualities of tlie Saxon 
 and tlie Celt. 
 
 Of the origin of all the diversities of language 
 amongst mankind, none of us are ignorant, as it 
 is revealed to us on the highest authority. At 
 first we know that " the whole earth was of one 
 language and of one speech ;" and it was natural 
 that the descendants of a common parent should 
 have spoken the same tongue, of which Adam 
 must have been taught the use by his Creator at 
 the first. But in order to the dispersion of man- 
 kind throughout the world — to prevent which 
 they were building '' a city and a tower, . . . 
 lest they should he scattered abroad upon the face 
 of the whole earth" — the Almighty " confounded 
 their language, that they might not understand 
 one another's speech." Upon which, they neces- 
 sarily separated into different companies, accord- 
 ing as they found they could understand each 
 other; and thus formed various settlements, 
 speaking the several tongues which constituted 
 the original languages of the earth, and from 
 which all others have been derived. 
 
 Of these primitive languages, spoken by the 
 descendants of Japhet, the eldest of the sons of 
 Noah, who settled in the northern parts of Europe, 
 was the Teutonic; so called from Teuton, by 
 whom the founders of the Anglo-Saxon race 
 were conducted from the plains of Shinar, 
 through Circassia and the Crimea, into Germany 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 and the northern parts of Europe. Of these 
 nations, who were by the Romans called Germans, 
 Tacitus, a Roman historian who flourished about 
 1800 years ago, writes that they " made mention 
 of one Teuton, whom they alleged to have sprung 
 from the earth." They also spoke of Manus, who 
 had three sons, as one of the founders of their race. 
 Under the name of Manus they kept up the tradi- 
 tion of Noah, who might be considered the second 
 founder of the human family after the deluge, from 
 the eldest of whose three sons they were descended. 
 To this name Manus, which these nations had 
 given to Noah, we may, perhaps, trace the Anglo- 
 Saxon name of ^'"man,'' applied to the human 
 family (like Israelites from Israel) ; a name alto- 
 gether unlike that by which he is designated in 
 Hebrew, Greek, or Latin; although from the 
 word by which man is named in Latin, we have 
 the adjectives " human" and " humane," as well 
 as the noun *' humanity," while from the Greek 
 name we have " misanthrope" and " philan- 
 thropy." "Man" is, however, usually, and pro- 
 bably with better foundation, traced to magan, to 
 be able (from whence comes " may"), as describ- 
 ing him to whom " dominion " was given over 
 the inferior animals ; and some consider the word 
 as meaning, gifted with mind. 
 
 To the tradition which these nations had of 
 the confusion of languages at the tower of Babel, 
 may be traced the word " babbler," which is a 
 
6 LECTURE I- 
 
 Saxon word, of which the meaning is well known. 
 When a man spoke confusedly, and without 
 sense, he was called a bahhler, and was said, in 
 the primitive language, to babble* that is, to 
 speak like those at Babel, which word must have 
 been introduced while the occurrence was fresh 
 in their memory, inasmuch as they could not 
 have had it from the volume of inspiration, of 
 which, as pagans, the Anglo-Saxons were for 
 many ages altogether ignorant. A similar word 
 is found in the French language, the original of 
 which, although now so much derived from 
 Latin through the old Provence, was also Teu- 
 tonic or Celtic, of which many words still remain 
 in that language, and amongst these the words 
 babil and babillard, used in the same sense that 
 the Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon have it. The 
 name Babel, in Hebrew, signified " confusion." 
 
 It is well known that the ancestors of the 
 present English people, as a body, came from 
 Germany, about the middle of the fifth century, 
 having been first invited over by the Britons, to 
 defend them against the Picts, after the departure 
 of the Romans from Britain. The Saxons having 
 thus obtained a footing in the island, soon became 
 the possessors of the entire country, extirpating 
 the former inhabitants; destroying multitudes, 
 
 * Thus the apostle Paul was contemptuously described r — "What 
 will this babbler say ?" — Acts, xviii. 18. 
 ^^ A'babbled of green fields," — Shakspeare. 
 
LECTURE I. 7 
 
 and driving others into the mountainous country 
 of Wales, where their descendants are still to be 
 found ; while a considerable number left the island 
 altogether, and, emigrating to the Continent, 
 settled in that part of France which was anciently 
 called Armorica, of which the father of the 
 renowned Prince Arthur was king in the sixth 
 century, and which has since been, from these 
 settlers, called Brittany, the inhabitants of which 
 evince many characteristics of the Celtic race, of 
 which the ancient British were a branch ; and to 
 this day a man speaking Welsh or Irish can make 
 himself understood in Brittany. 
 
 The name " Saxons," which — or that of Sasa- 
 naghs — is still applied to the English by the 
 Scotch and Irish who yet retain their native lan- 
 guage, is derived from their short swords called 
 seaxes, which this people used on their first arrival 
 in Britain, and for many ages previously.* Nor 
 is it unusual to designate nations and classes by 
 the arms which they wear. Thus the ancient 
 
 * This gave rise to the following couplet, as quoted by Rapin : — 
 " Quippe brevis gladius apud illos Saxa vocatur, 
 Unde sibi Saxo nomen traxisse puiatur" 
 That is— 
 
 " The Saxon people did, as most believe, 
 Their name from Saxa, a short sword, receive." 
 The signal given for the massacre of the British lords by the treachery 
 of Hengist, was, Nem eowr seaxes, " Take your Seaxes ;" and the 
 arms of Saxony are, to this day, three short swords across. See 
 Rapin's History of England, and Verstegan's Restitution of Decayed 
 Intelligence. 
 
8 LECTURE I. 
 
 Quirites were so called from quiris, a short spear, 
 and the Scythians from scittan to shoot with a 
 bow ; while we have also Tnusheteers, lancers, and 
 carbineers. The Saxons who invaded Britain 
 were called Anglo-Saxons, because they came 
 from Angloland, sometimes called Englaland and 
 England, which these Saxons inhabited long be- 
 fore they came to Britain, as Venerable Bede, the 
 ancient Saxon chronicler, testifies, Those who 
 were left on the Continent were called ^aM Seaxes, 
 or the old Saxons. 
 
 The origin of the name of England was the 
 Angle-land, whereby they described the narrow- 
 ness of the nook of land which they inhabited on 
 the shores of the Baltic Sea. The word ang or 
 eng signified a narrow strip, from which we 
 probably have the word " angle,'' the long and 
 narrow instrument consisting of a rod, a line, 
 and a hook, with which an angler catches fish. 
 The word " angle,"" as describing the narrow 
 point where two lines meet, although derived 
 from Latin, may also have had its first origin 
 from the Teutonic word ang, signifying narrow. 
 
 The Saxon King Egbert caused Britain to be 
 called England, as well because it grows to a 
 narrowness both towards the north and the south- 
 west, as also out of affection to the original country 
 of his ancestors ; like as the first English emigrants 
 to America gave such names as New England 
 and New York to countries and cities on that 
 
LECTURE I. y 
 
 Continent, and more frequently without the qua- 
 lification " New," as in London, Boston, Halifax, 
 Richmond, and other instances. King Egbert 
 may also have given this name of " Englishmen^^ 
 to his subjects, now first united, after the Heptar- 
 chy, under one king, in allusion to the circum- 
 stance of Pope Gregory having referred the 
 name of Angles, formerly given to a portion of 
 the people, to the Latin word for an angel, to 
 which it sounded similar. In reference to this, 
 the first king of all England may have intended 
 to describe his subjects as angel-like men. 
 
 Referring to the origin of names of countries, 
 this may be the fit place to notice other names 
 of people, in the English language, derived from 
 the Saxon. The Goths were the inhabitants of 
 Gothland, originally Gotland, or Goodland, so 
 called by the Northern Saxons, as being the most 
 fertile lying to the south; the Normans, called 
 by the Saxons NoTthern-rrien, were so named 
 from their inhabiting the north. The Vandals 
 were so called from the word Wandel, to wander, 
 being an unsettled wandering tribe. The Lom- 
 bards were called Long-beards, by the Saxons, 
 from their long beards. Wales and Welsh were 
 so called from Gaul and Gaulish, changing the 
 G into W ; the ancient Britons having originally 
 come from Gaul, as France was called before the 
 Franks invaded that seat of the Celtic race. 
 Cornwall was originally called Kernaw, signi- 
 
10 LECTURE I. 
 
 fying " horny," a name probably given to that part 
 of Britain by the Romans, from cornu, a horn, 
 from the many promontories like horns running 
 into the sea. The Britons having kept that 
 remote part for nearly two centuries after the 
 Saxon invasion, it came to be called Corngaulish, 
 and Cornwales, the horny country inhabited by 
 the Gauls, or Welsh. 
 
 About 350 years after the coming of the Saxons 
 into Britain, the Danes invaded England, and 
 remained masters of the Island for about two 
 centuries; and thus introduced some Danish 
 words into the language, which, however, are 
 unimportant, the two languages being very simi- 
 lar, both having had a common origin. 
 
 But the most remarkable event in the history 
 of England, and that which eventually produced 
 the greatest effect upon the language, was the 
 Norman Conquest under William Duke of Nor- 
 mandy, 500 years after the first settlement of the 
 Saxons in Britain. Great efforts were made by 
 the Normans to introduce their language into 
 England, and to suppress the English tongue ; 
 and for many ages the attempt was continued to 
 enforce Norman^French, and to prohibit the use 
 of Anglo-Saxon amongst the people. Thus, 
 laws were enacted enjoining that no other lan- 
 guage should be taught in schools than French^ 
 and ordaining that the laws should be practised 
 in French, and that all petitions and business of 
 
LECTURE I. 11 
 
 Court should be also in that language ; while the 
 rule was rigidly enforced for many years, that 
 no man should obtain any favour who did not 
 speak French. All these efforts, however, not 
 only proved unavailing, but these enactments 
 tended rather to cause the people to cling more 
 earnestly to that which was proscribed. Although, 
 therefore, many new words were introduced into 
 the language by the conquerors, derived from 
 their own tongue, yet did the Anglo-Saxon con- 
 tinue, as it does to this day, to be the chief element 
 m the language of the country : the greater num- 
 ber of the words, and especially the most impor- 
 tant parts of speech — the Noun and the Verb, 
 being derived from the Saxon. Moreover, the 
 Norman Conquest, by driving the Saxon royal 
 family, and the majority of the English dispos- 
 sessed land-owners into Scotland, was the means of 
 still farther spreading their language northwards, 
 (where, however, it had long been spoken in parts 
 of the Lowlands,) until at length it prevailed 
 throughout that country, with the exception of 
 the more remote parts of the Highlands, where 
 the original language, the Gaelic, being nearly 
 the same with the Irish, continued to be spoken, 
 as it is, to a great extent, to the present day. 
 
 On the other hand, although the Norman- 
 French was the language of the Court, and be- 
 came the forensic language in England, and was 
 spoken by the Norman aristocracy and barons, it 
 
12 LECTURE I. 
 
 never became the people's language, and has only 
 left in the English tongue a mixture of words 
 derived from Latin through the French, which 
 are to this day little understood or used among 
 the peasantry in England ; while in many counties 
 the language of the people remains so purely 
 Saxon, that any one speaking the English of the 
 present day could scarcely understand their dis- 
 course, or make himself intelligible to them. 
 
 It will not be so surprising, as at first sight it 
 may appear, that the Norman French made so 
 little progress in England, when it is considered 
 that so far were the Normans from extirpating 
 the Saxons (as these latter had exterminated the 
 ancient Britons, or expelled them from the soil) 
 that the conquerors never were more than a 
 handful of the inhabitants of the country; while 
 the Saxons or English, after a little time, rose in 
 credit and obtained posts of honour and emolu- 
 ment. Moreover, the descendants of those Nor- 
 mans who settled in England soon came to be 
 accounted and called Englishmen, and to speak 
 the English tongue; which indeed was but a 
 return, to a great extent, to their original lan- 
 guage ; for the Normans, when they first settled 
 in that part of France which was called after 
 them Normandy, spoke their ancient language, 
 which in effect was the same with the Anglo- 
 Saxon, both being of the Teutonic origin; al- 
 though, in the lapse of about 150 years, they 
 
LECTURE I. 13 
 
 had given it up for the French language. In 
 like manner, the Norman nobility in England, 
 after some time, adopted the English tongue, 
 and in doing so, introduced some Norman- 
 French into the language. But it was not until 
 three centuries after the Conquest, that the Eng- 
 lish language was enriched by the introduction 
 of the Proven9al by Chaucer ; and the greater 
 number of the words which we now use, derived 
 from the Latin, were not introduced by the 
 Normans -through the French language, but 
 were taken directly from Latin by the educated 
 classes in England, on the revival of learning in 
 the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 Although, in process of time, the descendants 
 of the first invaders having lost Normandy, and 
 the kings of the Norman line being English 
 born, and having intermixed with the Saxon 
 blood royal, the English rose to offices of dis- 
 tinction in Church and State; yet, for a con- 
 siderable period, they were despised and kept 
 under by their Norman conquerors, who became 
 the aristocracy of the country and possessors of 
 the soil, employing the Saxons to till the ground, 
 to perform manual labour, and to tend the flocks 
 of their masters. 
 
 Hence it will be found that almost all words 
 relating to agriculture and to handicraft trades, 
 as well as the names of cattle in the field, and the 
 implements of husbandry, are Saxon ; while words 
 
14 LECTURE I. 
 
 relating to skilled warfare, as well as the names 
 of animals when cooked and served at table, are 
 of Norman-French origin. A few examples will 
 suffice to illustrate this. The word ''agriculture" 
 is indeed of Latin derivation; but we have from 
 the Saxon, " husbandry," signifying the same 
 thing, for which the ancient Anglo-Saxon word 
 was earth-tylih (earth -tillage) ; w^hile tillage^ 
 "ploughing^ sowing^ reaping, threshing^ winnow- 
 ing, mowing, and harvest, are all Saxon words ; 
 as are also the plough, the spade, the rake, the 
 scythe, the reaping-hook; with grass, hay, straw, 
 meadow, field, barn, corn, wheat, oats, barley, and 
 many others. 
 
 The animals in the field are called by their 
 Saxon names; but those that are used for food 
 are, when killed and cooked for table, called by 
 their Norman-French names. Thus, the cow be- 
 comes " beef," the sheep '^ mutton," the calf "veal" 
 the deer " venison,"' the pig '^ pork," and the fowl 
 " poultry." This arose from the circumstance of 
 the Saxons rearing the live stock, while the Nor- 
 mans cooked and ate the animal food.* The only 
 
 * Of this we have an amusing illustration by Sir Walter Scott: — 
 ** Swine is good Saxon (said the jester to the Swineherd), .... 
 and pork, I think, is good Norman-French; and so when the brute 
 lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon 
 name : but becomes a Norman, and is called pork when she is carried 
 
 to the castle hall to feast among the nobles Nay, 
 
 I can tell thee more ; there is old Alderman Ox continues to 
 hold his Saxon epithet, while he is under the charge of serfs and 
 
LECTURE I. 15 
 
 exception to this is '' bacon,"* which is a word of 
 Saxon origin, being so called from the beech tree, 
 huche or hoc, on the fruit of which (called the 
 *' mast," from moestan, to fatten) pigs were fed, 
 to harden the flesh, as they still are, when intended 
 for bacon, as also with acorns, or on oats where 
 the oak or beech do not abound. From the beech 
 tree we also have the proper names of " Buck- 
 ingham" and "Bacon ;" and an extensive forest in 
 Hungary is called "Bakony," or "Buconia," as 
 abounding in Beech. ' ^ Bacon" having been the fare 
 of the common people, it retained its Saxon name, 
 derived from hucen or hecen, that is, " beechen," 
 of or belonging to the beech .-|- Hence came the 
 
 bondsmen such as thou, but becomes beef, a fiery French gallant, when 
 he arrives before the worshipful jaws that are destined to consume 
 him. Mynheer Calf, too, becomes Monsieur de Veau in the like man- 
 ner; he is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman 
 name when' he becomes matter of enjoyment." — Ivanhoe. 
 
 * A reviewer of these Lectures, in an Irish periodical, in order to 
 show that there is another exception to the rule that the names of 
 animals when dressed for food by the Normans assumed a French 
 name, adduces "lamb," which he proceeds to show *''' was not eaten 
 by the Normans'*'' at all ! When bacon is stated as above to be the 
 only exception, it, of course, has reference to those animals which 
 were ordinarily used as food in the middle ages. If we referred to 
 those which were not so used in those early times, we might have ad- 
 duced many others beside lamb (as turtle and turkey') to which the 
 observation, as to the different names given to the living animal 
 and the cooked food, does not apply. Such exceptions prove the 
 rule. 
 
 t The derivation of "bacon" given above was suggested by 
 Verstegan's work on the ancient Anglo-Saxon language. The word 
 
16 LECTURE I. 
 
 phrase, to save one's bacon, meaning, to save 
 one's self from being hurt — borrowed from the 
 care that the oppressed Saxons took to preserve 
 this their most valuable and usually only animal 
 food, from the marauding Norman soldiers, by 
 whom they were continually plundered with im- 
 punity. 
 
 It is a curious fact that all the Saxon names of 
 the days of the week are continued to be used in 
 the EngHsh language, while, on the other hand 
 none of the months have retained their Saxon 
 derivation, but are all of them called by names 
 taken from Latin. I have never met any notice 
 or explanation of this fact ; but I think it may be 
 accounted for, on similar principles to those which 
 caused the difference between the names of the 
 
 is usually supposed to mean haJced meat ; but hog's flesh is not cnred 
 by baking, and any other meat may be baked, as bread is, and never 
 was on that account called "bacon," or anything like it. Moreover the 
 •word bacon is to be found in French, applied to the living animal, 
 in a description of a boar hunt. For this fact we are indebted to the 
 critic referred to in the preceding note, who, curiously enough, quotes 
 it to prove that the word means baked, thereby implying that the 
 animal was first baked, and afterwards hunted and killed ! We can 
 understand a beech-mast-fed animal being hunted, but not a baked 
 boar. The word being found in French does not disprove its being 
 Anglo-Saxon, unless it can be shown that there are no words of 
 Teutonic origin in the French language, of which every one knows 
 there are many, as, guerre, garde, &c., not derived from Latin, but 
 similar to the English " war" and " waad," «&c., derived from the 
 Anglo-Saxon, g being substituted for w, there being no such letter 
 as the latter in the French language. 
 
LECTURE I. 17 
 
 living cattle and the animal food. The Saxons A 
 were the day labourers, and as such they had 
 more occasion to speak of days than of months; ( 
 while as tillers of the land they were more con- / 
 cerned as to the different seasons than as to the 
 particular months of the year. We usually hear 
 the peasantry amongst ourselves speak of what 
 they will do, in respect to farming operations, in 
 the spring, summer, harvest and winter, rather 
 than in such and such months. Thus it would 
 occur that the Norman employer and the Saxon 
 labourer, whose interchange of words was con- 
 fined to the giving and receiving of orders, would 
 more frequently have occasion to speak to each \ 
 other of the days of the week, and of the different 
 seasons of the year, than of the several months ; 
 and so came to continue the Saxon names of the 
 week days and of the seasons, while the Normans, 
 amongst themselves, kept up their own names 
 for the months. And even with respect to the ((j^XJ^o 
 days of the week, they are, to this day, described 
 in Parliamentary documents by their Latin and 
 not by their Saxon names. Spring, Summer, 
 and Winter, are of Saxon origin ; the Saxon word 
 corresponding to Autumn, which is of French 
 derivation, is " harvest," being the time of gather- 
 ing in the harvest, or ripened corn, as the word 
 signifies ; and we usually hear the peasantry speak 
 of the harvest, and not of the autumn. 
 
 The days of the week, as I have just observed, 
 
 c 
 
18 LECTURE I. 
 
 retain their Saxon names, given to them by the 
 Anglo-Saxons before their conversion to Chris- 
 tianity. The first day of the week was called 
 Sunday, having been dedicated to the Sun^ as 
 Monday was so called in honour of the Moon. 
 Next to these heavenly bodies they honoured 
 Tuesco, one of the founders of their race, to whom 
 they dedicated the third day, calling it Tuescos 
 day, or Tuesday. Woden was their god of war, 
 the meaning of the word being " furious ;" and 
 an author of the seventeenth century refers to the 
 word wood or wode^ as being then used to denote 
 a man in a rage ; so it is also constantly found in 
 Chaucer to describe one that is angry or mad ; 
 as also woodness for madness, and wodely for 
 madly. After this idol the fourth day of the 
 week was called Woden's day, now Wednesday, 
 which accounts for the orthography of the word. 
 Next in order amongst their false gods was Thor, 
 who was worshipped by all the Teutonic race. 
 As Woden corresponded to the Mars of the 
 Romans, so did Thor to Jupiter, his dominion 
 having been supposed to extend both in heaven 
 and earth, governing the air, the winds, and 
 clouds; to whose displeasure they attributed 
 thunder and lightning, tempests and hail ; while 
 to his being propitiated by sacrifices (frequently 
 human), they believed themselves to have been 
 indebted for fair and seasonable weather, causing 
 abundance of corn, and keeping away the plague, 
 
LECTURE I. 19 
 
 and all other infectious and epidemic diseases. 
 From this idol the fifth day of the week was 
 named Thor's day, or Thursday ; and so it is like- 
 wise called by the Danes and Swedes, while the 
 Dutch and Germans call it Dundersdagh; and in 
 some old Saxon Manuscripts it is written Thun- 
 res-deag, so that it would seem that Thor or Thur 
 was an abbreviation of thunre, since written thun- 
 der. The next in rank was the goddess Friga, 
 who was reputed to be the giver of peace and 
 plenty ; and from her we have Friday, meaning 
 Friga^s day. The last of the seven chief idols 
 of the Saxons was Seater, from whom, and not 
 from the Roman Saturn, the last day of the week 
 was called by the Saxons Sealer's day, or Satur- 
 day. 
 
 From the Saxon names for the twelve months 
 of the year, we retain only two words in the 
 present English language, viz. Lent and Easter. 
 The month corresponding to our March was 
 called by the Saxons Lent-monat, or length 
 month, because of the lengthening of the days 
 at that season of the year; and as this month 
 was so designated at the time when the Saxons 
 embraced Christianity, they called the fast which 
 occured at this period the fast of *' Lent," or of 
 Lent month ; which month is now called March, 
 a name borrowed from the Normans, and so 
 called after Mars, the god of war amongst the 
 Romans. Similar to this is the derivation of the 
 
 c2 
 
20 LECTURE I. 
 
 word " Easter/' The Saxon name of the month 
 which we now call April, from the Latin, was 
 Oster-TYionat, the Teutonic for east being ost, sig- 
 nifying '* angry," because during this month the 
 easterly (or boisterous) winds prevailed in the 
 northern countries of Europe, which were inha- 
 bited by the Teutonic race. Hence the name of 
 Ostend, which means 'the East-end, being to the 
 east of the ships passing through the narrow chan- 
 nel from the west. The feast of Easter, called 
 by the French Pasque in allusion to the Jewish 
 Passover, usually falling in this month, was so 
 called from the Saxon name of the month, Oster; 
 and it is still in Saxony Ostem, as by us it is 
 named Easter. As we have no English words 
 derived from the Saxon names of the other 
 months of the year, it is unnecessary here to 
 enumerate them.* The word ^' month" is itself 
 derived from the moon. 
 
 Referring to days and months, this is the pro- 
 per place to notice other Saxon words relating to 
 time. The ancient Saxons kept a note of the 
 course of the year on square sticks, on which they 
 carved the course of the moons of the whole 
 year, by which they knew when the new moons, 
 full moons, and changes would occur, as also 
 their festival days ; and such a carved stick they 
 called an almonaght, that is, all-moon-heed, by 
 
 * See Verstegan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, &c. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 h 
 
 wliich they took heed or notice of all the 
 moons of the year. Hence, although by some it 
 is supposed to be from an Arabic word, our Eng- 
 lish name ** almanac," for that which, from the 
 Latin, is also called a " calendar." The Saxons 
 counted time by the night, as we still speak of a 
 se'nnight or seven nights, and a fort-night or 
 fourteen nights, written in Chaucer fortenygt. 
 They had anciently twa-night for two night, as 
 we now speak of every second day. The ages of 
 their own lives they reckoned by winters, and so 
 we still speak of an old man as having lived or 
 seen so many " winters." 
 
 I observed that things connected with manu- 
 facture were generally called by Saxon names. 
 The word " manufacture," itself, is derived from 
 the Latin, signifying made with the hand, but 
 we have the Saxon name corresponding to this, 
 when we speak of " handicraft" trades. Words 
 referring to these are almost all Saxon, as builder, 
 stone-cutter, brick-layer, smith, shoemaker, ship- 
 wright, cart-wright ; as also the words tiinber, 
 stone, brick, slate, leather, gold, silver, lead, iron, 
 glass, wood, cloth, &c. The Anglo-Saxon name 
 for a " mason" was a stone-wright, which has 
 given place to the present name derived from the 
 French maison, a house, from which also comes 
 " mansion." The term *' smith" was applied to 
 all trades which called for the use of the hammer. 
 It means smiteth, or beats. Thus we have the 
 
22 LECTURE I. 
 
 *' gold-smith," the " silver-smith," the *' white- 
 smith," the "lock-smith," and the "black-smith;" 
 to which latter, as the most sturdy of all the 
 smiters, the name of " smith" is now almost wholly 
 confined, so much so, that unless- we prefix a 
 word to distinguish the others, we understand by 
 a " smith" a black-smith, as he who ^ar excellence 
 smiteth on the anvil. The Saxons called the 
 *' black-smith" the iron-smith ; and the " carpen- 
 ter" was designated a wood-smith, as also a tree- 
 Wright, the present name of this smiter, both with 
 the hammer and the hatchet, being of French 
 origin.* It is observable that the " tailor" is also 
 called by a name deriv^ed from the French, who 
 have always excelled in fashionable dress-making 
 for both sexes. The Saxon name for a maker of 
 men's clothes was synder, meaning a cutter, from 
 asyndrian, to separate, the word " tailor" signify- 
 ing the same in French. 
 
 I have already observed that, for the most part, 
 terms applicable to warfare are not of Saxon 
 origin, but derived from Latin, through the Nor- 
 mans, who were a warlike people, and coming to 
 England as conquerors, introduced military terms 
 and phrases, which, as they continued to have the 
 command of the army, naturally became incorpo- 
 rated into the language. The words officer^ gene- 
 ral, colonel, major, captain, adjutant, cornet, 
 
 * In Isa. xli. 7, the word translated, in the authorized version, 
 " carpenter," is, in the translation of 1551, smythe. 
 
LECTURE I. 23 
 
 lieutenant, and ensign, are all derived from the 
 French or Latin ; as are also the soldier, the Ser- 
 jeant, and the corporal. 
 
 The weapons of war, however, which were in 
 use before the Norman conquest, are all called by 
 words of Saxon origin, as sword, shield, spear, 
 how, and holt or arrow. But every term relating 
 to military science, and to the army generally, is 
 of Latin or French derivation ; these having been 
 originally under the controul and management of 
 the Normans, and the French having been always 
 a great military nation, through whom these terms 
 have been, from time to time, introduced. Thus 
 we have sieges, manoeuvres, trenches, tactics, 
 marches, invasions, assaults, escalades, encamp'^ 
 ments, columns, hatteries, fortifications, hatta- 
 lions, homhardments, and so forth; as also the 
 words military, naval, artillery, militia, cavalry^ 
 commissariat, grenadiers, and infantry; the 
 last originally applied to troops commanded by a 
 Spanish prince, entitled the " Lifant" of Spain, 
 being the heir apparent to the throne of that 
 kingdom. The yeomen, however, signifying the 
 commoners, or, perhaps, the yewmen, or bow-men, 
 as were the '^ yoemen of the guard," retained their 
 Saxon appellation. 
 
 It is remarkable, that words of Saxon deriva- 
 tion prevail most amongst seamen, the navy being 
 a thoroughly English institution, and established 
 by Alfred before the Norman conquest. The 
 
24 LECTURE I. 
 
 term "sea-faring man" is Saxon; and although 
 the word "navy" is of foreign derivation, the 
 " fleet" is of Saxon origin, as is also the appropri- 
 ate designation of the maritime power and defence 
 of the United Kingdom, " The wooden walls of 
 old England.^'' The ancient Anglo-Saxon term 
 for navigation was scip-crceft, that is, ship-craft. 
 
 I shall not attempt to give a full catalogue of 
 nautical terms and phrases, hut will only enume- 
 rate some of those most familiar to " land's-men," 
 as sailors call us, using a Saxon appellation. The 
 following are Saxon words, viz.: — ship, boat, 
 punt, boom, boltsprit, or bowsprit, helm, stern, 
 bows, mast, spars, sails, hold, lading, hatch-way, 
 ropes, tar, hawser, wheel, porthole, keel, needle, 
 lead, tack, ladder, hull, shrouds, docks, deck, and 
 rudder, as also yard, used in its original sense, 
 as meaning any pole or rod, although now 
 restricted to a measure of three feet.* We have 
 also from the Saxon, the skipper, the midship- 
 man, the sailor, the mate, the boatswain, the cock- 
 swain, the steward, the steersman, and the crew. 
 Of sea terms and phrases, we have, of Saxon 
 derivation, luff, thwart, starboard, larboard, lee- 
 ward^ abaft, and aft (of which, in ordinary use, 
 we have the comparative after). Sailors speak 
 
 * The word yard., as applied to an enclosed piece of ground, is also 
 Saxon, but was originally spelt differently, namely yeard, while the 
 rod or pole was yerde. It may have been so called as having been 
 measured off by a yard or rod, for enclosure. 
 
LECTURE I. 25 
 
 of a taut rope, such being the word used by 
 Chaucer for tight; they speak of the neap and 
 full tides, and of their ebbing and flowing ; they 
 rigg the masts ; they swab (wash) the deck ; they 
 reef the sails, they tug vessels taken in tow; they 
 call the progress of the ship its way, and this 
 they reckon by knots; they stow away their 
 goods, they row with oars, they trim the sAij?, 
 they man the yards, they speak of so many 
 hands on board, and they give " <x ZoTi^ j9i6Z?, a 
 strong pull, and a pull altogether'' — all Saxon 
 words. The well-known, spirit-stirring signal of 
 that great commander and genuine Englishman, 
 the immortal Nelson, when entering on his last 
 engagement, to be crowned with his greatest vic- 
 tory, consisted of ten words, of which one only 
 (expects) is of foreign origin; and for this a 
 Saxon word might be substituted, with equal 
 correctness, though not, perhaps, with the same 
 euphony, by which the order of the day at 
 Trafalgar would have been — " England looks to 
 every man this day to do his duty/' The con- 
 fident expectation of the gallant admiral would 
 not have been sufficiently expressed by the Saxon 
 word hope, which has completely changed its 
 original signification, as it is now generally applied 
 to convey the idea of doubt rather than that of 
 confident expectation, which the word originally 
 signified. This hope or expectation was fully 
 realized on that day of victory under Nelson ; and 
 
26 LECTURE I. 
 
 we doubt not will never be disappointed whenever 
 the brave defenders who man our " wooden walls" 
 are called to do their duty to their queen and 
 country. 
 
 In the English language, which, as I have 
 already observed, is of a composite character, we 
 have several words derived from the Greek ; and 
 it is remarkable, that of such are the terms by 
 which we describe the various sciences. It had 
 long been a characteristic of the Greeks that they 
 " sought after wisdom ;" and from their language 
 — the most perfect, probably, that has ever been 
 spoken by mankind — we have adopted most of 
 the words applicable to science, as for example, 
 philosophy^ logic, rhetoric, astronomy, geography, 
 ^mathematics, and geometry, with all the ologies, 
 as theology, geology, zoology, entomology, orni- 
 thology, physiology, archceology, astrology, etymo- 
 logy, philology, pathology, analogy, phraseology, 
 and many others, as well as all the systems of 
 government — monarchy, oligarchy, aristocracy, 
 and anarchy, or no government at all. These, 
 however, do not belong to our present subject; 
 and I only refer to them by the way. But here 
 I would call your attention to a remarkable cir- 
 cumstance, with reference to the words of foreign 
 derivation, as compared with those of Saxon origin. 
 
 It will be found that, for the most part, the 
 
 * This phrase will soon become obsolete, by the introduction of Iron 
 steamers, and of iron-clad ships of war. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 27 
 
 nouns substantive and the verbs in the English 
 language (with some simple adjectives, such as 
 greats STnall, young, old, good, bad, &c.) are 
 Saxon, while the derivatives and compound 
 words, and generally the adjectives and adverbs, 
 are of foreign origin, introduced either through 
 the Norman-French, or directly from the Latin 
 or Greek. Thus, for example, we have *' man" 
 for the noun, *' human" and " humane" for the 
 adjective, and " humanity" for the derivative. 
 
 We have also, comparing words of Saxon and 
 foreign origin: — 
 
 Woman — feminine. 
 House — domestic. 
 Heart — cordial. 
 Earth — terrestrial. 
 Heaven — celestial. 
 God — divine. 
 Sea — maritime. 
 King and Queen — 
 royal and regal. 
 Youth — juvenile. 
 Horse — equestrian. 
 Ship — naval. 
 Sailor — mariner. 
 Father — paternal. 
 Mother — maternal. 
 Brother — fraternity. 
 Boy — puerile. 
 
 Dog — canine. 
 Life — vitality. 
 Death — mortality. 
 Sleep — dormitory. 
 Book — library. 
 Happy — felicity. 
 Strong — fortified. 
 Weak — debility. 
 Anger — irascible. 
 Speech — sermon. 
 Read — lecture. 
 Speak — oratorical . 
 Fire — incendiary. 
 Light — illumination . 
 Dark — obscurity. 
 Old — senility. 
 Heavy — ponderous. 
 
28 LECTURE I. 
 
 Foot — pedestrian. Love — amiable. 
 
 Sun — solar. Hate — odious. 
 
 Moon — lunar. Health — salubrious. 
 
 Hand — manufacture. Holy — sanctified. 
 
 Good — bountiful. Star — astronomy. 
 
 B ad — malig n ity. Year — annual. 
 
 It would be easy to add many other examples, 
 which will at once occur to the mind, when the 
 idea has been suggested. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon, as a primitive language, 
 was remarkable for abounding in monosyllables. 
 Thus, it will be found, that of the forty-six words 
 of Saxon origin, which I have now enumerated, 
 as they occurred to me, thirty-six are monosylla- 
 bles, while in thirty-two out of these thirty-six, 
 the corresponding words in Latin, and nearly as 
 great a number in Greek and French, consist of 
 two or more syllables. 
 
 It is interesting to trace the original meaning 
 of Saxon words now in use, and not at first 
 apparent. The best of all beings was appropri- 
 ately called by the Saxons, God, or the Good 
 Being; while the author of all evil was desig- 
 nated the Devil, or the Evil one. The " heavens" 
 are so called as being apparently heaved up above 
 us. " Fare" meant a passage ; hence the word 
 ** farewell," as wishing a goodi jpassage or journey; 
 as also " thorough-fare," or the "passage through. 
 The money which we pay for our conveyance 
 
LECTURE I. 29 
 
 is called the " fare," that is, what we pay for our 
 fare; while as applied to food, it meant that 
 which was taken on the journey* " Gossip" is a 
 contraction for god-sih, signifying the spiritual 
 relationship held to exist between the sponsors 
 of the same child ;* sib meaning relationship or of 
 kin together, to which is prefixed the name of 
 God, to designate the spiritual relationship, as 
 we have the names, '^ godfather," *' godmother," 
 and " godchild." As the gossips, especially the 
 two godmothers of a girl, were accustomed to 
 meet at the house of their godchild, and have a 
 little chat together, all trivial talking came to be 
 called '' gossiping." In like manner the word 
 " titter," which we now apply to suppressed 
 laughter, signified courtship; and as, while 
 " talking age" enjoyed its gossip, the " whisper- 
 ing lovers" indulged in their merriment, all sup- 
 pressed laughter came to be called *' tittering," 
 that is, laughing like lovers, as all trivial talking 
 was called " gossiping," that is, talking like 
 gossips. We have still an old word not often 
 used, except in poetry, " quoth" for said, 
 meaning to make known, from whence comes 
 "uncouth," strange or unknown. We find the 
 word " bolt" used in various senses, as the '^ bolt" 
 of a door; a "thunder-bolt;" '^bolt-upright;" 
 
 * Thus Shakspeare makes the king address the god-mothers of the 
 princess Elizabeth, as his joint sponsors of the royal infant — " My 
 noble gossips." — King Henry VIIL, Act F., Scene IV. 
 
30 LECTURE I. 
 
 the bran is *' bolted" in a mill ; we speak of a 
 horse '* bolting;" and of a greedy fellow " bolting" 
 his food. Now all these, however apparently 
 different, are to be traced to the same origin. 
 ** Bolt," formerly spelt houlU is the Saxon word 
 for an arrow, as we may read of a man taking a 
 bolt from his quiver.* The word was applied to 
 forked-lightning, called a " thunder-bolt," as ap- 
 pearing to dart like an arrow ; and to the fasten- 
 ing of a door by a straight piece of wood or iron 
 shot out, as we still say. " Bolt-upright" meant 
 as straight as an arrow. The bran is driven, 
 thrust, or shot out from the flour in the mill ; a 
 horse is said to '' bolt," when he starts off to one 
 side, suddenly like an arrow ; and a hungry boor 
 " bolts" his food, swallowing it straight down, 
 without chewing, so that it is shot down into his 
 stomach. 
 
 The termination or affix, monger, which we still 
 find applied to some words to describe a dealer in 
 any commodity, was a Saxon word, having the 
 same signification as ^' merchant" derived from 
 the French. We still have cheesemonger, iron- 
 monger, fishmonger, and coster or costardmon- 
 ger, a dealer in vegetables ; these being amongst 
 the commodities in which the Saxons dealt ; 
 while we have wine-merchant, coal-merchant, 
 
 * Chaucer quotes " to shoot a. feotherless houli,"' as a proverb mean- 
 ing, in his daj, to labour in vaiu. 
 
LECTURE I. 31 
 
 and silk-mercer (a word of similar significa- 
 tion to merchant), for the dealers in those 
 luxuries which the Normans enjoyed; and which 
 words are of a hybrid character, compounded of 
 Saxon for the commodity, and French for the 
 seller of it. A penny-monger was Anglo-Saxon 
 for a money-changer, the silver penny having 
 been the standard coin in England for more than 
 a thousand years, adopted from the Roman 
 denarius. 
 
 *' Shire" signified a share or division. For the 
 most part this is the term by which the counties 
 of Great Britain are described, the Saxon word 
 being retained there ; while in Ireland we have 
 not the word in ordinary use, the connexion of 
 this country with England having been subse- 
 quent to the Norman conquest, when, in dividing 
 the island into what would be called in England 
 " shires," the word '* county," being of French 
 origin, was introduced, and applied to Ireland; 
 retaining, however, the old Irish names, and not 
 adding the word county, except in cases of th^ 
 King's County and the Queen's County, called, 
 with their chief towns Philipstown and Mary- 
 borough, after King Philip and Queen Mary, 
 in the sixteenth century. We have, however, 
 *' sheriff," or shire-reeve, like " borough-reeve,'* 
 from the Saxon reeve, signifying a steward. Of 
 the counties in England, three retain a direct 
 reference to the Saxons, namely, Essex, Sussex, 
 
32 LECTURE I. 
 
 and Middlesex, meaning the countries respectively 
 of the east Saxons, and the south Saxons, with 
 the middle Saxons lying between both. Norfolk 
 and Suffolk signified the countries of the north 
 folk and of the south /o^fc, this being a well known 
 Saxon word for people. 
 
 The word " cliff" is used to describe a rock by 
 the sea side, having the appearance of being cleft 
 or broken off; and was formerly written " clifU'' 
 as it is found not only in Spenser and Chaucer, 
 but also in the authorized version of the Bible of 
 the seventeenth century. I have somewhere read 
 that deore, now spelt " dear," meaning beloved, 
 also signified a ** daughter." If this be correct, 
 and certainly dear is Erse for daughter,* it con- 
 veys a very pleasing idea, as suggesting that any 
 object of tender affection was called " dear," as 
 being like a daughter to one. Corresponding to 
 this, is the passage in Nathan's parable addressed 
 to David, where he describes the poor man's lamb 
 as so dear to him that it " was unto him as a 
 daughter.'''' The word " ghost/' formerly gast, is 
 the Saxon for a spirit; hence '* gastlj,''^ or gastlike, 
 looking like a ghost, and " aghast," frightened as if 
 one had seen a spirit. *' Yeoman" is derived from 
 the Anglo-Saxon geeman (the g being frequently 
 changed to y), signifying common, as the yeomen 
 were commoners of the realm ; or it may be from 
 
 * See Winning's Comparative Philology, p. 53. 
 
LECTURE I. 33 
 
 yewmen, the men who carried bows made of the 
 yew tree. The name given to the yellow part of 
 an egg, called "yelk,"and pronounced like "yoke," 
 appears unintelligible ; but it was originally spelt 
 with g, and was written and pronounced gealewe, 
 the Saxon for " yellow." To " worry" is a Saxon 
 word, originally worrigen^ signifying to destroy, 
 or to make war against; thus a dog is said to 
 " worry" sheep, while the word is also used in a 
 more extensive sense, to express any species of 
 tormenting man or beast. 
 
 " Book," still pronounced in some parts of 
 England huch^ was hock^ from the beech tree, be- 
 ing of the same derivation as bacon, formerly spelt 
 hakon ; but for a different reason. The pig killed 
 for " bacon" was so called, because fed upon the 
 beech-nut to harden its flesh; and the "book" 
 was so named, because, before the Saxons knew 
 the use of paper, their writings were on thin 
 heechen boards; as the Romans called a book 
 liber, from the Latin for the rind or inner bark 
 of a tree. Books are said to be "in boards," 
 when not bound in leather, the covers having 
 been anciently made of wood ; the name of 
 " book" continues to be used, although no longer 
 made of beech, and so does the binding in "boards," 
 though no longer of timber, but of pasteboard, 
 which substance was so called, as being made of 
 paper pasted together to form a substitute for 
 board. Thus, also, "paper" is still so called, 
 
34 LECTURE I. 
 
 although no longer made of the papyrus ; and 
 ** volume" is applied to that which is no longer 
 rolled up, which the word originally signified ; and 
 the instrument with which we write is called a 
 " pen," from the Latin for a bird's wing, whether 
 it be formed of a goose-quill, or from steel. The 
 Saxons called a pen a writing -feather. 
 
 The phrase " bog-Latin" is a corruption of hoc- 
 Uden, that is, book-language, by which term the 
 Saxons designated the Latin tongue, as being 
 found only in books, and known only to those 
 who had "book-learning." With the Anglo-Saxons 
 hoc-horde signified a book-case (like cup-horde 
 corrupted into " cup-board," a press originally 
 for cups) : a scribe or scrivener was a hocere or 
 booker, that is a book-maker, before the art of 
 printing was discovered; a " charter" was called 
 a hoc-leaf ; a 'lecturer," also from the Latin, w^as, 
 with the Anglo-Saxons, a hoc-reader ; and litera- 
 ture, especially the practical part of it, the com- 
 posing of books, was designated hoc-craft, which 
 would now sound too much like the reproachful 
 term, *' book-making." The word " blaze" meant 
 to divulge, as we say a report or event is " blazed 
 abroad;" and the "blaze," which is the Saxon 
 word corresponding to " flame," is that which 
 divulges the existence of the fire, referring, as 
 Dr. Johnson observes, rather to the light than to 
 the heat. " Stark" meant bare or exposed, as 
 ." stark mad," that is, openly and manifestly de- 
 
LECTURE I. 35 
 
 ranged. To " bay" meant to bark, as Shakspeare 
 has it, " I'd rather be a dog and hay the moon, 
 than such a Roman." A stag is said to be " at 
 bay," when the hunted animal makes his last stand 
 at the haying or barking of the dogs. " Bourn" 
 signified a boundary, and originally a rivulet 
 forming such. Thus, Shakspeare describes death, 
 often alluded to under the figure of a stream or 
 river, as that " Bourne from which no traveller 
 returns;" and he calls the cliffs of Dover the 
 " chalky hourne" or houndary of England. From 
 this comes " neighbour," the man who is nigh or 
 next to our hourn or boundary ; such being the 
 original meaning of the word,* although we have 
 the highest Authority, in the parable of the good 
 Samaritan, for not thus limiting our neighbourly 
 feelings. 
 
 " Utter" was the comparative of out, of which 
 the superlative is " uttermost," written also '* ut- 
 most," and in old writers " outmost."! Hence, to 
 '* utter" a sentence meant to let it more out. This 
 will serve to explain the meaning of the phrase, 
 to " utter" false or base coin, that is, to put it out 
 
 * Etymologists usually, and perhaps correctly, derive " neighbour" 
 from nigh and boor ; tillers of the land having been formerly called 
 boors, not as it is now applied, in a bad sense. Boure also signified a 
 house. 
 
 t " Four or five (berries) in the outmost fruitful ])ranches thereof." 
 — IsA, xvii. 6. 
 
 " Chaos retir'd, 
 
 As from her outmost works, a broken foe." — Milton. 
 
 d2 
 
36 LECTURE I. 
 
 into circulation. The word " issue," as applied 
 to the sending out lawful money of the realm, is 
 of French derivation, introduced by the Normans, 
 who had the management of the mint. As a 
 verb, " utter" is now applied only to uttering a 
 sentence, or base coin ; but formerly it was used 
 to describe the giving out of any commodity, as 
 articles sold in a shop.* " Flete" signifies swift, 
 as we still have it, although the orthography is 
 changed; and hence, or as some think, from the 
 word " float," to swim, comes *^ fleet," to describe 
 a company of fleet, that is, swift or floating ships. 
 The word fleot or flete, also signified a creek or 
 inlet of water, from which is derived the name of 
 a well-known street in London, and the Fleet 
 prison, such a creek having formerly been in the 
 locality. 
 
 The word " fret" meant to eat or devour,! as 
 " a moth fretting a garment." A man is said to 
 *' fret" when he is consumed, eaten up, with care. 
 It has thus become an intransitive verb ; but ori- 
 ginally it would have been, he was fretted — eaten, 
 or " swalloiued up of over much sorrow." (2 Cor. 
 
 * " Such mortal drugs I have ; but Mantua's law 
 Is death to any he that utters it." 
 
 Borneo and Juliet. 
 t Chaucer describes a " sow fretting the chyld in his cradel ;" and 
 in reference to a representation of Acta^on devoured by his own dogs, 
 jje has — 
 
 " I saw how that his houn is have him caught, 
 Aud Ji-eitin him, for that they kwew him nouglit." 
 
LECTURE I. 37 
 
 ii. 7). *' Gait," or " gate," signified a way,* or 
 march ,"f- as we speak of a man's " gait, "J or man- 
 ner of walking; and a "gate" is that by which 
 we find a vjay into a field or castle. Hence the 
 obsolete word algates for '^ always," the original 
 meaning being, in all ways, under all circum- 
 stances ; " always" is now applied to signify at all 
 times, that is, through all ways, or through the 
 whole course of life. 
 
 " Boot," or bote, was to help, or compensate ; 
 as a man is said to give some-thing " to boot" (a 
 common phrase in Ireland), that is, to help to 
 make up the difference in value between two 
 articles given in exchange. Hence comes " boot- 
 less," unprofitable, that which yields no return for 
 our pains. This word anciently also meant un- 
 'pardonahle, that for which no hoot or compensa- 
 tion would be accepted. " Bodkin" was an old 
 word for a dagger, and is so applied by Chaucer, 
 and at a later period by Shakspeare.§ The word 
 is now applied only to the inoffensive instrument 
 found in a lady's work-box. To egg, from eggian, 
 is to incite, and Chaucer- has the noun eggement ; 
 thus we speak of '^egging" on a person, sometimes 
 
 * " Good gentlemen, go jour gaiV — Shakspeare. 
 
 t " Nought regarding, they kept on their gaii.^'' — Spenser. 
 
 X So likewise of the gait of beasts : 
 
 " Leviathans, 
 
 Wallowing, unwieldly, enormous in their gaiV — Milton. 
 § " When he himself might his quietus make 
 With a bare hodkiny — Hamlet. 
 
38 LECTURE I. 
 
 improperly written and pronounced edging. The 
 " egg" of a bird is also Saxon, but was formerly 
 spelt (Eg. An " imp"" was another name for 
 child, and was usually applied to denote the 
 scions of royal or noble houses. Thus Shakspeare 
 calls a prince, " a lad of life, an imp of fame/' 
 and makes lord Cromwell speak to king Henry 
 of *' that noble imp, your son." Thus also Spen- 
 ser addresses the Muses — '' Ye sacred ImpSy that 
 on Parnasso dwell ;" and there are still existing 
 many epitaphs of the ancient nobility, beginning, 
 *' Here lies that noble imp." The word originally 
 signified a shoot or twig of a tree, and was used 
 figuratively to designate a child or offspring, but 
 has come to be used only in a bad sense, to de- 
 scribe a child of tlie devil. *' Gospel,'' or good- 
 spell, is Saxon for good news, and lath-spell was 
 bad-news ; spell signifying a " story," which, like 
 " tale," was not formerly limited, as it now gene- 
 rally is, to a " fiction," which the Saxons called 
 leas-spell, from leas signifying false, as " leasing" 
 meant falsehood. (Ps. iv. 2). "Lief" signified 
 willing; hence the expression, "I'd as lief," for 
 " I would be as willing."* The word is also used 
 by Chaucer as an adjective, for dear or beloved ; 
 and alderlevest" is best beloved. 
 
 We call the upright part of plants, that which 
 supports the fruit or blossom, the " stalk." The 
 
 * " I had as lief the town- crier spoke my lines." — Hamlet. 
 
LECTURE I. 39 
 
 word was formerly applied to the upright pieces 
 of a ladder, from the Saxon verb stalhen, to stalk, 
 or step slowly; and the "stalks" of corn and 
 plants were so called from their appearance, like 
 the uprights of a ladder. '' Reck'' signified care, 
 from whence comes to " reckon,'' or count up with 
 care, and ^' reckless," careless or not counting the 
 cost. "Read" was to interpret or discover, as 
 " read me this riddle," formerly readle, a thing 
 to be read or interpreted. To read a book was 
 .to interpret the meaning of the types set up in 
 its pages, and thereby to read or discover the 
 author's meaning.* " Twilight," or twin-liglit, as 
 it was anciently written, signifies two lights, de- 
 scribing the dubious light between night and day. 
 To " twit," or reproach with a sneer, is from an 
 old Saxon word, twitten, used by Chaucer. A 
 " haw" meant a ditch — still called in some parts 
 a haw-haw — and the thorny bush which is usually 
 planted on the side or top of the haw or ditch, to 
 form a hedge, is called the " hawthorn," the berry 
 of which is called a "haw," that is, the berry of the 
 thorn growing on the side of the haw or ditch. 
 Hcega is Anglo-Saxon for " hedge ;" and haga- 
 
 * Read is thus used to mean " discover" by Scott, in Edmund's 
 song :— 
 
 " I read yon by your bugle horn, 
 And by your palfrey good, 
 I read you for a ranger sworn, 
 To keep the king's green-wood." 
 
 Hokeby, Canto iii. 17. 
 
40 LECTURE I. 
 
 thorn (hedge-thorn), is the hawthorn ; liaga being 
 changed to haw, as mnaga is put for "maw."" 
 "Rather," or sooner, is the comparative of an 
 obsolete word, rath, signifying " soon," found in 
 old English books, as is also rathest for " soonest." 
 " Farther" is the comparative, and " farthest" the 
 superlative of " far" or " forth." " Sear" is to 
 burn, and hence " sere," dry or burned up, as 
 " the sere and yellow leaf" of Shakspeare. The 
 Saxon name for the month of June was Seremo- 
 nath, the hot and dry month. An arrow was. 
 often called " a shaft," as we may read, of a shaft 
 shot from a bow, and poets sing of Cupid's 
 "shafts." Hence the straight, or bolt-upright, 
 portion of a pillar is called the " shaft" in archi- 
 tecture ; a word also used by miners to describe 
 the perpendicular pit which they sink to the 
 mine ; hence, also, the name of that part of a cart 
 which was formerly always straight, but now in 
 spring carriages gracefully curved at the end. 
 The word was originally sceaft^ or shaved, as a 
 scraped stick, which formed an arrow. A " sparre" 
 meant a wooden " bar," as the word is so applied 
 by seamen ; sparran was the Saxon verb to bar, 
 and a "spar," or wooden bar, is commonly used 
 to fasten a gate. Spenser has : " Sparre the gate 
 fast, for fear of fraud.'' Thence, probably, the 
 use of the pugilistic term, " sparring,"' for fencing 
 or barring off the blows. 
 
 The word "tackle" is commonly used in Ire- 
 
LECTURE I. 41 
 
 land to describe the harness of a horse, and it is 
 also applied to fishing- gear, or tackle. This is a 
 Saxon word, of the same meaning as harness,, of 
 French derivation, the origiaal signification of 
 both having been armour, but especially bows 
 and arrows, as the then usual weapons of war ; 
 and it was applied to armour generally, as we 
 may read of a man being "smitten between the 
 joints of the harness/' The word " tackle'' was 
 formerly used in a similar sense ; and the expres- 
 sion of tackling to any business meant preparing 
 for it, as a man would buckle on his armour pre- 
 paratory to engaging in a combat. We find the 
 word " hatch" used in two very different senses. 
 The verb to " hatch" is derived from the Saxon 
 word hegen, to sit on eggs ; the " hatches" in a 
 ship, meaning the small doors by which they 
 descend from one deck to another, being derived 
 from the Saxon word hackeUy to cut in two (from 
 whence comes to ^'liack" or hew) and a "hatch" 
 signifies part of a door thus divided. It was for- 
 merly much used in the singular number, as in 
 Shakspeare, who speaks of entering a house, ** in 
 a window, or else over the hatch." " Fallow" 
 meant pale yellow, hence, ''fallow-deer;" and 
 unsowed land is also called " fallow" land, from 
 its somewhat yellow colour. " Pond" and ''pound" 
 are both of the same origin, from the Saxon word 
 pyndan, to shut up. A pond is a piece of water 
 shut up in a small space, and a " pound" is a 
 
42 LECTURE I. 
 
 place in which cattle are confined or shut up; hence 
 also, a '^ pin/' which shuts up; a '' binn/' in which 
 corn or wine is shut up; and a *' pen," for sheep. 
 The pen with which we write is of Latin deriva- 
 tion ; as is also the word pound, as applied to 
 weights and money ; although this may be consi- 
 dered doubtful. *' Hind" is an adjective, meaning 
 backward ; from the positive we have " behind ;" 
 from the comparative is derived the adjective 
 *' hinder," as the hinder or more backward part, 
 and the verb to " hinder," that is, to put or keep 
 back ; and from the superlative is formed " hind- 
 most," or " hindermost," formerly hinderest, the 
 last, or most backward. The original of " to- 
 morrow" was to-morning, like " to-day'' and " to- 
 night." In each case to is put for the, and in some 
 parts of Ireland they say 'Hhe day," for to-day. 
 " Neat" signified black cattle,* as we still speak 
 of a " neat's tongue." " Neat," that is, tidy, is 
 derived from a Latin word, nitidus, bright or shin- 
 ing, signifying clean. " Herd" signifies a number 
 of cattle or other animals, guarded or kept toge- 
 ther, as also the keeper of the herd, as '' shepherd," 
 for sheep-herd, also '* neat-herd," "goat-herd," 
 and "swine-herd." A '* herd" is a name for a 
 farm servant still kept up in Scotland and Ireland, 
 but, I believe, rarely used in England at the pre- 
 
 * " Me thought he bore him in the thickest troop, 
 As doth a lion in a herd of neat" 
 
 K. Henry VI., Act II. 
 
LFXTURE I. 43 
 
 sent day. The word " herd" is derived from 
 hyrdan, to guard, and is applied both to the 
 keeper and to the object of his care ; from the 
 same root is " hurdle/' by which fields are fenced, 
 or sheep guarded from wandering. 
 
 " Horse" is a Saxon word, and the animal so 
 called was the ensign on the banner of the first 
 Saxon invaders of Britain, the chief of whom 
 was himself called Horsa from his banner, as 
 others have had the name of Lion, Fox, and Wolf, 
 from theirs. Hengist, as his brother was named, 
 signified a war-horse ; and hence came hengist- 
 man, changed to '^ henchman," which meant a 
 horseman, but was afterwards applied to all the 
 followers and retainers of a great man. *^ Cra- 
 ven," a coward, is derived from crave, to beg ; and 
 was applied to one who begged his life. *^ Share" 
 is derived from the Saxon word scearan, to 
 divide ; hence also " shire," a division of the 
 country ; and '' shear," to divide or cut off the 
 wool of the sheep ; as also " shears," with which 
 it is cut off; and the " ploughshare," that part of 
 the plough which cuts or divides the ground. 
 " Sharp'' IS derived from the same root, as being 
 cut off. ^' Shore" is Saxon for the coast of the 
 sea ; it is also the past tense of the verb to 
 * ' shear ;" but shorCj to prop up, a word used b}^ 
 builders, is Dutch. This word is also improperly 
 used for sewer, which, as well as sewerage, is of 
 French derivation. " Strand," formerly stronde, 
 
44 LECTURE I. 
 
 is another Saxon word for the sea-shore ; from 
 whence comes ^' stranded," or driven on the shore. 
 The word " sea" is Saxon ; and therefore " sea- 
 shore" is better than sea-coast, *' shore" being 
 Saxon, but coast French. So also seaman, 
 husbandman, ploughman, craftsman, workman, 
 workmanship, horseman and horsemanship are 
 all pure Saxon ; but nobleman, gentleman, mer- 
 chantman and penmanship are all hybrid words 
 compounded of French or Latin and Saxon. 
 
 Reef was a coat or garment ; hence comes the 
 word for the " roof" of a house, as covering it as 
 a garment covers a man ; while, curiously enough, 
 one of the names of a house, cote, has come to be 
 given to a garment, which serves a man for a 
 covering, as a house gives him shelter, or as a 
 " sheep-cote" affords cover and shelter, to sheep, 
 and a " dove-cote" to pigeons. The name for the 
 garment called coat may, however, have been 
 derived from the French, who have, for centuries, 
 given fashions and names for dress to the civilized 
 world. Home Tooke derives " roof from reef nan 
 to sustain, considering it as the past participle pas- 
 sive of that verb, and used to describe that part 
 of the building which is supported by the walls. 
 *' Foster" was originally /oocZs^er, the provider of 
 food, the feeder ; hence '^ foster-father'' is the name 
 given to the husband of a nurse, not the father 
 of a child, as " foster-child" is the child nursed by 
 a woman not the mother, or reared by a man not 
 
LECTURE I. 45 
 
 the father ; and '' foster-brother" is one who, like 
 a brother, has been fed by the same nurse. 
 
 The word '^ sheaf" originally meant a bundle 
 of anything shoved together, and was, from an 
 early period, applied to a bundle of arrows bound 
 together at the middle, as also to a bundle of 
 wheat so tied, and called a " wheat sheaf," for- 
 merly spelt sheff, as Chaucer has '^ a sheff of 
 arrows/' The word ^' ship" was anciently scyp, 
 and hence we have " skipper,'' the captain of a 
 sailing vessel. '' Stow" signified a place, and 
 forms the termination of many towns and places 
 in England. Hence, too, we speak of ^' stowing 
 away" goods, that is putting them in their place. 
 *' Steeple," formerly stipel, is Saxon for a high 
 tower, from being steep or high ; a word still ap- 
 plied to the tower of a church, the spire being 
 derived from Latin. Suinc, or swine, was the 
 Anglo-Saxon for labour, whence came '^ swain," a 
 labourer, or any servant, as " boat-swain." Wana 
 is the Saxon for a defect, which has been changed 
 to " want ;" bat we still speak of the *' wane" of 
 the moon, as it appears to become less, and seems 
 to want part of its rotundity ; and " wan" or pale, 
 wanting a healthy colour, is from the same root. 
 Waxen signified to increase or grow,* as we say 
 the fire ^' waxes" hot, or a man " waxed" wrath ; 
 and the moon is said to ^' wax" or grow greater, 
 
 * " Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave." — Shakgpeare. 
 
46 LECTURE I. 
 
 as well as to *' wane" or decrease. Wold is Saxon 
 for a *' forest," and was originally a distinct word 
 from wood, which, as I have observed, meant mad 
 or angry. This word, wold, sometimes written 
 wait, is still used in England to describe places 
 which either are or have formerly been forests. 
 In ordinary use it has been contracted into 
 *' wood." Welk signified a '^ cloud," from being 
 wheeled or rolled up; but was commonly used in 
 the plural number to describe the sky from which 
 the clouds have been swept or rolled off. And 
 the name is still so applied in poetry, in the pMral, t 
 the " welkin."* Beame was another name for a 
 tree ; from whence we have a " beam of timber," 
 which latter word was a verb, signifying to build ; 
 hence the original meaning of a " beam of timber" 
 was a tree for building. " Beam" is now used to 
 describe a piece of dead timber ; but in the case 
 of the " horn-beam" it retains its original sense. 
 " Balk" was the beam used for the roof, a word 
 still in use with builders. The word belle, not to 
 be confounded with the French word of similar 
 orthography, but of very different meaning, signi- 
 fied in Saxon to roar. Thus Chaucer describes 
 the wind as it belleth, or belloweth, that is, roars. 
 Hence the " bell" which roared out the curfew of 
 the Normans was so called by the unhappy Saxons, 
 The " bull" is said to " bellow," that is, to roar, 
 and probably was so named as being the greatest 
 
 * " In all the welkin was no cloud." — Chaucer. 
 
LECTURE I. 47 
 
 roarer and bellower amongst the beasts in the 
 lands of the Saxons. From the roaring of the 
 wind issuing from the instrument used to blow 
 up the blacksmith's fire or furnace, it was called 
 a " bellows/' a name given to the smallest pair 
 used in a drawing-room, although it may only 
 "roar you as gently as any sucking dove/' Bait 
 signified a bit or bite ; as the " bait'' put on the 
 hook for the fish to bite ; and a man on a journey 
 can only stop to give his horse a bit or hite^ whence 
 to '^ bait" meant to stop to feed for a little time 
 upon the road, snatching a hit by the way. The 
 morsel of which the rider himself hastily partook, 
 while his horse was baiting, was called his " snack" 
 from snachen, to take hastily, to snatch. Tlie 
 most usual name now in use for such a light meal 
 is luncheon, supposed to be of Spanish origin. 
 
 The words " nigh," " near," and " next," origi- 
 nally negh, negher, neghest, are the degrees of 
 comparison; like *' high," "higher," "highest," 
 anciently hegh, hegher, and heghest, or hext, 
 *' Instead" is from the Anglo-Saxon in stead, in 
 place. " After" is the comparative of aft, the posi- 
 tive being retained only by our seamen. " Up," 
 "upper," and "uppermost" were formerly ufa, 
 ufera, and ufermost, and from the ancient com- 
 parative we have " over." Tooke says bove is 
 bufan, and " above" is onbufan, and " upon" 
 ufon; all meaning the same as the top of the 
 head, from heofan, to lift up or heave. 
 
48 LECTURE I. • 
 
 Horne Tooke resolves adverbs, as well as con- 
 junctions and propositions, into verbs and nouns ; 
 and as to the interjection, lie considers it so far 
 from being properly called a 'part of speech, that 
 he designates it " the brutish inarticulate inter- 
 jection^ which has nothing to do with speech, and 
 is only the miserable refuge of the speechless." 
 In proof of this he insists that " the dominion of 
 speech is founded on the downfall of interjections ?" 
 " Without the artful contrivances of language," he 
 observes, " mankind could have nothing but inter- 
 jections with which to communicate, orally, any 
 of their feelings/' And he proceeds to show that 
 '' voluntary interjections are only employed when 
 the suddenness or vehemence of some affection or 
 passion returns men to their natural state, and 
 makes them, for the moment, forget the use of 
 speech ;" while in books they are only to be found 
 ''in rhetoric and poetry, in novels, plays, and ro- 
 mances ;" and never occur " in books of civil 
 institutions, in history, or in any treatise in useful 
 arts and sciences."* 
 
 To return to adverbs. This ingenious, though 
 perhaps sometimes fanciful, etymologist makes 
 ''adrift'' to be the past participle of adrifan, to 
 drive away ; " aghast," the same part of the verb 
 agaze, to look steadfastly upon ; " ago," the same 
 part of ago, to go; and " asunder" from asundrian 
 
 * Diversions of Parley. 
 
LECTURE I. 49 
 
 to separate. '^Naught" or " nought" is no wJiit, 
 as '^ aught" or *' ought/' signifies one whit ; 
 " needs," anciently written **nedis," mesnis need 
 is ; " anon" is in one minute ; " alone" and " only," 
 all one and one-like ; *' alive," on life; "asleep," 
 in sleep ; ''anew," of new ; "• aboard," on hoard ; 
 " farewell" is from faran^ to go, and well, as we 
 may say, liow fares it ? or how goes it? The old 
 adverbs, atwo and athree are used by Chaucer, 
 signifying " in two" and **in three;" similar to 
 the verb still in use, '^ atone," to make at one, and 
 the noun '^ atonement," or that which makes at 
 one those who had been separated or at variance. 
 *' None" means no one ; and " the nonce" meant 
 the once. " Awhile" is a time ; and *' aloft" is on 
 loft. Similar to these are several adverbs, of 
 which the meaning is obvious, as "afoot," "ashore," 
 " abreast," " afloat," " aloud," " aside," and 
 "aground." "Aloof" was probably all off, 
 " Aye," and " yea" or " yes," Tooke makes to be 
 the imperative of a verb signifying to possess; 
 meaning have or enjoy that. '' No," in like man- 
 ner, he derives from a Teutonic word, nodig or 
 node, signifying averse or unwilling ; while " nay" 
 opposed to "yea," or "aye," is have it not'^ 
 " Naw" is new, and '* never" means not ever. 
 
 The word "deal" we find used in various 
 senses, but all may be traced to the same origin. 
 
 See Diversions of Purley, by HorneTocke. 
 
 E 
 
50 LECTURE I. 
 
 the Anglo-Saxon verb doelaUy signifying to divide. 
 Thus a " deal" board is a board dealt or divided ; 
 to "deal" in any commodity means to divide the 
 goods by retail; and when we say we ''deal" 
 with any person, it means rather that we go to 
 him to deal out to us. To " deal" with people 
 after their desert, means to divide or measure 
 out to them recompense (reward or punishment) 
 according to their deserving. A pack of cards are 
 * 'dealt" out, when divided amongst the players; 
 and a " deal" means a share, now only used to 
 mean ''a great deal," or a large share. ''Dale," 
 a valley dividing two hills, is also derived from 
 dcdan, to divide. " Heal" is to cover, and a sore 
 i^ healed when well covered over; while "health" 
 is from healeth. From heal^ to cover, comes 
 " hell," or the unseen place, corresponding to the 
 Greek word used with the same signification, not 
 necessarily meaning a place of torment, although 
 now usually restricted to that sense; and the 
 "hull " of a ship is the part covered by the water. 
 The " earth," so called from erea^Uy to plough 
 (whence comes "arable," that may be ploughed), 
 was worshipped as a goddess by the pagan Saxons'; 
 and in honour of her they called the fire- side, 
 around which the family assembled, the " hearth," 
 which, by a figure, is applied to the whole house 
 and home, as the Eomans called their homes 
 lares, from their household gods. h 
 
 Male and female, amongst mankind, were an- 
 
LECTURE I. 51 
 
 ciently described, as in the Saxon gospels (Matt, 
 xix. 4), as weajp-man and wif-man, meaning 
 weapon-man and woof -man, in allusion to the 
 weapons of war used by the man, and the woof 
 or web on which the women were employed. 
 From the latter, the word " wife" is derived ; as 
 " spinster " is from spinning. The '^ husband " is 
 the huse-hand, who keeps the house together, as 
 " huswife'' is the house-wife, from managing the 
 the house with thrift. *' Stepfather" is probably 
 a corruption for sted-father, " sted" meaning place, 
 as instead, in place of; and in Danish, they have 
 stied-fceder, and stied-mader. '' Barn" is supposed 
 to be derived from the same word as bar, being 
 a place of defence or safety for the corn. " Ballast " 
 signified originally the loading of a ship ; it is 
 now applied to that which is put in the hold to 
 make up for want of sufficient loading. " Hope" 
 is derived from the verb to open, as describing a 
 person looking out, with open and longing eyes, 
 for that which he is wishing for : and thus it 
 corresponds with " expect '' derived from the 
 Latin, and meaning to look out 
 
 '* Friend " and '' liend '' appear somewhat simi- 
 lar words, with very opposite meanings. The first 
 is derived from the Saxon verb frian, to love, 
 while the latter is ixom.fian, to hate; from whicii 
 also we have ^' foe.'^ "• Friendship" is friend- 
 shape, after the manner or fashion of a friend, as 
 * landscape" is a representation or shape of the 
 
 e2 
 
52 LECTURE I. - Ji|J 
 
 land ; both from scaffan, to form. ** Loaf is de- 
 rived from the Saxon word for bread, leaf, so 
 called because it has been raised, from helaf, to 
 raise ; hence also leavened. The bread, when 
 made moist, is called '' dough," being the past 
 participle of deawian, to wet ; from which we 
 also have the " dew" that waters the grass. 
 
 To "steer" is to move or guide ; and the '' stern" 
 is that part which is stirred or moved in guiding 
 the ship's course. A young heifer is called a 
 " steer," and a young ox is a " stirk," as being 
 under guidance and discipline, while as yet " un- 
 accustomed to the yoke." "• Spade " is from sjpetan, 
 to throw out ; from which comes '*to spit;" and 
 the portion of clay thrown up by the spade is 
 called ''a spit." The ''spit" on which meat is 
 roasted is that which is thrust through the joint; 
 and the word is also used as a verb, as when a 
 bird is said to be " spitted." " Righteousness" 
 was originally rightwiseness, or the act of walking 
 in right ways, as the corresponding word, now 
 obsolete, wrongiuiseness,^ was going in wrong 
 ways. The word " wrong" is the past-participle 
 of " wring," and describes that which has been 
 wrung from the right course or position. The 
 word " ought " is the past-participle of the verb to 
 owe, as we say he ought to do it, that is he owes it, 
 or it is owed by him to do it. It is more correct 
 
 * Trencli's English, past and present, p 98. 
 
LECTURE I. 53 
 
 to write the adverb, signifying one whit, " aught" 
 than ought '' Guilt" is taken from the past tense 
 of the verb to guile, meaning gulled, or beguiled, 
 as we still have it, that is, by the devil ; and in 
 criminal charges the accused is, by our law forms, 
 described as having acted under the instigation 
 or guile of the devil. The " left-hand" signifies 
 that which is left unused, as distinguished from 
 the '' right-hand," which is the right and proper 
 one to employ. A " field" was originally so called, 
 as being a piece of land on which the trees had 
 been felled, and it is spelled feld in old authors, 
 and opposed to woods, or uncleared land. 
 
 To " deck'' signified to cover ; hence, it is 
 applied to clothing, and especially to fine and 
 ornamental covering. The " deck'' of a ship is 
 that which covers the " hold," a word derived 
 from hellan, to hide. To " chop and change" is 
 an old phrase, meaning to bargain and exchange, 
 and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ceapan, to 
 bargain, to cheap, that is, to buy or sell. Hence 
 the* nautical term, a ''chopping" wind or sea, 
 signifying a changing wind or sea. A " knave" 
 originally meant a boy, and was used generally 
 to describe a servant ; and knab is the German 
 for a boy. Home Tooke thinks it probably de- 
 rived from nafath, i. e. ne-hafath, who has no- 
 thing. This word knave is now applied only in 
 a bad sense to describe a rogue. " Dearth" is the 
 third person singular of the obsolete verb dere, to 
 
54i LECTURE I. 
 
 hurt or injure ; and is applied to scarcity, which 
 injures a country, and is caused by injury done to 
 the crops. Hence, also, is derived " dear," in the 
 sense of scarce, or of too great a price. To duhhe 
 was to strike; hence a knight was said to be 
 *' dubbed,'' from the stroke of the sword laid on 
 his shoulder ; and from a word of similar import, 
 a man who is beaten in a fight is, in vulgar lan- 
 guage, said to have gotten a *' drubbing." 
 
 Home Tooke considers " if," and the old word 
 "an," used in the same sense, to have been 
 originally gif and anan^ meaning give and grant. 
 He also makes " unless'' to be the imperative of 
 the old Saxon verb anlesan, to dismiss: from 
 which termination of the imperative of this verb, 
 less, added to nouns, came such adjectives as 
 "hopeless," "doubtless," "restless," &c., that is, 
 dismiss hope, doubt, rest, «fec. ; so that we may 
 say, indifferently, "sleepless," or without sleep, 
 " restless," or without rest, &c. " Else" he also 
 considers to be the imperative of alesan, to dis- 
 miss ; and " eke," for also, the imperative of eacan, 
 to add ; as in like manner " and," from ananad, to 
 add to, or increase. He also makes " but" and 
 "without" the imperatives of beon-utan and 
 wyrthan-utan, to be out ; and "though" the im- 
 perative of thafigan, to allow ; " since," he makes 
 to be the past participle of seon, to see; and 
 " lest" the same participle of lesan, to dismiss. 
 The preposition " through," this same ingenious 
 
LECTURE I. 55 
 
 writer shows to be the same as " thorough ;" and, 
 as he believes that, properly speaking, there are 
 only two parts of speech, the noun and the verb, 
 he makes this the same as the substantive thuruli, 
 the Teutonic for a door, gate, or passage. " From'' 
 he makes to be the noun frumman, the begin- 
 ning, as, " figs came from Tui'key," i. e., " figs 
 came — the beginning, Turkey." And as he makes 
 *' from" the commencement, so he considers "to'' 
 the result, consummation, or end; and "till," 
 which he observes is only used with respect to 
 time, he thinks is a word compounded of to and 
 whilSy the latter word meaning time; so that 
 " from morn till night," is the same as " from 
 morn to time night ; and he shows that the 
 English peasantry, as well as some ancient authors, 
 use wJiile for till, that is, leaviug out to, as *' I 
 will stay while evening," instead of till, or, 
 to while, that is, to tlm^e evening. In like man- 
 ner, he traces " for" to the Anglo-Saxon noun 
 afara, the first or consequence ; whence comes 
 the use of " for," to express the cause or the end 
 of any action. The preposition " by" Tooke con- 
 siders as the imperative bytJi of the Saxon verb 
 heon, to be, that is, to be the cause or agent. 
 " Between" and " betwixt" are compounded of 
 the imperative he, with twegan and twas, meaning 
 twain and two. " Beneath" means the same as 
 below, being the imperative be compounded with 
 neathj an obsolete word meaning " low ;" from 
 
56 LECTURE I. 
 
 which we still have " nether" and " nethermost." 
 '* Under" is from the same root, on neder, or, on 
 the netherside. " Beyond" is compounded of be 
 and geondj the participle of the Saxon verb gan 
 or gongan, to go. '* Among," which was formerly 
 writtea emong, is derived from the verb geman- 
 gan, to mingle, or mix. " Against" is from a 
 Dutch verb jogenen, to meet or encounter, or, 
 more probably, from the An gloSdiXou, an- gang en, 
 to meet. *' Amid" or '' amidst" (by Chaucer 
 written amiddes) is Saxon, in the midst or mid- 
 dle ; and " along" is on long. " Beside" is by 
 the side of 
 
 To '* amaze " means to puzzle a person, as if 
 lost in a maze, or labyrinth ; and " amazement" 
 means the state of being in a maze. The word 
 *' mazed" is found in old authors for mad " Tidy" 
 is a good old English word, and its meaning is 
 significant ; it is derived from tid, time, and 
 means " timely ;" no one can be tidy who is not 
 in good time at their work. Untid was an old 
 word meaning untimely. The original mean- 
 ing of " wicked" was, like "quick," alive; and 
 " wick" is still used in the North of England for 
 alive ; hence the '' wick," or live part of the 
 candle, is so called. From the same word we 
 have the compounds, quicklime, quicksands, and 
 quicksilver. From " alive" and " lively," wicked 
 came to signify restless and turbulent, and at last 
 
LECTURE I. 57 
 
 assumed its present sense, expressive of unmitiga- 
 ted moral evil, either of character or actions.* 
 
 A boy or youth was called a " lad," as being 
 under the leading or guidance of parents and 
 tutors ; the feminine was laddess, which has been 
 contracted to "lass/' A *' ladder," which leads a 
 man up to any height, is from the same root, 
 Icedan, to lead. *' Kine" is a contraction from 
 cowen, the plural of " cow."' The word '' knot," 
 is employed in various senses, but in all cases is 
 to be traced to the Saxon verb cnyttan, to " knit.'' 
 A hard ''knot" is a complicated knitting together 
 of the cord ; a '' knotty point" means an intricate 
 question ; a " knot" of persons is a number of 
 people connected or gathered together ; a ''knot" 
 in a piece of timber is the place where the fibres 
 are tightly hnit or complicated together, and 
 thence rendered hard ; and a " top-knot" was a 
 bundle of locks of hair knit or tied together at 
 the top of the head. 
 
 Christianity having been received firyt in the 
 cities and towns, those who did not embrace our 
 holy religion were called " pagans,'' derived from 
 Latin, meaning the people inhabiting the villages 
 and country. In like manner, they were called 
 by the christian Saxons " heathen," being the 
 inhabitants of the heaths and the wilder districts 
 of the country. 
 
 Many words are pronounced and often spelt 
 
 * English Synonyms. By Archbisliop Whately. 
 
58 LECTURE I. 
 
 alike, which are totally different in signification. 
 This arises from the circumstance of such words 
 being derived in one instance from the Saxon, 
 and in the other from Latin or French. Thus 
 *' wicked/' for sinful, is Saxon; but "wicket/' a 
 small gate, is French. We have " rear," to bring 
 up, and *'rear*' or " rare," signifying raw, both 
 Saxon ; while we have '^ rare" for scarce, and the 
 *'rear" of an army from the French. '^Eain" 
 from the clouds, is Saxon ; but the " reign" of a 
 king and the "rein" of a bridle, are French. The 
 "sea,"' is Saxon; but the " see'" of a bishop is of 
 Latin and French derivation. The Saxon word 
 " raise," means to build up ; but '^ raze,'' from the 
 French, is to pull down. Numerous similar exam- 
 ples will occur to every one, and are to be found 
 in all dictionaries and spelling-books ; but the 
 origin of these apparent anomalies in the English 
 language is not usually set forth, and is, probably, 
 not generally perceived. 
 
 I have already observed that the most simple 
 and primitive words in the English language, and 
 those most in daily use, are of Saxon origin, and 
 are, for the most part, monosyllables. We have 
 seen this exemplified in nautical terms, in the 
 days of the week, and in the implements of hus- 
 bandry. It will also be found that all the parts 
 of the human body are called by Saxon names, 
 and are usually designated by words of one syl- 
 lable. The word " body" is a word of two sylla- 
 bles ; but was originally a monosyllable, as we 
 
LECTURE I. 59 
 
 find an " abode" for a habitation, which is its 
 primary meaning, frequently written " bode" in 
 Chaucer and other authors. Bode, or "abode" 
 is the past participle of the Saxon verb bidan, 
 to abide, and as a noun signifies a dwelling-place. 
 Hence it was applied to the human body, as 
 being the abode of the soul, which is by a beauti- 
 ful figure described as a '^ tabernacle,'' in which 
 for the present the immortal part of man abides.* 
 Thus, too, Chaucer describes death — '* his spirit 
 changed house.''' The word " body" is especially 
 applied to a dead corpse, the bode or body being 
 that in which the soul, during life, abode or did 
 dwell. The Anglo-Saxons also called the body 
 the sawol-huSj that is, the house of the soul. The 
 "head" was formerly spelt heved, and was so called 
 as being heaved, or raised up above all the mem- 
 bers. The "eye" is so called from a Teutonic 
 word, augyan, to point out ; the " nose" is derived 
 from ness, signifying prominent^ sl word frequently 
 found in composition, in geography, to signify 
 a promontary, as Shearness, Dungeness, &c., it 
 is also used to indicate a state or condition, as, 
 goodness, happiness, &c. " Skull" is of the same 
 origin as " scale;" as is also " shoulder," formerly 
 written shoulde, where the arms separate from 
 the body ; each being derived from the verb scylan 
 to divide ; the skull consisting of several distinct 
 
 * Thus the Apostle St. Peter, in view of the near approach of death, 
 says, " Knowing that shortly I mast put off this my tabernacle." — 
 2 Pet. i. 14. 
 
60 LECTURE I. 
 
 pieces of bone, and the scales of a fish being 
 each detached from the other. The *' mouth" is 
 derived from matgan to eat ; as the " jaw" is that 
 with which a man chaws or cheius ; and the '' ear" 
 is the organ of hearing, derived from the verb 
 ei^en, to take or to receive, as sounds. The 
 " tooth" is that which tuggeth or toweth, as we 
 say a steam-^u^ takes a vessel in tow. The 
 ** cheeks" are so called from chew, and eke, mean- 
 ing again, as they are again and again brought 
 into motion when we chew our food. The 
 '* tongue" comes from thingan to speak ; and the 
 " hand" from hentan, to take. Connected with the 
 head we have four dissyllables, viz. : — " forehead," 
 *' eye-brow," "eye-lid" (or eye-cover), and '^nos- 
 tril" (or nose-thrill, that is, bored) ; but these are 
 each more properly two Saxon words. The " in- 
 step" is from an-stcepan, to go forward. 
 
 The " neck'' is so called from nicken, to bend ; as 
 are also the "• knee" and its diminutive " knuckle," 
 the little knee of the finger. " Finger" is from 
 fingan, to take ; from whence comes " fang" the 
 namegivento talons or tusks of an animal, by which 
 he takes his prey, and the word is still used as a verb 
 in some parts of England. The " foot," anciently 
 fet, is from fettian, to carry, whence also comes to 
 fetch. The " leg" is from leggan, to place or sup- 
 port. The " thigh" means the thick part of the 
 leg, and the *' calf" is supposed to have meant the 
 little thigh, as a calf is a little cow. The " shin" 
 
LECTURE I. 61 
 
 means the sJdnned bone, being the bone which is 
 covered only with *' skin," which latter is derived 
 from sJcinnan, to shine, as it appears conspicu- 
 ously, and was often made to shine with oil, as with 
 careful tending a horse's skin will shine. *' Flesh" 
 may mean flayed, as meat is call flesh, that is, 
 fleshed or flayed, when stript of the skin. " Blood" 
 is the past participle of the verb to bleed, a word 
 derived from the colour, hledan, meaning to blush 
 or grow red. '* Sinew," anciently one syllable, 
 sine, means strength. The " liver" is so called 
 from being essential to life; the "lungs" from 
 lungan, to draw, namely, the breath ; and the 
 " lights," as the lungs of other animals are called, 
 mean the light part which contains the air. The 
 '' toes" are so called from tean, to expand ; or more 
 probably from toen, to take, having been originally 
 applied to the talons or claws of birds, with which 
 they take their prey ; the "joints" are the ^'om- 
 ings ; and the " wrist" is that joint by which we 
 widest or pull ofi* anything. The " nails," like the 
 fingers and toes to which they are attached, have 
 reference to the fangs and talons of other animals, 
 being derived from the verb nceglian, to fasten, 
 as with the claws a bird or beast fastens on its 
 prey. Hence it will be seen that the "nail" 
 which a carpenter uses to fasten his work is a 
 word of the same origin with the finger nails, al- 
 though the connexion is not at first sight apparent. 
 The " ankle" is the bone by which the foot is 
 
62 LECTURE I. 
 
 Tmnhyd, that is hanged to the leg. The *' throat," 
 through w\nc\\i\\Q breath and food pass, is probably 
 derived from throivan, to throw. 
 
 The " bones" are intended for the support of 
 the body, and without them the rest could not 
 he or subsist ; the word may be derived from the 
 verb beon, to be. The word " rib" seems to have 
 been applied to anything ripped or torn asunder, 
 and hence those bones are so called which extend 
 separately or asunder from the back bone ; as are 
 also the split boards with which the sides of a 
 ship are strengthened, and parts of the leaf or 
 stalk of plants.* The " heart" is supposed by 
 some to be so called from a Teutonic word, 
 huera, to move quickly, whence comes to hurry, 
 on account of the perpetual motion and agitation 
 of the heart ; while others think that it is derived 
 from herd, that is, hard, or durable, because we 
 owe the duration of life to the motion of the 
 heart. The '* breath" is the spirit ; from be and 
 oreth, the spirit. The '* chest," which encloses 
 the heart, lungs, &c., is the case in which these 
 parts of the body are shut up ; and so we apply 
 the word to a trunk or chest for clothes ; and we 
 use a similar word, " case," from the Latin, in 
 like manner, as a gun-case, a hat-case, a case of 
 instruments, &c. A coffin was anciently called 
 a ''chest," as containing the dead body. The 
 word " elbow" is one of the few dissyllables 
 
 * See Richardson's Dictionary. 
 
LECTURE I. 63 
 
 employed to designate a member of the body, 
 and it is compounded of el^ a measure, and the 
 how or bend of the arm, from which to the tip of 
 the middle finger that measure extends. Elhoga 
 is the Saxon for a " cubit." The '' lips" are so 
 called, probably, from lamping over the mouth. 
 The '* chin" is from cinan, to open, because when 
 the chin is drawn down the mouth is opened ; 
 hence also comes a chink, or opening. The " arm" 
 is from even, to take, and from the German arm, 
 it is supposed, was derived the Latin arma, arms. 
 The "back," the "brain," the "beard," and the 
 " hair," are Saxon words, and monosyllables, of 
 which we have no satisfactory derivation. 
 
 It will be observed that, in tracing these deri- 
 vations, the words adduced have been, in many 
 instances, referred to obsolete Anglo-Saxon verbs; 
 but these are to be 'found in old books and manu- 
 scripts, although some are now altogether disused, 
 or are to be found only in composition with other 
 words. 
 
 The names of the various animals known to 
 the inhabitants of the northern parts of Europe, 
 may also be traced to Anglo-Saxon derivations, 
 and will be found, for the most part, to consist 
 of monosyllables. 
 
 The " horse'' is supposed to have been so named 
 from his obedience and tractableness, the obsolete 
 Saxon word hyrsian signifying to obey. The 
 name of " dog" is now applied in the English 
 
64 LECTURE I. 
 
 language to every species of that animal, but in 
 the other northern dialects it means the large 
 hunting-dog, so called from tacJcen, to take or 
 catch. The " cow" is the animal that chews the 
 cud, so called from the Anglo-Saxon ceowan, to 
 ruminate or chew the " cud ;" this latter word 
 meaning that which has been chewed. " Sheep" 
 were the earliest objects of care to mankind, and 
 for pasture were driven from place to place in 
 large numbers by their owners. The word 
 *^J^ sji^eep," which has no singular as distinguished 
 ^^ from the plural, may have originally signified a 
 " drove," as a flock is called when driven along 
 the road, and the name may be derived from the 
 f^ verb sceofan, to shove, or drive; from whence 
 also we have a " shovel." The "^at," which so 
 patiently watches for the mouse, takes her name 
 from the verb ge^acheri, to watch. The '' stag" 
 was so called from stigan, to stick, from his long 
 horns ; or, according to Tooke, from steige, to 
 raise up, from his raised and lofty head. The 
 word " swine" is the plural for sow, contracted 
 from sowen, like, " kine" from cowen, that is, 
 cows. The '^ sow" is from succan, to suck. 
 ^ " Birds" are so called from the breadth of their 
 y^ wings ; the word was anciently written bridd, 
 Jk and is derived from hrcedan, that is, to broaden or 
 spread abroad ; and " fowl" is derived from fugel 
 to fly. The "sparrow" takes his name from 
 spyrrian, to search, from the active disposition of 
 
LECTURE I. 65 
 
 that bird in search of food. The "nightingale" 
 is the singer in the night, compounded of nighty 
 and galen, to sing. The "hawk" was called havoc 
 in Saxon, which word, derived from haven to 
 take or snatch, was used as an interjection, like 
 halloo! as a word of encouragement to slaughter 
 in hunting, probably in allusion to the sport of 
 hawking.^ Havoc is a Teutonic word signifying 
 devastation, and formed a suitable name for the 
 hawk, as a bird of prey making havoc among the 
 smaller birds. The "raven" is so called in allusion 
 to his ravenous disposition, from reajian, to tear 
 away ; and the " rook" from his propensity to 
 steal, from roeccan to reach, or lay hold on. The 
 '' crow" owes his name to his hoarse voice ; as 
 does the " cock" to his " shrill clarion ;" the mop- 
 ing " owl" to his melancholy howl; and the 
 ^" frog" to his croaking. The " duck" is so called, 
 probably, from the verb difan to dive; duchen 
 being the frequentative of that word. The " drake" 
 derives his name from the mud in which he takes 
 delight, from the German dreck, whence " dregs," * 
 signifying mud. The " swan" has his name from^^/tt\) 
 swimman, to swim. The " swallow" feeds, as no (w*jf 
 other bird does, flying, and he swallows flies - 
 by wholesale. " Fox" is supposed by some to be 
 derived from the German fahen, to take by craft ' 
 or guile, while others derive it from the Saxon 
 
 * " Cries Havock ! and lets slip the dogs of war." 
 
 ShaTcspeare. 
 F 
 
66 LECTURE I. 
 
 fian, from whence comes foe, being the great 
 enemy to the poultry ; and others again from fax 
 or feax, an Anglo-Saxon word for hair, which is 
 found in old authors, — faxed, for bushy, from his 
 brush. " Wolf is derived either from his yell or 
 yelpj or from the Gothic ^uilwan, to ravage. 
 The " herring," a fish which visits the British 
 seas in numerous swarms, is so called from the 
 word her, an army, from the closely compacted 
 hosts or numbers in which they are found. The 
 name of the " turkey," an American and not a 
 Turkish bird, may, perhaps, be derived from the 
 noise which this bird makes, like turk, turk; but 
 it more probably alludes to the swaggering strut 
 and furious manner and appearance of the tur- 
 key-cock, with his inflated breast, red face, and 
 outspread tail, strutting among the hens like any 
 ''blue-beard" Turk, or "three-tailed" bashaw. 
 This bird, however, was unknown to the Saxons, 
 and therefore, not named by them ; but by the 
 English, at a period when the Turks were looked 
 upon with the greatest aversion. The " mole" 
 derives its name from the little hillocks of mould 
 cast up by this animal ; and was anciently called, 
 as it still is in some parts of England, " mould- 
 warp," from mold, earth, and werpan, to throw 
 or cast up. The " spider" means the spinner,* 
 
 * 111 his description of dreams, as the work of Queen Mab, 
 Shakspeare calls the spider by this name. 
 
 "Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners' legs." 
 
 Romeo and Juliet. 
 
LECTURE I. 67 
 
 SO called from spinning his web ; s'pinan signify- 
 ing to spin, from whence, also, comes a " spindle." 
 The derivation of the spider's prey, from the verb 
 to *' fly," is obvious. The name of the " moth" 
 is to be traced to the same root as mouth, in 
 allusion to the eating propensities of that insect ; 
 Tnath being a contraction for matgith, the third 
 person singular of matgan, to eat. The " snail" 
 is a diminutive of '^ snake," both so called from 
 snican, to creep ; hence the term sneaking, creep- 
 ing in a servile manner. The " worm" is de- 
 rived from an old Saxon verb, werpan, to move 
 in curved lines, from which we have " warp." To 
 ** worm " one's self into another's favour, or into 
 an advantageous position, is to act like a worm, 
 creeping along insensibly, and by tortuous ways. 
 The '^ worm" of a still is formed like the insect so 
 called, and through it the distilled liquor creeps 
 slowly, drop by drop. 
 
 The " slug" means the slow reptile ; and 
 similar is the derivation of the " sluggard" and 
 the " sloth." The " adder" creeps beneath the 
 grass, and was also called ncedre, that is " be- 
 neath." In allusion, probably, to this reptile, 
 poison was called atter. The venomous spider 
 was called attercop, a name still in use in some 
 parts, and from cop we have " cobweb," formerly 
 copiueh. The " gnat" is so named from ncetan, to 
 sting; and the "bat," because, with its wings 
 
 f2 
 
68 LECTURE I. 
 
 expanded, it resembles a boat impelled with oars ; 
 the " boat" itself is so called from being a vessel 
 forced along the water by the heating of oars, 
 from the past participle heot^ beaten. The " seal" 
 is a contraction from sea-calf^ so called from the 
 noise made by this animal, like a calf bleating. 
 The *' gadfly," goadfly, is an insect that torments 
 cattle like a goad. The " lobster," called by 
 Chaucer the loppe, has its name from the verb to 
 leap; the leap or spring of the lobster being 
 noted by naturalists. The ''salmon's" name is 
 derived from a French verb of a similar signifi- 
 cation, from the well-known power of that fish 
 to leap. The " crab" is so called from creopan^ 
 to creep. The *' flea," whose leaping powers are 
 well known, was also called loppe in Anglo- 
 Saxon. 
 
 Many other names of animals might be enu- 
 merated, of which the exact derivation cannot 
 be given, but which will be found to be of Saxon 
 origin, and monosyllables ; as hat, kite, rat, toad, 
 mouse, hare, elk, deer; a few are dissyllables, as 
 rabbit, hedgehog, dormouse, and badger. From 
 the cruel sport of hunting the last-named animal, 
 all species of tormenting and petty persecution 
 came to be called '' badgering." 
 
 The names of trees, and of all vegetable pro- 
 ductions known to the northern nations of 
 Europe, are of Saxon origin, and for the most 
 part expressed by monosyllables ; as the oakj the 
 
LECTURE I. 69 
 
 limey the ash, the pine* the Jir, the beech, the 
 yew, the asp, the 6irc^, the e^m, the vine, the 
 6oiz;, the holm, and the plane; with cor-Ti, oa^s, 
 ^y^ea^, /la^/, ^mss, and here (for barley), the /^ 
 and the grape; as also the different parts of 
 plants and trees, as the root, the hunch, the s^a^A;, 
 the leaf, the ^/?,orii, the fruit, the 6ucZ, the 5^em, 
 i the bark, and the seed. Of dissyllables, we have 
 the willow, the maple, and the (X^c^er ; likewise 
 the blossom, and the berry. The " elm" was 
 sometimes called the coffer, because chests (coffers) 
 and coffns were usually made of the wood of 
 this tree. 
 
 This lecture has extended far beyond the length 
 which I had anticipated; and the subject has 
 grown so much upon me while engaged in its 
 preparation, that I must reserve for a future 
 opportunity much that I had meant to have 
 brought under your notice on this occasion. 
 
 * Some critics have disputed the Saxon origin of the vine, the 
 pine, and the Jig tree, because these names are severally similar to the 
 Latin ; but this is as much evidence that they are all Saxon as that 
 they are Latin. We find in Somner, Benson, and Bos worth, the win- 
 treow, the pin-treow, and the Jic-beame, signifying the wine-tree, &c. 
 The Latin and Anglo-Saxon names had probably the same origin, in 
 the Teutonic. ^ ' ^' ■ ;-V'^^'" -' ^ - ; '' -, . ■• 
 
LECTUEE II. 
 
 In my former Lecture I noticed several words 
 which may be traced to the Anglo-Saxon, of 
 which the derivation is not generally known, as 
 also some words which have changed their mean- 
 ing from that which they originally conveyed. 
 
 Many others might be enumerated, to some of 
 which I shall refer, before I proceed to consider 
 titles of honour, and proper names derived from 
 the Saxon, with other topics connected with our 
 subject. 
 
 The word " bequeath" means to leave a legacy 
 in a will, and is derived from the Saxon quith, 
 meaning a will — that which a man quoth, or 
 made known, as his wish, or " will." A " fee " is 
 a word with which we are all acquainted ; it is 
 derived from feoh, the Saxon for money, a word 
 originally applied to cattle, the medium of ex- 
 change, 'before the use of money. '' Coward " is, 
 by Home Tooke, derived from cowered^ bowed 
 down, crouching, or stooping through fear ; and it 
 was formerly used as a verb, to cowre, or cower, 
 of which coward is the past participle. An " inn," 
 
LECTURE II. 71 
 
 anciently ingeat, is a house of common '^?i-^om^. 
 A surgeon was formerly called a " leecli," from 
 the Saxon word lich, signifying the body, his 
 art appertaining to the human body. The little 
 creature that sucks the blood, and thus performs 
 one of the offices of a surgeon, is therefore called 
 a '^ leech." A hearn^ or bairn, was the Saxon for a 
 child, and is still so applied in Scotland. OAepe, 
 or cheap, was the Saxon name for a market. 
 Hence, we have " chapman," a small merchant, such 
 as frequented markets. Chaucer has chapman- 
 hade for the profession or business of a merchant. 
 Ceap-scip, i. e., cheap-ship, meant a merchant- 
 vessel, or, as it is now called, a " trader." To 
 " cheapen " meant to buy or bargain at market ; 
 and formerly good cheap and bad cheap were 
 modes of expression used to denote a good or a 
 bad bargain.* The term '' cheap," being now used 
 only to describe a " good " purchase, this epithet 
 is omitted as unnecessary. Uncheap was a Saxon 
 word for " gratuitous," that is, without a price. 
 Undeare was used to express what we now mean 
 by " cheap," and deareworth was what we call 
 " dear." The name of the street called " Cheap- 
 side," in London, does not imply that goods are 
 cheaper there than elsewhere, but denotes the 
 site of an ancient market-place, a *' cheap," or 
 market, having been held at the side, or on the 
 
 * Thus Shakspeare has " good cheap," of which dog cheap is 
 probably a corruption. — King Henry IV, 
 
72 LECTURE II. 
 
 site of the road or street. Similar to this is " Chep- 
 stow/' the "place of a market. 
 
 As ** gospel" meant good news, so the ancient 
 Saxon name for a parable or proverb was hispel, 
 signifying a story by the way, or as we now say, 
 a " by-word." Light was the Saxon for metre 
 or rhyme ; hence came " ditties," or ballads, and 
 to " indite" (endight) prose was to set it forth in 
 order. The several meals of the day were, by 
 the Saxons, called breakfast, noon-meale, and 
 even-meale ; for the two last-named, " dinner" 
 and *' supper," derived from the French, have 
 long been substituted ; and for the first, of which 
 the derivation is obvious, '^dejeuner" has now 
 come into use, to describe fashionable mid-day 
 or afternoon entertainments, which, however, are 
 seldom literal break-fasts. From an union of two 
 words, French and Saxon, we have " gentleman :" 
 the Saxons called a gentleman by birth, an ethel- 
 boren-man, that is, a nobly -born man. A peasant 
 they described as a ceorl-boren-man ; as ceorl, or 
 " churl," signified a rustic, without implying re- 
 proach. "Whit-Sunday" was so designated by 
 the Saxons, as being the Weid-Sunday, that is, 
 the *^ Holy Sunday," being that upon which Chris- 
 tians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit. 
 Some, however, consider it to mean White Sun- 
 day, and to have been so called from the circum- 
 stance of the candidates for baptism, or confirma- 
 tion, appearing at Whitsuntide clothed in white, 
 as the emblem of purity. 
 
LECTURE II. 73 
 
 In my former lecture, I noticed the meaning 
 of the Saxon word sted or steady as signifying '' a 
 place," which is derived from stood or staid- 
 Hence we have " steady," and " steadfast," or 
 " stedfast," meaning firmly fixed to one place, and 
 applied to fixedness of purpose. The word is 
 used in composition, as " bed-stead," the place of 
 a bed, and " home-stead,"' the place of one's home. 
 Folkstede was an Anglo-Saxon word for a vil- 
 lage. " Twine" means two threads, and '' twist" 
 is that which is twiced, or doubled ; of the same 
 signification is "tweed;" while " thread" means 
 three' d or thriced. A " wrinkle" means that which 
 is wrung or distorted. " Wrench'" is also derived 
 from wringaUi to wring, twist, or torture ; and it is 
 found used as a noun by old writers, equivalent 
 to fraud or other wrong. The noun *' wretch," 
 now applied in a bad sense, originally meant one 
 who was wrecked, or deeply afflicted ; as an adjec- 
 tive, " wretched" is still used in its original mean- 
 ing, but usually implies a feeling of contempt as 
 well as pity. As a noun, " wretch"' was formerly 
 used in a good sense, as conveying a feeling of 
 tenderness excited by the misfortunes of the per- 
 son to whom it was applied.^ 
 
 I have already shown, by many examples, that 
 the most simple words, and those in general use, 
 
 * Thus in ShaksT^esuce— OtheUo, Act TIL, Scene III. ; and Eamlety 
 Actll.j /Scene JI. In both which places " wretch" is applied withoat 
 implying reproach or contempt. 
 
74 LECTURE II. 
 
 are of Saxon origin, and for the most part mono- 
 syllables. To those before adduced, may be added 
 the names of three out of the four elements, earthy 
 I Jlre, and water; as also the four winds, — the 
 ! " north," derived from an old verb, signifying to 
 i dry up and bind, as frost does; the " south," so 
 I called from a verb which signified to make warm, 
 I to boil, from which we have the word seethe ; the 
 j '* east, "" signifying stormy ; and the " west," being 
 I the past participle of wcetan, to wet ; this being 
 the rainy, as the others are the dry, warm, and 
 stormy points of the compass. 
 
 We have observed that several words have 
 changed their original meaning. Amongst these, 
 we may mention ^* dote," and " fond ;" each of 
 which words meant foolish, as we still speak of 
 a man ^' doting," and we find the word " fond" 
 still used in its original sense, especially in poetry, 
 as we may read of a " fond conceit." Shakspeare 
 makes King Lear describe himself as "a foolish, 
 fond old man." Neither of these words appears 
 to have had, originally, any special reference to 
 afiection, but meant folly, madness, or imprudence 
 of any kind ; and in one instance, quoted by Dr. 
 Johnson, " fond" is applied in a sense altogether 
 opposite to its present usual meaning, to describe 
 an injudiciously severe schoolmaster, when a youth 
 is said to have been '^ beaten out of all love of 
 . learning by a /one? schoolmaster ;" meaning there- 
 \by, a foolish and ill-judging teacher. Notwith- 
 
LECTUEE IT. 75 
 
 standing, it is certain that, from an early period, 
 these two words, " doting" and '' fond," or both of 
 them united, as " dotingly fond," were employed 
 to express very strong and tender affection ; and 
 it does not speak much for the warm-heartedness, 
 or gallantry, of the Anglo Saxon race, that when 
 we would describe the strongest affection towards 
 the object of our most tender regard, we use 
 language which, in plain English, means that 
 we are making great fools of ourselves. The 
 Saxons, like most of the northern nations, were 
 hard drinkers, and it is a subject of regret 
 that their descendants, at the present day, have 
 not altogether lost this not very creditable cha- 
 racter. They were not less remarkable for their 
 hospitality than for their love of strong drink, 
 and did not like to see their guests, any more 
 than themselves, leave a drop in the bottom of 
 their very capacious tankards. Hence they called 
 it a " carouse," when they drank all out; the word 
 ^ar signifying "all," and ous meaning "out;" 
 hence, the g being changed to c, to " carouse" 
 (anciently garousz) meant to drink all out^ 
 This "carousing" tending to frequent quarrels, 
 the Saxon King Edgar 'enacted a law, which he 
 strictly enforced, ordering that certain marks 
 should be made in their drinking cups, at a par- 
 ticular height, above which they were forbidden 
 
 * " The Queen carouses to thj fortune, Hamlet." — Shahspeare. 
 
76 LECTURE II. 
 
 to fill them under a heavy penalty. This law, 
 however, as Eapin relates, was but a short time 
 in continuance, being too much opposed to the 
 national character to be long maintained. The 
 word '* wassail," defined by Dr. Johnson as a 
 drunken hout, comes from the old Saxon words 
 was and heal^ that is, '' be of good health ;" was 
 being the imperative of the Saxon verb signifying 
 to be, of which we still have the imperfect tense, 
 and heal signifying health. The custom of pledg- 
 ing healths arose, it is probable, out of the savage 
 habits of the times, when every man dreaded 
 violence ; but when, at the same time, the most 
 cruel amongst them respected a pledge, and strict- 
 ly kept their word. When a man took up the 
 large tankard, to drink, he pledged his word to 
 his neighbour that he would protect him, while 
 drinking, from violence, if the other would pledge 
 his troth, that is, his *' truth," in like manner, for 
 his safety, while he was in the act of drinking, 
 and thereby obstructing his view by the large 
 drinking vessel, and exposing his throat to an 
 enemy. A tradition, which there is no reason to 
 doubt, tells that the first introduction of this 
 custom of " drinking healths" into Britain, and 
 with it the word wassail, was on the occasion of 
 Hengist and Horsa, the first Saxon chiefs, hav- 
 ing invited Vortigern, the British king, to a sup- 
 per. The lady Bowena, daughter, or niece, of 
 Hengist, came into the king's presence, with a cup 
 
LECTURE II. 77 
 
 of gold, filled with wine, in her hand, and mak- 
 ing a low obeisance, she accosted him in these 
 words, in the Saxon tongue : Waes heal, laford 
 cyning — ** be of good health, lord king." The 
 king, not understanding what she said, inquired 
 the meaning from his chamberlain, who was also 
 his interpreter, and, as instructed by him, replied, 
 " Drinc heal,'' that is, ^' Do you, yourself, drink 
 my health ;" upon which she touched the cup 
 with her lips, and then gave it to the British 
 king. The fair lady soon afterwards became Yor- 
 tigern's wife, the infatuated king putting away his 
 wedded queen ; and, instead of getting a dowry with 
 Rowena, he complied with the demand of Hen- 
 gist — who, doubtless, rightly judged Vortigern 
 to be a doting and fond fool — by giving the 
 whole county of Kent to the Saxons. Having 
 thus acquired the fairest portion of the country,* 
 by stratagem and compact, the invaders never 
 rested satisfied until they had obtained possession 
 of the entire island. 
 
 In this county of Kent, thus early brought 
 under Saxon sway, the Saxon custom is said by 
 Dr. Johnson to prevail, as it continues in force in 
 other parts of England, whereby the lands of the 
 father are, on his decease, divided amongst all his 
 children. This custom is called " gavel-kind," a 
 
 * " Kent, in the commentaries Caesar writ, 
 Is term'd the civil'st place of all this isle." 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
78 LECTURE II. 
 
 Saxon term, compounded of the words give all 
 kind, or kin, that is, give or divide amongst all 
 the children. This is one of the few law terms 
 of Saxon origin which remain in the English 
 language, the Normans having used French in 
 the law courts ; so that, in the legal profession, 
 as well as in those of medicine and divinity, 
 derivatives from the Latin are found generally to 
 abound. 
 
 Of the law terms so introduced, some are well 
 known, but, perhaps, seldom understood. The 
 Court of " Oyer and Terminer" signifies the court 
 where causes are heard and determined ; the word 
 oyer being the old Norman-French for hear ; the 
 imperative mood of which was used three times 
 to call all persons concerned to the hearing, when 
 the officer proclaimed the opening of the court 
 by crying — Oyez, oyez, oyez, from which that 
 functionary was called *'the crier;" and, having 
 but a very humble duty to perform, he was soon 
 allowed to be a Saxon, who corrupted the old 
 Norman into the English words, yes! yes I 
 yes ! as at the present day we hear it sung out, 
 both in civil and ecclesiastical courts. 
 
 We have still some old terms used in legal 
 forms, which are Saxon, it being necessary that they 
 should be understood by the lower orders. Thus, 
 notices of ejectment were signed John Thrustout; 
 and the fictitious names of John Nokes and John 
 Style, originally John of the Oke (or oak), and 
 
LECTURE II. 79 
 
 John at the Style, are both Saxon, as are also 
 John Doe and Richard Roe. These names go to 
 prove how common the name of John was with 
 the Saxons, as an Englishman is always called 
 John Bull, and a British sailor is known every- 
 where as honest Jack. 
 
 On this part of our subject, we may observe, 
 that, to this day, the royal assent is given to Acts 
 of Parliament in French, La Reine le veut — The 
 Queen wills it ; and if it should occur that our 
 gracious Sovereign should unhappily differ with 
 her Parliament, the refusal of her assent would 
 be conveyed in the mild terms, La Reine s'avi- 
 sera — The Queen will consider of it. In the 
 House of Lords, on a division, the Peers say 
 content or non-content, from the Latin ; while 
 the Commoners in the people's House, say aye or 
 no, in homely Saxon.* 
 
 It was not at the period of the first arrival of 
 the Normans in England, that all, or even the 
 greater number of the present words of French 
 derivation were introduced into the language ; 
 the English at all times appearing to have a taste 
 for borrowing words from others, and especially 
 from their French neighbours, although they 
 would not *' on compulsion" give up their original 
 Anglo-Saxon. In the curious and scarce work on 
 
 * The " Speaker," whose office is designated by a Saxon word, 
 says — Ayes to the right, and Noes to the left, using Saxon terms ; 
 while the enumerators are called " Tellers," also Saxon. 
 
80 LECTURE II. 
 
 the history and language of the Anglo-Saxons, 
 published in the year 1644, already referred to, 
 the author complains bitterly of this propensity, 
 observing that it had given rise to a proverb, in 
 the days of the Normans, when it used to be said 
 of a vain fellow among the Saxons, aping the 
 invaders, " Jack would he a gentleman if he 
 could speak French.'" As an illustration of the 
 inconvenience of this adoption of new words, the 
 author relates the following instance : — 
 
 *' So fell it out, not many years past, that a 
 principal courtier writing from London, to a per- 
 son of authority in the North parts, touching 
 the training of men, and providing furniture for 
 war, willed him, among other things, to equippe 
 his horses. The receiver of the letter, with some 
 trouble, came at last to the understanding of it 
 all, except equippe, whereof in no sort he could 
 conceive the meaning. In the end, he consulted 
 about it with divers gentlemen in the country 
 thereabouts, but none could resolve him. It 
 was among them remembered that we used in 
 our language the word quipping, and the word 
 whipping; the first not proper for horses, but 
 sometimes used to men ; the latter not fit for 
 gentlemen's horses, but for carters' jades. In fine, 
 none of them all being able to find in all the 
 English they had, what equippe might mean, a 
 messenger was sent of purpose to the Court at 
 
LECTURE II. 81 
 
 London to learn the meaning thereof of the 
 writer of the letter."* 
 
 Although it is now needless to tell you the 
 meaning of " equip," from the French, it may not 
 be unnecessary to explain that by the Saxon 
 word quipping, from whence comes '' quibble," 
 as practised on men but not on horses, was meant 
 to describe rallying with sarcasms, as Milton has — 
 
 " Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles, 
 Nods and becks, and wreathed smiles." 
 
 The foregoing is stated by Verstegan, as a fact 
 of recent actual occurrence ; but he proceeds to 
 adduce, apparently only as a good story, the case 
 of a man who told his friends " how, as he itine- 
 rated, he obviated a rural person, and interrogat- 
 ing him concerning the transitation of the time, 
 and the demonstration of the passage, found him 
 a mere simplician; whereas (adds our author) 
 if in his true speech he had asked him, what 
 was the clock, and which had been his way, his 
 ignorance might of the simplician have been in- 
 formed in both." 
 
 As an evidence of the great preponderance of 
 Saxon in the present English language, it may 
 be observed, that while we could write entire 
 pages and chapters, without having resort to the 
 use of a single word derived from any other lan- 
 guage, it would be found impossible to compose a 
 
 * Verstegan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence. 
 
82 LECTURE II. 
 
 sentence of twenty words from which those of Saxon 
 origin should be omitted. Of this the sentence just 
 quoted affords a striking example. The object of 
 the writer was to frame an imaginary speech, of 
 words derived from the Latin; and although 
 he makes his narrator speak of itinerating for 
 walking, obviating for meeting, and interrogating 
 for asking ; and represents him as speaking of 
 a rural person for a countryman, inquiring for 
 the transitation of the time, instead of asking what 
 it was o'clock, and the demonstration of the pas- 
 sage for the showing of the way, and speaking of 
 a simplician for a fool or dunce ; yet, with the 
 exception of concerning for *' about," he is com- 
 pelled, for all the other smaller but not unimpor- 
 tant words, to use Saxon, as in the case of the 
 pronouns, the articles, the conjunctions, and the 
 adverbs, occurring in the sentence. 
 
 I am not sure that an English-speaking Irish 
 peasant, at the present day, would clearly under- 
 stand a man inquiring of him concerning " the 
 transitation of the time, and the demonstration 
 of the passage ;" but it is certain that in Ireland 
 words derived from Latin are better understood 
 and more generally used than by corresponding 
 classes in England ; and I may add, that the less 
 educated class in Ireland speak better grammar 
 than the corresponding class in England. Both 
 these facts are to be accounted for by the circum- 
 stance, that the English language has been intro- 
 
LECTURE II. 83 
 
 duced into Ireland since its completion by the 
 addition of words derived from the Latin and 
 French, and that this was generally done by well- 
 educated Englishmen ; while the peasantry in 
 England speak their own language, as it was 
 spoken by their Saxon ancestors, not improved 
 in orthography or syntax by having been handed 
 down by their ** rude forefathers," from sire to 
 son, through a succession, in too many cases, of 
 illiterate generations. 
 
 In connexion with this part of our subject, 
 it is interesting to observe the changes of the 
 English language, in the use and pronunciation 
 of certain words, as shown by a comparison 
 between the different modes in which they are 
 now used in England and in Ireland. It will 
 be found that the use, and more especially the 
 pronunciation, of many words, in respect of which 
 our English neighbours accuse our countrymen of 
 Irishisms and of a brogue, were the same in 
 England, at the period of the general introduc- 
 tion of the language into this country, as now 
 prevail in some cases in Ireland. The changes 
 have been made in England which have not 
 been as yet universally adopted in Ireland. To 
 some of these I shall now refer, in illustration of 
 this remark ; taking the words, for the most part, 
 as I have chanced to find them in the works of 
 Chaucer and Spenser ; the former of whom lived 
 
 g2 
 
84 LECTURE II. 
 
 in the fourteenth, and the latter in the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 The first ** Irishism," as these are now called, 
 to which I shall refer, is the word hilt How often 
 is poor Paddy laughed at for this expression ! 
 And yet it will be found that Chaucer uses it for 
 killed ; and there is no reason, except fashion, 
 why it should not be used as well as s'pilt In 
 like manner, Chaucer and Spenser have holt for 
 *' hold," and it, as well as " bolt," was spelt with u^ 
 as an illiterate Irishman would say he took a hoult 
 of the hoult of the doore (door). This latter word 
 was anciently dure^ meaning a dure-fare^ or 
 *' thorough-fare." Similar to these, is ould for 
 '^ old," and rowled for " rolled," to be found in 
 publications of the seventeenth century. " Rush" 
 is in old books, rish^ from risan, to rise ; to 
 *' raise" is reise; and '^ risen" is risse or riz. 
 *' Rudder" was written rother, like "mother," 
 which was anciently written moder; while " mur- 
 der," in comparatively modern times, was spelt 
 murther; and " burden " was buHhen. " Toge- 
 ther " is in old books togither ; " key " is kaie ; 
 *' nostril" is nosthril ; "neither" is nather; the 
 preposition ^' by " is be ; and " before " is afore. 
 " Ask " was axe, and axing was the term formerly 
 used for a request ; both words being derived 
 from the Anglo-Saxon axing, to inquire, to ask. 
 " Fodder" for cattle, from food, was written /o^Aer, 
 and was doubtless pronounced like " bother." 
 
LECTURE II, bo 
 
 The Saxon word for message was arrande, now 
 called " errand'' (distinct from the Latin-derived 
 errant, or wandering), but still amongst the Irish 
 peasantry pronounced arrand. " World," some- 
 times vulgarly pronounced as if a word of two 
 syllables, was originally such, the Saxon word 
 being woruld. Drede is " fear,'' and affeared or 
 afered is "afraid,'' as used by Shakspeare and other 
 writers of the sixteenth century.* " Sermon" is 
 spelt sarmonde in old writers, and " wrestle" is 
 wrastle. "Welcome" was formerly wilcome; a 
 ** nettle" was a nittle ; and a " pen" was a pinn. 
 Again, and even agen and agin, are to be found 
 used by the accomplished poets referred to, for 
 *' against;" as is also learn for "teach," which 
 was the original meaning of the word; and / 
 seen for "I saw;" while they likewise use a well- 
 known word with Irishmen, to swap, for ex- 
 change. In Ireland we often hear a large num- 
 ber of persons, &c., described as a power of peo- 
 ple, &c. ; and in some parts they use insense for 
 apprise or inform, i. e., to make sensible of; as 
 *' I've insensed the master of it." But these 
 phrases are also found in common use in some 
 parts of England.f In Ulster, and the northern 
 parts of Connaught, many words of Anglo-Saxon 
 derivation are in use, brought over, probably, 
 
 * " Will not the ladies be affeared of the lion ?" 
 
 Midsummer Nighfs Dream. 
 t See Leicestershire Words^ Phrases, and Proverbs; by Dr. Evans. 
 
86 LECTURE II. 
 
 from Scotland in the seventeenth century ; such 
 as art for a section of the heavens — " There will 
 be bad weather as long as the wind is blowing 
 from that art;'' bairn for child; hray for hill 
 (from the Anglo-Saxon hrcew, or h^eah, a brow) ; 
 they call the first springing of the corn braird, 
 and a ditch they call a gripe ; the Anglo-Saxon 
 words being briar d, the top, and gr&p, a furrow.* 
 We may often hear the Irish peasantry speak 
 of a thing being divided into two halves ; and 
 anciently " half" meant any part, and the expres- 
 sion " four halves" is old English ;t so that this 
 " Irishism" may also be traced to the original Eng- 
 lish settlers. " Lieutenant,"' from the French, is 
 described by Yerstegan, in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, as being pronounced in England liftenant, as 
 we may still sometimes hear it in Ireland. A re- 
 markable instance of the change in the application 
 of words is that of " starve." An Irishman is 
 laughed at for saying a man was starved with 
 the hunger, as if it were a tautology. This arises 
 from the word " starve" (formerly spelt sterve) 
 I having now come to signify to perish of hunger, 
 \only, whereas it originally meant, simply, to 
 i; perish or die, whatever might have been the cause. 
 /Thus Chaucer tells of a man who " starved with 
 I hunger," and relates how the Trojans " starved'* 
 
 * Most of the above words may be found in Burns^ 
 t Tyrwhitt, quoted by Dr. Richardson. 
 
• LECTURE II. 87 
 
 through the stratagem of the wooden horse 
 brought into the devoted city. He also applies 
 this word to describe the death of our Saviour 
 on the cross. And in some parts of England, as 
 well as in Ireland, the peasantry still speak of a 
 man being starved with the cold. 
 
 With respect to the usual mode of pronouncing 
 words, we can only judge of this by poetry, and 
 observing such as are made to rhyme. Now, in 
 the poets to whom I have already referred, we 
 find such rhymes as creature with " nature ;" treat 
 with ^' great;" leave y^iih "save;" and hleah, speaky 
 and weak, with " break." In fact ea appears to 
 have been commonly pronounced as a; and so it 
 still continues to be in several words, for example, 
 wear, hear, tear, rear, heart, hearth, and hearken, 
 and, in like manner, ei in " heir" is pronounced as 
 ai in hair. Nor can any sound reason be given 
 why " weary" should not be pronounced warey, as 
 well as *' wear" ware ; or why '' speak" should 
 not be spake, and " bleak" hlake, and " weak'' 
 wake, as well as " great" grate, " heart" hart, or as 
 "• break" is generally pronounced in England 
 brake, and as every one calls a *' beefsteak," a 
 heef-stake. 
 
 It is observable that many of the words of this 
 class were anciently written, as well as pro- 
 nounced, with a instead of e or ea. Thus we find, 
 in old authors, kay, for key, lay, for lea, and hate, 
 
88 LECTURE II. 
 
 for beat. Others, again, now spelt with ay or a 
 only, had formerly ea, as slea for "slay/' and 
 flea for " flay ;" and yet these words appear to h(ive 
 been always pronounced as they now are, in the 
 same manner as words similarly spelt are still often 
 pronounced in Ireland, as "play and say for " plea" 
 and " sea." When slea was " slay" Sindflea "flay," 
 there is no reason to doubt that '* plea'' was play, 
 and " sea" was say. Some such words are still 
 given in dictionaries as spelt either way, as *'fleaks" 
 or "flakes" of snow, and to "flea" or *^flay" the 
 skin ; as also " steak" or *' stake." 
 
 But we need not go back three centuries to find 
 words made to rhyme, which would now be con- 
 sidered " Irishisms." Pope, who wrote in the 
 middle of the last century, makes " tea" to rhyme 
 with obey; and it can be shewn that, within 
 twenty years before his time, this beverage re- 
 tained its French name^ and was written the, and 
 pronounced accordingly. Pope has " weak" rhym- 
 ing with take; also " retreat," and " complete," to 
 rhyme with great. Some have considered this 
 latter instance as afibrding a proof that " great" 
 was then pronounced as if spelt greet, rather than 
 an evidence of " complete" having been comjplate. 
 But in the same poem in which Pope has '^ retreat" 
 and "complete" rhyming with "great," he makes 
 "state," and "rate" to rhyme with the same word. 
 Now there can be no doubt as to the pronunci- 
 ation of these latter words, and we find them 
 
LECTURE II. 89 
 
 frequently made to rhyme with " great." The 
 poet describes man as 
 
 " Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, 
 A being darkly wise, and rudely great." 
 
 And he points out the true nobility of race, — 
 
 " But by your fathers' worth if your's you rate. 
 Count me those only who were good and great." 
 
 When we find in the same poem, the Essay on 
 Man, the following couplet, — 
 
 " There, in the rich, the honoured, fam'd, and great, 
 See the false scale of happiness compleaV — 
 
 we are led to the conclusion that complete was 
 pronounced complate; and it is to be remarked 
 that, in the earlier editions of Pope's works, this 
 word is spelt " compleat/' The words " supreme" 
 and "extreme" will, in like manner, be found 
 spelt with ea and without the final e, in books 
 printed about a hundred years since, as "supream" 
 and "extream," which, I doubt not, were pro- 
 nounced suprame and extrame. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon for "weak" was wake, and 
 "weakness" was wacness. We may also find 
 bluke for " bleak ;" blather for " bladder ;" dale 
 for " deal ;" receave for " receive ;" and many 
 similar words. The Irish peasant frequently says 
 hebes Jot "he is ;" in some parts of England, also, 
 the same expression is used. 
 
 As to the pronunciation of words similarly 
 spelt, other poets of the last century, as well as 
 Pope, might be quoted, to show that words like 
 
90 LECTURE II. 
 
 those referred to, spelt with ea, and even with e 
 sole, were frequently, if not usually, pronounced 
 as if written with a only. 
 
 Thus Swift has the following: — '^severe" to 
 rhyme with air; ''survey" with tea; *' speak," 
 with break; " dean" with vein; ''deserve" with 
 starve; ''peace" with pace; "treat" with the 
 French tUe-a-tete; and many similar. Cowper, 
 in his well-known lines, supposed to be spoken by 
 Alexander Selkirk, has — 
 
 " I'm monarch of all I survey, 
 
 My right there is none to dispute ; 
 From the centre all round to the sea, 
 I am lord of the fowl and the brute." 
 
 And Lady Mary Wortley, referring to the Gre- 
 cian Archipelago, has the following couplet: — 
 
 " Warmed with poetic transport I survey 
 Th' immortal island and the well-known sea."* 
 
 It appears, therefore, that when an Irishman 
 calls his native island " the first jim of the say,'' 
 he pronounces the latter word as did the best 
 writers of the last century, while it will be found 
 that the Anglo-Saxon for a "gem" is gimm. It 
 is scarcely necessary to remark, that every Eng- 
 lish poet makes " wind" to rhyme with "find," 
 " mind," " bind," &c., which, I think, is sufficient 
 
 * In no work are rhymes like the above so common as in Francis's 
 Translation of Horace. He was, however, an Irishman by birth ; but 
 he was an accomplished scholar, and kept an academy in England, 
 where Gibbon, the historian, was one of his pupils. 
 
LECTUEE II. 91 
 
 evidence as to its pronunciation, until it has come 
 to be pronounced differently in prose from what 
 it is in verse, in England. And I will venture to 
 express a preference for the uniform mode of 
 pronunciation more general in Ireland, as com- 
 pared with that which, in prose, gives it a sound 
 different from that of any other word spelt in a 
 similar way, and resembling sinned, or the first 
 syllable in the verb " hinder." 
 
 It may, perhaps, be said that the foregoing 
 examples of the broad pronunciation of ea and 
 of e, like a in /ar, are rather evidences of care- 
 lessness on the part of the writers quoted, than 
 proofs of the usual manner, in their time, of 
 pronouncing the words adduced. But, to say 
 nothing of the rashness of thus accusing such 
 poets as Swift and Pope, it may be answered that 
 no similar discrepancies, whether as the result of 
 carelessness or poetic license, will be found in the 
 case of other words as to the pronunciation of 
 which there is no doubt. The word ''see," for 
 example, will not be found as rhyme for ohey^ 
 or survey ; nor will '•' meet," or " feet," be made 
 to rhyme with state, or rate. It is probable, how- 
 ever, that in the case of the latter examples 
 adduced, the pronunciation may have been at 
 the time in progress of change, and considered 
 optional. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, as corroborating our 
 view of the subject, that some words with ea, 
 
92 LECTURE II. 
 
 and even witli e only, are to this day pronounced 
 as a broad. Thus in many parts of England, 
 the peasantry say sarvant for " servant ;" and 
 clargy for "clergy." And amongst all classes, 
 " clerk" and " serjeant" are pronounced as if 
 written with a and not e ; as also " bear" and 
 *'tear" (to rend), pronounced as 6ar6 and tare; 
 and "here" (for barley), and "were," as if spelt 
 hare and ware. Sheridan, in his Pronouncing 
 Dictionary, has mar chant for " merchant," which 
 would now be considered as vulgar as sarvice or 
 varmin; which, however, as well as desarve^sarch^ 
 marcy^ and vartue (formerly spelt vertue), may 
 still be heard in common use amongst the peasan* 
 try in many parts of England. The pronunciation 
 of proper names is less liable to change than that 
 of other words ; and we find Berkeley, Derby, 
 Berkshire, Hertfordshire, and others, still pro- 
 nounced as if written with a (broad) instead of 
 e, in the first syllable. 
 
 Many words now spelt with a had formerly e, 
 and I have no doubt that the orthography of such 
 words came to be changed, in the course of time, 
 to correspond with the pronunciation. Thus 
 " starve" was sterve; " star" was sterre; " great" 
 ^was grete; '' dart" was derte ; " dark" was derhe; 
 *\ r*' carve" was kerve ; *' mark" was merke; and the 
 name of the '* parson" of the parish was spelt 
 like that of any other person. All these, I incline 
 to think, were pronounced as they now are, even 
 
LECTURE II. 93 
 
 when spelt differently ; as we find in the case of 
 " heart" spelt herte^ and yet made to rhyme in 
 Chaucer with such words as *^ start," ^' part," and 
 *^ smart." And we find in Johnson's Dictionary 
 words of this class spelt indifferently with a and 
 e, as *' threshing" or thrashing^ " wreck" or wrack, 
 " chew" or chaw; and ** serge" was formerly sarge, 
 as it is in French from which it is derived. 
 
 The reference to the word " speak" being pro- 
 nounced as if it were spahe, reminds me of a 
 story told of an occurrence said to have taken 
 place on the occasion of a dinner having been 
 given in London, by the Speaker of the House 
 of Commons, immediately after the passing of 
 the Act of Union between England and Ireland, 
 to which several members of the late Irish par- 
 liament, together with their ex-Speaker, were 
 invited. A difficulty arose as to the way of dis- 
 tinguishing the two speakers in addressing them ; 
 it having been determined, as a matter of cour- 
 tesy, on that occasion, to continue his title to the 
 Irish Speaker, not yet raised to the peerage. An 
 English member, struck with the accent of some 
 of the Irish guests, jocularly proposed to address 
 the Irish speaker as Mr. Spaker ; upon which a 
 somewhat hot-tempered Irishman of the party 
 waxed so indignant, as considering it used in de- 
 rision of his countrymen, that a serious quarrel 
 appeared imminent, until a good-humoured Irish 
 member present pacified his irascible fellow- 
 
94 LECTURE II. 
 
 countryman, by pointing out to him that the 
 Englishman could have meant no offence, as he, 
 doubtless, only intended to signify that the Irish 
 Speaker's functions had ceased, his office being at 
 an end ; and that, therefore, it was more proper 
 to describe him by the past tense, as " Mr. Spaker," 
 that is, he who formerly spake ! 
 
 There are other words, of which the pronun- 
 ciation, not peculiar to Ireland, that is now 
 thought vulgar, would not have been so considered 
 formerly. Thus Shakspeare says : — 
 
 " Our wills and fates do so contrary run." 
 
 And Spenser has : — 
 
 "Ne let mischievous witches with their charms." 
 
 And Milton:— 
 
 " argument, blasphemous, false, and proud." 
 
 The city of Rome was formerly pronounced, 
 and still is by some, as if it were written Room ; 
 and the word '* oblige" was pronounced in Pope's 
 time as if spelt ohleege. If this pronunciation, 
 similar to that of " prestige," be now altogether 
 discontinued, it has been so only within the last 
 few years. 
 
 Instances might also be adduced, to shew that 
 phrases, which are now justly condemned as 
 bad grammar, were not so considered formerly. 
 Thus, " Bring me them books" is rather antiqua- 
 ted than bad English. The same remark applies 
 to another incorrect mode of speaking, which we 
 
LECTURE 11. 95 
 
 may sometimes hear; as if one said — "My bro- 
 ther and me went together to London." Before 
 the conjunction " and" was substituted for the 
 imperative mood of the verb ananad, to add, as 
 we have shown from Home Tooke, the sentence 
 would have been perfectly correct — " My brother, 
 add me, went together to London." The substi- 
 tution of the conjunction has become universal, 
 but the consequent change of case in the second 
 pronoun has not been adopted by those whose 
 acquaintance with the rules of grammar is defi- 
 cient. 
 
 In making the suggestions which 1 have now 
 offered for your consideration, as to the origin 
 of the words, and of the method of pronuncia- 
 tion, to which I have referred, I hope it is un- 
 necessary for me to say that I do not advocate 
 the use of such words as axe^ Jdlti riz, boult, and 
 hoult; nor justify the vulgar pronunciation of 
 such words as spake, plaze, clane, and nate, 
 or extrame, suprame, and complate ; nor do I 
 recommend you to speak of a cup of tay as a 
 trate, when you are on the say, although, I 
 believe, such might have been correct a hundred 
 years ago. 
 
 M}^ object has been only to account for such 
 words and pronunciation ; and to show that they 
 are not mere corruptions introduced by the Irish, 
 but that having been imported here by the 
 Encrlish settlers of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 
96 LECTURE II. 
 
 centuries,* they liave not been changed for the 
 more modern use and pronunciation, as speedily 
 as we hope they will be, in these days of increased 
 facilities of intercourse between the two countries, 
 and of mutually improved feelings of amity be- 
 tween her Majesty's subjects at both sides of the 
 channel. 
 
 There is nothing more arbitrary than the pro- 
 nunciation of words, and the fashions in dress, 
 and no other rule than custom, and the usages of 
 good society, can be applied to either; and to 
 these we must conform, if we would avoid ex- 
 posing ourselves to the charge of vulgarity on the 
 one hand, or of affectation on the other. 
 
 Before leaving this part of our subject, I would 
 remark, that the English are the only people in 
 Europe, who, in speaking or reading Latin, 
 pronounce the first letter of the alphabet a as in 
 face^ all others pronouncing it broad as in man. 
 And I must confess that I should be sorry to 
 see our classical schools and colleges in Ireland 
 adopting the English peculiarity in this respect. 
 
 The ancient Saxon pronunciation of the first 
 letter of the alphabet was, most probably, as 
 
 * I take no account of the settlement of the English in Ireland, 
 under Strongbow, in the twelfth century, because, so completely- 
 changed was the language in the interim, that those who came over 
 in Queen Elizabeth's time, and the descendants of those who had come 
 with Strongbow, could not understand each other when they met in 
 Ireland, in the sixteenth century. 
 
LECTURE II. 97 
 
 Johnson remarks, that which it has in many 
 of our monosyllables, like au, as in "all" and 
 ** wall," where it is pronounced as in law and cause. 
 Many of these words were anciently written, as 
 pronounced, with u, as sault and ivaulk ; a form 
 still retained in " fault" and " vault." This sound 
 of the first letter is still almost universally re- 
 tained in the rustic pronunciation, and in the 
 northern dialects of England, as maun for " man," 
 and haund for " hand ;" and so it is pronounced 
 by the Scotch, who speak more pure Saxon than 
 the English generally, as do also their descendants 
 in the North of Ireland. 
 
 We shall here notice the Anglo-Saxon jprefixes 
 and affixes^ that is, the particles forming the 
 commencement and termination of words. Of 
 the prefixes, we have (X, signifying at, to, or on ; 
 as '^ afield," at, or to the field; "afoot," on foot; 
 and " aboard," on board. A was in the Anglo- 
 Saxon an inseparable affix, often denoting pri- 
 vation, but more frequently without such mean- 
 ing. It is now usually omitted, although re- 
 tained in some words, as " awaken." Al signifies 
 all, as " Almighty." Be^ as a prefix, is the verb 
 to be, as " befriend," be a friend to. En is to 
 make, as ** enable," to make able ; and this is 
 sometimes written 6m, as " empower," '* embark." 
 Fore is before, as " foretell," to tell beforehand. 
 Mis signifies not, or wrong, from mis, a defect, 
 
 H 
 
98 LECTURE II. 
 
 as " misfortune," '' misconduct." Out is beyond, 
 or superiority, as " outlive," " outrun." Of or off 
 is out of, or from, as " offspring." Over means 
 above or beyond, as ** overseer," " overflow ;" up 
 is upward motion, as " upstart," also "subversion," 
 as " upset." With is from, or against, as " with- 
 draw," "withstand." Un is not, as "unable." 
 In numerous instances, especially in words of 
 Latin origin, im has given place to in or im. 
 " CT'Tipossible" was formerly in use ; and although 
 we retain " uiijust," the noun is " mjustice." On 
 and or were also negative prefixes with the 
 Saxons. Imh was an Anglo-Saxon prefix, but 
 has given place to the Latin circum, round about, 
 we have the remains of it in " embed " and " em- 
 bosom." Under as a prefix means below, or 
 beneath, as " undervalue." An " underwriter" 
 is one who subscribes his name to an agreement. 
 " Lloyd's underwriters" are the agents of Lloyd's 
 Insurance Company who underwrite, or subscribe, 
 their names to policies of marine insurances. 
 
 The most important of the English afiixes, of 
 Anglo-Saxon origin, are en, signifying to make, 
 or made of, as " blacken," to make black, " wooden," 
 made of wood; ful meaning full of, as in "hope- 
 ful ;" head or hood denoting a state or degree, as 
 " Godhead," " manhood." Ish implies belonging 
 to, as " boyish ;" kin is a diminutive affix, as '' lamb- 
 kin ;" less denotes privation, and may be expressed 
 by prefixing the preposition without, as " hopeless," 
 
LECTURE II. 99 
 
 without hope, " careless," without care. Like or 
 ly denotes likeness, as " godlike" or " godly." 
 " Worldly" was anciently "worldlike." Ness de- 
 notes the prominent character or quality, as 
 " goodness," " greatness." Ess is a feminine ter- 
 mination, as "lioness," "semstress," or seamstress, 
 the sewer of seaons. Rick and wick denote rule 
 or authority, as " bishopric ;" " bailiwick" and dom 
 has the same meaning, as " kingdom." ^hip 
 signifies office, state or condition, as ** lordship," 
 " friendship ;" and is derived from shape or form, 
 as " landscape," for landshape. The term " ship- 
 shape'' means shaped in proper form and order. 
 Some denotes some of, or in some degree, as 
 " quarrelsome." Tide denotes time, as " noontide." 
 Ward means turned to, or in the direction of, as 
 '* homeward, " ^* backward." Chaucer has '' Canter- 
 bury-ward,'" to express going towards Canterbury. 
 " Homeward " and heavenward " are good old 
 English words. The adjective " toward" or docile, 
 is formed of to and ward; and an "untoward " 
 event is one that is not according to one's mind or 
 wishes. " Forward'' was forth-war d, going forth. 
 " Awkward " means wrong-ward ; Shakspeare 
 has " awkward (for adverse) winds." " Forward " 
 or adverse, is compounded of from and ward ; 
 and " wayward " signifies having regard to one's 
 own way, self-willed. The affix y implies having, 
 or abounding in, as "stony,"' "wealthy," "healthy." 
 
100 LECTURE II. 
 
 There are many other prefixes and affixes in 
 the formation of English words, but being de- 
 rived from Greek and Latin, it does not come 
 within our present purpose to notice them. For 
 these, I would refer you to Professor Sullivan's 
 admirable Dictionary, used in the Irish National 
 Schools, from which many of the foregoing ex- 
 amples of prefixes and affixes have been taken. 
 
 The derivations of titles of honour, and of 
 office and dignity, of Saxon origin, forms an in- 
 teresting part of our subject, to which, however, 
 1 connot refer more than very briefly. ** King'' 
 (cyning), is the first of such titles, attached to the 
 highest office in the realm. This is derived from 
 cun^ or eyn, which meant " valiant," and ing^ a 
 particle, signifying the endowment of a quality. 
 The king meant the most valiant, and such, at 
 the commencement of monarchies, became the 
 heads or chiefs of the people. Of this, the femi- 
 nine was cuninghia, contracted to " queen." 
 The only title of nobility now continued in Eng- 
 land, derived from the Saxon, is that of " earl," 
 compounded of ear, meaning honour, and ethel, 
 or el, noble, or worthy ; but as the Saxons had no 
 feminine for earl, the lady of this noble derives 
 her title of *' countess" from that of the wife of 
 the Norman count, from which latter title we have 
 the " viscount," or vice-count. 
 
 The more general title of " lord," which was 
 
LECTURE II. 101 
 
 formerly not confined to members of the peer- 
 age,* was originally laford or leaford^ the aff order 
 or provider of bread for his household ; leaf, or 
 laf, being another word for bread, from which we 
 have '< loaf." " Lady" is a contraction for leaf- 
 dian, the dispenser of bread ; the lord, as head 
 of the family, provided the bread which was 
 dealt out by the lady of the house. Such was 
 the rule of the Anglo-Saxon households; from 
 which province of the lady came the custom, 
 peculiar to England, of the wife sitting at the 
 head of the table, and carving for the family and 
 guests, while the husband sat at the foot, near the 
 servants, to give orders for providing the food, 
 as required, which was placed in reserve, on the 
 table or board set at his side of the room, and 
 hence called the " Ude-board." Which custom 
 of the lady sitting at the head of the table, is 
 stated by the writer of the seventeenth century, 
 to whom I have already referred, to have been a 
 matter of no little surprise to the French of his 
 time; but now-a-days French cookery has to a 
 great extent superseded carving, and Continental 
 fashions sometimes put the lady of the house alto- 
 gether " to one side" — of the table. 
 
 The title *' steward" anciently sted-ward meant 
 
 * The title of lord still extends beyond the peerage ; as to the 
 Lords of the Treasury, of the Council, and of the Admiralty, and the 
 Lords Justices of Ireland ; as also to the Irish Lord Chancellor, though 
 not a peer, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, and the Scotch judges. 
 
102 LECTURE II. 
 
 the keeper of the place ;* as hold-ward was the 
 keeper of the hold or castle. This latter word 
 is no longer in use in its primary meaning ; but 
 as the office of Stedward, by contraction ^' Stew- 
 ard," gave a name to the royal race of Stuart, 
 so from Eoldward is derived, by the omission of 
 two consonants, the name of one of the most 
 honourable houses in England, borne by the 
 noble families who inherit " the blood of all the 
 Howards;" and of these by that of the present 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who has recently 
 done us the honour of becoming the Patron of 
 our Mechanics' Institute in Waterford ; and who 
 adorns an illustrious name by his public and pri- 
 vate virtues, and in nothing more gracefully than 
 in meeting the people in the halls of the Mecha- 
 nics' Institutes, contributing to their instruction, 
 and to the elevation of their minds, by popular 
 lectures an the cultivation of taste in poetry, and 
 in support of the cause of intellectual progress 
 and improvement. 
 
 The honourable title of *' mayor" is usually 
 attributed to Norman origin, as derived from the 
 Latin major, the greater; but although the words 
 are somewhat similar, it appears more probable 
 
 * Similar to " Steward" is the Dutch and German Stadholder or 
 Statholder, and thef.French Lieutenant. Stat being the same as steady 
 as in German " instead" is anstatt ; and lieu being the French for 
 place. The translation of all these words is place-holder, usually 
 meaning one who holds the place for another. 
 
LECTURE II. 103 
 
 that it is derived from a Saxon word, as are the 
 names of the other city dignitaries, or, to use 
 Saxon epithets, borough worthies, as sheriff, 
 alderman, boroughreeve, bailiff, constable, as also 
 the wards, the bailiwicks, the guilds, the towns, 
 and the boroughs. Meer is a name in general use 
 amongst all the nations who speak the Teutonic 
 tongue, signifying power or authority with dig- 
 nity, and is derived from the old verb maye, to 
 be able, which is still in use as an auxiliary verb. 
 Thus, Mynheer is the German title corresponding 
 to Monsieur in French, and to Mr. or master, pro- 
 nounced mister, in English. The " mayor" — an- 
 ciently written meyer, and meier as it is now in 
 German and Dutch, and in French, maire — is 
 derived from the ancient Teutonic, and signifies 
 the man of power and authority in the city ; he is 
 the mayer, or man of might, who may use the 
 chief authority within his jurisdiction. 
 
 I have already observed, that " sheriff," an- 
 ciently spelt shereve, and in Chaucer shiregereve 
 (like landgrave), means the keeper of the shire, 
 reeve meaning a keeper or guardian ; hence also 
 boroughreeve and portreeve, the word port in the 
 Teutonic signifying a walled town. The titles, 
 '' bailiff" and '' baillie,'' have been supposed to be 
 derived from the French ; but they would appear 
 to be of the same origin as the word bail, which 
 means protection. The "baillie" is an officer 
 well known in Scotland, who is the keeper or 
 
104 LECTURE II. 
 
 protector of the peace within his bailiwick. The 
 *' bailifFe" takes men under his safe keeping ; and 
 when a man gets ''bail," or, as it is sometimes 
 said, is " bailed/' he ohtsims protection from arrest. 
 
 The title of " alderman" is generally described 
 as signifying elder man ; but I think incorrectly. 
 It is true that amongst the Jews " elder'' was a 
 title of honour ; and that yldra, the comparative 
 of eald, the Anglo-Saxon for " old," was also 
 written ealdor ; but Verstegan has, I think, 
 shown very clearly, in his chapter on " Titles of 
 Honour,'' that the true meaning of " alderman" is, 
 " of all the men chief," he being the first of all the 
 council-men under the mayor. 
 
 That this is the meaning of the prefix alder, we 
 have abundant evidence in Chaucer, who has 
 " alderearst" (for alderfirst), " alderbest," " alder- 
 most," " alderlast," " alderlivest," " aldersconist" 
 (for alderfairest), and " aldereldest," to describe, 
 severally, in the strongest superlative, the first, 
 best, chiefest, last, dearest, fairest, and eldest, of 
 all those referred to in the context. We also 
 find in old writers, alderyoungest, alderhighest, 
 alderwisest, alderleast, alderworst, alder foremost, 
 alderlowest, aldertriiest, and many others.* 
 
 We also find alder in composition with nouns 
 as well as with adjectives, as in the case of the 
 word "alderman" itself Thus Chaucer repre- 
 sents the " host of the Tabert" as proposing for 
 
 * See Halliwell's Archaic Dictionary. 
 
LECTURE II. 105 
 
 the best narrator of the " Canterbury Tales/' that 
 he " shall have a supper at our aldercost,'' which 
 may mean at his chief cost, or the best of his 
 entertainments ; or, as the glossary has it, *' at 
 our common cost" — the cost of all the company ; 
 and we find alder-prise, signifying praise of all. 
 Again, in setting out in the morning, on the pil- 
 grimage to Canterbury, it is arranged that the host 
 himself shall lead the way, as their ^^aldercock," 
 that is, the leader of the party, or cock of the walk, 
 in the same sense as in the " Spectator" the '* cock 
 of the club" is a title implying influence and lea- 
 dership. 
 
 I think it will thus he seen that alder, used as 
 a prefix, either to adjectives or nouns, did not 
 mean "elder." The word "alder-eldest/' to de- 
 scribe the eldest son, is sufficient to prove that 
 such is not its signification. The same observation 
 applies still more strongly, to '' alder-youngest." 
 But we may adduce other evidence to show that 
 it meant pre-eminence. This will appear by ob- 
 serving the more ancient application of the name 
 " alderman," which was, in the days of the early 
 Saxons, the highest title of honour next to that of 
 the king himself The " Alderman of all Eng- 
 land'' was, as we learn from Rapin,the first subject 
 in the realm, corresponding to a Grand Justici- 
 ary ; and Bosworth defines an Alderman as '^ the 
 highest nobleman." Other aldermen, or " ealder- 
 men,'' were governors of counties, from which they 
 
106 LECTURE II. 
 
 came to be called Earls. In the Saxon Psalter^ 
 ** the princes of Judah and their captains'' are 
 called the " Aldermannum of Judah and hereto- 
 gan heare^ This latter title " heretogan," cor- 
 responds with the *' Duke/' from the Latin duXj 
 8L leader, and meant the leader of an army : here 
 signifying war, or an army, and togan to lead. 
 Hengist and Horsa, the first leaders of the Saxons 
 into Britain, are called " Heretogan," and the 
 Dutch for duke is hertogh. A principal town was 
 called by the Saxons, alder-burgh, an archbishop 
 was designated alder-biscop, a prince or chief 
 judge was alder-dema, and alder-dom was a prin- 
 cipality. It was also written ealdor in all these 
 cases. 
 
 This explanation of the word " alder," meaning 
 the chief or first of all, serves to explain the 
 otherwise unintelligible names of two churches 
 in the city of London. " Alder mary" Church 
 meant the church dedicated to St. Mary, the first 
 or chief of all women, in allusion to that which 
 was said to the Virgin at the annunciation, 
 " Blessed art thou among women ;" and thus 
 it corresponds with the various churches of aS'^. 
 Maria Maggiore on the Continent, and Great St 
 Mary's at Oxford. " Aldermanbury" parish was 
 probably the burg, a Saxon word for a dwelling- 
 place of the first and principal citizens, or the 
 church may have been the place of their burial, 
 as Bury St. Edmund's in Suffolk was called after 
 
LECTURE II. 107 
 
 Edmund, the Saxon king and martyr, buried 
 there.* " Aldergate" in London was doubtless 
 at one time the principal of all the gates ^ as the 
 " aldermen" were the chief of all the men, in the 
 city. For alder it was sometimes written althir, 
 which may account for the very vulgar pronun- 
 ciation, althirman. 
 
 A *' knight," in Saxon cnyhty meant a servant 
 or follower, and was from an early period used 
 as a title of honour, and applied to the king's 
 body-guard ; and from the mounted knights is 
 derived Knight-rider street in London. An- 
 ciently, in Saxon, a disciple or pupil was called 
 a horning enght ; and in the Netherlands a lear 
 knight is the same as an apprentice, that is, a 
 learner who serves his master. Members of the 
 House of Commons are styled '* knights of the 
 shire," although not knights in the ordinary ac- 
 ceptation of the term ; but they are the represen- 
 tatives of their constituents, and elected to "serve," 
 in Parliament. Home Tooke, who is fond of 
 tracing nouns, as well as conjunctions, adverbs, 
 and prepositions, to the past participle of verbs, 
 supposes cnyht to be that part of the verb cnyttan, 
 to join or unite, signifying what would now be 
 called an attache — one of the king's companions. 
 
 A warder or warden is another name for guar- 
 
 * We find also the towns of Alderbury, Alderford, Alderley, Alder- 
 ton, Aldermaston, Alderminster, and Aldershott ; the prefix alder in 
 each case indicating pre-eminence. 
 
108 LECTURE II. 
 
 dian. The Normans always changed w into g, 
 there being no such letter as w in French ; thus 
 the French have Gualles and Corngualles for 
 "Wales and Cornwall, as also guerre for war. 
 Constable meant cynings (or king's) stable, being 
 a hybrid word compounded of Saxon and French, 
 and signifying the king's support. The Lord 
 High Constable was an ancient officer of the 
 Crown, first created by William the Conqueror. 
 The humblest " constable" is, at this day, the 
 keeper or protector of the Queen's peace. 
 
 The last branch of our subject is the derivation 
 
 of proper names, peculiar to the English and to 
 
 other nations of Teutonic origin ; but to which 
 
 we can only refer very briefly. 
 
 i Albert means well-advised, or one who gives 
 
 good advice ; and fully is the signification of the 
 
 name realized in the Royal Consort* of our 
 
 gracious Queen, whose own name, ViCTOKiA, I 
 
 I need not tell you, is the Latin for Victory. May 
 
 I it ever prove a name of good omen ! 
 
 Edmond means the r)%outh of truth. Edward 
 I and Edgar, a keeper of his word. Gertrude is 
 s all truth. Leonard signifies a lion's heart. Ber- 
 \ nard, a bear's heart. Richard, a rich or bountiful 
 I heart. Everard, a boar's heart. Lambert, a lamb's 
 
 * Since the pablication of the former Editions of these Lectures, 
 our Queen and the nation have sustained an irreparable loss in the 
 death of Prince Albert. We may confidently hope that the Prince of 
 Wales will prove well-advised and good, like his lamented Father. 
 
LECTURE II. 109 
 
 heart. Godhart, a good heart Manhard or Hard- 
 man, a mans hearty or a man of heart ; and 
 Gerard means all heart. 
 
 William is a very ancient proper name, the 
 origin of which may be traced to a period anterior 
 to the arrival of the Saxons in Britain, having 
 been introduced at the time of the wars of the 
 Romans with the ancient Germans. The leaders 
 of the Romans wore gilt helmets, and when a 
 German warrior overcame and killed one of those 
 well-armed captains, the gilded helmet was taken 
 off the slain enemy, and proudly placed on the 
 head of the victor, who was thenceforward ho- 
 noured with the title of Gild-helme, which after- 
 wards became a christian name, at first bestowed 
 upon the son of a gilt-helmeted warrior ; and, as 
 many other names with the Saxons commenced 
 with '^ will,'' this was easily, by wrong pronuncia- 
 tion, brought to Willhelme, and shortened to 
 William ; but for a female name, first given to 
 the wife or daughter of the warrior, it is spelt 
 Wilhelmina. Among the Franks, it kept the 
 name of Guildhelm, and with their descendants, 
 the French, it became Guilhceume, and since came 
 to be Gulllaume, and in Latin, GuilielThus. 
 
 Walter was originally the title of an ofllcer, 
 rather than a proper name. It signified one who 
 had a charge or command in a forest, like the 
 wood-ranger ; wait or wold being the Saxon for 
 a forest, from which we have the present desig- 
 
110 LECTURE II. 
 
 nation, wood. Winfred signifies win peace, an 
 obtainer of concord; and Winnefred, originally 
 Winnefreda, is the feminine, with the same 
 meaning. Wilfred was one who willed peace. 
 Segismund meant the mouth of victory, being the 
 relater of victories for the encouragement of 
 others. The etymology of Rosamond is rose 
 "mouth, a name given to a fair maiden for the 
 colour of her lips, or, what was still better, the 
 sweetness of her words. Robert meant disposed 
 to rest ; and Roger, originally Rogard, the keeper 
 of rest or peace. Osmond was the spokesman of 
 the family, os being the house, and mond the 
 mouth. Oswald, or Osweald, was the ruler or 
 provider for the wealth or prosperity of his house. 
 Raymond was rein-mund, meaning pure mouth. 
 Mathilde, now Matilda, was anciently mead healt, 
 that is, a maiden champion. Harold, from 
 here-healtj signified a champion of the army; 
 hence the " herald" who carried the challenge of 
 the champion. Hugh was originally Heughe, 
 and with some nations it is Hugo ; it means joy 
 or gladness, and Hubert, a joyful heart. Hum- 
 phrey was anciently Humfrid, or Homefred, 
 signifying home peace, or domestic quietness. 
 Henry meant a possessor of wealth, from han, 
 still used in some parts of England for have, and 
 rye, signifying riches ; this latter word also signi- 
 fied possession, and was added to an office, to 
 describe the extent of the office bearer s jurisdic- 
 
LECTURE II. Ill 
 
 tion, as "bishopric," "bailiwic." Godfrey, or 
 Geoffrey, signifies good "peace; -Alfred means all 
 peace; and Frederic, rich in peace or friendship. 
 Francis, originally Franc, is free, and Lanfranc, 
 free of the land. 
 
 El, and edel, or ethel, signified noble. Thus 
 Ethelbald meant nobly bold, or valiant; Ethel- 
 bert, nobly advised. Ethelbard, or Ethel ward, 
 was a keeper of nobility; Ethelwin, a winner of 
 nobility, one who obtained honour by his mei'its. 
 Baldwin was a bold vjinner. The word winne 
 also meant beloved, and hence Allen, or Allwine, 
 a christian name, was beloved of all. Bede or 
 bead is the Saxon for prayer, and it is supposed 
 that the parents of Venerable Bede, in giving him 
 this christian name, presaged his singular piety 
 and devotion. The name Charles has undergone 
 several alterations. It signifies all noble. It 
 was at first Gar-edel; gar, as before observed, 
 being all, and edel, as we have just remarked, 
 being noble. This was abbreviated into Gareal, 
 the g changed to c as in carouse, and eal put for 
 edel. In Latin, Careal was written Carolus, and 
 in modern English, Charles. Cuthbert means 
 oi good understanding ; the word cuth signifying 
 knowledge, as uncouth is unknown or strange, 
 and bert, as in Albert, meaning wise or advised. 
 
 Dunstan was a name signifying stability or 
 constancy, from dun, a hill, and stane, since 
 changed to "stone." Hence Dunstan meant a 
 
112 LECTURE II. 
 
 mountain-stone, or roch^ similar to Peter, derived 
 from the Greek. Herbert signified well advised 
 as to the condition of an army ; the word here 
 being the Saxon for an army. Leopold is keeper 
 of peace, or amity ; from leof now changed to 
 love, and hold, to keep. From Leof hold it was 
 changed to Leophold, and Leopold, for the sake 
 of euphony. Roderick was originally Raderic, 
 that is, rich in counsel, the word read or rade 
 signifying counsel, and ric, rich. Rodolph, an- 
 ciently Radolphe, is derived from read, counsel, 
 and olph, which signified help. This name is now 
 contracted to Ralph. A similar old name, Ran- 
 dolph, was originally Reindidphe, that is pure 
 help, or sincere assistance, rein signifying pure, 
 and ulphe or olph, help or aid. 
 
 So much for Christian names. Surnames 
 were gradually introduced for distinction of fami- 
 lies, and at first began by calling the son after 
 the father's name, with the addition of a word to 
 signify son or of Thus the ancient Celts, in 
 Scotland and Ireland, had Mac or Mc and O', 
 and the Welsh Ap,^ while through the Normans 
 or Francs came Fitz, a corruption of the French 
 jils, a son. These were prefixed to the christian 
 name of the father, as MacDonald, M'Mahon, 
 O'Connell, Apjohn, Fitzjames, and Fitzgerald. 
 But the Saxons affixed the word son for a similar 
 
 * Hence came such names as Price, originally Ap-rys ; and Powell, 
 from Ap- Howell. 
 
LECTURE II. 113 
 
 purpose : hence all names ending thus are of Saxon 
 or English origin, as Johnson and Jackson, 
 Adamson, Thompson, Edmundson, Richardson, 
 Jamieson, Eobertson, Williamson, Hudson, &c. 
 In many cases the word is contracted by dropping 
 the two final letters : thus we have Adams, Peters, 
 Andrews, Roberts, Williams. 
 
 In process of time the place of residence came 
 to be added to the name of the proprietor, and 
 thus a new set of surnames was formed ; and to 
 this circumstance we may trace such names as 
 Wood, Hill, Field, Green, Brook, Ford, Moore, 
 Meadows, Hall, Mills, Bridge, and Church. These 
 were originally : John, of the Wood ; William, 
 at the Hill ; Edward, by the Bridge, &c. Others 
 are not so plain ; for example, names ending in 
 ton (as Newton, Stapleton, Littleton), which is a 
 word derived from tune, a fenced or enclosed 
 place, originally in the country, from which we 
 have toiun^lands. Hence also boroughs, when 
 walled in, were called towns. Some families 
 settled near a cliff by the sea-side, and took such 
 names as Whitecliff, contracted to Wicliffe ; Rad- 
 cliffe, or, as it is still found in the name of a 
 church at Bristol, Redcliff ; and Clifibrd, from a 
 ford under a cliff, Clough was a slope on the 
 side of a hj]l covered with trees, and Colclough 
 meant a cool^ shady slope. Connhe was a field of 
 hilly ground; Cote was, like cottage from the 
 French, a small house ; a Croft was a small plot 
 
 I 
 
114 LECTURE II. 
 
 of ground ; Dale and Den the same as the word 
 '' valley/' which we have from the French; Dun 
 was a hill, and ey a river ; Ham, a home, origi- 
 nally a place of shelter ; Oke was an oak tree ; 
 Ley signified ground lying uncultivated, hence 
 lea land meant the land lying egle or idle. Port, 
 although similar to the word describing a harbour, 
 from the Latin porta, a gate, was a Saxon word 
 signifying a walled town. The meaning of " pool," 
 "well," "tree," "roof," and "land" are obvious. 
 A shaw meant a shade of trees, and was also 
 applied to any place of shelter; Sted and stow 
 signified a place; Stock meant a staff; Thorp 
 was the Saxon for a village ; Worth, anciently 
 wearth and weard, was a place between two 
 rivers, and " weirs" in rivers still retain the name. 
 A wye was a place of refuge or retreat, and by 
 degrees all market-towns came to be so called. 
 
 Proper names of towns and places, as well as 
 of families, in England, may be found to end in 
 each of the Saxon words which I have now enu- 
 merated, having reference to their original situa- 
 tion or history. In Ireland, we have remains of 
 the same words in surnames of fltrailies who have 
 settled in this country ; but not in the names of 
 towns, as in these the old Irish names were 
 usually retained. Even Waterford, which sounds 
 so like Saxon, is of Danish origin ; from Vader 
 Fiord, " the fiord of the father," or of Odin, a 
 Scandinavian deity. Owing to the similarity of 
 
LECTURE II. 115 
 
 the two languages, it was easily changed into 
 Water-ford; but one never heard of a ford, 
 meaning a shallow part of a river, so called. We 
 find in Ireland Swineford ; and in England Ox- 
 ford, formerly Oxenford, the arms of which city 
 are an ox passing through a ford ; Watford, or 
 the ford in the wait or wood ; and Knutsford, or 
 Canute's ford ; but to describe a ford as one of 
 water would be a tautology ; moreover, there is 
 no " ford" or shallow, at Waterford, but a re- 
 markably deejp channel in the Suir, which the 
 Scandinavian " fiord " indicated. 
 
 The derivation of names from various trades 
 and occupations is very obvious, as Smith, Tailor, 
 Fisher, Mason, Wright, which last signifies a 
 workman, as "wheelwright," from an obsolete 
 verb, of which we now have only the past tense 
 wrought^ did work. Such names as Bishop, Dean 
 (formerly Beane), Archdeacon, Chancellor, Judge, 
 Major, Sergeant, &;c., owe their origin to the 
 founder of the family having filled the offices in- 
 dicated. The name of Butler is derived from the 
 office of Chief Butler of Ireland having been 
 attached to the noble house of Ormond, the chief 
 family of that name. 
 
 Surnames were adopted by some, or, where 
 not complimentary, were more probably given 
 to them by their neighbours, from birds, beasts, 
 and fish, in allusion to some resemblance to those 
 animals in their manner or disposition. 
 
 i2 
 
116 LECTURE II. 
 
 Of such are Lion, Wolf, Fox, Hare, Bull, Hog, 
 Hind, Hart, and Lamb, from those several qua- 
 drupeds; while from birds we have Peacock, 
 Drake, Swan, Heron, Woodcock, Pigeon, Spar- 
 row, Crowe and Hawke ; and from fishes, Roche, 
 Spratt, Whale, Herring and Salmon. Others 
 derived their names from the colour of their 
 hair, or their complexion, as Black, White, Scar- 
 let (for red), Brown and Grey ; and some from 
 other personal characteristics, as Long, Short, Lit- 
 tle, Low, Thin (anciently Thynne, as it still is in 
 the family name), Strong, Bold, and Armstrong, 
 which last name, in the case of a well-known seal 
 engraver in London, is " Strongi'th'arm." 
 
 Although I fear that I may have already tres- 
 passed at too great length on your attention, I 
 am desirous to add a few observations as to the 
 expressive character of the English tongue, and 
 in reference to the extent to which words derived 
 from the Anglo-Saxon are found to prevail in the 
 composition of the language. 
 
 I have before remarked, that the Greek was, 
 perhaps, the most perfect language ever spoken 
 amongst mankind. One of the characteristic 
 beauties of that language consisted in the admir- 
 able manner in which the sound was often suited 
 to the sense. Now, this feature may, I think, be 
 traced in the English language, and might be 
 illustrated by numerous references to the best 
 writers, both in prose and verse. I shall, how- 
 
LECTURE II. 117 
 
 ever, confine myself to two examples, taken from 
 a single poem, where words of Saxon origin con- 
 vey a lively representation of the scenes which 
 they are employed to describe. 
 
 The Poem to which I refer is Gray's Elegy 
 written in a country Church-yard. What can 
 be more expressive than the first verse : — 
 
 "The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day^ 
 The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, 
 The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, 
 And leaves the world to darkness and to me !" 
 
 Here there is only one word, "parting," for 
 dying, (besides the Norman Curfew^), which is 
 not pure Saxon. f Observe how the words suit 
 the sense, especially in the third line. You may 
 see the man wearied with the day's labour trudg- 
 ing home, through the ground broken by his own 
 •plough— plodding his weary way. But there is one 
 word to relieve the appropriate monotony of the 
 line, — sweet both in sound and sense ; an^s'you 
 
 * " Curfew" is derived from the French, meaning to cover ihejire, 
 when, at 8 p.m. on the ringing of a bell, all fires were extinguished, 
 by a law of the jealous Conqueror, William I, 
 
 t It might be thought that " toll" is from Latin, but it appears 
 rather to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon tull^ found in Chaucer, 
 signifying to entice, or draw in, as the tolling of a bell calls people 
 to church. Thus Milton speaks of a tolling sign-post hung out to 
 call or entice passengers in. Home Tooke makes " toel" the past 
 tense of iilian, to lift up, — " the toll of a bell is the bell lijied, and 
 applied to the sound thus caused." The word may have been derived 
 however, from the sound, like vmrmur^ &c. 
 
118 LECTURE II. 
 
 hear that it is homeward that the weary man is 
 now at eventide retracing his steps, you may per- 
 ceive the smile on that toil-worn face, as he 
 already sees by anticipation the "blazing hearth," 
 with *' the busy housewife," and the " children" 
 who — 
 
 " run to lisp their sire's return, 
 
 And climb his knees the envied kiss to share." 
 
 Take another verse of this beautiful poem : — 
 
 *' Beneath those rugged elms, that yew tree's shade, 
 Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 
 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 
 
 The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." 
 
 Here we have every word Saxon, with the 
 exception of " cell" for grave ; and how is it 
 possible for words better to convey the picture of 
 the secluded country churchyard, with the old 
 gnarled elms around, and the solitary yew,* 
 beneath whose dark shadows you may see the 
 simple graves of the rustics, formed of the green 
 sod, and rising in little hillocks, gradually " moul- 
 dering" away under the droppings from the 
 trees.-|- 
 
 * From the branches of the yew the Saxons made their bows; and 
 this tree being, consequently, of great value, it was planted in the 
 churchyard, where it had liberty to extend its branches, and, as public 
 property, enjoyed the protection of the parish authorities. 
 
 t It would have been easy to multiply examples of the accordance 
 between the sound and the sense, in other poems of a descriptive cha- 
 racter ; but the above were selected as being most generally known. 
 
LECTURE II. 1 19 
 
 With reference to the preponderance which 
 words of Anglo-Saxon origin bear to all others 
 in the English language, it has been stated by a 
 good authority on the subject, that if we '* sup- 
 pose the English language to be divided into a 
 hundred parts ; of these, to make a rough distri- 
 bution, sixty would be Saxon, thirty would be 
 Latin (including, of course, the Latin which has 
 come to us through the French), five would be 
 Greek ; we should thus have assigned ninety-five 
 parts, leaving the other five, perhaps too large a 
 residue, to be divided among all the other lan- 
 guages from which we have adopted isolated 
 words."* For example, a few from the Hebrew, 
 belonging, mostly, to religious matters, and some 
 from Arabic, relating to arithmetic*!* and astro- 
 nomy. It has been computed by Sharon Turner, 
 that there are in English about 38,000 words, of 
 which, about 23,000, or more than five-eighths, 
 are of Anglo-Saxon origin. But not only is the 
 proportion of Saxon words thus shown to be 
 above one-half of the whole in the language, 
 but these words, being of primary necessity, are 
 used much more frequently. 
 
 * English : Past and Present. Five Lectvres. By the Rev. R. C. 
 Trench, D. D., Dean of Westminster. 
 
 t The numerals, one, two, three, and once, twice, thrice, &c., are of 
 Saxon origin ; bat the rules of arithmetic are from Latin, as, addition, 
 substraction, multiplication, division, &c. ; while algebra, cypher, &c. 
 are of Arabic origin. 
 
120 LECTURE II. 
 
 Following up this suggestion, I have referred 
 to some well-known authors, with a view to 
 ascertain the proportion between Saxon words 
 and those of foreign derivation ; and the result of 
 such examination is very interesting and remark- 
 able. It will be found that in " Gray's Elegy in 
 a country Church-yard," already referred to, not 
 more, on an average, than two words in each 
 verse of four lines (of which there are thirty-two) 
 are derived from Latin or French, while three 
 of the verses are composed altogether of Saxon 
 words. 
 
 In Cowper s " Diverting History of John 
 Gilpin," comprising sixty-three verses of four 
 lines each, the proportion of Saxon is still greater ; 
 the number of words of other origin averaging 
 little more than one to each verse, or about three 
 or four in the hundred. 
 
 In Hamlet's advice to the players, Shakspeare 
 has not more than one-tenth, out of about 1,000 
 words, which are not pure Saxon. This is in 
 prose. To take an example in poetry from the 
 same play; in Hamlet's soliloquy, " To he, or not 
 to be, that is the question,'^ the proportion is about 
 the same, namely, ten in the hundred not Saxon. 
 In one of the most touching passages to be found 
 in this wonderful poet — Wolsey's soliloquy on the 
 favour of princes, and the vanity of the world — 
 the proportion of words of Anglo-Saxon origin 
 
LECTURE II. 121 
 
 is still greater. It occurs in the Play of King 
 Henry VIII. Act II. Scene III. 
 
 " So, farewell to the little love you bear me. 
 Farewell, a long farewell to all my greatness ! 
 This is the state of man. To day he puts forth 
 The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, 
 And bears his blushing honours thick upon him ; 
 The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, 
 And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely. 
 His greatness is a ripening, nips the root. 
 And then he falls as I do. I have ventured, 
 Like little wanton boys, that swim on bladders. 
 These many summers in a sea of glory ; 
 But far beyond my depth ; my high-blown pride 
 At length broke under me, and now has left me, 
 Weary and old with service, to the mercy 
 Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me. 
 Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye ! 
 I feel my heart new open'd. Oh, how wretched 
 Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours ! 
 There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to. 
 That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, 
 More pangs and fears than wars or women have ; 
 And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer^ 
 Never to hope again." 
 
 Here we find in thirteen lines, containing 196 
 words, only thirteen words (besides the proper 
 name, Lucifer) not of Saxon origin ; being about 
 seven to the hundred.* 
 
 In the '* L' Allegro" of Milton, consisting of 151 
 lines, and containing nearly one thousand words, 
 there are not more than thirty derived from 
 
 * In the above quotation, and in those that follow, the words not 
 of Anglo-Saxon origin are distinguished by Italics. 
 
122 LECTURE II. 
 
 Latin and French, the Saxon words being in the 
 large proportion of ninety-seven to the hundred. 
 This is the more remarkable, as Milton was Foreign 
 Secretary to the Council of State, during the 
 Commonwealth, at a time when correspondence 
 with foreign nations was carried on in Latin, and 
 he was considered the best writer and speaker of 
 that language in England at that period. 
 
 The preponderance of Saxon in all Sir Walter 
 Scott's works, whether in prose or poetry, is very 
 striking. Let one example suffice, which I select 
 because it is so well known, although many other 
 stanzas might be found still more purely Saxon * 
 
 I take it from the commencement of the sixth 
 Canto of the " Lay of of the Last Minstrel/' 
 
 *' Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 
 Who never to himself hath said : 
 
 This is my own, my native land ! 
 Whose heart had ne'er within him burn'd, 
 As home his footsteps he hath turn'd, 
 
 From wandering on 2i foreign strand I 
 If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
 For him no minstrel raptures swell , 
 High though his titles^ proud his name, 
 Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, 
 Despite those titles^ power, and pelf, 
 The wretch, concentered all in self. 
 Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
 And, doubly dying, shall go down 
 To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
 Unwept, xmhonour^d, and unsung." 
 
 * See, especially, the various songs or ballads introduced in Scott's 
 poetic tales : for example, Wilfred's song in " Rokeby," " Lady, 
 twine no wreath for wie." See, also, the Lady Heron's Lochinvar, in 
 " Marraion." 
 
LECTURE II. 123 
 
 Here are only twelve words (including the 
 hybrid, compounded of the English prefix un and 
 the Latin-derived honoured) not of Saxon origin, 
 in sixteen lines, containing upwards of one hun- 
 dred words * 
 
 It will be found, as a general rule, that, in the 
 best English poetry, the Saxon bears a very 
 large proportion, as compared with words derived 
 from other sources. Take, for example, a passage 
 from Pope's " Essay on Man," which I quoted in 
 a lecture on " Popular Education," delivered at 
 this Institute two years ago : — 
 
 " All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
 Whose body Nature is, and God the soul : 
 That, chang'd thro' all, and yet in all the same, 
 Great in the earth, as in th' etherial frame — 
 Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 
 Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, 
 Lives through all life, extends thro' all extent, 
 Spreads undivided, operates unspent ; 
 Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part, 
 As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart ; 
 As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns, 
 As the rapt seraph that adores and bums. 
 To him, no high, no low, no great, no small; 
 He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all." 
 
 In these fourteen lines, there are little more 
 than as many words which may not be traced to 
 
 * It may, perhaps, be thought that the words rapture and despite 
 are of foreign origin ; but Tooke derives the Latin rapere, from the 
 Anglo-Saxon reafian, to tear away (to bereave) ; and despite appears to 
 be more properly derived from the Saxon, spcetan, to spit, than from 
 Latin. — See " Richardson's Dictionary." 
 
124 LECTURE II. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon origin. Tlie word ''connect/' al- 
 though similar to the Latin connectere, may be 
 traced to the verb cnittan or nictan, to " knit/' 
 the Anglo-Saxon thus supplying the root.* 
 
 The exact proportion of a word to the line, or 
 about one-eighth of the whole, not Saxon, will 
 be found in the following extract from the same 
 poem : — 
 
 *' happiness ! our being's end and aim ; 
 Good, pleasure^ ease, content ! whate'er thy name. 
 That something still which prompts th' eternal sigh, 
 For which we bear to live, or dare to die, 
 Which still so near us, yet beyond us lies, 
 O'er-looked, seen double, by the fools and wise." 
 
 It is, however, to be borne in mind, that the 
 age of Pope was not remarkable for the simplicity 
 of style which leads to the adoption of Saxon, 
 rather than of words borrowed from other lan- 
 guages. 
 
 One short poem of Lord Byron s will serve to 
 show that the English tongue, as derived from the 
 Anglo-Saxon, is sufficient to convey, in the most 
 beautiful and appropriate language, the thoughts 
 of the poet. 
 
 The subject of the poem to which I refer is. The 
 Destruction of Sennacherib. 
 
 " The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, 
 And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold ; 
 And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea^ 
 When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep ijallilee. 
 
 * Home Tooke, vol. ii. p. 300. 
 
LECTUBE II. 125 
 
 " Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, 
 That host with their banners at sunset was seen ; 
 Like the leaves of the/orest when autumn hath blown, 
 That host on the morrow lay wither'd and strown. 
 
 " For the anffel of death spread his wings on the blast, 
 And breath'd on the face of the foe as he pass'd ; 
 And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill, 
 And their hearts but once heav'd, and for ever grew still. 
 
 " And there lay the steed, with his nostril all wide, 
 But through it there roll'd not the breath of his pride ; 
 And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, 
 And cold as the spray of the rock-beaten surf. 
 
 " And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, 
 With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail; 
 And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, 
 The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. 
 
 ■' And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, 
 And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal ; 
 And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, 
 Hath melted, like snow, in the glance of the Lord." 
 
 There may be some doubt as to the origin of 
 the words banner, lance, trumpet, roll, pass, 
 and glance; but even if these six be added, it 
 will be found that in the six verses, of four lines 
 to each verse, the number of words not of Anglo- 
 Saxon derivation does not average more than 
 three to each verse, or about one word in every 
 twelve of the entire poem. 
 
 The preponderance of words of Saxon origin 
 might be exemplified, did the limits of this lecture 
 permit, by quotations from other poets (as well 
 as from some of our best prose writers), especially 
 
126 LECTURE II. 
 
 from Swift, Southey, Moore, Wordsworth, and 
 perhaps, most of all, from the present Poet-laureat, 
 Tennyson, who has entire pieces with scarcely a 
 word derived from any other language. Take 
 for example, " The lord of Burleigh," a piece in 
 which the poet records the affecting tale of the 
 humbly-born countess, in the appropriate simpli- 
 city of Anglo-Saxon words, which harmonize so 
 touchingly with the feelings of the heroine ; in 
 tender sympathy with which, her loving and be- 
 reaved lord 
 
 " . . . . came to look upon her, 
 
 And he looked at her and said, 
 ' Bring the dress, and put it on her, 
 
 That she wore when she was wed.' 
 
 " Then her people^ softly treading. 
 Bore to earth her body, dress'd 
 In the dress that she was wed in, 
 That her spirit might have rest." 
 
 In the 600 words of this poem, there are not 
 to be found more than forty, which, like people 
 and spirit in these lines, are not of Anglo-Saxon 
 origin. 
 
 In further illustration of the remarks which I 
 made in my former lecture, as to the preponder- 
 ance of monosyllables in pure English, and the 
 practicability of writing whole chapters of words 
 of Saxon origin, exclusively, I may adduce the 
 fact that the Rev. Mr. Dal ton, of Tram ore, a 
 member of this Institute, and a liberal contribu- 
 
LECTURE II. 127 
 
 tor to our library, is the author of two little 
 volumes on religious subjects, comprising about 
 one hundred pages each, consisting exclusively of 
 words of one syllable, and I need scarcely add, 
 almost all of Saxon origin. 
 
 As a contrast to the examples before quoted, 
 permit me to read a few sentences from Dr. 
 Samuel Johnson, who delighted in ponderous 
 polysyllables, and in hard and learned words 
 derived from the Latin. Treating of Discontent, 
 as the common lot of mankind, this great moral- 
 ist thus expresses himself : — 
 
 *' Such is the emptiness of human en/oyment, that we are always 
 impatient of the present. Attainment is followed by neglect, and 
 possession by disgust. Few moments are more pleasing than those in 
 which the mind is concerting measures for a new undertaking. From 
 the first hint that awakens the fancy to the hour of actual execution, 
 all is improvement and progress, triumph and felicity. Every hour 
 brings additions to the original scheme, suggests some new expedient to 
 secure success, or discovers consequential advantages not hitherto fore- 
 seen. While preparations are made and materials accumulated, day glides 
 after day, through Elysian prospects, and the heart dances to the song 
 of joy:' 
 
 Here, out of one hundred and nine words, we 
 find thirty- three from Latin, two from French, 
 and two from Greek, making thirty-seven, out of 
 one hundred and nine words, or rather more than 
 one-third, of foreign derivation. 
 
 In fact, Dr. Johnson was desirous to form a 
 new style ; which, however, notwithstanding our 
 veneration for that great man, and the value of 
 
128 LECTURE II. 
 
 liis writings, will be found heavy, turgid, and 
 monotonous* 
 
 Let it not be thought, however, that, while 
 recommending the more simple Anglo-Saxon, I 
 would deprecate the use of words of Latin deri^ 
 vation, altogether. On the contrary, there can 
 be no doubt that the English language has been 
 embellished and improved, by the addition of 
 words adopted from the harmonious and compre- 
 hensive languages of ancient Greece and Kome. 
 Amongst other advantages derived from such 
 borrowed words, is the convenience of synonyms 
 hereby supplied, by the use of which tautology 
 is avoided. It is against the abuse, and not 
 against the moderate and judicious use, of such 
 adopted words, that we protest. And while en- 
 tertaining all due respect for words derived from 
 the ancient classical languages, I think it will be 
 found, that the writers and speakers who please 
 us most are those who deal the least in language 
 so derived, and whose style is the most Saxon in 
 its character.! 
 
 * *' I own I like not Johnson's turgid style, 
 
 That gives an inch the importance of a mile." 
 
 Wolcof. 
 t From an analysis of several works, made by Turner, with which 
 the author has met since the publication of the first edition of these 
 Lectures, it appears that the Authorized Version of the Scriptures 
 presents the most remarkable example of the preponderance of purely 
 Saxon English, the words of foreign origin being only about one- 
 thirtieth. Of fourteen popular writers, in prose and verse, from 
 
LECTURE II. 129 
 
 In the use of language, and the method of 
 reading and speaking, as in dress and manners, 
 the more simple and natural will be found to be 
 the more pleasing and attractive. The object of 
 a writer or speaker should be to convey his ideas 
 in the clearest and most convincing manner; 
 and this end will be best attained by the use of 
 a simple style, and through the medium of clear 
 and intelligible language, with which the reader 
 or hearer is thoroughly acquainted. And this 
 is especially true with reference to a writer or 
 speaker who is desirous to instruct and influence 
 the humbler classes and people, of plain business 
 habits. In order to reach these, it is a great mis- 
 take to suppose that it is necessary to be vulgar. 
 I believe that the purest writers will be the best 
 understood, even by those who have not enjoyed 
 the fullest advantages of education ; and that the 
 true course for a writer or speaker to adopt is, 
 always to keep in view the instruction of the hum- 
 bler class of his readers or hearers. If he succeed 
 in conveying to these the ideas which he desires 
 to communicate, in a clear and intelligible man- 
 ner, he may be assured that he will, at the same 
 time, not only be understood, as a matter of course, 
 
 Spenser to Johnson, it appears that Dean Swift has tlie fewest words 
 not of Saxon origin, while the historians Gibbon and Hume exceed 
 even Dr. Johnson in the use of words derived from a foreign source. — 
 See Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. ; Edinburgh Review^ October, 1839; 
 and Spalding's History of English Literature, Second Edition, p. 166. 
 
 K 
 
130 LECTURE II. 
 
 by those who are better informed, but will both 
 satisfy and please the more educated classes, who 
 themselves possess good taste, and can appreciate 
 what is at once the most agreeable and the most 
 instructive. 
 
 With a view to these results, I think it will be 
 found that the English, as derived from the Anglo- 
 Saxon language, is the best fitted for our purpose ; 
 and that, without rejecting altogether the addi- 
 tions made, from time to time, by the introduc- 
 tion of words derived from other nations, we shall 
 find our own English to be a language well suited 
 to a great and enlightened people, desirous to 
 convey the expression of their opinions, with the 
 " plainness of speech" which becomes free citizens 
 and honest men. 
 
 This noble language is now spoken by upwards 
 of sixty millions of the human race, or about one- 
 twelfth of the entire population pf the earth. Let 
 us hope that it may always be the language of 
 freemen, and that it may ever continue to be the 
 medium of conveying civilization, science, and 
 religion, with all their accompanying blessings, 
 to the people of every region and clime where its 
 sounds are heard, throughout the habitable globe. 
 
SUPPLEMENT 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In the foregoing pages, although constituting a 
 considerable expansion of Lectures, addressed to 
 the members of a Mechanics' Institution, it was 
 not possible to do more than to make a selection 
 from the numerous derivations of words from the 
 Anglo-Saxon, of those which appeared the most 
 striking and suitable for a popular address. At 
 the same time, many equally interesting and 
 instructive were jiecessarily omitted, as their 
 introduction would have still more extended the 
 Lectures, which had already far exceeded the 
 usual limits of such addresses. 
 
 This work having now been adopted as a text- 
 book in several schools, I have felt anxious to 
 render it more useful to teachers, and, at the 
 same time, more interesting to the general reader, 
 by the addition of some of the words which 
 were not brought forward in the foregoing Lec- 
 tures ; and with this view the following supple- 
 mentary chapter is added to this edition. 
 
 k2 
 
] 32 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Before I proceed, however, to give those addi- 
 tional derivations, I am desirous to quote the 
 substance of some interesting and valuable obser- 
 vations, on the subject treated of in this volume, 
 from the pen of an able writer, confirmatory of 
 some of the remarks contained in the foregoing 
 Lectures, as adducing additional evidence of the 
 prevalence of words of Anglo-Saxon origin in the 
 English language as now spoken, and of the 
 importance of the subject under consideration. 
 
 The writer to whom I refer is the author of 
 two volumes of essays, which originally appeared 
 in the Edinburgh Review,"^ and which I have 
 met with since the publication of the First Edi- 
 tion of this work. In an essay On the Struc- 
 ture of the English Language, contained in the 
 first volume, the writer, after noticing the fact 
 of the preponderance in point of numbers of 
 words of Saxon origin in the construction of the 
 present English, remarks, that *' if we look not 
 merely at the numbers of the words which the 
 Anglo-Saxon has contributed to the English, 
 but to the hinds of words, as well as to the share 
 it has had in its formation and development, we 
 shall at once see that there is no comparison 
 between the importance of this, and that of any 
 other element ;" and he proceeds to show, that, 
 in the first place, English grammar is almost 
 
 * Essays selected from Contributions to the Edinburgh Review. 
 By Henry Rogers. London: Longman. 1850, 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 133 
 
 exclusively occupied with what is of Anglo-Saxon 
 origin. The few inflections which we have in 
 English are all Anglo-Saxon. Thus, the genitive, 
 the general modes of forming the plural of nouns, 
 and the terminations by which we express the 
 comparative and superlative of adjectives, er and 
 est ; the inflections of the pronouns ; of the tenses, 
 persons, and participles of the verbs ; and the 
 most frequent terminations of our adverbs (ly) 
 are all Anglo-Saxon. The nouns, too, derived 
 from Latin and Greek, receive the Anglo-Saxon 
 terminations of the genitive and plural; while 
 the preterites and participles of verbs, derived 
 from the same sources, take the Anglo-Saxon in- 
 flections. As to the parts of speech — those which 
 occur most frequently, and are, individually, of 
 most importance, are almost wholly Saxon. Such 
 are our articles and definitives generally; as a, 
 an^ the, this, that^ these, those, many, few, some, 
 one, none; the adjectives, whose comparatives 
 and superlatives are irregularly formed, and which 
 are the most comprehensive and extensively used, 
 as good, bad, little, &;c. ; the separate words, more 
 and w^ost, by which we as often express the forms 
 of comparison as by distinct terminations ; all our 
 pronouns, personal, possessive, relative, and inter- 
 rogative ; nearly every one of our so-called irre- 
 gular verbs, including all the auxiliaries, have, be, 
 shall, will, may, can, onust, by which we express 
 the force of the principal varieties of mood and 
 
134 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 tense ; all the adverbs most frequently employed, 
 and the prepositions and conjunctions almost 
 without exception. 
 
 It is next to be observed that the names of the 
 greater part of the objects of sense, being the 
 terms which occur most frequently, and which 
 recall the most vivid conceptions, are Anglo- 
 Saxon. This language has given names to the 
 heavenly bodies, sun, mooriy stars; to three out 
 of the four seasons, and to as many of the four 
 elements ;* to the natural divisions of time, as 
 day, night, morning, evening, twilight, noon, 
 midday, midnight, sunrise, sunset; some of 
 which are amongst the most poetical terms we 
 have. To these may be added, year, month, 
 week and day. To the same language we are 
 indebted for the names of light, and darkness, 
 heat and cold; frost, rain, snow, hail, sleet, 
 thunder and lightning; as well as almost all 
 those objects which form the component parts of 
 the beautiful in external scenery, as sea, and land, 
 hill and dale, wood and stream, &c. The same 
 may be observed of all those productions of the 
 animal and vegetable kingdoms which form the 
 most frequent subjects of observation, and which 
 are invested with the most pleasing and poetic 
 associations ; and of the members of the human 
 body-t The Anglo-Saxon has also supplied us 
 
 * See Lecture I. in this Volume, pp. 17 and 74. ^ 
 
 t Ibid., pp. 59-63. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 135 
 
 with all that vivid class of words which denote 
 the cries, postures, and motions of animated 
 existence ; such as to sit, to stand, to lie, to rise, 
 to walk, to leap, to stagger, to slip, to slide, to 
 stride, to glide, to yawn, to gape, to wink, to thrust, 
 to fly, to swim, to creep, to crawl, to spring, &c. 
 Hence, in descriptions of external nature, whether 
 in prose or verse, the most energetic and graphic 
 terms are almost universally Anglo-Saxon. This 
 might be illustrated by reference to the narratives 
 of the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs, and 
 the parables in the Gospels. The remark also 
 applies, to a certain extent, to Bunyan's " Pilgrim's 
 Progress," *' Robinson Crusoe," the " Vicar of 
 Wakefield," " Gulliver's Travels," and similar 
 w^orks, in which the bulk of the words are pure 
 Saxon. 
 
 It is from this language, also, that we derive 
 the words which are expressive of the earliest and 
 dearest connexions, and the most powerful feelings 
 of our nature. Thus we have from the Saxon, 
 father, mother, husband, wife, brother, sister, son, 
 daughter, child, home, kindred, friends. Hence, 
 also, we have those figurative expresssions by 
 which we represent to the imagination, and that 
 in a single word, the reciprocal duties and enjoy- 
 ments of hospitality, friendship, or love; such are 
 hearth, roof, fireside. The chief emotions of which 
 we are susceptible are expressed in the same 
 language, as love, hope, fear, sorrow, shame ; the 
 
136 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 outward signs, too, by which emotion is indicated 
 are almost all Anglo-Saxon, such as tear^ smile^ 
 blush, to laugh, to weep, to sigh, to groan. In 
 short, the words generally expressive of the 
 strongest emotions, or their outward signs, as well 
 as of almost all the objects calculated to call them 
 forth, are of Saxon origin. 
 
 The words, too, which have been earliest used, 
 and which are consequently invested with the 
 strongest associations, are almost all of a similar 
 origin. This, indeed, follows from what has been 
 already said. The words descriptive of the objects 
 of sense, and of the varieties and signs of emotion, 
 are necessarily the terms which fall first upon the 
 ear of childhood ; and these being of Saxon origin, 
 it is evident that the words most connected with 
 our earliest associations are of that language ; and 
 the very fact that they are the earliest, gives them 
 additional power over the mind — a power quite 
 independent of the meaning which they convey. 
 They are the words which fell from the lips most 
 dear to us, and carry back the mind to the home 
 of childhood, and to the days of youth. 
 
 Again ; it is remarkable that most of the objects 
 about which the practical reason of man is em- 
 ployed in common life, receive their names from 
 the Anglo-Saxon. It is the language, for the 
 most part, of business — of the counting-house, the 
 shop, the market, the street, and the farm.* 
 
 * See Lecture I. of this Volume, pp. 13, 14. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 137 
 
 Further, it will be found that nearly all our 
 national proverbs, in which, it is truly said, so 
 much of the practical wisdom of a nation is to 
 be found, are almost wholly Anglo-Saxon : while 
 a very large proportion, and that always the 
 strongest, of the language of invective, humour, 
 satire, and colloquial pleasantry, is also derived 
 from that source. 
 
 Lastly, the author to whom I refer justly 
 observes, that it may be stated as a general truth, 
 that while our most abstract and general terms 
 are derived from the Latin, those which denote 
 the special varieties of objects, qualities, and 
 modes of action, are derived from the Anglo- 
 Saxon. Thus mnove and motion are very general 
 terms, and of Latin origin ; but all the terms for 
 expressing nice varieties of bodily action are, as 
 has been already observed, derived from the 
 Anglo-Saxon. Sound is perhaps Latin, but it may 
 also be Anglo-Saxon ; but to buzz, to hum^ to clash ^ 
 to hisSjto rattle, and innumerable others, are Anglo- 
 Saxon. Colour is Latin ; but white, black, green, 
 yellow, blue, red, brown, are Anglo-Saxon. Crime 
 is Latin; but murder, theft, robbery, — to lie, to 
 steal, to kill, are Anglo-Saxon. Member and 
 organ, as applied to the body, are, the first Latin, 
 and the second Greek; but ear, eye, hand, footy 
 lip, mouth, teeth, hair, finger, nostril, are Anglo- 
 Saxon.* Animal is Latin ; but man, cow, sheep, 
 
 * See Lecture I. pp. 59-63. 
 
138 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 calf, cat, are Anglo-Saxon * Number is imme- 
 diately French, remotely Latin; but all our 
 cardinal and ordinal numbers, as far as a million^ 
 are Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 The foregoing observations will serve to explain 
 why it is, that, as I have shown in the Second 
 Lecture, words of Anglo-Saxon origin are found 
 to predominate in the writings of our best authors, 
 and more especially in poetry, and particularly in 
 descriptive pieces. In these, the objects of sense, 
 the features of natural scenery, the emotions of 
 the mind, and their outward signs, as well as 
 allusions to the most tender affections, and the 
 strongest feelings, will, to a great extent, be 
 constantly recurring ; but all these being expressed, 
 as has been observed, by Anglo-Saxon terms, it 
 follows that words tracing their origin to this lan- 
 guage cannot fail to abound in those writings, the 
 object of which is to describe such objects and 
 scenes, and to portray such feelings and emotions. 
 
 I feel asured that no apology is necessary for 
 having brought before the reader so much of the 
 substance of the interesting essay from which the 
 foregoing remarks have been borrowed, tending, 
 as they do, not only to confirm some of the state- 
 ments put forward in the preceding Lectures, but 
 also to suggest many additional facts connected 
 with our subject, and to illustrate, in a clear and 
 forcible manner, the importance of the inquiry as 
 
 * See Lecture L, p. 14, 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 139 
 
 to the place which the Anglo-Saxon occupies in 
 the construction of the English language. 
 
 I shall now proceed to notice various words 
 which appear of interest and importance, with 
 their derivation from the Anglo-Saxon, and the 
 changes which have, in the lapse of time, taken 
 place in reference to the application of many of 
 them ; as the particulars have been gathered out 
 and selected from the best authorities, or suggested 
 in the course of the researches and train of thought, 
 into which the study of the subject naturally leads 
 the inquirer. 
 
 In doing so, it may be more convenient to take 
 them generally, in alphabetical order, than to 
 arrange them under different heads. 
 
 The word *' acre" is, we know, now applied only 
 to a certain measurement of land ; but originally 
 it meant a field, or enclosed place, without refer- 
 ence to its dimensions. In early Saxon times, the 
 churchyard was called '' God's acre," as being the 
 piece of ground in which the bodies of Christians 
 — God's people — were buried.* A field-labourer 
 was called an acre-man; and a land-tax was acre- 
 shot. The Saxon word adle meant pain or sickness, 
 and was used to describe various diseases. An 
 " addled " egg means one that is diseased or bad. 
 The word is derived from adlian, to be useless, 
 bad, or unprofitable. Hence we have idle^ ail, and 
 
 * " I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls 
 The burial-ground God's Acre ! " — Longfellow. 
 
140 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 ill. "Allege" is from leggan, to lay down; like 
 '' depose'^ and " deponent," used in legal forms, 
 and taken from the Latin. That which is alleged 
 or deposed is that which is laid down, and the 
 deponent is he who lays down the statement. An 
 " ado" is an aifair or business, and was applied in 
 a similar sense, as when we speak of making a 
 fuss about anything, as, in Shakspeare, '*Much 
 ado about nothing." To **abet" is to aid, or 
 assist, from abettian, to make better. " Abroad" 
 means beyond the usual bounds, from abrcedan, 
 to broaden, to extend or lengthen out. ** Anxious'* 
 was formerly angsome, from ange, signifying 
 trouble. The liquor " ale" is a peculiarly English 
 beverage, and derives its name from the Anglo- 
 Saxon celan, to burn or inflame, of which the third 
 person singular was aloth, that which warms.* 
 
 " Broth," means that which briweih, from bri- 
 wan to cook, or boil; hence also to brew. 
 '' Blind"' means stopped-up, being the past par- 
 ticiple of blinnan, to stop. This explains the 
 meaning of '* blind windows," by which are 
 meant stopped-up windows ; and the "window- 
 blinds'" are so called, because they stop the too 
 bright rays of the sun from entering at the win- 
 dow. A " brook" is water breaking out, and was 
 formerly written broke. To " broach a vessel" is 
 to break into it, by boring through ; and to 
 
 * " Ale, noble ale, 
 
 No liquor more preserves the natural hec^f. — Howell. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 141 
 
 "broach a doctrine" is to break it open, to dis- 
 close it. A *' break," or brake, for a horse, is 
 that by which his unruliness is broken, by which 
 he is tamed or subjected to use.* The " bit" of 
 a bridle is derived from bcetan, to restrain. 
 "Bann" signified a proclamation; being placed 
 under a bann meant being proclaimed an outlaw ; 
 but is, perhaps, rather an Anglo-Norman than an 
 Anglo-Saxon word. The "banns" of marriage 
 are published, by which the intended marriage is 
 proclaimed; and although this is a preliminary 
 step to being bound in wedlock, the word has 
 QO etymological relationship to " bands," which 
 mean the same as bonds, from bindan, to bind. 
 From the latter word we have a band or company 
 of men, applied also to a company of musicians. 
 From bann we have the word " banish,"' the pun- 
 ishment of one under a bann. We have seen 
 that " beam" meant, a tree, now applied only to a 
 piece of tree which has been felled; the word 
 was also used to describe anything moving in a 
 straight line, as a "sunbeam;" and from this 
 application of the word came beamain, to shine, 
 as a "beaming" countenance. " Block" and "lock" 
 are from the Anglo-Saxon beloc or loc, the* past 
 participle of belycan or lycan, to shut or close up. 
 A "blockhead" is a man having a head like a 
 block of wood, or whose faculties are blocked ujp.'] 
 
 * Richardson's Study of Language, p. 130. 
 
 t Kichardson On the Study of Langmige^ p. 139. 
 
142 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 A "block" of wood was originally a piece of 
 timber used to fasten a gate, or to block up a 
 
 A " bough," or " bow" of a tree is so called as 
 being hendahle, from hygaUy to bend; whence 
 we have " bow," applied to the inclination of the 
 head in reverence, to an engine of war, to an in- 
 strument of music, to a particular kind of knot, 
 to the carved part of a saddle and of a ship, to a 
 rainbow, and to bended legs; — always meaning 
 bended or curved.* " Bosom" may also be traced 
 to the same root, as being curved or rounded. 
 Beacen in Anglo-Saxon meant a sign or token ; it 
 is now restricted to a "beacon" or signal for 
 mariners. We have the verb to "beacon'' from 
 this root. Bewearan was the infinitive, meaning 
 to defend, of which verb we now use only the 
 imperative, when we caution a person to "beware," 
 that is, to be on his guard. "War" is derived 
 from the same root, its original meaning having 
 reference to defence, rather than to aggression. 
 " Blithe," that is be-lithe, gay, or cheerful, is an 
 adjective, now little used except in poetry; while 
 the expressive word blithe-heartness for " joyful- 
 ness" has long been lost. Bocsum, or bucksome, 
 also anciently written bowsom and bough-some, 
 meant obedient, compliant, bendable. It is now 
 spelt "buxom," and conveys the idea of inde- 
 
 * Tooke's Diversions of Purley. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 143 
 
 pendence rather than of obedience. The '* beetle" 
 used by women in washing was originally hyttle, 
 a hammer, that with which they heat the clothes. 
 Bering meant behaviour, as a man's " bearing" 
 now means his deportment. Bestede or "bestead" 
 meant oppressed,* corresponding with the modern 
 word " beset," as with card. " Betide" means to 
 happen, from hy the tide, or time. " Bewray" 
 is an obsolete word, signifying to discover, and is 
 a different word from " betray," derived from the 
 French. It was in use at the time of the trans- 
 lation of the Bible in the seventeenth century.f 
 Brawn was a Saxon word for a sinew, as we 
 speak of " brawny'" arms. Home Tooke derives 
 it from a hoar, by transposition of the letter r, 
 bauren, that is, hoaren, boar's flesh, and it is still 
 so applied ; as also metaphorically to that which 
 has the strength and vigour of a boar. A how- 
 window, also spelt hay-window, means a hent-out 
 window, from, higan, to bend, from which came 
 both " bow," as we have already seen, and " bay," 
 by which we describe the part of the sea which is 
 howed or hayed into the land, bending in the 
 shape of a bow. 
 
 Anything laid down, or spread out, was called 
 a '* bed," from heddian, to spread. Although the 
 word is now applied chiefly to that which is spread 
 
 * "They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry/' — 
 Isaiah, viii. 21. 
 
 t " Thy speech bewrayeth thee." — Matt. xxvi. 73. 
 
144 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 out for US to lie down upon, yet we still speak of 
 a hedj of gravel ; a flower bed ; a bed of oysters ; 
 and a bed or layer of coal; the word was also 
 formerly used to denote a table. " Beliove" is 
 an old word, being an impersonal verb, like the 
 Latin, oportet; it means, it ought to be, from 
 hofariy to need. " Bitter" is from bitan, to bite. 
 " Blue" describes the colour of the sky, when 
 the clouds have been blown away; and of the 
 skin when blown upon by the north or east wind.* 
 " Brown" means burnt, from brin to burn, mean- 
 ing the colour of that which has been " burnt ;" 
 and the " brunt" of the battle means the hottest 
 part of the engagement. " Bewildered" is like 
 amaze, being as it were, in a wilderness. A 
 " beadle'' was originally a crier in the courts, as 
 well as a keeper of the door, and derived his 
 name from bead, to call, or pray. A " bed-rid- 
 den" person is a bed presser, from bed and ridan, 
 to press ; and a man who " rides" a horse is one 
 who presses on his back. The passive participle 
 in modern English ending in en, '* bedridden" 
 appears to signify one ridden by the bed ; but 
 the Anglo-Saxon is bed-rida, and in Chaucer it is 
 bed-rede. A bout meant a turn; hence a " bout" 
 of illness. We have seen that the word " half" 
 
 * " Every blast," of the north wind, produced a " smarting, suc- 
 ceeded by numbness of the skin, during which the parts affected 
 become bluish.'''' — Lieutenant Bellott's Journal of a Voyage in 
 the Polar JSeas, vol . ii. p. 95. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 145 
 
 was not originally restricted to signify an even 
 portion of anything divided in two parts, but 
 meant a part or portion generally ; and to the 
 same word we may trace " behalf," that is, on the 
 side o'r "part of another ; taking one's part is a 
 common phrase, especially amongst school-boys. 
 The w^ord hete is to be found in old writings, 
 meaning to walk to-and-fro, as the word is still 
 used by sportsmen ; and the policeman's *' beat' 
 is the part of a district assigned for his walking 
 up and down. Bikere meant to quarrel, whence 
 we have " bickerings" for contentions. Brouke 
 meant to use or enjoy ; the word is now generally 
 used with a negative ; when one ''cannot brook" 
 anything, it means that it cannot be endured, 
 much less enjoyed. Bale meant mischief; the 
 noun is obsolete, but we still have the adjective 
 *' baleful," from balwian, to torment. 
 
 When a buyer does not give the first price 
 asked, but endeavours to get the commodity at a 
 lower price, he is said to *' chaffer," a word of the 
 same signification with *' cheapen," from cyfan or 
 ceapan^ to buy. A " candle" is that which 
 kindles, or gives light, but it is doubtful whether 
 it be of Saxon or of French origin. The sun 
 was described by the Saxons as the frith-candle, 
 that is, the free light, — as " free as the light of 
 heaven." (There was no window-tax in those 
 days.) Ccenxin was to know, from which comes 
 the old word ken; and a prudent or '* knowing" 
 
 L 
 
146 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 man is called " canny." Hence also comes '^ cun- 
 ning," not originally used in a bad sense. Cavke 
 or care meant anxious solicitude, and is still soJ 
 applied, as "carking care." ! 
 
 To cast was to think ; hence a man is said to 
 "cast" a matter in his mind; and to "cast ac- 
 counts" may probably be traced to the same root. 
 The word " clap" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, 
 clappan, which signified to leap, or move hastily, 
 and implied also a noise accompanying the quick 
 motion. It is applied to clapping the hands for 
 applause ; to clap to a door is to shut it hastily,; 
 and Chaucer applies it to noisy and quick talking. 
 The clapper of a mill is in constant motion, 
 accompanied with noise. Cappe meant the top 
 of anything; hence, perhaps, a cap as covering the 
 top of the head, though this may be from the 
 Latin for the head. Builders retain this name 
 in the ca'pping or " coping" of a wall. Burns has 
 it capstane — " The last sad capstane of his woes," 
 To " claw" was to scratch, as an animal with 
 claws. Hence to claw on the back is an expression 
 used by Chaucer, to describe coaxing and flattery, 
 and to claw on the gall^ to denote making one angry 
 by saying disagreeable things to hurt the feelings. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon word, crceft^ in modern Eng- 
 lish " craft," was in very general use in composi- 
 
 * " I held it ever, 
 
 Virtue and cumilng were endowments greater 
 Than nobleness and riches." — Shakspeare. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 147 
 
 tion ; thus we may find smith-crceft for the art of 
 a blacksmith, or a carpenter ; metre-crceft for the 
 art of poetry ; sang-crceft for the art of singing ; 
 scip-crceft for navigation ; stcef-crceft for the science 
 of letters, or grammar {stcef signifying a letter) ; 
 stcef'CrcEftiga was a philologist ; Icece-crceft was the 
 science of medicine ; wig-crceft, that is, war-craft, 
 was the art of making war; woth-crceft was 
 rhetoric ; m-crmft was law-craft, and CB-crmfty 
 meant skilful in the la\^. We still have " handi- 
 craft" and " witchcraft ;" as also " craft," and the 
 -adjective " crafty," which originally meant skill 
 and skilful, now come to signify subtlety or 
 deceit, and cunning or deceitful. Formerly, 
 deceit was described as over-crceft ; as we still 
 apply the term " over-reaching" to describe cheat- 
 ing and deception. In an ancient translation of 
 the New Testament, an architect, or builder, is 
 called a craftie-man, meaning a man of skill in 
 the art of building, where the heavenly city is 
 alluded to, and it is now rendered '' whose buil- 
 der and maker is God." (Heb. xi. 10.) The word 
 " craft" is likewise applied to certain sailing ves- 
 sels, either as being ships employed in trade or 
 craft, like the designation *' traders,'' or as being 
 carefully, craftily, or skilfully made, like *'ship'' 
 derived from shape. 
 
 A serpent was called in Anglo-Saxon, creopere, 
 that is, a creeper, from creopan, to crawl or creep. 
 Hence also '^ cripple," formerly spelt creepUy 
 
 l2 
 
148 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 describes a lame or maimed person, who can only 
 crawl or cree'p along. A paralytic person was 
 called an earth-cryple. The Anglo-Saxon croppe^ 
 now written *' crop," was a word originally applied 
 to the tops of trees ; and an old phrase, croppe 
 and rote, meaning the top and bottom, in allusion 
 to the top and the root of a tree, was used to sig- 
 nify perfection. Thus Chaucer has the croppe 
 and rote of beautie, and the croppe and rote of 
 guile ; also, to express » thorough acquaintance 
 with a subject, he has, '' I know croppe and rote." 
 Hence probably the phrase, learning by rote; 
 although now usually applied to superficial know- 
 ledge, and traced by etymologists to the French, 
 routine. To crop the hair means to cut off the 
 top ; and cattle are said to crop the grass. The 
 crops of hay, oats, &c., are the tops of the ripe 
 grass or corn ; but th~e term is now applied to farm- 
 produce generally, even to roots, as in the case of 
 green crops, or a good crop of potatoes, although 
 formerly it would have been a contradiction in 
 terms to speak of crops of roots. 1 
 
 The Saxon for a furnace was cylne, which ac- 
 counts for the somewhat strange orthography of 
 a kiln, as brick-kiln, lime-kiln. The word cwene 
 was used to describe the female in general ; and 
 hence the " queen-bee" was probably so called, n<^t 
 as ruling over the hive, but merely to specify tlie 
 female l)ee, as a *'hen" was called cwen-fugel, or 
 female fowl. The queen-bee was also called the 
 
SUPPLEMENT. , 149 
 
 mother-bee. " Callow" meant bald, unfledged ; as, 
 '' Eight callow infants fill'd the mossy nest." A 
 *' charwoman" is a servant brought in to do tem- 
 porary jobs; from cyrre, work or labour.* A 
 " churn" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon cyrran, 
 to turn. A "clump," as of trees, is from geliman, 
 or gluman, to connect. It is somewhat singular 
 that the word " cleave" is applied m the opposite 
 senses of adhering and dividing ; which is to be 
 accounted for by the similitude between the Anglo- 
 Saxon words clyfian, to adhere, and cleoffan, to cut 
 asunder. 
 
 '^ Dole" was another word for " deal," a share; 
 and was used both as a noun and a verb. From 
 dwg, a day, came daggian, to become day, and 
 hence we now have *^ dawn." Don and doj^ meant 
 to put, or do on, and to put, or do off. The " drift" 
 of a man's discourse, that which he is " driving 
 at," signifies the drawing out of his meaning. 
 The name of the *' dyer" is derived from the Anglo- 
 Saxon deag, meaning colour. A " dastard," or 
 coward, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon dastri- 
 gan, to terrify, from the past participle of which, 
 dastriged, came dastT'd. On this, Dryden form- 
 ed the verb to dastardf the word being ordinarily 
 
 * '' as the maid that milks 
 
 And does the meanest chars." 
 
 Anthony and Cleopatra. 
 t "And dastards manly souls with hope and fear." 
 
 Conquest of Mexico 
 
150 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 used only as an noun. Dun or done meant a hill. 
 From this has been derived " the downs" of Kent, 
 being hills dipping down to the sea ; hence we have 
 also " down," meaning descending, or going down ; 
 which was formerly used as a verb, as — " Down 
 with him." This apparently opposite meaning, 
 or application, of the word, may be accounted for, 
 by considering " down," or adown, as having 
 originally signified off the down or hill, " down- 
 hill."* " Drought" is the third person singular, 
 dragoth (or dryth and drith), of the Anglo-Saxon 
 verb, draggan, to drive out; whence to dry^ by 
 expelling the moisture. Hence also we have, ac- 
 cording to Home Tooke, a '' drain," through 
 which fluid is driven, and the " drone" (in Anglo- 
 Saxon dran, drane, and drcen) expelled or driven 
 from the hive by other bees. The drone of a bag- 
 pipes is so called from the humming sound like 
 that of a drone. 
 
 " Dumb" is a word now applied only to an 
 obstruction in the organ of speech, but it was 
 formerly used more generally ; it is derived from 
 dumhian, to obstruct, whence we have dam to 
 stop up, distinct from the Latin-derived " damn," 
 
 * Dr. Richardson, in his recently published and interesting work, 
 On the Study of Language^ quotes Mr. Taylor as suggesting that "down'' 
 is a contraction of of-dune, off or from the hill, doion-hill ; in proof af 
 which he shows, that the Latin pronus, from which we have " prone," 
 is rendered by the Saxon king Alfred into the Anglo-Saxon, af-dune ; 
 and by Chaucer, adown. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 151 
 
 to condemn. " Dim," formerly dimn is from 
 dimnian, to obscure. l)rear was sorrow, hence 
 *' dreary," or melancholy. Diucescan is a Saxon 
 verb signifying to darken, whence we have the 
 ^' dusk" of the evening, when the light of day is 
 nearljT^ extinguished. Dyppa is deep; hence to 
 " dip," was to plunge into the deep, although it is 
 now used to describe a rather shallow bathing, 
 and figuratively is applied to a mere skimming of 
 the surface, as dipping into a book denotes a 
 superficial reading of it. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxons called the " equinox" even- 
 night We have already seen* that *' eke," for 
 also, is derived from eacan, to add ; hence also we 
 have " each." As a verb, eke is also used, signify- 
 ing to add to, or increase; to " eke out" is to con- 
 tribute an addition to what is provided from some 
 other source, in order to make up the amount 
 required. Eld was the Anglo-Saxon for old, from 
 which we still have " elder" and " eldest." A 
 grandfather was formerly called an eld or aid- 
 father. We have seen that words relating to the 
 sea are usually of Anglo-Saxon origin ;*f- amongst 
 these is " ebbing" of the tide, derived from ebba, 
 signifying to go back, the Anglo-Saxon term for 
 " receding," which we have from the Latin. 
 
 The high-road used to be called by the Saxons 
 the folks-fare; we have before observed that 
 
 * Lecture L, p. 54, f Lecture L, p. 23, 
 
152 SUPPLEMEI^T. 
 
 " fare" meant a way, or passage* A " furlong" 
 meant oTigmaUj sl furrow-long, that is, the length 
 of a furrow in a ploughed field. The fourth part 
 of a penny is called a "farthing ;" the Anglo-Saxon 
 wsisfourthling, sjid meant originally the fourth 
 part of any sum or measure. *' Faith" is the third 
 person singular of the verb fcegan, to engage or 
 promise, and was formerly written fcegth and 
 faieth, that which one covenanteth or engageth. 
 The adverb " fain" is the past ipsbrticiiple fcegened, 
 contracted to fcegen sindfcegn, of the Anglo-Saxon 
 wQih fcegnian, to be glad, to /am.f As a verb 
 this word is not now so commonly used as it was 
 formerly. " Feign," to dissemble, is from the 
 French. 
 
 '^ Fairies" were so called, probably, from their 
 " fairness," not only in the literal sense, but me- 
 taphorically as being spotless and pure ; on the 
 same principle that they are called '' the good 
 people'' by the Irish peasantry, doubtless with a 
 view to conciliate by flattery those imaginary 
 spirits, who are believed to delight in mischief and 
 cunning, but who are called fair or honest, and 
 good or beneficent, with a view to avert their dis- 
 pleasure, and to avoid the evil consequences of 
 their malevolence. The name fay or fairy has, 
 however, been by some derived from their sup- 
 posed power to say, or foretell, and to influence 
 the fate, to foredoom. Others derive it from 
 
 * Lecture I. p. 28. f Somner and Home Tooke. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 153 
 
 faran^ to go, in reference to their imaginary 
 wanderings through the earth and air. Others, 
 again, have thought them to be so called in allu- 
 sion to their supposed fair or bright forms, as 
 another class of genii are called Brownies, from 
 their swarthy appearance. 
 
 A *' flood" is so called to describe the waters as 
 having flowed over the earth. " Filth" is that 
 which fijleth, or, as we now write it, '^ defileth/' 
 the third person singular of fylan, to pollute. 
 Feed was once a noun, meaning " food';" of which 
 we have the remains in the language of the stable, 
 where the ostler speaks of *' a feed " of oats. 
 Feme meant " before," and was used in composi- 
 tion, in Anglo-Saxon, to signify " of old," or far 
 off. Feme-land meant a far or distant land ; and 
 ferne-yere, in former years, or of yore. 
 
 Forlore is an obsolete word which signified to 
 lose or abandon; we still retain " forlorn," being 
 the past participle. A party of brave men, who 
 are ready to sacrifice themselves in a service of 
 danger, are described as a '^ forlorn hope," being 
 looked upon as lost, and abandoning themselves 
 to their fate. To '' fulfil" is to fill up entirely, to 
 complete any object. The term fret is often 
 found in early writers applied to ornamental work 
 of various kinds, and in many different senses, 
 but generally to any work that roughens the 
 surface. The ^' fret of gold" in Chaucer is a kind 
 of cap made like network ; and anything of the 
 
154 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 kind was said to be fretted when gems were 
 placed crosswise in alternate directions, or inter- 
 laced. A coronet is found described as a/rei^ of 
 pearls; and a frilled shirt was said to h^ fretted. 
 A pair of boots in the twelfth century are de- 
 scribed as being ornamented with circles of fret- 
 tvork, meaning probably embroidered with circles 
 intersecting each other. Frett-work in architec- 
 ture is the more curious way of plastering or 
 carving a roof or ceiling.* This application of 
 the word arose, probably, from the outline of the 
 work so ornamented having the appearance of 
 heing fretted, or eaten away; to "fret" meaning, 
 as has been observed, f to eat or consume ; from 
 whence came fretwian, to adorn. According to 
 Skinner, however, fret-iuork derives its name 
 from the Italian, fratto, that is, like the Latin 
 fr actus, broken, being a kind of work distinguished 
 by frequent fractures and incisions ; or by being 
 broken or cut into many parts. 
 
 We have two rather vulgar or slang words, 
 " gab" and " gammon," which may be traced to 
 Anglo-Saxon origin. Gabban meant to deride, to 
 tattle, or prate ; a man is said to have " the gift of 
 the gab," when he can talk with ease, but without 
 evincing much depth or sound sense, "glibly,"" as it 
 is called, that is, at a galloping rate, from geleapan, 
 to move swiftly, to gallop. The word '' gammon" 
 
 * Halliwell's Archaic Dictionary, vol. i. p. 381. 
 -j- Lecture L p. 36. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 155 
 
 meaning joking and nonsense, is from gamian, to 
 play, to make sport of. Hence, also, plays are 
 called " games ;" and birds or other animals 
 hunted for sport or amusement are called '^ game." 
 Hence, also, " gambling," or ** gaming,'' now re- 
 stricted to playing for a wager or " bet," a word 
 derived from badde, a pledge. '* Gaffer" and 
 " gammer" are old words still applied to describe 
 respectively, old men and old women. The first 
 originally meant a godfather, and the latter a 
 godviother. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxons called the feast of Christ- 
 mas yeol and geol, and it is still called yule in the 
 North of England. A yule-log is the name given 
 to a large log, or block of wood, laid on the fire 
 at Christmas, and which continues mouldering 
 away for many days ; yule-cakes and yule-songs, 
 are cakes made, and songs sung, on Christmas-eve. 
 The origin of this word is nincertain ; some ety- 
 mologists deriving it from the Saxon heowl, a 
 wheel, from the turning of the sun after the win- 
 ter solstice at this season ; while others incline to 
 the Latin juhilum, signifying originally a shep- 
 herd's song. Others, again, trace it to the cry of 
 rejoicing, ule, ulel with which it was customary 
 to run about the streets after church on Christmas 
 day.* 
 
 Gear meant clothing, as well as all sorts of 
 
 * Blount, quoted by Halliwell. 
 
156 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 instruments of cookery, of war, of furniture, and ot 
 chemistiy. The word is found applied in all these 
 senses in Chaucer. It is derived from gearwian^ 
 to prepare. Dr. Johnson refers to the word as 
 being in use in Scotland, to describe goods or 
 riches, as they would say, " He has gear enough.'* 
 A '^ girth" is that which girdeth; and " growth" 
 is that which groweih. 
 
 As the colour " brown" is derived from the 
 verb to hrin^ or burn, and " blue" from bleowan, 
 to blow ; so '' green" may be traced to growan 
 to grow — this being the colour of the growing 
 I crops ; and as fruit is green when unripe, so a 
 raw or immature youth is called "green;" and 
 Chaucer calls inexperience greenhead. The name 
 of the well-known fruit '' gooseberry" is probably 
 a corruption of gorse-herry, so called from the 
 prickliness of the tree, like the gorse hedge. 
 " Grim" meant raging like a tyrant ; " gruff" is 
 rough ; and '* gaunt" may be traced to wane and 
 want (the w being frequently changed to g). 
 Gild, now " guild" meant a brotherhood, as the 
 " Guild of Merchants," &c., in London. (?erZ, 
 now " girl," formerly meant a young person, with- 
 out distinction of sex. A boy was described as a 
 " knave-gerl ;"* and " knave-child," to distin- 
 ^ ^>. guish male from female, is to be found in Chaucer. 
 / The Holy Sacrament was called hj the Anglo- 
 
 / . ■ . . 
 
 * Halli well's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 157 
 
 Saxons Housel^ and to have partaken of it was to 
 liave been houseled. The word occurs in old 
 books ; and in Shakspeare, the ghost of Hamlet's 
 father describes himself as having been sent to his 
 account — " UnhouseVd^ disappointed, unaneld ;" 
 that is, without the sacrament, unprepared, and 
 unanointed. '* Hithe" was an ancient name 
 for a wharf, and remains in use in proper names, 
 as in Rotherhithe, compounded of r other for rud- 
 der, and hithe for wharf The old-fashioned name 
 for a primer,. " horn-book," originally described a 
 single sheet of paper protected by horn edges, as a 
 slate is in a wooden frame. The heron, or hern, 
 was formerly called a hernshaw, and was the usual 
 game pursued in " hawking" — a favourite sport in 
 the " olden time." When a stupid fellow is said 
 not to know " a hawk from a handsaw," there can 
 be no doubt that the latter word is a corruption 
 for a hemshaw ; and the saying meant, as if it 
 were now said, " he would not know a greyhound 
 from a hare." Hortigard was an ancient name 
 for an " orchard," signifying the yard or guarded 
 place for horts or arts, that is, roots. An orchard 
 now means an enclosed field for fruit trees only, 
 but originally signified any garden. 
 
 HorneTooke shows that "hank," "haunch," and 
 " hinge," are the same word, with the common 
 interchange of h, ch, and ge, firom the Anglo-Saxon 
 verb hang an, to hang. A " hank" of thread is 
 as much as is hanky d or hanged together; a 
 
158 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 "haunch" of venison is that part by which the 
 lower limbs are hanked or hanged upon the body 
 or trunk ; and a '* hinge" is that upon which the 
 door is hanged, as we speak of a door being hung 
 on its hinges. We have observed that the 
 '' ankle," or ankle-hone, is that by which the foot 
 is nankyd, hankyd, or hanged to the leg.* To 
 " hanker" after anything is to hang about ; loiter- 
 ing as unwilling to quit— desirous to keep or get.f 
 *' Halt'' is the imperative of the Anglo-Saxon verb, 
 healdan, to hold ; hence, to " halt" is to hold in, 
 to stop ; and as an adjective " halt" means lame, 
 that is, holding in or stopping in the gait. In 
 German, halten is to hold, or to stop. 
 
 The first use of anything is called harndselling 
 it ; and a handsell means something given to the 
 buyer on first receiving his purchase. It is deri- 
 ved from ha7id and sdl, which latter word meant 
 to give as well as what we now mean by '* sell.'' 
 In Dutch it is hand-gift e, which more clearly ex- 
 presses the meaning of the word. Hcest was the 
 Anglo-Saxon for hot : hence a A;P^tempered per- 
 son is said to be " hasty." The Anglo-Saxon for 
 " holy" is halig, from whence comes " hallowed;" 
 and halig-writ, or " Holy Writ," was their name 
 for the " Sacred Scriptures," as the inspired volume 
 is called from the Latin, as it is called '^ Bible" 
 from the Greek, meaning the book. A man ser- 
 
 * Lecture I. p. 61. 
 
 t Richardson's Study of Language, p. 135. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 159 
 
 vant was called by the Saxons hus-carl, and a 
 female domestic was a hus-scyjge; to this latter 
 may be traced the name given to a college ser- 
 vant, usually an old woman, who certainly cannot 
 derive her name from skipping up stairs. 
 
 Ilche signified " the same." This word is still 
 used in Scotland, and as applied to proper names 
 denotes that the surname is the same as the pro- 
 perty or place of residence ; thus Macintosh of 
 that nice means Macintosh of Macintosh. "J[n- 
 come" is from incuman, to come in ; and " Income 
 tax" is the tax on what comes in to the payer. 
 
 It has been already observed that " John" has 
 always been a very common name in England,* 
 "Jack" was also usually applied to lads, and 
 especially to servant boys ; and these having been 
 employed to pull off their masters' boots, and to 
 turn the spit for the cook, when machines were 
 invented for these purposes, they were called by 
 their name, as boot -jack, kitchen-jack. The boy 
 who rides the horse at a race is also called a "joc/ce^/' 
 or Jackey. '^ Kith" and ^' kin" are words of similar 
 meaning, signifying relations well known to each 
 other, from cythan and cennan, to know or make 
 known. The adjective "kind'' is derived from 
 kiriy meaning natural, having natural feelings — 
 feelings belonging to our common nature or kind 
 — like " human" and " humane" from the Latin 
 
 * Lectiu-e II., p. 79. 
 
160 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 homo, that is, of feelings becoming man. " Man- 
 kind" and '* kindred" are from the same Anglo- 
 
 ^ 5axon root with kin and kind. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon word ledene meant language, 
 and is to be found applied to the English tongue.* 
 Its application to the Latin, to which it is now 
 restricted, arose from this having been the univer- 
 sal language with lettered men in the middle ages. 
 Formerly Latin was called hokledene, that is, the 
 book language, corrupted to bog Latin.'t This 
 was the language of books in early times ; and 
 hence, to distinguish it, boc was prefixed to ledene, 
 which, although somewhat like the word " Latin," 
 meant any language. It has been already observ- 
 ed that the verb to '' learn" formerly meant to 
 teach ;t and so it is constantly used in the version 
 of the Psalms, in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 The Anglo-Saxon lere is to teach, whence a teacher 
 was called a loresman, from the past participle 
 
 \lore, which wp still retain as a noun. Lerend, 
 now written " learned,'' meant taught, and is ap- 
 plied to one who has been well instructed. The 
 word lewd, now used in a bad sense, originally 
 signified unlearned — that is untaught, and was 
 opposed to lerde, or learned.§ Learning having 
 
 * " For the love of Inglis lede, 
 
 Inglis hde of Ingland." — Old MS., quoted by Halliwell. 
 f Lecture L, p. 34. 
 X Lecture IL, p. 85. 
 § '' Bot lerde and lewde, old and yong, 
 
 Alle nutherstondith Englisch tonge." MS. quoted by Halliwell. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 161 
 
 been, in the middle ages, almost exclusively con- 
 fined to the clergy, the rest were called lewde,"^ 
 from whence we have " laity/' 
 
 " List'' was to please, or choose ; and the word is 
 frequently found in writings of the seventeenth 
 century .f It was often used as an impersonal 
 verb, signifying, " it is lawful," like the Latin, libet 
 or licet. Lin was the Anglo-Saxon for flax, and 
 "linen" means made of flax, like *' wooden" from 
 wood, &c. Lolyhede meant meekness or humility ; 
 and we flnd " lowliness" in this sense in the 
 Authorized Version of the New Testament. 
 '^ Lour," formerly lowre, means to look discon- 
 tented, to be lowered or cast down — as we say, 
 crest-fallen or chop-fallen. Thus the counte- 
 nance of the first murderer lowered or loured, 
 when it was said to him '' Why is thy counte- 
 nance fallen V (Gen. iv. 5, 6.) Hence the sky 
 is said to lour when it is darkened, and the 
 clouds appear loiver. A town or lout is a person 
 of lo%v or mean manners or understanding. To 
 lout was to bow down, to lower or bend the 
 body ; but is to be found usually appplied in a bad 
 
 * "Bot lerde and lewde, old and yong, 
 Alle untherstondith Englisch tonge." 
 
 MS. Bodl quoted by Halliwell. 
 t " The wind bloweth where it listeih.'" John iii. 8. 
 " Whithersoever the governor listeth.^'' James iii. 4. 
 " Now, by my mother's son, and that's myself, 
 It shall be moon, or star, or what I list.^^ — ShaJcspeare. 
 
 M 
 
162 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 sense, to describe an awkward clown, or a cring- 
 ing imposter.* We may often meet, in books 
 of narrative or dialogue, written in the last cen- 
 tury, with the interjection la I or la me / put 
 into the mouths of well-bred people. It would 
 now be justly considered vulgar, and is thought 
 by some to have been a corruption of " law" 
 as if the speaker meant to swear hy the law of 
 God. The word is found, however, in Anglo- 
 Saxon dictionaries, as an interjection, equivalent 
 to lo ! that is, look! It is thus found in Shak- 
 speare, " Lo you !'' that is. Look you ! {Twelfth 
 Night). Well-a-day or well-a-way, is a corrup- 
 tion of worla-wa! that is, '' woe, lo, woe!'' 
 
 Leve and lathe were old words for love and hate. 
 We may trace the first in the expression already 
 referred to, I'd as lief; and the second in the 
 phrase Fd be loathe, as also in the words " loathe" 
 and '' loathesome." The word " let" is used in two 
 opposite senises, signifying both to permit and to 
 hinder. As a verb, it is now restricted to the 
 former meaning ; but as a noun, it is still some- 
 times used, especially in legal forms, in the sense of 
 a hindrance. The words were not precisely alike 
 
 * In the First Edition of the foregoing Lectures, a quotation was 
 given on the authority of Dr. Johnson, from Spenser (mis-printed 
 Chaucer), as an example of the word lout being used to indicate a 
 graceful bow ; but Dr. Kichardson, in a letter to the author, has 
 pointed out that the louter, in the passage referred to, was an artful old 
 man, who came to the courteous knight, cringing, in order to deceive. 
 " He fair the knight saluted, louting low." — Fairy Queen, 
 
SUPPLEMENT 163 
 
 ill the Anglo-Saxon ; loetan was to permit, and 
 lettan, to hinder. The word " listless," that is, 
 heedless, is derived from lystan, to hearken, to 
 attend to, whence we have " listen/' Spenser has 
 the word listful as the opposite to listless. 
 
 A person is said to " long" for that which he 
 earnestly desires ; which expression Home Tooke 
 thus explains : — " When we consider that we ex- 
 press a moderate desire for anything, by saying 
 that we incline (i. e. bend ourselves) to it, will it 
 surprise us that we should express an eager desire, 
 by saying that we long for it, i. e. make longj^j 
 lengthen^ or stretch ourselves after it ; especially 
 when we observe, that after the verb to incline^ 
 we say to or towards, but after the verb to long, 
 we must use either for or after, in order to con- 
 vey our meaning."* '^Law,'' anciently written 
 lagh, is the past participle of the verb lagyan or 
 lecgan, to lay down. The Anglo-Saxon for a 
 '• lawyer" was lahman ; it was also formerly 
 lawer and lawier. A law is a rule laid down for 
 us to observe ; and we still speak of " laying 
 down the law." Home Tooke and Wachter insist 
 that the Latin lex was derived from the same 
 source, namely, the Gothic lag or Iceg, and the 
 Anglo-Saxon laggan. 
 
 * Dryden singularly combines the literal and metaphorical usage , 
 as observed by Richardson on the word " long" : — 
 
 " He (the fire) wades the street, and straight he reaches cross, 
 And plays his longing flames on t'other side." 
 
 Annus Mirahilis. 
 M 2 
 
164 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 We have already given the derivation of " lord'' 
 and '* lady," as traced by Verstegan, meaning the 
 bread 'provider, and the bread dispenser. Home 
 Tooke gives a different account of these titles of 
 honour, still tracing them, however, to the same 
 Anglo-Saxon hlifian, to raise or lift up ; from 
 which verb is derived " loaf," — leavened^, or raised, 
 bread. But while Verstegan derives " lord" and 
 " lady'' from the loaf, Tooke traces these words to 
 the verb to raise. According to this eminent 
 etymologist, 'Mord/' anciently written hlaford, is 
 composed of hlaf, raised, and ord, me*aning, like 
 the Latin ortus, birth or origin, thus signifying 
 high-born. " Lady" is in Anglo-Saxon hlafdig, 
 which is the same word as " lofty," that is, raised 
 or exalted, following the condition of her hus- 
 band. That '4ady" and "lofty" are the same 
 word, he thus proves: — The Anglo Saxon hlaf, 
 hlafod, hlafd, hlafdig, are in English, (omitting 
 the h) laf lafod, lafd, lafdy (the Anglo-Saxon 
 ^^ softened into y). Retaining the/, pronuncia- 
 tion requires the d to be changed into t, and the 
 word becomes lafty, (a broad, that is, aw) or lofty. 
 Suppress the /, the d may remain unchanged, and 
 the word becomes lady.* The word lean is to be 
 
 * See Dr. Richardson On the Study of Language (1854), in which 
 pablication this venerable etymologist has given " An exposition of 
 77*6 Diversions of Purley^'' and has thereby placed within the reach 
 of all, the substance of Home Tooke's valuable work, thus adding a 
 useful contribution to the study of philology. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 165 
 
 found in the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary as signify- 
 ing a loan, also a tribute, stipend, or emolument. 
 This may be the origin of the word llen^ in the 
 sense of a charge on an estate, or on the emolu- 
 ments of an office, which, however, is usually 
 considered as being derived from the French. 
 
 The word moel meant a portion of anything ; 
 it is now only applied to food. Mod-tide was. 
 meal-time, and efen-meal was supper, or evening 
 meal. From this word we have piece-meal, in 
 small fragments. Mede was a reward, and though 
 the word is now rarely used, yet it is to be found 
 in poetry, not only in Chaucer, Spenser, and Mil- 
 ton, but also in Pope and later writers. It ap- 
 pears to be derived from mcetan, to meet, from 
 whence, also, that which meets, or is suitable, is 
 said to be " meet" or proper ; as Eve was to be a 
 '' help meet" for Adam, or as it is commonly said 
 a help-mate ; this latter word, m^ate, being from 
 the same root, and applied formerly to man and 
 wife, but now almost entirely restricted to birds 
 who have *^ mated" or paired together. This word 
 is, however, still used to describe boys who join in 
 the same sports, and are called play-mates; it is 
 also retained on board ship, where the officer who 
 is second in command is called the mate, or " cap- 
 tain's mate," that is, the man who meets with the 
 captain most frequently on duty, as well as at 
 meals. 
 
 " Midwife" was anciently medewyf and mead- 
 
166 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 m/e, and meant the wifman, or woman, who 
 attended the patient for "mead or Tneed, that is 
 " hire," which word is derived either from Tnete, 
 to measure, or from Trietan, to meet; ** meed'' 
 being that which a person meets with, deservedly, 
 in return for service done. Mold is an Anglo- 
 Saxon word for the earth or clay ; and hence 
 vessels made of metal are said to be cast in a 
 'mould, because they take their form from the 
 pattern made in clay, sand, or mould. Etymolo- 
 gists, however, generally consider the noun, 
 mouldy and the verb, to Tnould, as being of French 
 origin. But there can be no doubt that to "iuoul- 
 der, that is, to turn to dust, and the adjective 
 mouldy, or covered with m^ould, are derived 
 from the Anglo-Saxon m^old, signifying the soil, 
 or ground, in which the roots which produce the 
 fruits of the earth vegetate. " Much" was for- 
 merly written Tuuehen and m^uckel, as it is still 
 pronounced in Scotland ; and is derived from m^ow, 
 signifying a heap. This latter word is derived 
 from mawan, to cut, from whence we have 
 " mead" and " meadow,'" the field of which the 
 grass is to be cut or mown ; and it was applied 
 to the heap of grass which had been meowed or 
 myown, and which is in some parts called a " mow.'' 
 Home Tooke traces the word " more" to this root ; 
 supposing that the term mow came to denote any 
 heap, and also became an adjective, and was so 
 used by our old English authors, and written i^ ' 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 167 
 
 Of this the comparative was mo-er or '' more," 
 and the superlative mo-est or '^ most." Mucker, 
 meaning to heap or hoard up, from Tuucg, a heap, 
 is used by Chaucer, to describe a mean way of 
 getting or saving up money, and it is not altogether 
 disused at the present day. Mild-heartness was 
 an expressive Anglo-Saxon word for pity, like 
 the Latin Tniserieordia. 
 
 To " moot" a question means to discuss it, and a 
 '' moot point'' is a topic which is mooted or dis- 
 puted. The word is derived from mot, which sig- 
 nified a meeting, or convention, for the discussion 
 of public affairs ; so called from metian, to meet. 
 Thus there were amongst the Saxons the m,ichel~ 
 gemot, or great meeting, and the ivittena-gemjot, 
 or meeting of the wise men. The subjects discus- 
 sed in those meetings were hence said to be geinot- 
 ed, or brought into court, and hence any disputed 
 topic came to be called a m^oot point. '* Mirth" is 
 caused by the driving away of care or melancholy ; 
 and Tooke considers it to be the third person 
 singular of m^irran, to disperse, that which m^irreth, 
 that is, dissipateth, care or sorrow .The verb was 
 also written merry an, from whence we have the 
 pleasant word, " merry." To the same root he 
 traces "morning," anciently written merrien, 
 Tnergen^ m^arne, morr, margen, and morn, and, 
 he adds, " I believe them to be the past tense and 
 past participle of the Gothic and Anglo-Saxon 
 mergan, 7nerran, or myrran, to disperse, to 
 
168 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 spread abroad, to scatter, as the morning disperses 
 the mists and darkness, and spreads abroad the 
 light of day. ' Morrow' and ' morn' are of the 
 same derivation. By the customary change of i 
 or y into o, tyiott is the regular past tense of 
 myrran, and morr easily came to be pronounced 
 and written morive and Tnorewe, and it w^as so 
 written in the middle ages, as were also, arwe for 
 arrow, narwe for narrow, sorwe for sorrow, &c." 
 The adverb " may be," or " mayhap,'' signifies 
 may happen. In some parts of England it is pro- 
 nounced mappan. " It may be" is the same as 
 it may happen. 
 
 Nyllan, or nillan, was an Anglo-Saxon word, 
 signifying not to wish, to be unwilling. Willan 
 and nillan corresponded to the Latin volo and 
 nolo. " Will he, nill he," meant whether he likes 
 it or not. The words " naughty" and '* naughti- 
 ness," formerly nahtinesSy now chiefl}^ confined to 
 the nursery, are from naught nothing ; as describ- 
 ing the absence of any thing good. A " naughty" 
 person is one who is " good for nothing." The 
 word was formerly applied to things as well as to 
 persons.* " Nevertheless'' was formerly nathless, 
 that is, na (or not) the less ; and is to be found in 
 Chaucer, never-the-later, but has long been fixed 
 as at present written. Over-woenan is an Anglo- 
 Saxon verb, signifying to presume, derived from 
 
 * " The other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be 
 eat^en, they were so bad." — Jeremiah, xxiv. 2. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 169 
 
 the prefix over, and ivcenan, to think, to ween. A 
 man overweens when he thinks "more highly of 
 himself than he ought to think." We have seen 
 that " atonement" is at-one-ment ;* and we find 
 in old writings oned for made one, and onement 
 for reconciliation; as also one-hede for unity.f 
 The word " odd" is applied to signify an uneven 
 number, and when used to describe an odd man 
 or an odd action, it now conveys an unfavourable ^ 
 meaning. It was not, however, formerly so re- 
 stricted, but meant anything unmatched. The 
 word means owed, contracted to ow'd, odd. 
 When we count by pares or couples, we say one 
 pair, two pairs, fee, and one owed, or odd, to make 
 up another pair. When we use the expression, 
 an " odd man" or an " odd action,'' it still relates 
 to pairing, or matching, and we mean without a 
 fellow, unmatched, — not such another, one owed 
 to make up a couple. j This explanation of the 
 word may serve, I think, to render intelligible the 
 odd and apparently unmeaning designation of a 
 well-known society in England, called " Odd 
 Fellows" — that is, the companions, who, being 
 fellows or equals amongst themselves, are odd, or 
 unmatched, in worth it may be supposed they 
 mean, amongst all the rest of the world. 
 
 * See Lecture I, p. 49. 
 t Halliwell's Archaic Dictionary. 
 
 X Sir Thomas More writes " God in soveraine dignity is odd]*' Uiat 
 is, unmatched. — See Diversions of Purley. 
 
170 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 The adverb '' perhaps" is compounded of the 
 Latin ^er, through, with the German hap]r)en, 
 which is still preserved in English. The more 
 poetic and the purely Saxon form of this adverb 
 is " haply ;" that is happen-like, it *' may be," or 
 it is likely to happen.* The word "happy'' is ap- 
 plied to those into whose possession good happens 
 to come or fall, who have good hap. The word 
 may be traced (as well as the Latin habere, to 
 have, and caper e, to take, and the French hap- 
 per, to catch), to the Anglo-Saxon Verb hahban, 
 to have or hold. Belike is an adverb found much 
 in our best old authors, and means luck, derived 
 from the Danish and other northern languages ; it 
 is thus the same as " by chance," or hjhap. The 
 adverbs, " perchance," " perad venture," and the 
 obsolete " percase," (of similar signification with 
 belike, may be, perhaps, and mayhap), are of Latin 
 origin derived through the French. The old ad- 
 verb, prithee, is " I pray thee.'' The word " pain- 
 ful" was formerly used to describe a work upon 
 which great pains had been bestowed, or the 
 person who had laboured diligently, or with pains, 
 in his work. A " painful preacher" was formerly 
 thus designated ; but such a phrase, or a " painful 
 book," would now convey the idea of pain in- 
 flicted on the hearers or readers, rather than of 
 pains taken by the preacher or writer. " Pitiful " 
 
 * " Haply some hoary-headed swain may say." — Gray's Elegy, 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 171 
 
 formerly meant full of pity or compassion ; it is 
 now used in a contemptuous sense. 
 
 " Plight" is an old English word meaning to 
 pledge, or lay doivn one's word. / plight thee 
 my troth, is *' I pledge thee my truth." To be in 
 a bad plight means to be placed, or laid, in a state 
 of danger or peril, like the Americanism, in a 
 ^'fix,'' a word derived from Latin. '*' Pang" means 
 pain, from pyngan, to pain or torment ; and poison 
 was so called in Anglo-Saxon, in allusion to the 
 pangs usually suffered by those who drank it. To 
 '' pine" away is of similar signification. The word 
 '^pad" was formerly used to describe an under 
 garment ; padding is now applied to that which 
 is put under, or within the garment. The name 
 " P^ggy ' is now used as a diminutive of '' Mar- 
 garet," without any apparent reason. It is derived 
 from the Anglo-Saxon peg or pega, signifying a 
 little girl, and was applicable as a word of fond- 
 ling to a female child of any name. 
 
 " Quick" means alive, active, quick, as we find 
 it in constant use in old books,* as also the verb 
 " quicken." The thorny trees that are planted to 
 form hedges are called " quicks,'' — in the Anglo- 
 Saxon, the quick beam, or tree ; and the fence so 
 made is called a ^' quick-set hedge," from its rapid 
 growth; hence also the weed, than which none 
 
 • Thus in the Creed — " to judge the quick and the dead ;" and 
 frequently in the Authorized Version, " quickened " 
 
172 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 more ^' grows apace," is called " quitch grass," or 
 couch grass. "Quaff" (perhaps ^o off) is from 
 caf^ quick. '' Quicksilver" is live or lively silver; 
 " quick-lime/' live lime, as distinguished from 
 slack-lime ; and *' quicksands" are live or moving 
 sands. The adverb '* quickly" means quick-like, 
 that is, livelike, or lively. A *^ quagmire" is mire, 
 or mud, which quakes or shakes under one, and 
 is so called from the Anglo-Saxon, quacian, to 
 shake, tremble, or quake; hence, also, an " earth- 
 quake," formerly called an earth-quave. To " wag" 
 may also be probably traced to the same verb. 
 Qualm was an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning grief, 
 or death ; from cwellan, to kill. Hence we have 
 *' qualms of conscience ;" as also the verbs to 
 ''kill "and to "quell." 
 
 The word " rash" now meaning hasty and with- 
 out consideration, was formerly in use as a verb, 
 signifying to snatch, or seize — to tear, or rend. 
 Meat that was burned in cooking, as being too 
 hastily dressed, was said to be rashed; and 
 " rasher," as applied to slices of bacon hastily fried, 
 probably partakes of this derivation.* Meat un- 
 der done, or not sufficiently cooked, is said to be 
 " raw," from the Anglo-Saxon hreow, meaning 
 crude, that is hreowd, caused to rue, as a man will 
 have reason to repent of unfinished work, which 
 is hence described as crude. 
 
 * Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaisms and Provincialisms. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 173 
 
 Birds are said to roost, when they go to rest, from 
 hrost, past participle of hrestan, to rest. To " rule 
 the roast" was, perhaps, originally to rule the roost, 
 as the cock of the roosting place for the fowl in the 
 poultry yard. Rec was smoke; hence reeking, 
 steaming. Reee or reec signified cruel, whence 
 comes to wreak vengeance. The ^* rind " is 
 that which protects the trunk or fruit of a tree ; 
 from wrean, to cover, past participle wrined. 
 
 We are apt to think rather of the cutting than 
 of the gathering of the sheaves, when we speak of 
 reaping the harvest ; but originally the word was 
 applied to the binding, rather than to the cutting 
 of the crops. The Anglo-Saxon word rcepan sig- 
 nifies to bind, from rcep, a band, or ^ ^ rope f berefe 
 was to bind, and a bundle of corn was called a 
 reap. The reapers were not the men who cut 
 down the crop, but the women and others who 
 bound it up into sheaves. The operation of cutting 
 the corn is usually called in Scotland " shearing" 
 it ; that is, separating it from the root.* With 
 this derivation and meaning agrees the work as- 
 signed to the " reapers," in the parable of the tares 
 in the field, where they are described, not as cut- 
 ting the crop, but sent to gather together — first 
 the tares, and hind them in bundles to burn them, 
 and to gather the wheat into the barn (Matt. xiii. 
 30) ; and when " gleaners" are allowed to collect 
 
 * See Lecture I., p. 43. 
 
174 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 all that the reapers leave behind them, as in the 
 case of Ruth, it does not mean what the shearers 
 leave, for that would be the entire crop ; but that 
 which is left by the hinders ungathered. The 
 word "' reef" is used in two different and opposite 
 senses, as sailors are said to "reef the sails," that 
 is, to draw them in ; and rocks which are torn 
 asunder are called " reefs/' Both words are de- 
 rived from the same root, the Anglo-Saxon verb, 
 reafian, signifying to seize or tear.' In the first 
 instance, the word " reef," is used to describe the 
 seizing or dragging together of the sails ; in the 
 other, the range of rocks seeming to be reft, or 
 torn asunder, is called a "reef" of rocks. 
 
 " Rue," anciently rew, signified to lament ; and 
 reawe was mourning or repentance. The sorrow- 
 ful, woe-begone Don Quixote is described as " the 
 knight of the rueful countenance.'' Ruth is an 
 old English word, signifying compassion or sym- 
 pathy, also sorrow and mournfulness ; and ruthless 
 meant without pity, unmerciful* The sea shore 
 was called rima, from ryman, to extend ; and the 
 same word is applied to the margin of anything, 
 being the extreme edge, or utmost extent in 
 breadth, as the " rim" of a cup or other vessel. 
 Similar to this is the word " brim," that is, he-rim, 
 to describe the extent of the capacity of any- 
 thing ; and " brimful" means filled up to the hrim. 
 
 * *' Ruin seize thee, ruthless king." — Gray. i 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 175 
 
 Ringan is to beat or strike, so as to produce a 
 sound, and is now chiefly used to denote the 
 " ringing ' of bells. The word may be traced to a 
 metallic instrument of music of a circular form, 
 like a ring, which, when beaten, returned a sound, 
 which is hence called a ringing sound. The word 
 " rock" is usually attributed to French origin, as 
 also a " rocket," or small coat oy frock', but Home 
 Tooke traces it to the Anglo-Saxon verb wrigan, 
 to hide, and hence to clothe, of which the past 
 participle was rog, hidden, and the word as a 
 noun was first applied to rocks hidden by the sea, 
 but afterwards masses of a like substance, found 
 on dry ground, received the same name,* while, 
 though no longer covered and hidden^ they afford- 
 ed cover and hiding-flaces to man and beast.f 
 The Anglo-Saxon verb wrigan, to cover, or 
 clothe, still survives in the English to rig, a word 
 chiefly used by sailors, who, as I have observed in 
 the first lecture of this volume, delight in words 
 of Anglo-Saxon origin. Tooke traces to this 
 same root " rogue," which means covered, cloaked, 
 and is applied to one who has cloaked or covered 
 designs. The species of crow called " rook" is 
 notorious, like the magpie, for roguish tricks, 
 and for covering and hiding what he steals. It 
 may, probably, be in allusion to the dishonest 
 
 * Richardson's Studi/ of Language. 
 
 t "The rocks are a refuge for the conies." — Ps civ. 18. "And Alt? 
 themselves in the dens, and. in the rocks oi the mountains."— Kev. vi. 15. 
 
176 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 propensities of the people who reside in the 
 locality that a certain district in London is called 
 '' The Rookery." The word '' rock'' was formerly 
 used as a verb, signifying to hide;^ and Shak- 
 speare describes " the rooky wood," which means 
 not full of rooks, but the covering and sheltering 
 wood-t The Anglo-Saxon for a cross was rode, 
 now spelt " rood ; " thus we have the " rood 
 screen,'' and the " rood-loft," being the loft on the 
 screen dividing the choir from the nave, upon 
 which the cross was erected. " Holy-rood" is 
 the same as " Holy-cross." It is here observable 
 that the Saxon name is retained in Scotland in 
 the name of Holyrood Palace, and at Southamp- 
 ton in the name of an ancient church there ; bu^ 
 the Latin-derived "cross" is substituted for "rood" 
 in Ireland, as Holy cross Abbey ; which agrees with 
 the fact before noticed, that words derived from 
 the Latin are more generally in use in Ireland 
 than in England. t " Eife" or ryf, meant frequent, 
 and so it is still used in the sense of abundance 
 or frequency. The term rijj-raff meant a tattered, 
 torn, or worthless set of persons, or things, from 
 reafian, to take away, whence also we have to 
 '' rive" and to " rip."§ 
 
 ♦ " false murderer, roching (that is, hiding) in thy den."— C%aiw;er. 
 
 f Richardson's Dictionary. 
 
 X Lecture IL p. 82. 
 
 § Richardson's Dictionary. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 177 
 
 . We have seen that various words are derived 
 from the Anglo-Saxon verb scearan, to cut, di- 
 vide, or scatter.* Of such are shire^ share, shears, 
 sheer, shore, shred, sherd, score, short, skirt, and 
 many others. To these may be added, '*scar," 
 now applied to a division caused by a cut in the 
 skin, but formerly with a more extensive signi- 
 fication, as a division cut in anything : hence it 
 was applied to a cliff, as ASca^^borough. The word 
 sheer was formerly used in the sense of clear, 
 pure, and unmixed, all impurities being cut oflf. 
 The phrases sheer ignorance amd sheer nonsense, 
 signifying ignorance separated from the least ad- 
 mixture of information, and folly without a 
 single grain of sense. To shear or sheer off is to 
 part or separate from. Shot sheer away means so 
 separated as to leave not the smallest particle 
 behind.f Fountaine shere, in Spenser, means 
 separated from all intermixture or pollution — un- 
 mingled : and hence used to denote purity. To 
 " scare," or frighten, is to make one sheer off. 
 
 The modern railway language deals in words 
 derived from Latin, as engine, station, terminus; 
 and tank from the French. Stoker, however, is 
 Saxon, meaning the sticker, or poker of the fire ; 
 as is also the driver, and an old word become 
 familiar to railway travellers, to shunt, that is, to 
 move off from one set of rails to another on the 
 
 * See Lecture I, p. 43. t Home Tooke. 
 
 N 
 
178 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 line. The word is of the same origin as to shun, 
 from the Anglo-Saxon, scunian, to move off, or 
 out of the way — to fly from, or avoid. Hence 
 also '^askance" and "• eschew."" A " stool," meant 
 anything set, or upon which one may sit ; from 
 stellan to place. A "joint-stool" meant a better 
 kind of seat, made by a "joiner," as a carpenter 
 was called, and having joinings in it, as distin- 
 guished from a rude log, or single block of wood. 
 Staell or stazl, meant in Anglo-Saxon a seat or 
 place. It is now applied to the seats in which 
 the members of a cathedral, or of an order of 
 knighthood, sit ; and to the places in which 
 butchers and others sell their goods ; as also to the 
 standing places for horses or other animals. To 
 " instal" is to place in the stall the person entitled 
 to occupy a seat in the chapter of an order, or of 
 a cathedral. 
 
 The word " sad" is now used in the sense of 
 m'elancholy and dejected; but in its original sense 
 it meant sober or grave, without necessarily im- 
 plying sorrow. It meant set, that is, settled or 
 steady, from settan or scetan, to set or settle. 
 When Coleridge speaks of " a sadder and a wiser 
 man," it means one who would be more sober, 
 settled, and prudent, for the future. The word 
 ''sadness" was formerly used for firmness or sta- 
 bility. From this word scetan, to settle, we have 
 the phrase, to set a house or farm, much used in 
 Ireland, in the sense in which to let is employed 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 179 
 
 in England. To " set" is to place a tenant in a 
 house or farm ; to *' let" is to permit him to take 
 possession. A saw was an old saying, as Shak- 
 speare describes the Justice ^' full of wise saws and 
 modern instances." Scathe meant harm, and was 
 in common use from Chaucer to Shakspeare, from 
 which we retain "scatheless/' unhurt. It is 
 derived from scathian to take away, to deprive. 
 When the joists of a floor, or the rafters of a roof 
 bend or droop, they are said by builders to sagg; 
 and this word is used by Shakspeare, meaning to 
 droop. Scylan was to hide, and a *' shield" is 
 derived from the past participle, scyWd, hid or 
 covered, for protection. 
 
 It might be thought that "smallish" was a 
 modern word, if not an Americanism ; it is, how- 
 ever, to be met with in Chaucer, to denote rather 
 small. Stent was to stop, or put bounds to, and 
 did not originally imply niggardliness, that is 
 *' nearness," or confining within too narrow limits, 
 to which the word, changed to " stint," is now 
 restricted. To stey was to ascend ; hence we have 
 the " stairs," or steyers, by which we ascend from 
 one floor to another of a house. Stound meant, in 
 Saxon, a moment ; to which may, perhaps, be traced 
 the word, now fallen into disuse, astounded^ for as- 
 tonished, as by anything coming upon one sudden- 
 ly, and without warning, as in a moment The 
 words astound and " astonish'" are, however, so 
 like a French word of similar signification, that 
 
 n2 
 
180 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 they have been considered by such eminent philo- 
 logists as Dr. Johnson and Home Tooke, to be 
 derived from the French estonner, now written 
 etonner. I incline to agree, notwithstanding, 
 with Dr. Richardson, in tracing its more im- 
 mediate derivation from the old verb astone or 
 astony, of which we find the past participle 
 "astonied'' in the Authorized Version of the Bible ; 
 and which was derived from the Anglo-Saxon 
 stunian, to stupify, to stun. It must be borne 
 in mind, that an English word appearing simi- 
 lar to the French does not disprove its Anglo- 
 Saxon origin. Although the great bulk of the 
 French language is derived from the Latin, it 
 retains many words from the original languages 
 of the northern tribes that from time to time set- 
 tled in ancient Gaul.* This observation, apply- 
 ing, as it does, equally to Latin words, disposes of 
 such criticisms as lead to the conclusion that such 
 words as pine, fig, and vine cannot be Anglo-Saxon. 
 In these and other instances, it is difiicult to say 
 whether the Romans borrowed from the Germans, 
 or the Germans from the Romans ; as for example, 
 in the case of the Latin hdbeo, and the German 
 haben, to have. 
 
 The word ''scrip" is to be found applied in 
 very difierent senses; as when we read of the 
 
 * See an interesting article in that useful repertory, Chambers^ 
 Edinburgh Journal, February, 1854, p. 67. See also Lecture I., of 
 ihis volume, pp. 6 and 12. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 181 
 
 Apostles being directed to " provide no scrip for 
 their journey," and we now speak of Government 
 or Eailway ^* scrip." In the former instance, 
 '' scrip" is a Saxon word signifying a bag, wallet, 
 or purse ; and in the latter it means a written 
 paper, from the Latin scriptum, and would more 
 properly be called script* Sweven in Anglo- 
 Saxon meant a dream, whence a " swoon,"being in 
 a dreamy state. In the Anglo-Saxon vocabula- 
 ries we find many words compounded of " heart," 
 most of which have been lost in modem English. 
 We still retain " hearty," but we have lost sore- 
 heartness for sorrow. '' Scandal" is derived from 
 scande, meaning reproach. To " shrive" was to 
 confess; hence " ^S'^rove-Tuesday," the day pre- 
 vious to Lent, when confessions were made. The 
 rapid flight of a bird of prey is called a " swoop" 
 from sweeping past quickly.f 
 
 When a person '^ tastes'' anything for trial of 
 its quality, he " smacks" his lips ; a word derived 
 from smo3ccan, to taste, and may have had its 
 origin in the sound one makes when tasting food. 
 Spaccan was a Saxon word signifying the radii 
 of a circle, hence the spacs or *' spokes" of a 
 wheel. Steel was to take, but now means to take 
 dishonestly that which belongs to another — to 
 *' steal." A stalworth knight meant a warrior 
 
 * See Trench's English Past and Present. 
 
 f " All mj pretty chickens and their dam, at one fell swoop^ 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
182 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 who was worth being taken ; whose capture would 
 bring credit to the victor. The phrase " Spick- 
 and-span-new" is similar to the Dutch Spickspel- 
 der nieiiw, signifying new from the warehouse 
 and loom ; spyker meaning a warehouse, and spil 
 or spely a spindle or loom. In Saxon or German, 
 spange meant any thing shining, as a " spangle,'' 
 and spick was a warehouse ; so that " spick-and- 
 span-new" meant shining new from the ware- 
 house. "Brand-new," often incorrectly pro- 
 nounced bran-new, means, as Shakspeare has it, 
 "fire-new,"" that is, fresh from the fire, forge, or 
 furnace.* To brand signified to burn ; hence, a 
 " fire-brand" is a burning torch. A sword was 
 called, as we frequently find it in poetry, a 
 " brand ;" because, when moved rapidly to-and- 
 fro in the air, it glitters like a fire-brand ; and 
 hence, when a man flourishes his naked sword, 
 be is said to brandish his weapon, that is, he 
 causes it to have an appearance like a brand. 
 
 It is very commonly supposed that the termina- 
 tion of the possessive case in English (s with an 
 apostrophe) is a contraction for his — thus the 
 
 * Butler gives to spick-and-span-new, a similar meaning as to 
 brand-new, making his hero determine to strike the iron while it was 
 hot. 
 
 " Then while the honour thou hast got, 
 Is spick-and-span-new, piping hot, 
 Strike her up bravely, thou hadst best, 
 And trust thy fortune with the rest." 
 
 Eudihras, Part I. Cant. iii. 397. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 183 
 
 ^' king's crown" is thought to mean " the king his 
 crown," which, no doubt, was a form of expres- 
 sion, to be found in old books ; but that this is not 
 a correct explanation of this termination is evi- 
 dent from the fact that we also say ^' the queen's 
 crown," which cannot be so interpreted. The 
 fact is that es was the termination of the genitive 
 case in Anglo-Saxon, and it was anciently " the 
 kinges crown," but the e being dropped, the apos- 
 trophy was inserted, and hence we have " king's." 
 The " sand" separated from the rock, or sundred 
 into innumerable particles on the sea-shore, is so 
 called from syndrian, to separate, to sunder. 
 Things which, collected together, exactly corre- 
 spond in figure, size, &c., are said to be of the 
 same kind, from samnian, to collect or bring 
 together, to " summon" into one place at one 
 time. This latter word has assumed a French 
 character, but it may be that in early times it 
 was changed from smnnian, to call to the same 
 place. '' Sake" is derived from secan, to seek ; 
 when we say that we perform an action, for the 
 sake of anything, we mean by " sake" that for 
 which we seek to do it. 
 
 The sweeper of the streets, who scrapes off the 
 dirt, is called a '' scavenger," from scaffan, to 
 scrape, to shave off. " Scoff" is from sceoffan, to 
 shove, push, or drive out contemptuously. 
 "Scold,'' like, "scandal," is from scyldan, to 
 accuse. A " scrap" is that which is scraped off; 
 
184 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 and to '' scrawl'' is to scrafe ill-formed letters. 
 Formerly a " shroud" meant any clothing or cover- 
 ing ; it is now applied only to the dress of a 
 corpse, except by sailors, who apply the word to 
 the sails by which the masts of the ship are 
 covered. A " sigh" is produced by first drawing 
 or sucking up the breath, and is derived from 
 sycan, to suck. *' Sight" is from the verb to see, 
 formerly written sigh ; whence sighed, sigh'd or 
 sight, that which is seen. We now use " silly" in 
 a bad sense, to mean foolish ; but it originally 
 meant good, and unsuspicious of evil in others ; 
 from guileless, it has come to signify foolish, or 
 easily imposed upon. The peasantry speak of an 
 idiot, or silly person, as an '^ innocent." 
 
 *' Sin" is derived from syndrian, to separate, 
 as describing that which is an erring and straying 
 from the right path ; the " sinner" separates from 
 the right way. The Hebrew word for sin, con- 
 veys the sense of missing the right aim, or devia- 
 ting from the proper course ; the Greek word for 
 sin is of the same signification ; while the Latin- 
 derived ^' transgression" means a passing of the 
 bounds. '^ Smooth" meant originally that which 
 was made so by beating or smiting.* " Smuggle" 
 is derived from snican, to creep in stealthily ; and 
 from the same verb we have " snug," as a '' snug 
 berth," that into which one may quietly creep 
 
 * " He that smootheth with the hammer encouraged him that smote 
 the anvil." — Isa. xli. 7. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 185 
 
 and hide one's self. " Smile" meant bland and se- 
 rene ; smelt wceder is Anglo-Saxon for 'mild and 
 genial weather, when the sky is clear, and with- 
 out wind. '* Smerk" is of similar origin, but now 
 used in a low and bad sense. " Sneezing" relates 
 to the nose (nease), and was formerly called 
 neasing. " Slop'" is the past participle of slip, 
 from whence we also have a slope, or slippery 
 place. Clothes were formerly called slo'ps, pro- 
 bably from being slipped off at night. A " slop- 
 shop" is an emporium where all sorts of clothing 
 are to be had, as in sea-port towns, where outfits 
 are procured. for a voyage. A "slough" means 
 sluggish or slow water, a stagnant pool. It is 
 derived from sleacian, to retard, or render slow ; 
 from which may also be traced slouch, slow, slug, 
 slack, sloven, and slut. The slack of coal is that 
 part which burns slowly, as slack-lime is distin- 
 gished from that which is quick or lively. 
 
 The word " since" is applied in many senses in 
 EDglish, and has been spelled in a variety of ways, 
 as seathan, sithan, sithen, sithence, syne, seand, 
 sense, sythe, sith, seeing that It. is used in 
 modern English in four ways — two as a prepo- 
 sition affecting words, and two as a conjunction 
 connecting sentences. As a preposition, we use it 
 when we say anything occurred since such an 
 event ; and as a conjunction, when we say, one 
 may act so and so, since or seeing that, it is not 
 unlawful. It is also used adverbially, as when we 
 
] 86 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 say, "it is a year since/' From the Anglo-Saxon 
 verb, sceotan, to throw, or cast forth, we have many 
 English words in common use, as shoot, shut, scout, 
 sketch, shot, scot, sheet, sheet- anchor, or shot-anchor, 
 and shout, to throw out words ; and the shoots of 
 a tree or plant ; as also skates, with which a man 
 shoots along on the ice ; and the fish which has the 
 name of " skate," from the rapid manner of its 
 shooting or darting along in the water. We may 
 bear the Irish poor complain that they have not a 
 "• screed" to put on their children. This word is 
 derived from the Anglo-Saxon screadan, to clothe ; 
 or may mean shred. They also say they have not 
 a single stitch to put on them. " Stitch" is from 
 stican, to stick, applied both to needle-work, 
 which is stuck with the needle, and to a sharp 
 pain in the side, " resembling," as Tooke observes, 
 *' the sensation produced hj being stuck or pierced 
 by any pointed instrument." To " settle" is to 
 take up one's seat or habitation in a place ; "to 
 settle" a room is to set or put things in their place ; 
 and a "settle-bed'' is a bed set up for one to 
 settle or take their rest in; all being from the 
 Anglo-Saxon settlian, to take a seat. The " sun- 
 j&ower" has a name of a hybrid character, from the 
 Saxon sun and the French fieur ; the Anglo- 
 Saxon name for this plant was the sun-soece, that 
 is, the sun-seeker, similar to the Greek-derived 
 heliotrope, the turner towards the sun. " Sooth," 
 that is, sayeth, means truth ; and as our simple fore- 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 187 
 
 fathers implicitly believed all that such people told 
 them, a fortune-teller was called a " soothsayer." 
 The " heel" was called s'por or s]puT^ and hence the 
 word is applied to the instrument that is fixed 
 to the heel of the boot ; and this being used to 
 excite the horse, gave rise to the verb to " spur'' 
 a person on to any exertion. To " spurn" meant 
 literally to kick with the heel^ in allusion to the 
 original meaning of the word; it is still used 
 metaphorically, to treat with contempt. 
 
 A "stave" in music, or in a song, is derived 
 from stefen or steveUj a voice or sound. Strcel 
 meant a carpet ; and a lady's dress is said to street 
 on the ground when it sweeps the carpet or the 
 street. '' Straw" is so called because it is strewn 
 or strawed, as litter for cattle : from streowian, to 
 spread, to strew. The "strawberry" is a berry- 
 bearing plant which spreads itself in all directions. 
 Stridan is an Anglo-Saxon verb, meaning to 
 stretch or spread ; hence we have stride, astride, 
 straggle, and straddle, as also the adverb " astray." 
 The couch which we call a " sofa" has its name 
 from swcefan to sleep. " Span" is the past parti- 
 ciple of spinan, to stretch out. " Speed" meant 
 to go forward, whence " good speed," or " God 
 speed." The word by itself conveys the idea of 
 swiftness. To " spill" meant to waste, from spil- 
 Ian, to destroy, waste, or spoil. A spell signified 
 a story, as also to teach, from spellian, to declare ; 
 so we speak of spelling syllables, that is, teaching 
 
188 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 or declaring their meaning ; and a " spell'^ meant 
 an incantation by words and speeches. 
 
 A " spout'' is so called from spittan, to throw 
 out, to spit, and was a very appropriate name 
 for the substitutes for the Gargoyles in ancient 
 architecture, which represented monsters, or gro- 
 tesque human heads, spitting out the water from 
 the roof " Spouting" is used to describe a throw- 
 ing out of words. A " stirrup'' was originally a 
 stige-rape, from steigen, to ascend, and rape, a 
 rope ; that is, a rope or strap by which to mount 
 on horseback. '' Stock" is a word used in various 
 senses ; as the stock of a tree, or of a gun ; the 
 stock from whence a race or family comes; and 
 stock in trade. In the plural we have the stocks 
 in which ships are fixed ; the stocks in which cul- 
 prits were stuck up ; and the stocks or public funds 
 " where," says Home Tooke (no friend to the 
 Government of his day), "the money of unhappy 
 persons is now fixed, thence never to return." 
 This learned etymologist is of opinion that stock, 
 however differently applied, is the past participle 
 of the Anglo-Saxon sticcan, to stick ; and to the 
 same source he traces "stocking" for the legs, 
 corruptly written, as he supposes, for stocken (that 
 is, stock, with the addition of the participial ter- 
 mination en), because it was stuck, or made with 
 sticking pins, now called knitting-needles. 
 
 "Storm" is derived from styrmian, to rage; 
 and as a verb it is still applied to a raging or 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 189 
 
 furious person, who storms at others. " Strong" 
 is the past participle of string^ from stringan, to 
 enable, to give ability or power. To string is to 
 give power to, as to "string" the sinews or nerves ; 
 and a strong man is one who is well strung. A 
 '* stud" of horses is a number of horses standing 
 together, or the place where they stand or stood. 
 " Stunt" is stopped in the growth, from stintan, to 
 stop, to stint. A " stye'' is a place raised up, now 
 only applied in this sense to a place so erected for 
 pigs ; the word is also used to designate a rising 
 or tumour on the eyelid. It is derived from sti- 
 gan, to go up ; from whence we also have stage, 
 stack, stalk, stairs, and a style, composed of steps 
 raised to pass over; as also stories of a house, 
 raised one upon another. Spenser, has the word 
 to sty, meaning to mount up. 
 
 A "token" is derived from tcecan, to shew, 
 whence also we have " teach/' Treppan is an 
 Anglo-Saxon word signifying to ensnare, to take 
 in a trap. This appears to be the true derivation 
 of this word ; but some have derived it from the 
 French, confounding it with the name of a sur- 
 gical instrument, with which an injured skull is 
 "trepanned," with which this word, although 
 similar in sound, has no connexion. Others have 
 traced it to Trepani, a town in Sicily, into which 
 some English, in a storm, were invited and then 
 detained. The English word, however, to trepan, 
 or more properly trappan, is to entrap. 
 
190 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 " Tight'' means tied^'^ from tian, or tigan, to 
 tie. Home Tooke traces the words " town/' 
 " tun/' and " ten/' to the same root, namely, the 
 Anglo-Saxon verb, tynan, to enclose, to tyne, or 
 teen. " Town" he makes to be any number of 
 houses enclosed together. Formerly, he observes, 
 the English subaudition (or suppressed word) 
 was more extensive, and embraced any enclosure ; 
 any quantity of land, &c., enclosed; and he in- 
 stances Dr. Beddoe's having written to him, that 
 " in the west of Cornwall, every cluster of trees is 
 called a town of trees;" that is, trees encompassed, 
 or within a certain compass. He adds, that to 
 tyne is still a provincialism. Dr. Richardson 
 shows that " closing a door" was formerly called 
 " tyndynge to the dore." I may add, that in the 
 northern part of Connaught, the peasantry always 
 described my glebe land as the town, as they did 
 also, generally, any enclosed farm ; and the name 
 *' townlands" is well known in Ireland, as describ- 
 ing what are in England called hundreds. A 
 tun, or " ton," is a certain measure of liquid en- 
 closed in one vessel ; or a certain quantity or 
 weight in one package. " Tunnel," now only used 
 as a noun,f is a diminutive of tun, and meant any 
 
 * " He halt him taied ;" that is, he held him tight — Gower. 
 " A great lang chaine he tight;'" that is, tied. — Spenser. 
 
 t " Some foreign birds are described by Derham as tunnelling, that 
 is, enclosing their nests, and suspending them from trees, to keep them 
 out of the reach of rapacious animals." — Richardson. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. ]91 
 
 smaller enclosure for smoke, in its passage out; 
 or for liquor in its passage into a tun, as the 
 vessel was called which contained a tun. *^ Ten" 
 is also derived from tynan, and is applied to 
 denote the number of the fingers enclosed in the 
 hands, when tyned^ or shut up. 
 
 In Anglo-Saxon, "thing'' was also written 
 ihinCj^ from ikencan, to think. The old word " me- 
 thinks'' was methinketk; that is, it appears to me. 
 " Methought" was also a not uncommon expres- 
 sion, meaning, it thought me, or caused me to think. 
 The verb to think was formerly used in the sense 
 of seems Jit* The noun " thing" describes that 
 which, or that about which, we think ; the word 
 was written thinh^ihrQQ centuries ago, and nothink 
 is not an uncommon Provincialism. Although 
 the noun formed from the infinitive, or the 
 present tense, of the verb to * think, has been 
 changed to "thing," that which is formed of 
 the past tense and the past participle of the 
 same verb remains unchanged ; a " thought" 
 is that which we think, or which causes 
 thought, sensation, or feeling. As " thing" is 
 that which causes us to think, and is the cause 
 of sensations or ideas, so to think is the efiect, 
 
 " Prince — Where shall we sojourn till our coronation ? 
 Gloucester — Where it thinks best unto your royal self." 
 
 K. Richard HI. Act. L Sc. 3. 
 
192 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 that is, to receive, to have, sensations or ideas. 
 *' Thank" and " think" are more nearly allied to 
 each other, than is, perhaps, generally supposed, 
 To be " thankful" is to be thinkful, or mJMdful of 
 a benefit received; and " unthankfulness'' argues 
 "thoughtlessness," being uniMnJcful or unmind- 
 ful of an obligation. The Anglo-Saxon word is 
 found applied to thought, — " of his own thane,'" 
 that is, of his own thought, or will. The verb is 
 thancgian, to thank, from thencan, to think. To 
 be thankful for a favour is to be " sensible," think- 
 ful or senseful of it. 
 
 The word tind was used in the last century 
 in the sense of to " kindle", and we still have 
 "tinder," derived from tindan, to set on fire. 
 " Thwart," to pervert, to cross one's purpose, is 
 thweort, the past participle of thweorian, to 
 wrest or twist. ' The Anglo-Saxon noun, threat, 
 signified a great multitude of people ; and as these 
 often carried a menacing appearance, " to threaf't 
 and " threatening" were derived from this word. 
 From the Anglo-Saxon tceecan, to take, we have 
 the taek of a ship— that is, the course taken by 
 the ship, or by which she is taken; and to tack 
 is to take another course. The tackle (such as 
 ropes, &c.,) is that by which the ship is taken, 
 held, or guided on her way. Tackle for hunting 
 
 * See Richardson's Study of Language ; and Tooke's Diversions of 
 Purley. 
 
 t *' What, threat you me with telling of the king ? " 
 
 Shakspeare. — Richard II. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 193 
 
 is that by which birds, beasts, or fish are taken 
 or caught ; and it was applied also to armour 
 taken by the warrior, as we speak of a man taking 
 up arms ; and lastly, a tack is a small nail, to take 
 hold, ^^^ or fasten.* To " till " 1/he ground is to 
 raise^ lift, or turn it with the spade or plough, 
 and thus to cultivate it ; and " tillage" was for- 
 merly called tilth — that is, the operation which 
 tilleth, turns up, or raises the earth, which is also 
 applied to the land so tilled. The till of a shop 
 is a small box which may be lifted up daily, as 
 distinguished from a large chest or coffer, which 
 was both heavy and carefully locked; and the 
 tiller of a boat is a moveable rudder. The tilt of 
 a boat or waggon is the cover raised over it. 
 From the same root tillian, to labour, we have 
 " toil." Tooke considers the primitive meaning 
 of the Anglo-Saxon word to be, to lift up, to raise, 
 to turn over. " Thorn" is derived from toeran, 
 to tear, of which the past participle is toren or 
 torn, which latter word, in Anglo-Saxon, was 
 used, metaphorically, for anger. 
 
 A " thrall " was a servant whose ear had been 
 drilled or bored, according to the ancient Jewish 
 custom, as described in an old translation of the 
 Pentateuch: — '^ Thirlie his eare mid anum sele;" 
 (Exod. xxi. 6,) which custom was retained by our 
 Saxon forefathers, and executed on their slaves at 
 
 * For another application of the word tackle, see Lecture I., page 40. 
 
 O 
 
194 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 the cliurcli door* Tlie word is derived from 
 ' thirlian^ to pierce ; hence also thrill^ used to de- 
 scribe an emotion of trembling, like that caused by 
 the action of boring or piercing. The "threshold" 
 of a door is constantly beaten^ and trampled upon, 
 by the feet of those going in and out; hence the 
 Anglo-Saxon name given to this piece of timber? 
 thrceswold, from threscan to beat, or thresh, and 
 wold, wood. The operation of threshing corn is 
 so called from the beating out of the grain. From 
 the Anglo-Saxon thrawan, to throw, we have 
 *' throe," or " throw," to describe any painful 
 agony, under which the sufferer heaves, and throws 
 out his arms, or tosses about. " Throng" is applied 
 to a multitude pressed together, from thringan, 
 to squeeze or thrust together. " Tide" meant 
 time, the moment when anything happened ; and 
 is now applied to the time of the ebbing and flow- 
 ing of the sea, hence called " the tide," — but in 
 composition we still have "eventide," for eventime, 
 and " betide,'' or betime, that is, happen. " Early" 
 and " late" were formerly called tideful and late- 
 ful. " Tidings" may be traced to the same Anglo- 
 Saxon word tidan, to come. 
 
 The '* tongs" with which coals are taken up is 
 derived from tangan, to take. "Trade" comes 
 from tredan, to tread, meaning the following a 
 beaten or trodden course. Trow was an Angio- 
 
 * Ellisy English Poets, yol. i. quoted hy Richardson. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 195 
 
 Saxon word meaning to think, believe, to be con- 
 vinced of. From this comes "true/' anciently written 
 trew (the past participle of trow^ sisgrew is of grow, 
 and knew of know) meaning trowed, that is, be- 
 lieved firmly. " Truth" (formerly written troweth 
 and troth) is the third person singular of the verb 
 to trow, describing that which one troweth, or 
 firmly believeth. To " trust" is to think or believe 
 one to be ^rite and faithful ; and "trustworthy" 
 is worthy of trust. The Anglo-Saxon verb is 
 trywsian, to think true, to confide in another. 
 
 We have seen that a '* story" did not formerly 
 always mean a fiction or untruth.* A '*tale'' 
 would, however, appear to have conveyed the idea 
 not only of falsehood, but of libel; the Anglo- 
 Saxon word, tcel or tale, signifying calumny- 
 *' Telling tales" would thus appear to have meant, 
 not merely repeating improperly what had occur 
 red, but propagating untruths, and bringing false 
 accusations against others. The word is, however, 
 often found in old authors, without carrying the 
 meaning thus assigned to it; in Anglo-Saxon 
 dictionaries,! to '^tattle" is of similar signification - 
 from tittlan, to accuse ; and a " tattler'' meant a 
 calumniator. 
 
 The terms " unhandsome" and " handsome" had 
 reference to the hand, and were originally ap- 
 plied rather to the conduct than to the personal 
 
 * Lecture I., page 38 . 
 
 t Somner's Dictionary, and Benson's Vocab, Anglo-Saxon. 
 
196 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 appearance. '* Handsome is that handsome does," 
 was a good proverb, preferring good deeds 
 (actions performed with the hand) to fair looks. 
 We still sometimes so apply the words ; as when 
 we speak of a man evincing handsome conduct, 
 or of an unhandsome turn or action. Several 
 words, with the negative prefix un, have been lost 
 in the change from Anglo- Sax on into modern 
 English; of these are unrest^ unmildness, un- 
 niightyj unsorry, unglad, unright, unhonest, 
 ungood, unpossible, unpatientness, unstrong^ 
 unwisdom, unsharp, and unfast opposed to 
 " stedfast." We still retain " uneasy" and "uneasi- 
 ness ;" but have lost unease, which, as well as 
 misease, was used, as we now have " disease." 
 We have lost unteach, but we have preserved 
 " un teachable." " Unrighteous" was anciently 
 unrightwise; and unright-willing was an Anglo- 
 Saxon word for unlawful ambition — a wishing for 
 that which was not right. Unhele was an old word 
 for misfortune; and unlaw for injustice, from 
 which we still have the adjective " unlawful," and 
 the noun " unlawfulness." . 
 
 Several words compounded of the prefix up^ 
 have also been lost ; as upriste for resurrection, 
 and the expressive words uphaven, and uphavedr 
 ness, signifying heady, and highmindedness ; as 
 lowlyhede, now changed to "lowliness," meant hu- , 
 mility. Upcome was to ascend, and undercome to 
 submit. While these have fallen into disuse, we still 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 197 
 
 retain "overcome," as the oi^^osite to undercome ; 
 instead of which latter word has been adopted 
 ^' succumb" for sub-come, compounded of the 
 Latin preposition for " under." " Usury," which 
 has long been applied in a bad sense, originally 
 only meant payment for the use of money. 
 
 A " vat," or large vessel, was formerly, and more 
 properly, called " fat," as in the Authorized Ver- 
 sion of the Bible may be found a " vine-fat" and a 
 " press- fat/' It is derived from vatta, German 
 vassen, to hold or contain, whence fat or feet, a 
 vessel of such dimensions as to be capable of con- 
 taining a large quantity. The adjective *' fat,' 
 Tooke considers to be the past participle of fedan, 
 to nourish, fat signifying well-fed. All other 
 English words commencing with the letter v, will 
 be found to be of Latin or French origin. 
 
 The thin or watery portion of milk is called 
 ^' whey,"' from the Anglo-Saxon hwceg ; it being 
 usual to soften g, at the end of words, to y, and to 
 transpose h and w at the commencement of words, 
 in forming them into English from Anglo-Saxon 
 This word gave a name to a colour, meaning pale, 
 and was used to denote anything white or thin. In 
 Shakspeare it is found both in its literal sense,* 
 and metaphorically, as indicating cowardice.! It 
 
 * ^'I'll make you feed on cards and whey.'' 
 t " What soldiers, whey face." 
 
198 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 is to be found in Butler, to describe the colour of 
 Hudibras's beard.* 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon word " ween," from weenan^ 
 to think, is found in old books and in poetry. 
 " Wit" meant wisdom, from witan, to know ; from 
 which came *'wist" and '^ wot," as also "to wit.' 
 Hence, too, we have "witness," one who tells 
 what he knows. Outwita was Anglo-Saxon for a 
 philosopher, whose wit or knowledge is beyond 
 that of the general mass of the people. The verb 
 to ^' outwit" is retained, in modern English, but it 
 is applied in a bad sense, like *' cunning," which 
 originally mesuci^ knowing, and was used in a good 
 sense. " Do to wit" (2 Cor. viii. 1) was an old 
 phrase, meaning to cause one to understand. A 
 " wart" is that which is rooted in the flesh, from 
 wart., signifying a root of any kind. Whelm was 
 a Saxon word, meaning to boil over, from which 
 we have " overwhelm," that is, to sink as by over- 
 flowing troubles boiling over one. 
 
 A " window" formerly windore, was intended 
 for the admission of air as well as of light, and 
 took its name from being the door for the wind 
 to enter — the winder, as it is sometimes vulgarly 
 called, or admitter of the wind. " Wade," and 
 " waddle," mean to make way through water or 
 mud. Wabble and wappelian were Anglo-Saxon 
 words, signifying to boil ; hence the term " pot- 
 
 * " The upper part thereof was whey, 
 The nether orange mix'd with grey." 
 
 Eudibras, Part L, Canto 1. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 199 
 
 walloper," a corruption of pot-ivahbler, used to 
 designate householders, or those who boiled a pot 
 within the borough. A " wharf," where goods 
 are landed from boats, is so called from the 
 Anglo-Saxon verb hwyrfan, to throw out; either 
 because it projects into the water, or from the 
 goods being thrown out of the boat upon it. In 
 this and numerous other cases, the h and w have 
 been transposed, for the easier pronunciation, in 
 modern English ; as, for example, in the words whatj 
 wheat, white, where, whither, why^ whole, who, when, 
 why, wheel, whether, while, whistle. The old word 
 "wont," meaning was accustomed, is the past par- 
 ticiple oiwone or won, to dwell or frequent, to do 
 habitually.* A wic or wye, meant a village or 
 town, and is frequently found at the end of names 
 of places in England, as Norwich, Ipswich, Ber- 
 wick, (fee. To this word we may probably trace 
 " week." The wick-days were the days on which 
 the country people went to the town or wic, to 
 attend market; thus week-days meant market 
 days. Although we now include Sunday as one 
 of the seven days of the week, we still keep up 
 the distinction, and when we say a school or shop 
 is open every iveek-day, we imply that it is closed 
 on Sundays. *' Whole" and " wholesome" were ori- 
 ginally spelt without the w; and are derived from 
 hcelan, to hide, and hence to " heal,''t frona which 
 we also retain '*hale," ''health," and healthy." 
 
 • Where prayer was wont to be made." — Acts, xvi. 13. 
 t Lecture I., p. 50. 
 
200 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Amongst tlie various names for clothing, with 
 the Saxons, was the word weod, which was also 
 figuratively applied to the grass and herbs cloth- 
 ing the field with verdure. In reference to this 
 signification of the word, it is now applied only 
 to those which are useless or noxious, which we 
 call " weeds/' Formerly these were called un- 
 weods; and the proverb which tells us that '^ill- 
 weeds grow apace'' still retains the distinction: 
 In the sense of clothing, the word is now applied 
 only to the dress of a widow, called weeds. Warre 
 meant caution, from warran, to defend ; we still 
 retain the imperative of this verb, when we 
 address to a person the caution — " beware." We 
 also have derived from it, " war" and *^ warlike;" 
 and " ward," a term applied to one who is taken 
 care of, as a "ward of chancery." Wealdan in 
 Anglo-Saxon meant to govern. Hence a king 
 is said to " wield" his sceptre, this being the en- 
 sign of his authority ; and a man who skilfully 
 uses the weapon is said to ''wield" his sword 
 dexterously. Wedd was a pledge. To " wed" is 
 to plight ones troth — that is, to pledge one's 
 truth; and a " wedding" is the occasion of making 
 the pledge in "wedlock," — the lock or band, that 
 is confirmed with the pledge of one's troth or truth. 
 "Water" was formerly written weter, and its 
 derivation is from wceter, to make " wet." Well- 
 willingness was an Anglo-Saxon word for " bene- 
 volence," as evil- willingness was for " malevo- 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 201 
 
 lence ;'' the two more modern words being nothing 
 else than the Latin version of the Anglo-Saxon 
 word in each case. 
 
 The pleasant English word " welcome" is gene- 
 rally supposed to mean come well, as " farewelF' 
 is fare (or go) well on your way. But it appears 
 to have a deeper meaning ; conveying more of a 
 hearty feeling, than merely wishing one's visitor 
 to arrive safe and sound. It was formerly spelt 
 wUcor)ie^ and it is still so pronounced by the hos- 
 pitable Irish peasant. In old Anglo-Saxon Lexi- 
 cons it is found amongst words compounded of 
 wilU and not with those with the prefix well. 
 It is derived from will and come, meaning come 
 with mj will — " with all my heart/' A welcome 
 visitor is one whose coming is wished or willed 
 for ; and he is sure to find that he has come with 
 the hearty good will of his host, who receives 
 him, "not grudgingly or of necessity," but with 
 genuine good will and best wishes. " Unwel- 
 come," on the other hand, means that to which 
 one gives an unwilling reception. " Unwelcome 
 tidings," for example, is that which is received 
 against one's will — it is un-will-come, and meets 
 with no warm response in the heart, or vjill, of the 
 hearer. 
 
 Wild means wilVd, applied primarily to un- 
 tamed animals, not subdued to the will of man — 
 self-willed. A wilderness" is a wild-deer-ness ; 
 and so it was anciently written ; namely, the place 
 
202 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 of wild deer — that is, of wild beasts; the word 
 " deer" having been formerly applied to all ani- 
 mals and beasts of the field, and not, as now, 
 restricted to one species.* V/^an meant calamity, 
 from wanna, to decline or grow less, to wane ; 
 from whence came " want." Looking wan meant 
 having a sorrowful visage ; wanhope was an old 
 word for despair — wanting hope. Witan meant 
 to know, and hence wist : thus " witty" meant 
 knowing, having one's wits about them. He 
 wot not meant he knew not.f Winsome meant 
 pleasant, and is still used in Scotland, as well as 
 winsomeness, meaning cheerfulness. 
 
 Withe was an old word for a hand made of the 
 \ wiDow tree, as Sampson was bound with " green 
 I withes." The word comes from withan, to con- 
 nect or join, hence also is derived the preposi- 
 tion ''^ith/' We have lost the comparative and 
 superlative of " without," which were anciently 
 withonter and withoutermost. Wordfast was a 
 \ good Saxon word for true, describing a man keep- 
 1 ing his wordfast — that is, firm, like " steadfast " 
 Wmrkan meant to take vengeance ; and '* wrecker" 
 was an avenger : we now speak of wreaking ven- 
 geance, but formerly the addition of the noun 
 was unnecessary, being implied in the verb. The 
 
 * " But mice, and rats, and such small deer^ 
 Have been Tom's food for seven long year." 
 
 Lear, Act III. Sc. 4. 
 t " We wot not what is become of him." — Acts, vii. 40. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 203 
 
 plant which is called " woodbine" is properly 
 wood-bind, as it was anciently written, as binding 
 the tree about which it creeps. Wyrd was the 
 Anglo-Saxon for fate, and the weird sisters meant 
 " the fates." " Worship/' formerly worthship, 
 meant honour. When an Irishman addresses his 
 superior as '' your honour,'' he uses the modern 
 word, derived from Latin, for " your worship/' as 
 magistrates are addressed on the bench. 
 
 In the manufacturing districts of England, 
 they always speak of wages in the singular num- 
 ber ; and so it is found in old authors and Anglo- 
 Saxon vocabularies, wage, and not " wages." 
 Weal is Anglo-Saxon for prosperity of any kind ; 
 from which we have " wealth," now only applied 
 to abundance of riches. The opposite to this 
 was woe, derived from the sound of sorrowful 
 lamentation, and " woe-begone" means far gone 
 in melancholy. We retain " woeful" but have 
 lost the corresponding word, in the opposite sense, 
 welful, found in old authors. On the other hand 
 we retain " welfare," for going well ; while we 
 have lost the old word woe/are, or going ill. 
 
 '' Waggon" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon 
 wcegan, to carry, from whence also we have 
 ''weigh," "wag," and "way." Wain is a con- 
 traction of waggon or wagon — wagn, wain. 
 The name of the constellation called "• Charles's 
 wain" is a corruption of the churVs or carVs wain, 
 that is, the rustic's or farmer's waggon ; and it is 
 
204 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 also called " the plough." " Wind" is that which 
 bloweth, from the Gothic waian, to breathe ; to 
 ** wind" up anything is from Anglo-Saxon wen- 
 dan, or windan, to turn. To " winnow" is to 
 fan, or beat with the wind, and thereby to 
 separate the chaff from the grain. " Winter" is 
 the windy season ; or, as some think, it may be 
 so called from the waning or decreasing of the 
 length of the days at this period of the year, 
 when nature appears to decay; from wanian, to 
 decrease, to wane, to decay. 
 
 A *' well" from which we draw water, is spelt 
 like the adjective well or prosperous ; but is from 
 another root meaning wealhan, to spring up ; 
 which word is still sometimes used as a verb by 
 poets — " welling up." A wight meant any per- 
 son of either sex, and the word was formerly used 
 as an adjective, meaning lively and sprightly. 
 It is derived from tuitan, to know or to feel. 
 Wend was to go, and is still used in poetry. In 
 some towns in England narrow lanes are called 
 '' wynds" — through which men may wend their 
 way. " Yearn" is an old English and Anglo- 
 Saxon word, signifying to long for, derived from 
 ge-yra-nan, to run after ; to earn is from the 
 same word, the wages to which a labourer looks 
 forward as the reward of his toil being that which 
 he pursues. Yare meant ready, or prepared ; 
 and yule was an old word for rejoicing.* A 
 
 * See page 155. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 205 
 
 mete-yard was a rod prepared for measuring ; by 
 usage, Wiete, for measure, is omitted, and the 
 " yard," which originally was of no certain length, 
 now signifies a measure of three feet. The word 
 is, however, still applied by sailors to other poles, 
 as the "sail-yards" of a ship. A " yard," signify- 
 ing an enclosed place, as a " church-yard," a 
 ^'court-yard," is so called from geard, the past 
 participle of gyrdan, to encompass or enclose ; 
 whence we have to "gird," "girth," and the 
 diminutive " girdle." We sometimes meet with 
 the word "yore," which was more frequently 
 used of yore than it is at the present day. It 
 meant " of old,'" that is, of years gone by. To 
 " yawn" is to open, from cinian, ganian, or geo- 
 nan, as it was variously written ; and is applied 
 to the opening of the jaws, chaws, or yaius, 
 through drowsiness ; an operation to which I can 
 only hope my readers have not been driven, by 
 the length of this chapter. The word, however, 
 as well as the letter with which it begins, there 
 being no Z in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, reminds 
 me that it is time to draw to a close.* 
 
 Before I conclude, however, I am desirous, in 
 
 * While the third edition of this work has be^n going throngh the 
 press, there has been much discussion in the newspapers and elsewhere, as 
 to the proper orthography ofBaindeer, or, as it is now almost universallj 
 written, Reindeer. The fact is, there can be no doubt that the original 
 spelling was raindeer or ranedeer; but it is equally certain, that latterly 
 reindeer has been the usual way of spelling the word. The deriva- 
 tion may have been the same as that of the " rain" that waters the 
 
206 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 confirmation of the remarks whicli I made in the 
 Second Lecture of this volume, in reference to the 
 characteristic beauties of the English language, 
 to avail myself of the observations of a celebra- 
 ted German writer, Jacob Grimm, as quoted by- 
 Dean Trench, in his latest and very interesting 
 work on the study of words,* who observes that 
 this eminent scholar, who is most profoundly 
 acquainted with the great group of the Gothic 
 languages in Europe, and is a passionate lover of 
 his native German, gives the palm over all to 
 our English. After ascribing to this language 
 ^' a veritable power of expression, such as, per- 
 haps, never stood at the command of any other 
 language of men," he goes on to say — ''Its 
 highly spiritual genius, and wonderfully happy 
 development and condition, have been the result 
 of a surprisingly intimate union of the two noblest 
 languages of modern Europe, the Teutonic and 
 the Romance. It is well known in what relation 
 these two stand to one another in the English 
 tongue, the former supplying, in far larger pro- 
 portion, the material groundwork; the latter the 
 spiritual conceptions. In truth, the English 
 
 earth, from rinnan, to run, in allusion to the animal's speed. In the 
 /Spectator, published about 150 years ago, we find a poem commenc- 
 ing— 
 
 " Haste, my raindeer, and let us nimbly go." 
 
 In Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, rann, rhanas, andran-deor 
 are given as the name of this animal. 
 
 * English : Past and Present, p. 27. • ^ 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 207 
 
 language, which, by no mere accident, has pro- 
 duced and upborne the greatest and most pre- 
 dominant poet of modern times, as distinguished 
 from the ancient classical poetry (I can, of course, 
 only mean Shakspeare), may, with all right, be 
 called a world-language, and, like the English 
 people, appears destined hereafter to prevail, with 
 a sway more extensive even than its present, over 
 all portions of the globe. For in wealth, good 
 sense, and closeness of structure, no other of the 
 languages at this day spoken deserve to be com- 
 pared with it — not even our German, which is 
 torn, even as we are torn, and must shake off 
 many defects, before in can enter boldly into com- 
 petition with the English,"* 
 
 In addition to this testimony, I must, before I 
 conclude, give a short extract from William Har- 
 rison, a clergyman who lived about the year 1560, 
 and who was one of the contributors to Holin- 
 shed's Chronicles, prefixed to the historical por- 
 tion of which work is a description of Britain and 
 its inhabitants, by this writer, which is valuable 
 as affording an interesting picture of the state of 
 the country and the manners of the people, in 
 the sixteenth century. In his account of the lan- 
 guages of Great Britain, after referring to ancient 
 British or Welsh, and the Latin introduced by 
 
 * Ueber den Ursprwng der SpracKe : Berlin, 1851. 
 
208 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 the Eomans, as the French was afterwards by the 
 Normans, he observes: — 
 
 "The third language is that induced by the 
 Saxons (which the Britons call Saysonaec, as they 
 do the speakers Saysons) ; a hard and rough kind 
 of speech, when our nation was brought first into 
 acquaintance withal, but now changed with us 
 into a far more fine and easy kind of utterance, 
 and so polished and helped with new and milder 
 words, that it is to be avouched how there is no 
 one speech under the sun spoken in our time, 
 that hath or can have more variety of words, 
 copiousness of phrases, or figures and flowers 
 of eloquence, than hath our English tongue, 
 although some have affirmed us rather to bark 
 like dogs than to talk like men, because the most 
 of our words (as they do indeed) incline into one 
 syllable."* 
 
 To illustrate the meaning, the force, and beauty 
 of the English language, has been the object 
 sought to be attained in the compilation of this 
 volume. With a view to this, little more has 
 been attempted than to put forward, in a popular 
 and famihar style, the result of the researches of 
 distinguished etymologists, whose works are com- 
 paratively but little known, and to bring to light 
 some of the stores of knowledge which are to be 
 found buried in dictionaries and vocabularies (of 
 
 * See Chambers' Cyclopcedia of English Literature. Vol. i. p. 250. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 209 
 
 all books the least inviting), placing them before 
 the reader in a simple form. 
 
 If the study of this volume prove useful to 
 teachers, and more interesting, while not less in- 
 structive, to the young, than other lesson-books ; 
 and if the perusal of these pages should lead any 
 of his readers to a careful study of the interest- 
 ing and important subject of etymology, the 
 Author will feel amply repaid for the labour 
 which he has incurred, in digging out the several 
 ROOTS here presented to his readers, for their 
 entertainment and profit. 
 
INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 
 Page 
 140 
 
 Anew, 
 
 
 
 Page 
 49 
 
 
 
 49 
 59 
 
 Angle, 
 Ankle, 
 
 
 
 8 
 61 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 139 
 
 67 
 
 Anon, 
 
 Anxious, 
 
 Arable, 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 140 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 139 
 
 Arm, 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Art, 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 Askance, 
 
 
 
 178 
 
 
 
 85 
 47 
 
 Asleep, 
 Astound, 
 
 
 
 49 
 179 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 Astride, 
 
 
 
 187 
 
 
 
 32,48 
 48 
 
 Asunder, 
 Atone, 
 
 
 
 48 
 49 
 
 
 
 139 
 
 Atonement, . 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 •J 
 
 
 104 
 
 Athree, 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 Atwo, 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 151 
 
 140 
 
 Aught, 
 Awhile, 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Awkward, 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Ax, 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 
 
 140 
 20 
 
 Aye, 
 Babbler, 
 
 
 
 49 
 6 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Bacon, 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Bailiff, 
 
 
 
 . 103 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Baillie, 
 
 
 
 . 103 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Bairn, 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Bait, 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Baleful, 
 
 
 
 . 145 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Balk, 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 Ballast, 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Band, 
 
 
 
 141 
 
 
 
 54 
 54 
 
 Banish, 
 Bann, 
 
 
 
 . 141 
 141 
 
212 
 
 INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Barn, 
 
 51 
 
 Body, 
 
 Bat, 
 
 67 
 
 Bog-Latin, 
 
 Bay, 
 
 35 
 
 Bolt, 
 
 Beacon, 
 
 . 142 
 
 Bolt-upright, 
 
 Beadle, 
 
 144 
 
 Bone, . . . . 
 
 Beam, 
 
 46, 141 
 
 Book, 
 
 Bearing, 
 
 143 
 
 Boor, 
 
 Beat, 
 
 145 
 
 Boot, Bootless, 
 
 Beckon, 
 
 142 
 
 Boot-jack, 
 
 Bed, 
 
 143 
 
 Boroughreeve, 
 
 Bed-ridden, . 
 
 144 
 
 Bosom, 
 
 Bedstead, 
 
 73 
 
 Bough, 
 
 Beef, 
 
 14 
 
 Bourne, 
 
 Beetle, 
 
 . 143 
 
 Bout, 
 
 Behalf, 
 
 145 
 
 Bow, 
 
 Behind, 
 
 42 
 
 Bow-window, 
 
 Behove, 
 
 144 
 
 Braird, 
 
 Belike, 
 
 . 170 
 
 Brake, 
 
 Bell, 
 
 46 
 
 Brand-new, . 
 
 Bellows, 
 
 47 
 
 Brawny, 
 
 Beneath, 
 
 55- 
 
 Bray, 
 
 Bequeath, 
 
 70 
 
 Breakfast, . 
 
 Bereave, 
 
 65 
 
 Breath, 
 
 Beside, 
 
 56 
 
 Brew, 
 
 Bestead, 
 
 143 
 
 Broach, 
 
 Bet, 
 
 155 
 
 Brook, 
 
 Betide, 
 
 143 
 
 Broth, 
 
 Between, Betwixt, . 
 
 55 
 
 Brown, 
 
 Beware, 
 
 142 
 
 Brunt, 
 
 Bewildered, . 
 
 . 144 
 
 Bull, 
 
 Bewray, 
 
 143 
 
 Burthen, 
 
 Beyond, 
 
 56 
 
 But, 
 
 Bickering, 
 
 145 
 
 Buxom, 
 
 Binn, 
 
 42 
 
 By, . . . 
 
 Bird, 
 
 64 
 
 Byword, 
 
 Bit, 
 
 141 
 
 Calf, 
 
 Bitter, 
 
 144 
 
 Callow, 
 
 Blaze, 
 
 34 
 
 Candle, 
 
 Blind, 
 
 140 
 
 Canny, 
 
 Blithe, 
 
 142 
 
 Cap, . . . 
 
 Block, 
 
 142 
 
 Cark, 
 
 Blockhead, 
 
 141 
 
 Carouse, 
 
 Blood, 
 
 61 
 
 Carpenter, 
 
 Blue, 
 
 . 144 
 
 Case, 
 
 Boards, 
 
 93 
 
 Cast, 
 
 Boat, 
 
 68 
 
 Cat, 
 
 Bodkin, 
 
 37 
 
 Chaffer, 
 
IN THE LECTURES. 
 
 213 
 
 1, 
 
 
 Page 
 
 71 
 
 71 
 
 . 149 
 
 Dip, 
 
 Ditties, 
 
 Doff, 
 
 
 
 
 
 71 
 60 
 62 
 63 
 
 Dog, 
 
 Dog-cheap, 
 Dole, 
 Don, 
 
 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Dote, 
 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Doubtless, 
 
 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 Dough, 
 
 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 Dovecote, 
 
 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 Down, 
 
 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 Drake, 
 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Drain, 
 
 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 Dreary, 
 
 
 
 
 
 44 
 67 
 65 
 
 Dregs, 
 Drift, 
 Drone, 
 
 
 
 
 
 108 
 146 
 
 Drought, 
 Drove, 
 
 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 Drubbing, 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 71 
 
 Dubb, 
 Duck, 
 
 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 Dumb, 
 
 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 Dusk, 
 
 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 147 
 
 Dyer, 
 Each, 
 
 
 
 
 
 147 
 
 Ear, 
 
 
 
 
 
 148 
 
 Earl, 
 
 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Earn, 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 34 
 
 Earth, 
 East, 
 
 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 Ebb, 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 149 
 
 Egge, 
 Eke 
 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Elbow, . 
 
 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 Else, . 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 Eschew, 
 
 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 Even-raeale, 
 
 
 
 
 
 53 
 71 
 
 63 
 
 Eye. . 
 
 Eyelid, 
 Fain, . 
 
 
 
 
 
 151 
 
 Fairies, 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 Faith, . 
 
 
 
 
 
 52 
 
 Fallow, 
 
 
 
 
 
 151 
 
 Fangs, 
 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Fare, 
 
 
 
214 
 
 INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 
 Farewell, . . .28,49 
 
 Gate, 
 
 Farther, 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Gaunt, 
 
 
 
 Fat, 
 
 
 
 197 
 
 Gavelkind, 
 
 
 
 Fee, 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 Gear, 
 
 
 
 Feed, 
 
 
 
 153 
 
 Gentleman, 
 
 
 
 Fetch, 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Ghost, 
 
 
 
 Field, 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Gird, 
 
 
 
 Fiend, 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Girdle, 
 
 
 
 Filth, 
 
 
 
 153 
 
 Girl, . 
 
 
 
 Finger, 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Girth, 
 
 
 
 Flea, 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Glibly, 
 
 
 
 Fleet, 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Gnat, 
 
 
 
 Flesh, 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 God, 
 
 
 
 Float, 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 God's acre, . 
 
 
 
 Flood, 
 
 
 
 153 
 
 Gooseberry, 
 
 
 
 Fly, 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Gospel, 
 
 
 
 Fodder, 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 Gossip, 
 
 
 
 Foe, 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Green, 
 
 
 
 Folk, 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Grim, 
 
 
 
 Folks-fare, 
 
 
 
 151 
 
 Gripe, 
 
 
 
 Folkstede, 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Growth, 
 
 
 
 Fond, 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 Gruff, 
 
 
 
 Foot, 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Guild, 
 
 
 
 For, 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 Guilt, 
 
 
 
 Forlorn, 
 
 
 
 . 153 
 
 Hale, 
 
 
 
 Fortnight, 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 Half, 
 
 
 
 Forward, 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 Halig-writ, 
 
 
 
 Foster, 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 Halt, 
 
 
 
 Fowl, 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Hand, 
 
 
 
 Fox, 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Handicraft, 
 
 
 
 Fret, 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Handsell, . 
 
 
 
 Fretwork, 
 
 
 
 154 
 
 Handsome, 
 
 
 
 Friend, 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Hank, 
 
 
 
 Friendship, 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Hanker, 
 
 
 
 Frog, 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Haply, 
 
 
 
 From, 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 Happy, 
 
 
 
 Froward, 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 Harness, 
 
 
 
 Fulfil, 
 
 
 
 153 
 
 Harvest, 
 
 
 
 Furlong, 
 
 
 
 . 152 
 
 Hasty, 
 
 
 
 Gab, 
 
 
 
 . 154 
 
 Hatch, 
 
 
 
 Gadfly, 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Hatches, 
 
 
 
 Gaffer, 
 
 
 
 . 155 
 
 Haunch, 
 
 
 
 Gait, 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Havoc, 
 
 
 
 Gallop, 
 
 
 
 . 154 
 
 Hawk, 
 
 
 
 Game, 
 
 
 
 . 155 
 
 Hawthorne, 
 
 
 
 Gammer, 
 
 
 
 155 
 
 Head, 
 
 
 
 Gammon, 
 
 
 
 . 154 
 
 Heal, 
 
 
 
INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 215 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 Kill, . 
 
 
 
 199 
 
 Kiln, . 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 Kilt, . 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 Kin, . 
 
 
 
 
 57 
 
 Kind, . 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 Kndred, 
 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 Kine, . 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 King, . . . 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Kith, . 
 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 Knave, . 
 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 Knave-child, 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 Knave-girl, . 
 
 
 
 
 106 
 
 Knee, . 
 
 
 
 
 157 
 
 Knight, 
 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 Knight of the Shir( 
 
 ') 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 Knit, . 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 Knot, . 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 Knuckle, 
 
 
 
 
 158 
 
 La! . 
 
 
 
 
 157 
 
 Lad, . 
 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Ladder, 
 
 
 
 
 . 102 
 
 Laddess, 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Lady, . . 
 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 Laity, . 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Landgrave, . 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Landscape, 
 
 
 
 
 157 
 
 Lass, 
 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 Lateful,. 
 
 
 
 
 . 157 
 
 Law, . 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Lawyer, 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 • Learn, . 
 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 Leasing, 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 Leaven, 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 Leech, 
 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 Left-hand, . 
 
 
 
 
 . 159 
 
 Leg, . . 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Lest, . 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 Let, . . 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 Lewd, . 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 Lief, • 
 
 
 
 
 . 178 
 
 Lien, 
 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 Lights, 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Linen, . 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Lip, . 
 
 
 
 
 . 159 
 
 List, . 
 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Liver, . 
 
 
 
 
 . 178 
 
 Loaf, 
 
 
216 
 
 INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Loathe, 
 
 162 
 
 Lobster, 
 
 68 
 
 Long, 
 
 163 
 
 Lord, 
 
 100 
 
 Lore, 
 
 . 161 
 
 Lour, 
 
 . 161 
 
 Lout, 
 
 161 
 
 Lowliness, 
 
 . 161 
 
 Lungs, 
 
 61 
 
 Man, 
 
 5 
 
 Mansion, . - . 
 
 21 
 
 Mason, 
 
 21 
 
 Mast, 
 
 15 
 
 Mate, 
 
 165 
 
 May-be, 
 
 . 168 
 
 Mayhap, 
 
 168 
 
 Mayor, 
 
 102 
 
 Mazed, 
 
 56 
 
 Meadow, 
 
 . 166 
 
 Meal, 
 
 165 
 
 Meed, 
 
 165 
 
 Meet, 
 
 165 
 
 Methinks, 
 
 191 
 
 Midwife, 
 
 165 
 
 Mirth, 
 
 167 
 
 Mo, more, most, 
 
 166 
 
 Mole, 
 
 66 
 
 Monger, 
 
 30 
 
 Month, 
 
 20 
 
 Moth, 
 
 67 
 
 Mouth, 
 
 60 
 
 Mow, 
 
 166 
 
 Moot, 
 
 167 
 
 Morning, 
 
 167 
 
 Morrow, 
 
 168 
 
 Mouldy, 
 
 166 
 
 Much, 
 
 166 
 
 Mucker, 
 
 167 
 
 Murther, 
 
 84 
 
 Mutton, 
 
 14 
 
 Nail, 
 
 41 
 
 Naught, 
 
 49 
 
 Naughty, 
 
 168 
 
 Nay, . . 
 
 49 
 
 Near, 
 
 47 
 
 Neat, 
 
 42 
 
 Neck, 
 
 60 
 
 Needs, 
 
 Neighbour, 
 
 Nethermost, 
 
 Never, 
 
 Nevertheless, 
 
 Next, 
 
 Nightingale, 
 
 No, None, 
 
 Nonce, 
 
 Noon-meale, 
 
 North, 
 
 Nose, 
 
 Nos thrills. 
 
 Nostril, 
 
 Nothink, 
 
 Naught, 
 
 Now, 
 
 Odd, 
 
 Only, 
 
 Orchard, 
 
 Ought, 
 
 Outwit, 
 
 Over, 
 
 Overcome, 
 
 Overcraft, 
 
 Overwhelm, 
 
 Owl, 
 
 Oyer and Terminer, 
 
 yes ! yes ! yes ! 
 
 Padding, 
 
 Pagan, 
 
 Painful, 
 
 Pen, 
 
 Perhaps, 
 
 Pin, 
 
 Pine, 
 
 Pitiful, 
 
 Plight, 
 
 Ploughshare, 
 
 Pond, . 
 
 Pork, 
 
 Portreeve, 
 
 Pot-walloper, 
 
 Poultry, 
 
 Pound, 
 
 Prithee, 
 
INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 217 
 
 
 
 
 Page 1 
 
 
 
 
 Quaff, . . . 172 1 
 
 Roost, .... 
 
 Quagmire, . 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Rue, . 
 
 
 
 Quake, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Rueful, 
 
 
 
 Qualm, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Ruthless, 
 
 
 
 Queen, 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 Sad, . 
 
 
 
 Queen-bee, 
 
 
 
 148 
 
 Sagg, . 
 
 
 
 Quell, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Sake, . 
 
 
 
 Quick, 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Same, 
 
 
 
 Quipping, . 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 Sand, 
 
 
 
 Quitch-grass, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Salmon, 
 
 
 
 Quoth, 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 Saye one's bac 
 
 on, . 
 
 
 Rain, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Saws, 
 
 
 
 Raise, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Scale, 
 
 
 
 Rare, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Scar, . 
 
 
 
 Rash, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Scare, 
 
 
 
 Rasher, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Scatheless, 
 
 
 
 Rather, 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Scavenger, 
 
 
 
 Raven, 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Scoff, 
 
 
 
 Raw, 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 Scold, 
 
 
 
 Raze, 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Scrap, 
 
 
 
 Read, 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Screed, 
 
 
 
 Reap, 
 
 
 
 173 
 
 Scrawl, 
 
 
 
 Reaper, 
 
 
 
 173 
 
 Scrip, 
 
 
 
 Rear, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Scull 
 
 
 
 Reck, . 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Sea, . 
 
 
 
 Reckless, 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Seal, . 
 
 
 
 Reef, 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 Sear, 
 
 
 
 Reek, 
 
 
 
 173 
 
 Sea -shore, . 
 
 
 
 Reeve, 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 Seethe, 
 
 
 
 Rein, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Sennight, 
 
 
 
 Reindeer, 
 
 
 
 . 205 
 
 Set, 
 
 
 
 Reign, 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 Settle, 
 
 
 
 Restless, 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 Shaft, 
 
 
 
 Rib, . 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 Share, 
 
 
 
 Rife, 
 
 
 
 . 176 
 
 Sheaf, 
 
 
 
 Riff-raff, 
 
 
 
 . 176 
 
 Shear, 
 
 
 
 Rig, . 
 
 
 
 . 175 
 
 Sheep, 
 
 
 
 Righteousness 
 
 
 
 52 
 
 Sheepcote, 
 
 
 
 Right-hand, 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Sheer off, 
 
 
 
 Rim, 
 
 
 
 . 174 
 
 Sheet-anchor, 
 
 
 
 Rind, 
 
 
 
 . 173 
 
 Shepherd, 
 
 
 
 Ring, 
 
 
 
 . 175 
 
 Sheriff, 
 
 
 
 Rip, 
 
 
 
 . 176 
 
 Shield, 
 
 
 
 Rock, 
 
 
 
 . 175 
 
 Shin, 
 
 
 
 Rood, 
 
 
 
 . 176 
 
 Shipcraft, 
 
 
 
 Roof, 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 Ship-shape, 
 
 
 
 Rook, 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Shire, 
 
 
 
218 
 
 INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 Shoulder, ... 89 
 
 Spell, 
 
 . 
 
 Shout, 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Spic- an d-span-ne w, 
 
 Shovel, 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Spider, 
 
 
 Shrive, 
 
 
 
 181 
 
 Spill, . 
 
 
 Shroud, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Spindle, 
 
 
 Shunt, 
 
 
 
 177 
 
 Spinster, 
 
 
 Sideboard, 
 
 
 
 101 
 
 Spit, . 
 
 
 Sigh, . . 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Spoil, . 
 
 
 Sight, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Spokes, 
 
 
 Silly, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Spout, 
 
 
 Sin, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Spurn, 
 
 
 Since, 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Stadholder, 
 
 
 Sinew, 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Stag, . 
 
 
 Skate, 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Stairs, 
 
 
 Skin, . 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Stalk, . 
 
 
 Skip, . 
 
 
 
 . 159 
 
 Stall, . 
 
 
 Skipper, 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Stalworth, 
 
 
 Slop, . 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Stark, 
 
 
 Slop-shop, 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Starve, 
 
 
 Sloth, 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Stave, 
 
 
 Slough, 
 
 
 
 . 185 
 
 Steadfast, 
 
 
 Slug, . 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Steady, 
 
 
 Sluggard, 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Steal, . 
 
 
 Smack, 
 
 
 
 181 
 
 Steeple, 
 
 
 Smallish, 
 
 
 
 179 
 
 Steer, 
 
 
 Smerk, 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Steward, 
 
 • 
 
 Smile, 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Stepfather, 
 
 
 Smith, 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 Stint, 
 
 
 Smooth, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Stirk, . 
 
 
 Smuggle, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Stitch, 
 
 
 Snack, . 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 Stirrup, 
 
 
 Snail, . 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Stock, 
 
 
 Snake, 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Stocking, 
 
 
 Sneak, 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Stoker, 
 
 
 Sneeze, 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Stood, 
 
 
 Snug, 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 Stool, 
 
 
 Sofa, . 
 
 
 
 187 
 
 Storm, 
 
 
 Soothsayer, 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Stound, 
 
 
 South, 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 Stow, 
 
 
 Sow, . 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Straggle, 
 
 
 Spade, 
 
 
 
 . 62 
 
 Strand, 
 
 
 Span, . 
 
 
 
 187 
 
 Straw, 
 
 
 Spangle, 
 
 
 
 182 
 
 Strawberry, . 
 
 
 Spar, . 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Streel, 
 
 
 Sparring, 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Stride, 
 
 
 Sparrow, 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 String, 
 
 
 Speed, 
 
 
 
 187 
 
 Stud, 
 
 
INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 219 
 
 Stun, 
 
 
 
 Page 
 . 180 
 
 Stunt, 
 
 
 
 189 
 
 Style, 
 Summon, 
 
 
 
 189 
 183 
 
 Sunflower, 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Supper, 
 Swain, 
 
 
 
 72 
 45 
 
 Swallow, 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Swan, . 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 Swap, . 
 
 Swine, 
 
 Swine, 
 
 
 
 85 
 45 
 64 
 
 Swoon, 
 
 
 
 181 
 
 Swoop, 
 Tack, 
 
 
 
 181 
 192 
 
 Tackle, 
 
 
 
 192 
 
 Tailor, 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 Tale, . 
 
 
 
 195 
 
 Talons, 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Tattle, 
 
 
 
 . 195 
 
 Taut, . 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 Ten, . 
 
 
 
 191 
 
 Thank, 
 
 
 
 192 
 
 Thigh, 
 Thing, 
 Think, ^ 
 
 
 
 60 
 191 
 191 
 
 Thorn, 
 
 
 
 193 
 
 Thorough-fan 
 Though, 
 Thought, 
 Thrall, 
 
 S 
 
 
 28 
 
 54 
 
 . 191 
 
 193 
 
 Thread, 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Threat, 
 
 
 
 . 192 
 
 Thresh, 
 
 
 
 194 
 
 Threshold, 
 
 
 
 . 194 
 
 Thrill, 
 
 
 
 . 193 
 
 Throe, 
 
 
 
 . 194 
 
 Throng, 
 Throat, 
 
 
 
 . 194 
 62 
 
 Through, 
 Thunder, 
 
 
 
 54 
 19 
 
 Thunderbolt, 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 Thwart, 
 
 
 
 192 
 
 Tide, . 
 
 
 
 . 194 
 
 Tideful, 
 
 
 
 , 194 
 
 Tidings, 
 Tidy, 
 
 
 
 . 196 
 54 
 
 Tight, 
 
 Till, 
 
 Tiller, 
 
 Tilt, . 
 
 Timber, 
 
 Tinder, 
 
 Titter, 
 
 To, . 
 
 Toe, 
 
 Toil, . 
 
 Token, 
 
 Toll, . 
 
 To-morfow, 
 
 Ton, 
 
 Tongs, 
 
 Tongue, 
 
 Tooth, 
 
 Toward, 
 
 Town, 
 
 Townlands, 
 
 Trade, 
 
 Trap, 
 
 Trepan, 
 
 Troth, 
 
 True, 
 
 Trust, 
 
 Truth, 
 
 Turkey, 
 
 Tweed, 
 
 Twilight, 
 
 Twine, 
 
 Twist, 
 
 Twit, 
 
 Uncheap, 
 
 Uncouth, 
 
 Undear, 
 
 Under, 
 
 Undercome, 
 
 Unhandsome, 
 
 Underwriter, 
 
 Unless, 
 
 Untoward, 
 
 Unrightwise, 
 
 Unwelcome, 
 
 Upon, 
 
 Upper, 
 
 Uppermost, 
 
220 
 
 INDEX TO WORDS. 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 . 197 
 
 Wight, 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 Wife and Wifman, 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 Wild, 
 
 
 
 
 . 197 
 
 Wilderness, . 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Will-he, nil-he, 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Will, 
 
 
 
 
 . 198 
 
 Wind, 
 
 
 
 
 . 198 
 
 Window, 
 
 
 
 
 . 203 
 
 Winnow, 
 
 
 
 
 . 203 
 
 Winter, 
 
 
 
 
 , 303 
 
 Wit, . 
 
 
 
 
 . 203 
 
 With, . 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Withes, 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Without, 
 
 
 
 
 202 
 
 Witness, 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Witty, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Woepman, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Woe, 
 
 
 
 
 107 
 
 Wold, 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Wolf, 
 
 
 
 
 76 
 
 Wont, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Wood, 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Woodbine, 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 Woodness, 
 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 Wordfast, , 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 Worldlike, . 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 Worm, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Worry, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Worship, 
 
 
 
 
 199 
 
 Wot, 
 
 , 1 
 
 
 
 198 
 
 Wreack, , , 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 Wrench, 
 
 
 
 
 201 
 
 Wretch, 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 Wrinkle, 
 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 Wrist, 
 
 
 
 
 204 
 
 Wrong, 
 
 
 
 
 204 
 
 Wrongwiseness, 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 Yard, . . 
 
 
 
 
 199 
 
 Yawn, 
 
 
 
 
 197 
 
 Yea, 
 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 Yearn, 
 
 
 
 
 199 
 
 Yelk, , 
 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Yeoman, • 
 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Yes, . . 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Yore, 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 Yule, 
 
 
221 
 
 INDEX TO PEOPER NAMES. 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Albert, 
 
 108 
 
 Everard, 
 
 108 
 
 Aldergate, . 
 
 107 
 
 Fleet-street, 
 
 36 
 
 Aldermanbury, 
 
 106 
 
 Francis, 
 
 111 
 
 Aldermary, . 
 
 106 
 
 Frederic, 
 
 111 
 
 Alfred, 
 
 111 
 
 Friday, 
 
 19 
 
 Allen, 
 
 111 
 
 Friga, 
 
 19 
 
 Anglo-Saxons, 
 
 8 
 
 Geofirey, 
 
 111 
 
 Armorica, 
 
 7 
 
 Gerard, 
 
 109 
 
 Bacon, 
 
 15 
 
 Gertrude, 
 
 108 
 
 Bakony, 
 
 15 
 
 Godfrey, 
 
 . Ill 
 
 Baldwin, 
 
 111 
 
 Godhart, 
 
 109 
 
 Bede, , 
 
 111 
 
 Goths, 
 
 9 
 
 Bernard, 
 
 108 
 
 Great St. Mary's, . 
 
 106 
 
 Brittany, 
 
 7 
 
 Hardman, 
 
 109 
 
 Buckingham, 
 
 15 
 
 Harold, 
 
 . 110 
 
 Bury St. Edmund's, 
 
 106 
 
 Hengist, 
 
 43 
 
 Butler, 
 
 115 
 
 Henry, 
 
 110 
 
 Charles, 
 
 111 
 
 Herbert, 
 
 112 
 
 Charles' Wain, 
 
 203 
 
 Holycross, 
 
 176 
 
 Cheapside, 
 
 71 
 
 Holyrood, 
 
 176 
 
 Chepstow, 
 
 72 
 
 Horsa, 
 
 43 
 
 Cornwall, 
 
 10 
 
 Howard, 
 
 102 
 
 Cuthbert, . 
 
 111 
 
 Hubert, 
 
 110 
 
 Dunstan, 
 
 111 
 
 Hugh, 
 
 . 110 
 
 Eald-Seaxes, 
 
 8 
 
 Humphrey, . 
 
 . 110 
 
 Easter, 
 
 19 
 
 Jack, 
 
 79 
 
 Edgar, 
 
 108 
 
 John Bull, . 
 
 79 
 
 Edmond, 
 
 108 
 
 John Doe, 
 
 79 
 
 Edward, 
 
 108 
 
 John Nokes, . 
 
 78 
 
 England, 
 
 8 
 
 John Style, . 
 
 78 
 
 Englishman, . 
 
 9 
 
 John Thrustont, . 
 
 78 
 
 Essex, 
 
 31 
 
 King's County, 
 
 31 
 
 Ethelbald, . 
 
 . Ill 
 
 Knightrider-street, 
 
 . 107 
 
 Ethelbard, . 
 
 . Ill 
 
 Knutsford, 
 
 . 115 
 
 Ethelbert, . 
 
 111 
 
 Lambert, 
 
 108 
 
 Ethelward, . 
 
 . Ill 
 
 Lanfranc, 
 
 111 
 
222 
 
 INDEX TO PROPER NAMES. 
 
 Lent, 
 
 19 
 
 St. Maria Maggiore 
 
 
 106 
 
 Leonard, 
 
 108 
 
 Stuart, 
 
 1Q2 
 
 Leopold, 
 
 112 
 
 Suffolk, 
 
 32 
 
 Lombards, 
 
 9 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 18 
 
 Maryborough, 
 
 31 
 
 Surnames with prefixes 
 
 
 Matilda, 
 
 110 
 
 Mac, Ap, 0\ and Fits 
 
 112 
 
 Middlesex, 
 
 32 
 
 with affix Son, 113 
 
 Monday, 
 
 18 
 
 
 rom 
 
 
 
 
 Norfolk, 
 
 32 
 
 animals, 
 
 115 
 
 Normandy, . 
 
 12 
 
 derived from 
 
 I 
 
 Normans, 
 
 9 
 
 trades, 
 
 115 
 
 Odd-Fellows, 
 
 169 
 
 
 fom 
 
 
 
 
 Osmond, 
 
 110 
 
 place of residence, 
 
 113 
 
 Ostend, 
 
 20 
 
 derived from 
 
 I 
 
 Oswald, 
 
 . 110 
 
 personal characteristics, 116 
 
 Oxford, 
 
 115 
 
 Sussex, 
 
 32 
 
 Peggy, 
 
 171 
 
 Swineford, 
 
 
 115 
 
 Philipstown, 
 
 31 
 
 Thor, . 
 
 
 18 
 
 Queen's County, . 
 
 31 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 
 19 
 
 Quirites, 
 
 8 
 
 Tuesco, 
 
 
 18 
 
 Ralph, 
 
 112 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 
 18 
 
 Randolph, 
 
 112 
 
 Vandals, 
 
 
 9 
 
 Richard, 
 
 108 
 
 Victoria, 
 
 
 108 
 
 Robert, 
 
 110 
 
 Wales, 
 
 
 9 
 
 Roderic, 
 
 112 
 
 Walter, 
 
 
 109 
 
 Rodolph, 
 
 112 
 
 Waterford, . 
 
 
 114 
 
 Roger, 
 
 110 
 
 Watford, 
 
 
 . 115 
 
 Rosamond, 
 
 110 
 
 Wednesday, . 
 
 
 18 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 19 
 
 Welsh, 
 
 
 9 
 
 Saxons, 
 
 7 
 
 Whitsunday, 
 
 
 72 
 
 Scarborough, 
 
 177 
 
 Wilfred, 
 
 
 . 110 
 
 Scythians, 
 
 8 
 
 Wilhelmina, 
 
 
 109 
 
 Seater, 
 
 19 
 
 William, 
 
 
 109 
 
 Segismond, 
 
 110 
 
 Winfred, 
 
 
 110 
 
 Sheerness, 
 
 59 
 
 Winnefred, 
 
 
 . 110 
 
 Shrove Tuesday, . 
 
 181 
 
 Woden, 
 
 
 18 
 
223 
 
 TABLE 
 
 OF 
 
 REFEKENCE TO CLASSES OF WORDS, 
 
 AND THEIR 
 
 DJERIVATIONS. 
 
 Abstract Terms, 
 
 Adjectives, . 
 
 Adverbs, 
 
 Affixes, 
 
 Agriculture, Words re- 
 lating to 
 
 Animals, Names of 
 
 Animal Food, 
 
 Body, and its Members, 
 
 Cattle, Names of 
 
 Colours, 
 
 Conjunctions, 
 
 Derivatives, 
 
 Elements, The 
 
 Emotions of the Mind, 
 
 Government, Forms of 
 
 Handicraft Trades, 
 
 Husbandry, Terms of 
 
 Jnvective, Humour, and 
 Satire, 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Page 
 
 . 137 
 
 Law Terms, 
 
 78 
 
 27 
 
 Manufactures, Names of 
 
 21 
 
 48 
 
 Materials, the raw 
 
 21 
 
 97 
 
 Medicine, and Divinity, 
 
 78 
 
 
 Military Terais, 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 Modes of Action, . 
 
 135 
 
 . 14, 63 
 
 Months, Names of the . 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 Nautical Terms, 
 
 23 
 
 58 
 
 Prefixes, 
 
 97 
 
 13 
 
 Prepositions, 
 
 55 
 
 . 137 
 
 Proper Names, . 108-116 
 
 64 
 
 Sciences, Names of 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 Seasons of the Year, 
 
 17 
 
 74 
 
 Simple Nouns, and Verbs, 
 
 27 
 
 . 135 
 
 Titles of Honour, . 100-108 
 
 26 
 
 Trees, and Plants, 
 
 68 
 
 21 
 
 Week-days, Names of 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 Winds, Names of the four 
 Words relating to Arith- 
 
 74 
 
 . 137 
 
 metic, and to Religion, 
 
 119 
 
 CORRECTIONS. 
 Page 140, note ; for heart read heat. 
 142, line 15; for beacon read beckon. 
 
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