FOOTNOTES:

HANSOM

The early etymologists were fond of identifying foreign wares with place-names. They connecteddiaperwith Ypres,ginghamwith Guingamp (in Brittany),druggetwith Drogheda, and thesedanchair with Sedan. Such guesses are almost always wrong. The origin ofdiaperis doubtful, that ofdruggetquite unknown, andginghamis Malay. As far as we know at present, thesedancame from Italy in the 16th century, and it is there, among derivatives of Lat.sedere, to sit, that itsorigin must be sought, unless indeed the originalSedanwas some mute, ingloriousHansom.[41]

FOOTNOTES:[36]Whence alsocheval de frise, a contrivance used by the Frieslanders against cavalry. The German name isdie spanischen Reiter, explained by Ludwig as "a bar with iron-spikes;cheval de frise, a warlick instrument, to keep off the horse."[37]The formjeansappears to be usual in America—"His hands were thrust carelessly into the side pockets of a grayjeanscoat." (Meredith Nicholson,War of the Carolinas, Ch. 15.)[38]A Scotch reviewer (Glasgow Herald, 13th April 1912) corrects me here—"His name was certainly not Ferrars, but Ferrier. He was probably an Arbroath man." Some readers may remember that, after GeneralTodleben'sbrilliant defence of Sebastopol (1854-5),Punchdiscovered a respectable ancestry for him also. In some lines commencing—"I ken him weel, the chield was born in Fife,The bairn of Andrew Drummond and his wife,"it was shown that the apparently foreign name had been conferred on the gifted child because of the agility with which he used to "toddle benthe hoose."[39]Calicut, not Calcutta.[40]Seewalnut(p.151).[41]As thehansomhas now become of archæological interest only, it may be recorded here that it took its name from that of its inventor—"TheHansom'spatent (cab) is especially constructed for getting quickly over the ground" (Pulleyn'sEtymological Compendium, 1853).Sic transit!

[36]Whence alsocheval de frise, a contrivance used by the Frieslanders against cavalry. The German name isdie spanischen Reiter, explained by Ludwig as "a bar with iron-spikes;cheval de frise, a warlick instrument, to keep off the horse."

[37]The formjeansappears to be usual in America—"His hands were thrust carelessly into the side pockets of a grayjeanscoat." (Meredith Nicholson,War of the Carolinas, Ch. 15.)

[38]A Scotch reviewer (Glasgow Herald, 13th April 1912) corrects me here—"His name was certainly not Ferrars, but Ferrier. He was probably an Arbroath man." Some readers may remember that, after GeneralTodleben'sbrilliant defence of Sebastopol (1854-5),Punchdiscovered a respectable ancestry for him also. In some lines commencing—"I ken him weel, the chield was born in Fife,The bairn of Andrew Drummond and his wife,"it was shown that the apparently foreign name had been conferred on the gifted child because of the agility with which he used to "toddle benthe hoose."

"I ken him weel, the chield was born in Fife,The bairn of Andrew Drummond and his wife,"

it was shown that the apparently foreign name had been conferred on the gifted child because of the agility with which he used to "toddle benthe hoose."

[39]Calicut, not Calcutta.

[40]Seewalnut(p.151).

[41]As thehansomhas now become of archæological interest only, it may be recorded here that it took its name from that of its inventor—"TheHansom'spatent (cab) is especially constructed for getting quickly over the ground" (Pulleyn'sEtymological Compendium, 1853).Sic transit!

Thehistory of a word has to be studied from the double point of view of sound and sense, or, to use more technical terms, phonetics and semantics. In the logical order of things it seems natural to deal first with the less interesting aspect, phonetics, the physical processes by which sounds are gradually transformed. Speaking generally, it may be said that phonetic changes are governed by the law of least resistance, a sound which presents difficulty being gradually and unconsciously modified by a whole community or race. With the general principles of phonetics I do not propose to deal, but a few simple examples will serve to illustrate the one great law on which this science is based.

The population of this country is educationally divided by the letterhinto three classes, which we may describe as the confident, the anxious, and the indifferent. The same division existed in imperial Rome, where educated people sounded the aspirate, which completely disappeared from the every-day language of the lower classes, the so-called Vulgar Latin, from which the Romance languages are descended, so far as their working vocabulary is concerned. The anxious class was also represented. A Latinepigrammatist[42]remarks that since Arrius, prophetic name, has visited the Ionic islands, they will probably be henceforth known as theHionicislands. To the disappearance of thehfrom Vulgar Latin is due the fact that the Romance languages have no aspirate. French still writes the initialhin some words by etymological reaction, e.g.,hommefor Old Fr.ome, and also at one time really had an aspirate in the case of words of Germanic origin, e.g.,la honte, shame. But thishis no longer sounded, although it still, by tradition, prevents elision andliaison, mistakes in which are regarded much in the same way as a misplaced aspirate in English. The "educated"hof modern English is largely an artificial restoration;cf.the modernhotel-keeper with the older wordostler(see p.164), or the family nameArmitagewith the restoredhermitage.

PHONETIC LAZINESS

We have dropped theksound in initialkn, as inknave, still sounded in Ger.Knabe, boy. French gets over the difficulty by inserting a vowel between the two consonants, e.g.,canifis a Germanic word cognate with Eng.knife. This is a common device in French when a word of Germanic origin begins with two consonants.Cf.Fr.dérive, drift, Eng.drive; Fr.varech, sea-weed, Eng.wrack.Harangue, formerlyharengue, is Old High Ger.hring, Eng.ring, the allusion being to the circle formed by the audience. Fr.chenapan, rogue, is Ger.Schnapphahn, robber, lit. fowl-stealer. Theshallopthat "flitteth silken-sail'd, skimming down to Camelot," is Fr.chaloupe, probably identical with Du.sloep, sloop.

The general dislike that French has for a doubleconsonant sound at the beginning of a word appears also in the transformation of all Latin words which began withsc,sp,st, e.g.,scola>escole(école),spongia>esponge(éponge),stabulum>estable(étable). English words derived from French generally show the older form, but without the initial vowel,school,sponge,stable.

The above are very simple examples of sound change. There are certain less regular changes, which appear to work in a more arbitrary fashion and bring about more picturesque results. Three of the most important of these are assimilation, dissimilation, and metathesis.

Assimilation is the tendency of a sound to imitate its neighbour. The tree called thelimewas formerly theline, and earlier still thelind. We see the older form inlindenand in such place-names asLyndhurst, lime wood.Lineoften occurred in such compounds asline-bark,line-bast,line-wood, where the second component began with a lip consonant. Thenbecame also a lip consonant because it was easier to pronounce, and by the 17th century we generally findlimeinstead ofline. We have a similar change inLombardfor Ger.lang-bart, long-beard, or, according to some, long-axe. ForLiverpoolwe find alsoLitherpoolin early records. If the reader attempts to pronounce both names rapidly, he will be able to form his own opinion as to whether it is more natural forLiverpoolto becomeLitherpoolorvice-versâ, a vexed question with philologists. Fr.vélin, a derivative of Old Fr.veel(veau), calf, andvenin, Lat.venenum, have given Eng.vellumandvenom, the final consonant being in each case assimilated[43]to the initial labial. So alsomushroom, Fr.mousseron, frommousse, moss.

Vulgar Lat.circare(fromcirca, around) gave Old Fr.cerchier, Eng.search. In modern Fr.chercherthe initial consonant has been influenced by the medialch. Themof the curious wordampersand, variously spelt, is due to the neighbouringp. It is applied to the sign &. I thought it obsolete till I came across it on successive days in two contemporary writers—

"One of my mother's chief cares was to teach me my letters, which I learnt from big A toAmpersandin the old hornbook at Lantrig."(Quiller-Couch,Dead Man's Rock, Ch. 2.)"Tommy knew all about the work. Knew every letter in it from A toEmperzan."(Pett Ridge,In the Wars.)

"One of my mother's chief cares was to teach me my letters, which I learnt from big A toAmpersandin the old hornbook at Lantrig."

(Quiller-Couch,Dead Man's Rock, Ch. 2.)

"Tommy knew all about the work. Knew every letter in it from A toEmperzan."

(Pett Ridge,In the Wars.)

Children used to repeat the alphabet thus—"A per se A, B per se B," and so on to "and per se and." The symbol & is an abbreviation of Lat.et, written&.

DISSIMILATION

Dissimilation is the opposite process. The archaic wordpomander—

"I have sold all my trumpery; not a counterfeit stone, not a riband, glass,pomander, brooch, ... to keep my pack from fasting."(Winter's Tale, iv. 3.)

"I have sold all my trumpery; not a counterfeit stone, not a riband, glass,pomander, brooch, ... to keep my pack from fasting."

(Winter's Tale, iv. 3.)

was formerly speltpomeamber. It comes from Old Fr.pome ambre, apple of amber, a ball of perfume once carried by the delicate. In this case one of the two lip consonants has been dissimilated. A like change has occurred in Fr.nappe, cloth, from Lat.mappa, whence ournapkin,apron(p.113), and the family nameNapier.

The sounds most frequently affected by dissimilation are those represented by the lettersl,n, andr. Fr.gonfalonis for oldergonfanon. Chaucer uses the older form, Milton the newer—

"Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanc'd,Standards andgonfalons, 'twixt van and rear,Stream in the air."(Paradise Lost, v. 589.)

"Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanc'd,Standards andgonfalons, 'twixt van and rear,Stream in the air."

(Paradise Lost, v. 589.)

Gonfanonis of Germanic origin. It means literally "battle-flag," and the second element is cognate with Englishfaneorvane(Ger.Fahne). Eng.pilgrimand Fr.pèlerin, from Lat.peregrinus, illustrate the change fromrtol, while the wordfrail, an osier basket for figs, is due to a change fromltor, which goes back to Roman times. A grammarian of imperial Rome named Probus compiled, about the 3rd or 4th century,A.D., a list of cautions as to mispronunciation. In this list we find "flagellum, nonfragellum." In the sense of switch, twig,fragellumgave Old Fr.freel, basket made of twigs, whence Eng.frail; while the correctflagellumgave Old Fr.fleel(fléau), whence Eng.flail. A Vulgar Lat.*mora, mulberry, from Lat.morus, mulberry tree, has given Fr.mûre. Therofberryhas brought about dissimilation in Eng.mulberryand Ger.Maulbeere.Colonelhas the spelling of Fr.colonel, but its pronunciation points rather to the dissimilated Spanish formcoronelwhich is common in Elizabethan English. Cotgrave hascolonel, "acolonell, orcoronell; the commander of a regiment."

The female nameAnnabelis a dissimilation ofAmabel, whenceMabel. By confusion with the popular medieval nameOrable, Lat.orabilis,Annabelhas becomeArabelorArabella. Ourlevelis Old Fr.livel, Vulgar Lat.*libellum, forlibella, a plummet, diminutive oflibra, scales. Old Fr.livelbecame by dissimilationnivel, nowniveau. Many conjectures have been made as to the etymology oforiel. It is from Old Fr.oriol, a recess, or sanctum, which first occurs in an Anglo-Norman poem of the 12th century on Becket. This is from a Late Latin diminutiveaulæolum, a small chapel or shrine, which was dissimilated intoauræolum.

Sometimes dissimilation leads to the disappearance of a consonant,e.g., Eng.feeble, Fr.faible, representsLat.flebilis, lamentable, fromflere, to weep.Fuglemanwas onceflugelman, from Ger.Flügelmann, wing man,i.e., a tall soldier on the wing who exaggerated the movements of musketry drill for the guidance of the rest.

METATHESIS

Metathesis is the transposition of two sounds. A simple case is ourtrouble, Fr.troubler, from Lat.turbulare.Maggotis for Mid. Eng.maddok, a diminutive of Anglo-Sax.maþa;cf.Ger.Made, maggot.Kittle, in the phrase "kittle cattle," is identical withtickle;cf.Ger.kitzeln, to tickle. One theory for the origin oftankardis that it stands for*cantar, from Lat.cantharus, with which it corresponds exactly in meaning; e.g.,cantharus, "a pot, a jugge, atankerd" (Cooper);cantharo, a "tankardor jug that houldeth much" (Florio);canthare, "a great jugge, ortankard" (Cotgrave). The metathesis may be due to association with the name Tankard (Tancred).

Wattleandwalletare used indifferently in Mid. English for a little bag. Shakespeare no doubt had in mind thewattlesof a cock or turkey when he made Gonzalo speak of mountaineers—

"Dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at themWalletsof flesh."(Tempest, iii. 3.)

"Dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at themWalletsof flesh."

(Tempest, iii. 3.)

Fr.moustiqueis for earliermousquite, from Span.mosquito, a diminutive from Lat.musca, a fly.Tinselis Fr.étincelle, spark, earlierestincele, which supposes a Lat.*stincillaforscintilla. The old wordanlace, dagger, common in Mid. English and revived by Byron and Scott—

"His harp in silken scarf was slung,And by his side ananlacehung."(Rokeby, v. 15.)

"His harp in silken scarf was slung,And by his side ananlacehung."

(Rokeby, v. 15.)

has provoked many guesses. Its oldest form,anelas, is a metathesis of the common Old Fr.alenas, dagger. This is formed fromalêne, of Germanic origin, cognatewithawl; cf.cutlass, Fr.coutelas(p.126).Beverageis from Old Fr.bevrage, orbeuvrage, nowbreuvage, Vulgar Lat.*biberaticum, frombibere, to drink. Here, as in the case oflevel(p.58), andsearch(p.57), English preserves the older form. InMartellotower, from a fort taken by the British (1794) inMortella,i.e., Myrtle, Bay, Corsica, we have vowel metathesis.

It goes without saying that such linguistic phenomena are often observed in the case of children and uneducated people. Not long ago the writer was urged by a gardener to embellish his garden with aruskitarch. When metathesis extends beyond one word we have what is known as aSpoonerism, the original type of which is said to be—

"Kinquerings congstheir titles take."

We have seen (p.57) that the lettersl,n,rare particularly subject to dissimilation and metathesis. But we sometimes find them alternating without apparent reason. Thusbanisteris a modern form for the correctbaluster.[44]This was not at first applied to the rail, but to the bulging colonnettes on which it rests. Fr.balustrecomes, through Italian, from Greco-Lat.balaustium, a pomegranate flower, the shape of which resembles the supports of a balustrade. Cotgrave explainsbalustresas "ballisters; little, round and short pillars, ranked on the outside of cloisters, terraces, galleries, etc."Glamouris a doublet ofgrammar(see p.145), andflouncewas formerlyfrounce, from Fr.froncer, now only used of "knitting" the brows—

"Till civil-suited morn appear,Not trickt andfrounc'tas she was wontWith the Attic boy to hunt."(Penseroso, l. 123.)

"Till civil-suited morn appear,Not trickt andfrounc'tas she was wontWith the Attic boy to hunt."

(Penseroso, l. 123.)

Fr.flibustier, whence ourfilibuster, was earlierfribustier, a corruption of Du.vrijbuiter, whence directly the Eng.freebooter.[45]

SHRINKAGE OF WORDS

All words tend in popular usage to undergo a certain amount of shrinkage. The reduction of Lat.digitale, fromdigitus, finger, to Fr.dé, thimble (little thumb) is a striking example. The strong tonic accent of English, which is usually on the first, or root, syllable, brings about a kind of telescoping which makes us very unintelligible to foreigners. This is seen in the pronunciation of names such asCholmondeleyandMarjoribanks.Bethlehemhospital, for lunatics, becomesbedlam; MaryMagdalene, taken as a type of tearful repentance, gives usmaudlin, now generally used of the lachrymose stage of intoxication.Sacristanis contracted intosexton. Fr.paralysiebecomespalsy, andhydropisiebecomesdropsy. The fuller form of the word usually persists in the literary language, or is artificially introduced at a later period, so that we get such doublets asproctorandprocurator.

In the case of French words which have a prefix, this prefix is very frequently dropped in English, e.g.,raimentforarrayment; while suffixes, or final syllables, often disappear,e.g., treasuretrove, for Old Fr.trové(trouvé), or become assimilated to some familiar English ending, e.g.,parish, Fr.paroisse,skirmish, Fr.escarmouche;cartridge, Fr.cartouche,partridge, Fr.perdrix. A good example of such shrinkage is the wordvamp, part of a shoe, Old Fr.avant-pie(pied), which became Mid. Eng.vampey, and then lost its final syllable. We maycomparevambrace, armour for the forearm, Fr.avant-bras,vanguard, Fr.avant-garde, often reduced tovan—

"Go, charge AgrippaPlant those that have revolted in thevan;That Antony may seem to spend his furyUpon himself."(Antony and Cleopatra, iv. 6.)

"Go, charge AgrippaPlant those that have revolted in thevan;That Antony may seem to spend his furyUpon himself."

(Antony and Cleopatra, iv. 6.)

and the obsoletevaunt-courier, forerunner—

"You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,Vaunt-couriersof oak-cleaving thunderbolts."(Lear, iii. 2.)

"You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,Vaunt-couriersof oak-cleaving thunderbolts."

(Lear, iii. 2.)

When the initial vowel isa-, its loss may have been helped by confusion with the indefinite article. Thus foranatomywe findatomy, for a skeleton or scarecrow figure, applied by Mistress Quickly to the constable (2Henry IV., v. 4).Pealis forappeal, call;mendforamend,loneforalone, i.e.,all one.Peach, used by Falstaff—

"If I be ta'en, I'llpeachfor this."(1Henry IV., ii. 2.)

"If I be ta'en, I'llpeachfor this."

(1Henry IV., ii. 2.)

is for olderappeach, related toimpeach.Size, in all its senses, is forassize, Fr.assise, with a general meaning of allowance or assessment, from Fr.asseoir, to put, lay.Sizarsat Cambridge are properly students in receipt of certain allowances calledsizings. With painters'sizewe may compare Ital.assisa, "sizethat painters use" (Florio). We use the formassizein speaking of the "sitting" of the judges, but those most familiar with this tribunal speak of being tried at the'sizes. The obsolete wordcate, on which Petruchio plays—

"For dainties are allcates—and therefore, Kate,Take this of me, Kate of my consolation."(Taming of the Shrew, ii. 1.)

"For dainties are allcates—and therefore, Kate,Take this of me, Kate of my consolation."

(Taming of the Shrew, ii. 1.)

is for earlieracate, an Old French dialect form corresponding to modern Fr.achat, purchase. The manentrusted with purchasing was called anacatourorcatour(whence the nameCator), latercater, now extended tocaterer, likefruitererforfruiter,poultererforpoulterandupholstererforupholdsterorupholder.[46]

Limbeckhas been squeezed out by the orthodoxalembic—

"Memory the warder of the brain,Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reasonAlimbeckonly."(Macbeth, i. 7.)

"Memory the warder of the brain,Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reasonAlimbeckonly."

(Macbeth, i. 7.)

andprenticehas given way toapprentice.Tireandattireboth survive, andmazepersists by the side ofamazewith the special sense which I have heard a Notts collier express bypuzzle-garden(cf.Ger.Irrgarten).Binnacleis a corruption, perhaps due to association withbin, of earlierbittacle, from Lat.habitaculum, a little dwelling. It may have come to us through Fr.habitacleor Port.bitacola, "thebittacle, a frame of timber in the steerage, where the compass is placed on board a ship" (Vieyra,Port. Dict., 1794). As King of Scotland, King George has a household official known as thelimner, or painter. Forlimner[47]we find in the 15th centurylumnerandluminour, which is aphetic foralluminour, orenlumineur. Cotgrave, s.v.enlumineur de livres, says, "we call one that coloureth, or painteth upon, paper, or parchment, analluminer."

APHESIS

But confusion with the article is not necessary in order to bring about aphesis. It occurs regularly inthe case of words beginning withesc,esp,est, borrowed from Old French (see p.56). Thus we havesquirefromescuyer(êcuyer),skewfrom Old Fr.eschuer, to dodge, "eschew," ultimately cognate with Eng.shy,spicefromespice(épice),spritefromesprit,stagefromestage(étage), etc. In some cases we have the fuller form also, e.g.,esquire,eschew; cf.sampleandexample.Fender, whether before a fireplace or slung outside a ship, is fordefender;fenceis always fordefence, either in the sense of a barrier or in allusion to the noble art of self-defence.[48]Thetenderof a ship or of a locomotive is theattender, andtaintis aphetic forattaint, Fr.atteinte, touch—

"I will not poison thee with myattaint."(Lucrece, l. 1072.)

"I will not poison thee with myattaint."

(Lucrece, l. 1072.)

Puzzlewas in Mid. Eng.opposaile,i.e., something put before one. We still speak of "a poser."

Spital, forhospital, survives inSpitalfields, andSpittlegateat Grantham and elsewhere.Crewis foraccrewe(Holinshed). It meant properly a reinforcement, lit. on-growth, from Fr.accroître, to accrue. Inrecruit, we have a later instance of the same idea. Fr.recrue, recruit, fromrecroître, to grow again, is still feminine, like many other military terms which were originally abstract or collective. Cotgrave hasrecreuë, "a supplie, or filling up of a defective company of souldiers, etc." We havepossumforopossum, andcoonforracoon, and this forarrahacoune, which I find in a 16th-centuryrecord of travel;cf.Americanskeeterformosquito. In these two cases we perhaps have also the deliberate intention to shorten (see p.66), as also in the obsolete Australiantench, for the aphetic'tentiary, i.e.,penitentiary. With this we may compare'tecfordetective.

APHESIS

Drawing-roomis forwithdrawing room, and only the finaltofsaintis left inTooley St., famed for its three tailors, formerlySaint Olave Street, andtawdry. This latter word is well known to be derived fromSaint Audrey'sfair. It was not originally depreciatory—

"Come, you promised me atawdrylace, and a pair of sweet gloves."(Winter's Tale, iv. 3.)

"Come, you promised me atawdrylace, and a pair of sweet gloves."

(Winter's Tale, iv. 3.)

and the full form is recorded by Palsgrave, who hasSeynt Andries(readAudrie's)lace, "cordon." The verbviecomes from Old Fr.envier, to challenge, Lat.invitare, whence the phraseà l'envi l'un de l'autre, "in emulation one of the other" (Cotgrave); cf.gin(trap), Fr.engin, Lat.ingenium. The prefixdisordesis lost inSpencer(see p.165),spite,splay,sport,stain, etc.

Indrat, formerly'od rot,zoundsforGod's wounds,'sdeath,odsbodikins, etc., there is probably a deliberate avoidance of profanity. The same intention appears inGogs—

"'Ay, bygogs-wouns!' quoth he; and swore so loud,That, all amaz'd, the priest let fall the book."(Taming of the Shrew, iii. 2.)

"'Ay, bygogs-wouns!' quoth he; and swore so loud,That, all amaz'd, the priest let fall the book."

(Taming of the Shrew, iii. 2.)

Cf.Fr.parbleuforpar Dieu, and Ger.PotzforGottes.

This English tendency to aphesis is satirised in a French song of the 14th century, intentionally written in bad French. Thus, in the line—

"Or sont il vint le tans que Glais voura vauchier."[49]

Glaisis forAnglaisandvauchieris forchevauchier(chevaucher), to ride on a foray. The literary language runs counter to this instinct, though Shakespeare wrotehaviourforbehaviourandlongingforbelonging, while such forms asbillimentsforhabilimentsandsparagusforasparagusare regular up to the 18th century. Children keep up the national practice when they saymemberforrememberandzamineforexamine. It is quite certain thatbaccyandtaterwould be recognised literary forms if America had been discovered two centuries sooner or printing invented two centuries later.

Many words are shortened, not by natural and gradual shrinkage, but by deliberate laziness. The national distaste for many syllables appears inwirefortelegram, the Artful Dodger'swipefor the clumsypocket handkerchief,soccerforassociation, and such portmanteau words assquarson, an individual who is at oncesquireandparson, orBakerlooforBaker St. and Waterloo.

The simplest way of reducing a word is to take the first syllable and make it a symbol for the rest. Of comparatively modern formation arepubandZoo, with which we may compareBart's, for Saint Bartholomew's,Cri,Pav, "half amo'"bike, and evenpaj, forpageant.

CLIPPED FORMS

This method of shortening words was very popular in the 17th century, from which period datecit(izen),mob(ile vulgus), the fickle crowd, and,pun(digrion). We often find the fullermobileused formob. The origin ofpundigrionis uncertain. It may be an illiterate attempt at Ital.puntiglio, which, like Fr.pointe, was used of a verbal quibble or fine distinction. Most of these clipped forms are easily identified, e.g.,cab(riolet),gent(leman),hack(ney),vet(erinary surgeon).Cadis for Scot.caddie, errand boy, now familiar in connection with golf, andcaddieis from Fr.cadet, younger. The word had not always the very strong meaning we nowassociate with it. AmongSketches by Bozis one entitled—

"The last Cab driver and the first OmnibusCad,"

wherecadmeans conductor. Ontick, for onticket, is found in the 17th century. We may compare the more modernbizandspec.Brigis forbrigantine, Ital.brigantino, "a kinde of pinnasse or small barke called abrigantine" (Florio). The original meaning is pirate ship; cf.brigand.Waghas improved in meaning. It is for olderwaghalter. Cotgrave hasbaboin(babouin), "a trifling, busie, or crafty knave; a crackrope,waghalter, etc." The older sense survives in the phrase "to play thewag,"i.e.truant. For the "rope" figure we may compare Scot.hempie, a minx, and obsolete Ital.cavestrolo, a diminutive from Lat.capistrum, halter, explained by Florio as "awag, a haltersacke." Modern Ital.capestrois used in the same sense.Crack-ropeis shortened tocrack. Justice Shallow remembered Falstaff breaking Skogan's head—

"When he was acrack, not thus high."(2Henry IV., iii. 2.)

"When he was acrack, not thus high."

(2Henry IV., iii. 2.)

Chapis forchapman, once in general use for a merchant and still a common family name. It is cognate withcheap,chaffer, and Ger.kaufen, to buy, and probably comes from Lat.caupo, tavern keeper. We have the Dutch form inhorse-coper, and also in the wordcoopering, the illicit sale of spirits by Dutch boats to North Sea fishermen.[50]Merchantwas used by the Elizabethans in the same way as ourchap. Thus the Countess of Auvergne calls Talbot a "riddlingmerchant"(1Henry VI., ii. 3). We may also compare Scot.callant, lad, from the Picard form of Fr.chaland, customer—

"He had seen many a braw callant, far less than Guse Gibbie, fight brawly under Montrose."(Old Mortality, Ch. 1.)

"He had seen many a braw callant, far less than Guse Gibbie, fight brawly under Montrose."

(Old Mortality, Ch. 1.)

and our own expression "a rumcustomer," reduced in America to "a rumcuss."Hock, forHochheimer, wine from Hochheim, occurs as early as Beaumont and Fletcher; andrum, spirit, is for earlierrumbullion, of obscure origin.Ginis forgeneva, a corruption of Fr.genièvre, Lat.juniperus, with the berries of which it is flavoured. The history ofgrogis more complicated. The stuff calledgrogram, earliergrograyne, is from Fr.gros grain, coarse grain. Admiral Vernon (18th century) was called by the sailors "Old Grog" from his habit of wearing grogram breeches. When he issued orders that the regular allowance of rum was henceforth to be diluted with water, the sailors promptly baptized the mixture with his nickname.

CLIPPED FORMS

Sometimes the two first syllables survive. We havenavvyfornavigator,brandyforbrandywine, from Du.brandewyn, lit. burnt wine, andwhiskyforusquebaugh, Gaelicuisge-beatha, water of life (cf.eau-de-vie), so that the literal meaning ofwhiskyis very innocent. It has a doublet in the river-nameUsk. Before the 18th centuryusquebaughis the regular form. In the following passage the Irish variety is referred to—

"The prime isusquebaugh, which cannot be made anywhere in that perfection; and whereas we drink it here inaqua vitæmeasures, it goes down there by beer-glassfuls, being more natural to the nation."(Howell, 1634.)

"The prime isusquebaugh, which cannot be made anywhere in that perfection; and whereas we drink it here inaqua vitæmeasures, it goes down there by beer-glassfuls, being more natural to the nation."

(Howell, 1634.)

Canteris forCanterburygallop, the pace of pilgrimsriding to the shrine of St Thomas. John Dennis, known as Dennis the Critic, says of Pope—

"Boileau's Pegasus has all his paces. The Pegasus of Pope, like a Kentish post-horse, is always on theCanterbury."(On the Preliminaries to the Dunciad.)

"Boileau's Pegasus has all his paces. The Pegasus of Pope, like a Kentish post-horse, is always on theCanterbury."

(On the Preliminaries to the Dunciad.)

Inbugle, forbugle-horn, lit. wild-ox-horn, Old Fr.bugle, Lat.buculus, a diminutive ofbos, ox, we have perhaps rather an ellipsis, likewaterproof(coat), than a clipped form—

"Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet 'tis early morn:Leave me here, and when you want me, sound upon thebugle-horn."(Locksley Hall.)

"Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet 'tis early morn:Leave me here, and when you want me, sound upon thebugle-horn."

(Locksley Hall.)

Patteris no doubt forpaternoster—

"Fitz-Eustace, you, with Lady Clare,May bid your beads andpatterprayer."(Marmion, vi. 27.)

"Fitz-Eustace, you, with Lady Clare,May bid your beads andpatterprayer."

(Marmion, vi. 27.)

and the use of the wordmarblefor a toy sometimes made of that stone makes it very probable that thealley, most precious of marbles, is short foralabaster.

Less frequently the final syllable is selected, e.g.,busforomnibus,looforlanterloo, variously spelt in the 17th and 18th centuries—

"Ev'n mighty Pam,[51]that Kings and Queens o'erthrew,And mow'd down armies in the fights oflu."(Rape of the Lock, iii. 62.)

"Ev'n mighty Pam,[51]that Kings and Queens o'erthrew,And mow'd down armies in the fights oflu."

(Rape of the Lock, iii. 62.)

Fr.lantureluwas originally the meaningless refrain or "tol de rol" of a popular song in Richelieu's time.Vanis forcaravan, a Persian word, properly a company of merchants or ships travelling together, "also of late corruptly used with us for a kind of waggon to carry passengers to and from London" (Blount,Glossographia, 1674).Wigis forperiwig, a corruption of Fr.perruque, of obscure origin. With the 17th century'varsity, foruniversity, we may compare Sam Weller's'Tizer, forMorning Advertiser.

Christian names are treated in the same way.AlexandergivesAlecandSandy,Herbert,'ErborBert.Ib(see p.172) was once common forIsabella, while the modern language prefersBella;MaudforMatildais a telescoped form of Old Fr.Maheut, while'Tildais perhaps due to unconscious aphesis, likeDenry—

"She saved a certain amount of time every day by addressing her son asDenry, instead ofEdward Henry."(Arnold Bennett,The Card, Ch. 1.)

"She saved a certain amount of time every day by addressing her son asDenry, instead ofEdward Henry."

(Arnold Bennett,The Card, Ch. 1.)

Among conscious word-formations may be classed many reduplicated forms, whether riming, ashurly-burly, or alliterative, astittle-tattle, though reduplication belongs to the natural speech of children, and, in at least one case, Fr.tante, fromante-ante, Lat.amita, the baby word has prevailed. In a reduplicated form only one half as a rule needs to be explained. Thusseesawis fromsaw, the motion suggesting two sawyers at work on a log.Zigzag, from French, and Ger.zickzackare of unknown origin.Shilly-shallyis forshill I, shall I?Namby-pambycommemorates the poet Ambrose Philips, who was thus nicknamed by Pope and his friends. The weapon called asnickersnee—

"'First let me say my catechism,Which my poor mammy taught to me.''Make haste, make haste,' says guzzling Jimmy,While Jack pulled out hissnickersnee."(Thackeray,Little Billee, l. 21.)

"'First let me say my catechism,Which my poor mammy taught to me.''Make haste, make haste,' says guzzling Jimmy,While Jack pulled out hissnickersnee."

(Thackeray,Little Billee, l. 21.)

is of Dutch origin and means something like "cut and thrust." It is usually mentioned in connection with the Hollanders—

"Among other customs they have in that town, one is, that none must carry a pointed knife about him; which makes the Hollander, who is us'd tosnikandsnee, to leave his horn-sheath and knife a ship-board when he comes ashore."(Howell,Letter from Florence, 1621.)

(Howell,Letter from Florence, 1621.)

Here the reduplication is only apparent, for the older form was tostickorsnee, representing the Dutch verbssteken, to thrust,snijdenorsnijen, to cut. The initial of the first verb has been assimilated to that of the second—

"It is our countrie custome onely tostickorsnee."(Glapthorne,The Hollander.)

"It is our countrie custome onely tostickorsnee."

(Glapthorne,The Hollander.)

Reduplication is responsible forpickaback, earlierpickpack, frompack, bundle. The modern form is due to popular association withback.

PREFIXED CONSONANTS

Occasionally we have what is apparently the arbitrary prefixing of a consonant, e.g.,spruceforpruce(p.48).Dapple graycorresponds so exactly to Fr.gris pommelé, Mid. Eng.pomeli gris, Ger.apfelgrau, and Ital.pomellato, "spotted, bespeckled, pide,dapple-graie, or fleabitten, the colour of a horse" (Florio), that it is hard not to believe in an unrecorded*apple-gray, especially as we havedaffodilfor earlieraffodil, i.e.,asphodel. Cotgrave hasasphodile(asphodèle), "thedaffadill,affodill, orasphodill, flower." The playful elaborationdaffadowndillyis as old as Spenser.

FOOTNOTES:[42]"Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba,Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis,Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,Iam nonIoniosesse, sedHionios."(Catullus, 84.)[43]Apart from assimilation, there is a tendency in English to substitute-mfor-n, e.g.grogramforgrogran(see p.68). In the family nameHansom, forHanson, we have dissimilation ofn(see p.57).[44]Cf.the similar change in the family nameBanister(p.179).[45]It may be noted here that abuccaneerwas not originally a pirate, but a man whose business was the smoking of beef in the West Indies. The name comes from a native wordboucan, adopted into French, and explained by Cotgrave as a "woodden-gridiron whereon the cannibals broile pieces of men, and other flesh."[46]Upholstererhas become specialised in sense; cf.undertaker(of funerals), andstationer, properly a tradesman with astationor stall.Costermongerillustrates the converse process. It meant originally a dealer incostards, i.e. apples. The French costermonger has the more appropriate name ofmarchand des quatre saisons.[47]Englishisometimes occurs as an attempt at the French and Celticu; cf.briskfrombrusque,periwig(p.69), andwhisky(p.68).[48]Our ancestors appear to have been essentially pacific. Withfence, fordefence, we may compare Ger.schirmen, to fence, fromSchirm, screen (cf.Regenschirm, umbrella), which, passing through Italian and French, has given usskirmish,scrimmage,scaramouch(see p.142), and Shakespeareanscrimer, fencer (Hamlet, iv. 7). So also Ger.Gewehr, weapon, is cognate with Eng.weir, and means defence—"Cet animal est très méchant;Quand on l'attaque, il se défend."[49]"Now the time has come when the English will wish to ride."[50]Cf.also Dan.Kjöbenhavn(Copenhagen), the merchants' haven, the numerous Swedish place-names ending in-köping, e.g.Jönköping, and our ownChippings, or market-towns.[51]The knave of clubs. The name was also given to Lord Palmerston.

[42]"Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba,Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis,Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,Iam nonIoniosesse, sedHionios."(Catullus, 84.)

[42]

"Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba,Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis,Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,Iam nonIoniosesse, sedHionios."(Catullus, 84.)

"Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba,Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis,Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,Iam nonIoniosesse, sedHionios."

(Catullus, 84.)

[43]Apart from assimilation, there is a tendency in English to substitute-mfor-n, e.g.grogramforgrogran(see p.68). In the family nameHansom, forHanson, we have dissimilation ofn(see p.57).

[44]Cf.the similar change in the family nameBanister(p.179).

[45]It may be noted here that abuccaneerwas not originally a pirate, but a man whose business was the smoking of beef in the West Indies. The name comes from a native wordboucan, adopted into French, and explained by Cotgrave as a "woodden-gridiron whereon the cannibals broile pieces of men, and other flesh."

[46]Upholstererhas become specialised in sense; cf.undertaker(of funerals), andstationer, properly a tradesman with astationor stall.Costermongerillustrates the converse process. It meant originally a dealer incostards, i.e. apples. The French costermonger has the more appropriate name ofmarchand des quatre saisons.

[47]Englishisometimes occurs as an attempt at the French and Celticu; cf.briskfrombrusque,periwig(p.69), andwhisky(p.68).

[48]Our ancestors appear to have been essentially pacific. Withfence, fordefence, we may compare Ger.schirmen, to fence, fromSchirm, screen (cf.Regenschirm, umbrella), which, passing through Italian and French, has given usskirmish,scrimmage,scaramouch(see p.142), and Shakespeareanscrimer, fencer (Hamlet, iv. 7). So also Ger.Gewehr, weapon, is cognate with Eng.weir, and means defence—"Cet animal est très méchant;Quand on l'attaque, il se défend."

"Cet animal est très méchant;Quand on l'attaque, il se défend."

[49]"Now the time has come when the English will wish to ride."

[50]Cf.also Dan.Kjöbenhavn(Copenhagen), the merchants' haven, the numerous Swedish place-names ending in-köping, e.g.Jönköping, and our ownChippings, or market-towns.

[51]The knave of clubs. The name was also given to Lord Palmerston.

Wehave all noticed the fantastic way in which ideas are linked together in our thoughts. One thing suggests another with which it is accidentally associated in memory, the second suggests a third, and, in the course even of a few seconds, we find that we have travelled from one subject to another so remote that it requires an effort to reconstruct the series of links which connects them. The same thing happens with words. A large number of words, despite great changes of sense, retain the fundamental meaning of the original, but in many cases this is quite lost. A truer image than that of the linked chain would be that of a sphere giving off in various directions a number of rays each of which may form the nucleus of a fresh sphere. Or we may say that at each link of the chain there is a possibility of another chain branching off in a direction of its own. In Cotgrave's time togarble(see p.21) and tocanvass,i.e.sift throughcanvas, meant the same thing. Yet how different is their later sense development.

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