FOOTNOTES:

NICKNAMES OF ANIMALS

Some animals bear nicknames.Dotterelmeans "dotard," anddodois from the Port.doudo, mad.Ferretis from Fr.furet, a diminutive from Lat.fur, thief.Sharkwas used of a sharper or greedy parasite before it was applied to the fish. This, in the records of the Elizabethan voyagers, is more often called by its Spanish nametiburon, whence Cape Tiburon, in Haiti. The origin ofsharkis unknown, but it appears to be identical withshirk, for which we find earliersherk. We find Ital.scrocco(whence Fr.escroc), Ger.Schurke, Du.schurk, rascal, all rendered "shark" in early dictionaries, but the relationship of these words is not clear. Thepalmer,i.e.pilgrim, worm is so called from his wandering habits.Ortolan, the name given by Tudor cooks to the garden bunting, means "gardener" (Lat.hortus, garden). It comes to us through French from Ital.ortolano, "a gardener, an orchard keeper. Also a kinde of daintie birde in Italie, some take it to be the linnet" (Florio). We may compare Fr.bouvreuil, bull-finch, a diminutive ofbouvier, ox-herd. This iscalled in GermanDompfaffe, a contemptuous name for a cathedral canon. Fr.moineau, sparrow, is a diminutive ofmoine, monk. The wagtail is called in Frenchlavandière, laundress, from the up and down motion of its tail suggesting the washerwoman's beetle, andbergeronnette, little shepherdess, from its habit of following the sheep.Adjutant, the nickname of the solemn Indian stork, is clearly due to Mr Atkins, and thesecretarybird is so named because some of his head feathers suggest a quill pen behind an ear.

The converse process of people being nicknamed from animals is also common and the metaphor is usually pretty obvious. An interesting case isshrew, a libel on a very inoffensive little animal, theshrew-mouse, Anglo-Sax.scrēawa. Cooper describesmus araneusas "a kinde of mise called ashrew, which if he go over a beastes backe he shall be lame in the chyne; if he byte it swelleth to the heart and the beast dyeth." This "information" is derived from Pliny, but the superstition is found in Greek. The epithet was, up to Shakespeare's time, applied indifferently to both sexes. Fromshrewis derivedshrewd, earliershrewed,[29]the meaning of which has become much milder than when Henry VIII. said to Cranmer—

"The common voice I see is verifiedOf thee which says, 'Do my lord of CanterburyAshrewdturn, and he's your friend for ever.'"(Henry VIII., v. 2.)

"The common voice I see is verifiedOf thee which says, 'Do my lord of CanterburyAshrewdturn, and he's your friend for ever.'"

(Henry VIII., v. 2.)

The titleDauphin, lit. dolphin, commemorates the absorption into the French monarchy, in 1349, of the lordship of Dauphiné, the cognisance of which was three dolphins.

The application of animals' names to diseases is afamiliar phenomenon, e.g.,cancer(andcanker), crab, andlupus, wolf. To this class belongsmulligrubs, for which we find in the 17th century alsomouldy grubs. Its oldest meaning is stomach-ache, still given in Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1864).Mullyis still used in dialect for mouldy, earthy, andgrubwas once the regular word for worm. The Latin name for the same discomfort wasverminatio, fromvermis, a worm. For the later transition of meaning we may comparemegrims, from Fr.migraine, head-ache, Greco-Lat.hemicrania, lit. half-skull, because supposed to affect one side only of the head.

A good many names of plants and animals have a religious origin.Hollyhockis forholy hock, from Anglo-Sax.hoc, mallow: for the pronunciation cf.holiday.Halibutmeansholy butt, the latter word being an old name for flat fish; for this form ofholycf.halidom.Ladyin names of flowers such aslady's bedstraw,lady's garter,lady's slipper, is for Our Lady. So also inlady-bird, called in Frenchbête à bon Dieuand in GermanMarienkäfer, Mary's beetle. Here may be mentionedsamphire, from Old Fr.herbe de Saint Pierre, "sampire, crestmarin" (Cotgrave). Thefilbert, earlierphilibert, is named from St Philibert, the nut being ripe by St Philibert's day (22nd Aug.). We may compare Ger.Lambertsnuss, filbert, originally "Lombard nut," but popularly associated with St Lambert's day (17th Sept.).

BAPTISMAL NAMES OF ANIMALS

The application of baptismal names to animals is a very general practice, though the reason for the selection of the particular name is not always clear. The most famous of such names isRenardthe Fox. The Old French for fox isgoupil, a derivative of Lat.vulpes, fox. The hero of the great beast epic of the Middle Ages isRenard le goupil, and the fact thatrenardnow completely supplantedgoupilshows how popular the Renardlegends must have been.Renardis from Old High Ger.regin-hart, strong in counsel;cf.our namesReginaldandReynold, and Scot.Ronald, of Norse origin. From the same source comeChantecler, lit. sing-clear, the cock, andPartlet, the hen, whileBruin, the bear, lit. "brown," is from the Dutch version of the epic. In the Low German version,Reinke de Vos, the ape's name isMoneke, a diminutive corresponding to Ital.monicchio, "a pugge, amunkie, an ape" (Florio), the earlier history of which is much disputed. The cat was calledTibertorTheobald—

Mercutio."Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?"Tybalt."What wouldst thou have with me?"Mercutio."Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives."(Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1.)

Mercutio."Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?"Tybalt."What wouldst thou have with me?"Mercutio."Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives."

(Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1.)

The fact that the donkey was at one time regularly calledCuddymadeCuthbertfor a long period unpopular as a baptismal name. He is now often calledNeddy. The hare was calledWat(Walter) in Tudor times. In theRoman de Renardhe isCouard, whencecoward, a derivative of Old Fr.coue(queue), tail, from Lat.cauda. The idea is that of the tail between the legs, so that the name is etymologically not very appropriate to the hare.Parrot, for earlierperrot, means "little Peter." The extensionPoll parrotis thus a kind of hermaphrodite. Fr.pierrotis still used for the sparrow. The family namePerrotis sometimes a nickname, "the chatterer," but can also mean literally "little Peter," just asEmmotmeans "little Emma," andMarriot"little Mary."Petrelis of cognate origin, with an allusion to St Peter's walking upon the sea;cf.its German name,Sankt Peters Vogel. Sailors call the petrelMother Carey's chicken, probably a nautical corruptionof some old Spanish or Italian name. But, in spite of ingenious guesses, this lady's genealogy remains as obscure as that of Davy Jones or the Jolly Roger.

NAMES OF BIRDS

Robinhas practically replacedred-breast. Themartinis in Frenchmartinet, and the name may have been given in allusion to the southward flight of this swallow about Martinmas; but the king-fisher, not a migrant bird, is calledmartin-pêcheur, formerly alsomartinet pêcheuroroiseau de Saint-Martin, so thatmartinmay be due to some other association. Sometimes the double name survives. We no longer sayPhilip sparrow, butJack ass,Jack daw,Jenny wren,Tom tit(see p.123), and the inclusiveDicky bird, are still familiar. With these we may compareHob(i.e.Robert)goblin.Madge owl, or simplyMadge, was once common. ForMag piewe find also various diminutives—

"Augurs, and understood relations, haveBymagot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forthThe secret'st man of blood."(Macbeth, iii. 4.)

"Augurs, and understood relations, haveBymagot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forthThe secret'st man of blood."

(Macbeth, iii. 4.)

Cotgrave haspie, "a pye, pyannat,meggatapie." In Old French it was also calledjaquette, "a proper name for a woman; also, a piannat, ormegatapie" (Cotgrave).

The connection of this word, Fr.pie, Lat.pica, with the comestiblepieis uncertain, but it seems likely that the magpie's habit of collecting miscellaneous trifles caused its name to be given to a dish of uncertain constituents. It is a curious coincidence that the obsoletechuetorchewetmeant both a round pie and a jackdaw.[30]It is uncertain in which of the two senses Prince Halapplies the name to Falstaff (1Henry IV., v. 1). It comes from Fr.chouette, screech-owl, which formerly meant also "a chough, daw, jack-daw" (Cotgrave).

Apiebaldhorse is oneballedlike a magpie.Ballis a Celtic word for a white mark, especially on the forehead; hence the tavern sign of theBaldfaced Stag. Our adjectivebaldis thus a past participle.

Things are often named from animals.Crane,kite,donkey-engine,monkey-wrench,pig-iron, etc., are simple cases. Thecranepicture is so striking that we are not surprised to find it literally reproduced in many other languages. The toy called akiteis in Frenchcerf volant, flying stag, a name also applied to the stag-beetle, and in Ger.Drachen, dragon. It is natural that terrifying names should have been given to early fire-arms. Many of these, e.g.,basilisk,serpent,falconet,saker(from Fr.sacre, a kind of hawk), are obsolete—

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

"The cannon, blunderbuss, andsaker,He was th' inventor of and maker."

(Hudibras, i. 2.)

More familiar isculverin, Fr.couleuvrine, a derivative ofcouleuvre, adder, Lat.coluber—

"And thou hast talk'dOf sallies and retires, of trenches, tents,Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets,Of basilisks, of cannon,culverin."(1Henry IV., ii. 3.)

"And thou hast talk'dOf sallies and retires, of trenches, tents,Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets,Of basilisks, of cannon,culverin."

(1Henry IV., ii. 3.)

One name for a hand-gun wasdragon, whence ourdragoon, originally applied to a kind of mounted infantry or carbineers.Musket, likesaker(v.s.), was the name of a hawk. Mistress Ford uses it playfully to her page—

"How now, my eyas[31]-musket, what news with you?"(Merry Wives, iii. 3.)

"How now, my eyas[31]-musket, what news with you?"

(Merry Wives, iii. 3.)

But the hawk was so nicknamed from its small size. Fr.mousquet, now replaced in the hawk sense byémouchet, is from Ital.moschetto, a diminutive from Lat.musca, fly. Thusmosquito(Spanish) andmusketare doublets.

Porcelaincomes, through French, from Ital.porcellana, "a kinde of fine earth calledporcelane, whereof they make fine china dishes, calledporcellandishes" (Florio). This is, however, a transferred meaning,porcellanabeing the name of a particularly glossy shell called the "Venus shell." It is a derivative of Lat.porcus, pig.Easelcomes, with many other painters' terms, from Holland. It is Du.ezel, ass, which, like Ger.Esel, comes from Lat.asinus. For its metaphorical application we may compare Fr.chevalet, easel, lit. "little horse," and Eng. "clothes-horse."

THINGS NAMED FROM PERSONS

Objects often bear the names of individuals. Such arealbertchain,brougham,victoria,wellingtonboot. Some elderly people can remember ladies wearing a red blouse called agaribaldi.[32]Sometimes an inventor is immortalised, e.g.,mackintoshandshrapnel, both due to 19th-century inventors. The more recentmaximis named from one who, according to the late Lord Salisbury, has saved many of his fellow-men from dying of old age. Other benefactors are commemorated inderringer, first recorded in Bret Harte, andbowie, which occurs in Dickens'American Notes.Sandwichandspencerare coupled in an old rime—

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

An Earl Spencer (1782-1845) made a short overcoat fashionable for some time. An Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792) invented a form of light refreshment which enabled him to take a meal without leaving the gaming table. It does not appear thatBilly Cockis to be classed with the above, or withChesterfield, Chippendale & Co.TheNew English Dictionaryquotes (from 1721) a description of the Oxford "blood" in his "bully-cockedhat," worn aggressively on one side.Pinchbeckwas a London watchmaker (fl. c.1700), anddoilyis fromDoyley, a linen-draper of the same period. Etienne deSilhouettewas French finance minister in 1759, but the application of his name to a black profile portrait is variously explained.Neguswas first brewed in Queen Anne's reign by Colonel Francis Negus.

The firstorrerywas constructed by the Earl of Orrery (c.1700).GalvaniandVoltawere Italian scientists of the 18th century.Mesmerwas a German physician of the same period.Nicotineis named from Jean Nicot, French ambassador at Lisbon, who sent some tobacco plants to Catherine de Médicis in 1560. He also compiled the first Old French dictionary. The gallows-shaped contrivance called aderrickperpetuates the name of a famous hangman who officiated in London about 1600. It is a Dutch name, identical withDietrich,Theodoric, andDirk(Hatteraick). Conversely the Fr.potence, gallows, meant originally a bracket or support, Lat.potentia, power. The origin ofdarbies, handcuffs, is unknown, but the line—

"To bind such babes in fatherDerbiesbands,"(Gascoigne,The Steel Glass, 1576.)

"To bind such babes in fatherDerbiesbands,"

(Gascoigne,The Steel Glass, 1576.)

suggests connection with some eminent gaoler or thief-taker.

TANTALISE—PAMPHLET

Occasionally a verb is formed from a proper name.On the model oftantalise, from the punishment of Tantalus, we havebowdlerise, fromBowdler, who published an expurgated "family Shakespeare" in 1818; cf.macadamise.Burkeandboycottcommemorate a scoundrel and a victim. The latter word, from the treatment of Captain Boycott of Co. Mayo in 1880, seems to have supplied a want, for Fr.boycotterand Ger.boycottierenhave become every-day words. Burke was hanged at Edinburgh in 1829 for murdering people by suffocation in order to dispose of their bodies to medical schools. We now use the verb only of "stifling" discussion, but in the Ingoldsby Legends it still has the original sense—

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

(The Tragedy.)

Jarvey, the slang name for a hackney coachman, especially in Ireland, was in the 18th centuryJervisorJarvis, but history is silent as to this modernJehu. Apasquinadewas originally an anonymous lampoon affixed to a statue of a gladiator which still stands in Rome. The statue is said to have been nicknamed from a scandal-loving cobbler named Pasquino. Florio haspasquino, "a statue in Rome on whom all libels, railings, detractions, and satirical invectives are fathered."Pamphletis an extended use of Old Fr.Pamphilet, the name of a Latin poem by onePamphiluswhich was popular in the Middle Ages. The suffix-etwas often used in this way,e.g., the translation of Æsop's fables by Marie de France was calledYsopet, and Cato's moral maxims had the titleCatonet, or ParvusCato. Modern Fr.pamphlet, borrowed back from English, has always the sense of polemical writing. In Eng.libel, lit. "little book," we see a similar restriction of meaning. A three-quarter portrait of fixed dimensions is called akitcat—

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

"It is not easy to see why he should have chosen to produce a replica, or rather akitcat."

(Journal of Education, Oct. 1911.)

The name comes from the portraits of members of theKitcatClub, painted by Kneller.Kit Kat, Christopher Kat, was a pastrycook at whose shop the club used to dine.

Implements and domestic objects sometimes bear christian names. We may mention spinning-jenny, and the innumerable meanings ofjack.Davit, earlierdaviot, is a diminutive of David. Fr.davier, formerlydaviet, is used of several mechanical contrivances, including a pick-lock. A kind of davit is called in GermanJütte, a diminutive of Judith. The implement by which the burglar earns his daily bread is now called ajemmy, but in the 17th century we also findbessandbetty. The French name isrossignol, nightingale. The German burglar calls itDietrich,Peterchen, orKlaus, and the contracted forms of the first name,dyrkanddirk, have passed into Swedish and Danish with the same meaning. In Italian a pick-lock is calledgrimaldello, a diminutive of the name Grimaldo.

GRIMALKIN—JUG

A kitchen wench was once called amalkin—

"The kitchenmalkinpinsHer richest lockram[33]'bout her reechy neck,Clamb'ring the walls to eye him."(Coriolanus, ii. 1.)

"The kitchenmalkinpinsHer richest lockram[33]'bout her reechy neck,Clamb'ring the walls to eye him."

(Coriolanus, ii. 1.)

This is a diminutive of Matilda or Mary, possibly ofboth.Grimalkin, applied to a fiend in the shape of a cat, is perhaps forgray malkin—

"I come,Graymalkin."(Macbeth, i. 1.)

"I come,Graymalkin."

(Macbeth, i. 1.)

The namemalkinwas transferred from the maid to the mop. Cotgrave hasescouillon(écouvillon), "a wispe, or dish-clowt; amaukin, or drag, to cleanse, or sweepe an oven."Écouvillonis a derivative of Lat.scopa, broom. Now another French word, which means both "kitchen servant" and "dish-clout," issouillon, fromsouiller, to soil. What share each of these words has in Eng.scullionis hard to say. The only thing certain is thatscullionis not originally related toscullery, Old Fr.escuelerie, a collective from Old Fr.escuelle(écuelle), dish, Lat.scutella.

Adollwas formerly called ababyorpuppet. It is the abbreviation ofDorothy, for we find it called adorotyin Scottish. We may compare Fr.marionnette, a double diminutive of Mary, explained by Cotgrave as "little Marian or Mal; also, a puppet."Little Mary, in another sense, has been recently, but perhaps definitely, adopted into our language. Another old name for doll ismammet. Capulet uses it contemptuously to his daughter—

"And then to have a wretched puling fool,A whiningmammet, in her fortune's tender,To answer: 'I'll not wed,'—'I cannot love.'"(Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5.)

"And then to have a wretched puling fool,A whiningmammet, in her fortune's tender,To answer: 'I'll not wed,'—'I cannot love.'"

(Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5.)

Its earlier form ismaumet, meaning "idol," and it is a contraction of Mahomet.

The derivation ofjugis not capable of proof, but a 17th-century etymologist regards it as identical with the female nameJug,[34]for Joan or Jane. This issupported by the fact thatjackwas used in a similar sense—

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

"That there's wrath and despair in the jolly black-jack,And the seven deadly sins in a flagon of sack."

(Lady of the Lake, vi. 5.)

We may also comparetoby juganddemi-john. The latter word is in Frenchdame-jeanne, but both forms are possibly due to folk-etymology. A coat of mail was called in English ajackand in Frenchjaque, "ajack, or coat of maile" (Cotgrave); hence the diminutivejacket. The German miners gave to an ore which they considered useless the namekobalt, fromkobold, a goblin, gnome. This has given Eng.cobalt. Much later is the similarly formednickel, a diminutive of Nicholas. It comes to us from Sweden, but appears earliest in the German compoundKupfernickel, copper nickel. Apparentlynickelhere means something like goblin; cf.Old Nickand, probably, thedickens—

"I cannot tell what thedickenshis name is my husband had him of.—What do you call your knight's name, sirrah?"(Merry Wives, iii. 2.)

"I cannot tell what thedickenshis name is my husband had him of.—What do you call your knight's name, sirrah?"

(Merry Wives, iii. 2.)

Pantaloonscome,viaFrance, from Venice. A great many Venetians bore the name ofPantaleone, one of their favourite saints. Hence the application of the name to the characteristic Venetian hose. The "lean and slippered pantaloon" was originally one of the stock characters of the old Italian comedy. Torriano haspantalone, "apantalone, a covetous and yet amorous old dotard, properly applyed in comedies unto a Venetian."Knickerbockerstake their name from DiedrichKnickerbocker, the pseudonym under which Washington Irving wrote his History of Old New York, in which the early Dutch inhabitants are depicted in baggy knee-breeches.

NINNY—JACKANAPES

Certain christian names are curiously associatedwith stupidity. In modern English we speak of asilly Johnny, while the Germans sayein dummer Peter, orMichel, and French usesColas(Nicolas),NicodèmeandClaude, the reason for the selection of the name not always being known. English has, or had, in the sense of "fool," the wordsninny,nickum,noddy,zany.Ninnyis forInnocent, "Innocent,Ninny, a proper name for a man" (Cotgrave). With this we may compare Frenchbenêt(i.e.Benedict), "a simple, plaine, doltish fellow; a noddy peake, a ninny hammer, a peagoose, a coxe, a silly companion" (Cotgrave).Nickumandnoddyare probably for Nicodemus or Nicholas, both of which are used in French for a fool—

"'But there's another chance for you,' said Mr Boffin, smiling still. 'Do you like the name of Nicodemus? Think it over.NickorNoddy.'"(Our Mutual Friend, Ch. 5.)

"'But there's another chance for you,' said Mr Boffin, smiling still. 'Do you like the name of Nicodemus? Think it over.NickorNoddy.'"

(Our Mutual Friend, Ch. 5.)

Noddy-peak,ninny-hammer,nickumpoop, nownincompoop, seem to be arbitrary elaborations.Zany, formerly a conjuror's assistant, iszanni(see p.143), an Italian diminutive ofGiovanni, John. With the degeneration ofInnocentandBenedictwe may compare Fr.crétin, idiot, an Alpine patois form ofchrétien, Christian, and Eng.silly, which once meant blessed, a sense preserved by its German cognateselig.Dunceis a libel on the disciples of the great medieval schoolman John Duns Scotus, born at Duns in Berwickshire.

Dandyis Scottish for Andrew,e.g., Dandie Dinmont (Guy Mannering).Dago, now usually applied to Italians, was used by the Elizabethans, in its original formDiego, of the Spaniards. The derivation ofguyandbobby(peeler) is well known.Jockeyis a diminutive of the north countryJock, forJack. The history ofjackanapesis obscure. The earliest record of the name is in a satirical song on the unpopular William de la Pole,Duke of Suffolk, who was beheaded at sea in 1450. He is calledJack Napes, the allusion being apparently to his badge, an ape's clog and chain. But there also seems to be association with Naples; cf.fustian-anapesfor Naples fustian. A poem of the 15th century mentions among our imports from Italy—

"Apes and japes and marmusettes tayled."

Jiltwas once a stronger epithet than at present. It is for earlierjillet, which is a diminutive ofJill, the companion of Jack.Jill, again, is short forGillian, i.e.Juliana, so thatjiltis a doublet of Shakespeare's sweetest heroine.Termagant, likeshrew(p.34), was formerly used of both sexes,e.g., by Sir John Falstaff—

"'Twas time to counterfeit, or that hottermagantScot (Douglas) had paid me scot and lot too."(1Henry IV., v. 4.)

"'Twas time to counterfeit, or that hottermagantScot (Douglas) had paid me scot and lot too."

(1Henry IV., v. 4.)

In its oldest sense of a Saracen god it regularly occurs withMahound(Mahomet)—

"Marsilies fait porter un livre avant:La lei i fut Mahum eTervagan."[35](Chanson de Roland, l. 610.)

"Marsilies fait porter un livre avant:La lei i fut Mahum eTervagan."[35]

(Chanson de Roland, l. 610.)

Ariosto hasTrivigante. Being introduced into the medieval drama, the name became synonymous with a stage fury—

"I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoingTermagant."(Hamlet, iii. 2.)

"I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoingTermagant."

(Hamlet, iii. 2.)

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

FOOTNOTES:[24]ButFinsteraarhornis perhaps from the riverAar, not fromAar, eagle.[25]A place where a number of settlers were massacred by the Zulus.[26]"Two mountains near Dublin, which we, keeping in the grocery line, have called the Great and the Little Sugarloaf, are named in Irish the Golden Spears."—(Trench,On the Study of Words.)[27]The French name for the fruit isananas, a Brazilian word. A vegetarian friend of the writer, misled by the superficial likeness of this word tobanana, once petrified a Belgian waiter by ordering half a dozen for his lunch.[28]A reader calls my attention to the fact that, when the hippopotamus is almost completely submerged, the pointed ears, prominent eyes, and large nostrils are grotesquely suggestive of a horse's head. This I have recently verified at the Zoo.[29]For the rather illogical formation, cf.doggedfromdog.[30]Connection has even been suggested betweenhaggisand Fr.agasse, "a pie, piannet, ormagatapie" (Cotgrave).Haggis, now regarded as Scottish, was once a common word in English. Palsgrave hashaggas, a podyng, "caliette (caillette) de mouton,"i.e., sheep's stomach.[31]Foreyassee p.114.[32]To the same period belongs the colourmagenta, from the victory of the French over the Austrians at Magenta in 1859.[33]Forlockram, see p.48.[34]Jehannette, "Jug, or Jinny" (Cotgrave). For strange perversions of baptismal names seeChap. XII. It is possible that the rather uncommon family nameJugginsis of the same origin.[35]"Marsil has a book brought forward: the law of Mahomet and Termagant was in it."

[24]ButFinsteraarhornis perhaps from the riverAar, not fromAar, eagle.

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

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

[27]The French name for the fruit isananas, a Brazilian word. A vegetarian friend of the writer, misled by the superficial likeness of this word tobanana, once petrified a Belgian waiter by ordering half a dozen for his lunch.

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

[29]For the rather illogical formation, cf.doggedfromdog.

[30]Connection has even been suggested betweenhaggisand Fr.agasse, "a pie, piannet, ormagatapie" (Cotgrave).Haggis, now regarded as Scottish, was once a common word in English. Palsgrave hashaggas, a podyng, "caliette (caillette) de mouton,"i.e., sheep's stomach.

[31]Foreyassee p.114.

[32]To the same period belongs the colourmagenta, from the victory of the French over the Austrians at Magenta in 1859.

[33]Forlockram, see p.48.

[34]Jehannette, "Jug, or Jinny" (Cotgrave). For strange perversions of baptismal names seeChap. XII. It is possible that the rather uncommon family nameJugginsis of the same origin.

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

A verylarge number of wares are named from the places from which they come. This is especially common in the case of woven fabrics, and the origin is often obvious, e.g.,arras,cashmere(by folk-etymology,kerseymere),damask,holland. The following are perhaps not all so evident—friezefromFriesland[36];fustian, Old Fr.fustaine(futaine), fromFustat, a suburb of Cairo;muslin, Fr.mousseline, fromMosulin Kurdistan;shalloonfromChâlons-sur-Marne;lawnfromLaon;jean, formerlyjane, fromGenoa(FrenchGênes[37]);cambricfromKamerijk, the Dutch name of Cambrai (cf.the obsoletedornick, from the Dutch name ofTournay);tartanfrom theTartars(properlyTatars), used vaguely for Orientals;sarcenetfrom the Saracens;sendal, ultimately fromIndia(cf.Greco-Lat.sindon, Indian cloth);tabby, Old Fr.atabis, from the name of a suburb of Bagdad, formerly used of a kind of silk, but now of a cat marked something like the material in question.

Brittany used to be famous for hempen fabrics, and the villages ofLocrenanandDaoulasgave their names tolockram(see quotation fromCoriolanus, p.42) anddowlas—

Hostess.You owe me money, Sir John; and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it: I bought you a dozen of shirts to your back.Falstaff.Dowlas, filthydowlas; I have given them away to bakers' wives, and they have made bolters of them.(1Henry IV., iii. 3.)

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

Falstaff.Dowlas, filthydowlas; I have given them away to bakers' wives, and they have made bolters of them.

(1Henry IV., iii. 3.)

Duffelis a place near Antwerp—

"And let it be ofduffilgray,As warm a cloak as man can sell."(Wordsworth,Alice Fell.)

"And let it be ofduffilgray,As warm a cloak as man can sell."

(Wordsworth,Alice Fell.)

andWorsteadis in Norfolk. Of other commoditiesmajolicacomes fromMajorca, called in SpanishMallorca, and in medieval LatinMajolica;bronzefromBrundusium(Brindisi),delffromDelft, themagnetfromMagnesia, theshallot, Fr.échalote, in Old French alsoescalogne, whence archaic Eng.scallion, fromAscalon; thesardinefromSardinia. Amilliner, formerlymilaner, dealt in goods fromMilan.Cravatdates from the Thirty Years' War, in which theCroats, earlierCravats, played a part.Ermineis in medieval Latinmus Armenius, Armenian mouse, but the name perhaps comes, through Fr.hermine, from Old High Ger.harmo, weasel.Buncombe, more usuallybunkum, is the name of a county in North Carolina. To make a speech "for Buncombe" means, in American politics, to show your constituents that you are doing your best for your £400 a year or its American equivalent. Cf.BillingsgateandLimehouse.

The adjectivesprucewas formerlypruceand meant Prussia. Todd quotes from Holinshed—

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

Of similar origin arespruce-leather,spruce-beer, and thespruce-fir, of which Evelyn says—

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

BEZANT—MAZURKA

Among coins thebezantcomes fromByzantium, theflorinfromFlorence, and Shylock'sducat, chiefly a Venetian coin, from theducatod'Apuglia, the Duchy of Apulia, where it was first coined in the 12th century. Thedollaris the Low Ger.daler, for Ger.Taler, originally called aJoachimstaler, from the silver-mine of Joachimstal, "Joachim's dale," in Bohemia. Cotgrave registers a curious Old French perversionjocondale, "adaller, a piece of money worth about 3s. sterl." Some fruits may also be mentioned,e.g., thedamsonfromDamascus, through Old Fr.damaisine, "a damascene ordamsenplum" (Cotgrave); thecurrantfromCorinth, and thepeach, Fr.pêche, from Vulgar Lat.pessica, forPersica.

Apolonywas originally aBoloniansausage, fromBologna.Parchment, Fr.parchemin, is the adjectivepergamenus, fromPergamus, in Asia Minor.Spanielis the Old Fr.espagneul(épagneul), lit. Spanish. We have the adjectiveMoorishinmorris, ormorrice,pike—

"He that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace than amorris pike."(Comedy of Errors, iv. 3.)

"He that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace than amorris pike."

(Comedy of Errors, iv. 3.)

Inmorris dance, Fr.danse mauresque, the same adjective is used with something of the vagueness to be noticed in connection with India and Turkey (p.52). Shakespeare uses the Spanish form—

"I have seen himCaper upright, like to a wildmorisco,Shaking the bloody darts as he his bells."(2Henry VI., iii. 1.)

"I have seen himCaper upright, like to a wildmorisco,Shaking the bloody darts as he his bells."

(2Henry VI., iii. 1.)

Other "local" dances are thepolka, which means Polish woman,mazurka, woman of Mazuria, andthe obsoletepolonaise, lit. Polish,cracovienne, from Cracow, andvarsovienne, from Warsaw. Thetarantella, like thetarantulaspider, takes its name from Taranto, in Italy. The tune of the dance is said to have been originally employed as a cure for the lethargy caused by the bite of the spider. Florio hastarantola, "a serpent called an eft or an evet. Some take it to be a flye whose sting is perillous and deadly, and nothing but divers sounds of musicke can cure the patient."

The town ofTroyeshas given its name totroyweight. The armourers ofBilbao, in Spain, made swords of such perfect temper that they could be bent point to hilt. Hence Falstaff describes himself in the buck-basket as—

"Compassed, like a goodbilbo, in the circumference of a peck, hilt to point, heel to head."(Merry Wives, iii. 5.)

"Compassed, like a goodbilbo, in the circumference of a peck, hilt to point, heel to head."

(Merry Wives, iii. 5.)

TheAndrea Ferrara, or Scottish broadsword, carried by Fergus M'Ivor, bears, according to some authorities, the name of an armourer of Ferrara, in Italy. According to others,Andrea dei Ferrariwas a sword-maker at Belluno. I have heard it affirmed by a Scottish drill-sergeant that the real name of this genius wasAndrew Ferrars,[38]and that he belonged to the same nationality as other great men.

LATEEN—GUINEA-PIG

Anargosy, formerly alsoragusye, was named fromthe Adriatic port ofRagusa, and alateensail is aLatin,i.e.Mediterranean, sail;gambogeis the Fr.Cambodge, Cambodia, andindigois from Span.indico, Indian. Of wines,malmsey, chiefly remembered in connection with George of Clarence, andmalvoisieare doublets, fromMonemvasiain the Morea.Portis named fromOporto, i.e.o porto, the harbour (cf.le Havre), andsherry(see p.116) fromXeres, Lat.Cæsaris(urbs); cf.Saragossa, fromCæsarea Augusta.

But it is possible to be mistaken in connecting countries with products.Brazilwood is not named from the country, butvice-versâ. It was known as a dye-wood as early as the 12th century, and the name is found in many of the European languages. The Portuguese navigators found large quantities of it in South America and named the country accordingly. They christened an islandMadeira, timber, Lat.materia, for a similar reason. Thecanarycomes from the Canary Islands, but its name is good Latin. The largest of these islands,Canaria, was so called by the Romans from the dogs found there. Theguinea-fowl andguineagold came first from the west coast of Africa, but theguinea-pigis a native of Brazil. The name probably came from theGuinea-men, or slave-ships, which regularly followed a triangular course. They sailed outward to the west coast of Africa with English goods. These they exchanged for slaves, whom they transported to the West Indies, the horrible "middle passage," and finally they sailed homeward with New World produce, including, no doubt,guinea-pigsbrought home by sailors. The turkey is also calledguinea-fowlin the 17th century, probably to be explained in the same way. The German name for guinea-pig,Meerschweinchen, seems to mean little pig from over the sea.

Guinea was a vague geographical expression in the 17th century, but not so vague as India or Turkey.Indian inkcomes from China (Fr.encre de Chine), andIndian cornfrom America. The names given to theturkeyare extraordinary. We are not surprised that, as an American bird, it should be naturally connected with India;cf.West Indies, Red Indian, etc.Turkwas in the 16th and 17th centuries a vague term for non-Christians—

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

"Jews,Turks, infidels, and hereticks."

(Collect for Good Friday.)

and we find alsoTurkey wheatfor maize. The following names for the turkey, given in aNomenclatorin eight languages, published in Germany in 1602, do not exhaust the list:—

German.—IndianischoderKalekuttisch[39]oderWelsch[40]Hun.Dutch.—CalcoenscheoftTurckischeHenne.French.—Geline ou poulle d'Inde, ou d'Africque.Italian.—Gallina d'India.Spanish.—Pavon (peacock) de lasIndias.English.—Cok off Inde!

No doubt the turkey was confused with other birds, for we find Fr.geline d'Indebefore the discovery of America.D'Indehas becomedinde, whence a new masculinedindonhas been formed.

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