FOOTNOTES:

BAN—BUREAU

There is a wordban, found in Old High German and Anglo-Saxon, and meaning, as far back as it can be traced, a proclamation containing a threat, hence a command or prohibition. We have it inbanish, to put under theban. The proclamation idea survives in thebannsof marriage and in Fr.arrière-ban, "a proclamation,whereby those that hold authority of the king in mesne tenure, are summoned to assemble, and serve him in his warres" (Cotgrave). This is folk-etymology for Old Fr.arban, Old High Ger.hari-ban, army summons. Slanting off from the primitive idea of proclamation is that of rule or authority. The French for outskirts isbanlieue, properly the "circuit of a league, or thereabouts" (Cotgrave) over which the local authority extended. All public institutions within such a radius were associated withban, e.g.,un four,un moulin à ban, "a comon oven or mill whereat all men may, and every tenant and vassall must, bake, and grind" (Cotgrave). The French adjectivebanal, used in this connection, gradually developed from the meaning of "common" that of "common-place," in which sense it is now familiar in English.[52]

Bureau, a desk, was borrowed from French in the 17th century. In modern French it means not only the desk, but also the office itself and the authority exercised by the office. Hence our familiarbureaucracy, likely to become increasingly familiar. The desk was so called because covered withbureau, Old Fr.burel, "a thicke course cloath, of a brown russet, or darke mingled, colour" (Cotgrave), whence Mid. Eng.borel, rustic, clownish, lit. roughly clad, which occurs as late as Spenser—

"How be I am but rude andborrel,Yet nearer ways I know."(Shepherd's Calendar, July, l. 95.)

"How be I am but rude andborrel,Yet nearer ways I know."

(Shepherd's Calendar, July, l. 95.)

With this we may compare the metaphorical use ofhome-spun—

"What hempenhome-spunshave we swaggering here,So near the cradle of the fairy queen?"(Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 1.)

"What hempenhome-spunshave we swaggering here,So near the cradle of the fairy queen?"

(Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 1.)

The source of Old Fr.burelis perhaps Lat.burrus, fiery, from Gk.πῦρ, fire.

Romancewas originally an adverb. To write in the vulgar tongue, instead of in classical Latin, was calledromanice scribere, Old Fr.romanz escrire. Whenromanzbecame felt as a noun, it developed a "singular"romanorromant, the latter of which gave the archaic Eng.romaunt. The most famous of Old French romances are the epic poems calledChansons de geste, songs of exploits,gestecoming from the Lat.gesta, deeds. Eng.gestorjestis common in the 16th and 17th centuries in the sense of act, deed, andjest-book meant a story-book. As the favourite story-books were merry tales, the word gradually acquired its present meaning.

A part of our Anglo-Saxon church vocabulary was supplanted by Latin or French words. Thus Anglo-Sax.ge-bed, prayer, was gradually expelled by Old Fr.preiere(prière), Lat.precaria. It has survived inbeadsman—

"Thebeadsman, after thousand aves told,For aye unsought-for slept among his ashes cold."(Keats,Eve of St Agnes.)

"Thebeadsman, after thousand aves told,For aye unsought-for slept among his ashes cold."

(Keats,Eve of St Agnes.)

beadroll, andbead, now applied only to the humble device employed in counting prayers.

Not only the Romance languages, but also German and Dutch, adopted, with the Roman character, Lat.scribere, to write. English, on the contrary, preserved the native towrite,i.e.to scratch (runes), giving toscribereonly a limited sense, toshrive. The curious change of meaning was perhaps due to the fact that the priestly absolution was felt as having the validity of a "written" law or enactment.

PUDDING—STICKLER

The meaning which we generally give topuddingis comparatively modern. The older sense appears inblack pudding, a sausage made of pig's blood. Thisis also the meaning of Fr.boudin, whencepuddingcomes. A still older meaning of both words is intestine, a sense still common in dialect. The derivation of the word is obscure, but it is probably related to Fr.bouder, to pout, whenceboudoir, lit. a sulking-room.

Ahearse, now the vehicle in which a coffin is carried, is used by Shakespeare for a coffin or tomb. Its earlier meaning is a framework to support candles, usually put round the coffin at a funeral. This framework was so named from some resemblance to a harrow,[53]Fr.herse, Lat.hirpex,hirpic-, a rake.

Treacleis a stock example of great change of meaning. It is used in Coverdale's Bible (1535) for the "balmin Gilead" of theAuthorised Version—

"There is no moretriacleat Galaad."[54](Jeremiah, vii. 22.)

"There is no moretriacleat Galaad."[54]

(Jeremiah, vii. 22.)

Old Fr.triacleis from Greco-Lat.theriaca, a remedy against poison or snake-bite (θήρ, a wild beast). In Mid. English and later it was used of a sovereign remedy. It has, likesirup(p.146), acquired its present meaningviathe apothecary's shop.

Astickleris now a man who is fussy about small points of etiquette or procedure. In Shakespeare he is one who parts combatants—

"The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth,And,stickler-like, the armies separates."(Troilus and Cressida, v. 8.)

"The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth,And,stickler-like, the armies separates."

(Troilus and Cressida, v. 8.)

An earlier sense is that of seeing fair-play. The word has been popularly associated with thestick, or staff, used by the umpires in duels, and Torriano givesstickleras one of the meanings ofbastoniere, a verger or mace-bearer. But it probably comes from Mid. Eng.stightlen, to arrange, keep order (see p.172,n.2).

Infantrycomes, through French, from Italian. It means a collection of "infants" or juniors, so called by contrast with the proved veterans who composed the cavalry.

Thepasternof a horse, defined by Dr Johnson as the knee, from "ignorance, madam, pure ignorance," still means in Cotgrave and Florio "shackle." Florio even recognises a verb topastern, e.g.,pastoiare, "to fetter, to clog, to shackle, topastern, to give (gyve)." It comes from Old Fr.pasturon(paturon), a derivative ofpasture, such shackles being used to prevent grazing horses from straying.Pester(p.167) is connected with it. The modern Fr.paturonhas changed its meaning in the same way.

Torummagemeans in the Elizabethan navigators to stow goods in a hold. A rummager was what we call astevedore.[55]Rummageis Old Fr.arrumage(arrimage), fromarrumer, to stow, the middle syllable of which is probably cognate with Englishroom; cf.arranger, to put in "rank."

The Christmaswaitswere originally watchmen, Anglo-Fr.waite, Old Fr.gaite, from the Old High German form of modern Ger.Wacht, watch. Modern French still has the verbguetter, to lie in wait for, andguet, the watch.Minstrelcomes from an Old French derivative of Lat.minister, servant. Modern Fr.ménétrieris only used of a country fiddler who attends village weddings.

Thelumber-room is supposed to be forLombardroom,i.e., the room in which pawnbrokers used to storepledged property. The Lombards introduced into this country the three balls, said to be taken from the arms of the Medici family.

LIVERY—FAIRY

Liveryis correctly explained by the poet Spenser—

"Whatliveryis, we by common use in England know well enough, namely, that it is allowance of horse-meat, as they commonly use the word in stabling; as, to keep horses atlivery; the which word, I guess, is derived ofliveringordeliveringforth their nightly food. So in great houses, theliveryis said to be served up for all night, that is, their evening allowance for drink; andliveryis also called the upper weed (see p.2) which a serving-man wears; so called, as I suppose, for that it wasdeliveredand taken from him at pleasure."(View of the State of Ireland.)

"Whatliveryis, we by common use in England know well enough, namely, that it is allowance of horse-meat, as they commonly use the word in stabling; as, to keep horses atlivery; the which word, I guess, is derived ofliveringordeliveringforth their nightly food. So in great houses, theliveryis said to be served up for all night, that is, their evening allowance for drink; andliveryis also called the upper weed (see p.2) which a serving-man wears; so called, as I suppose, for that it wasdeliveredand taken from him at pleasure."

(View of the State of Ireland.)

This passage explains alsoliverystable.[56]Our word comes from Fr.livrée, the feminine past participle oflivrer, from Lat.liberare, to deliver.

Pedigreewas in Mid. Englishpedegrew,petigrew, etc. It represents Old Fr.pie (pied) de grue, crane's foot, from the shape of a sign used in showing lines of descent in genealogical charts. The older form survives in the family namePettigrew. Here it is a nickname, likePettifer(pied de fer), iron-foot; cf.Sheepshanks.

Fairyis a collective, Fr.féerie, its modern use being perhaps due to its occurrence in such phrases asFaerie Queen,i.e., Queen of Fairyland. Cf.paynim, used by some poets forpagan, but really a doublet ofpaganism, occurring inpaynim host,paynim knight, etc. The correct name for the individualfairyisfay, Fr.fée, Vulgar Lat.*fata, connected withfatum, fate. This appears in Ital.fata, "a fairie, a witch, an enchantres, an elfe" (Florio). Thefata morgana, the mirage sometimesseen in the Strait of Messina, is attributed to the fairy Morgana of Tasso, the Morgan le Fay of our own Arthurian legends.

Many people must have wondered at some time why theclubsandspadeson cards are so called. The latter figure, it is true, bears some resemblance to a spade, but no giant of fiction is depicted with a club with a triple head. The explanation is that we have adopted the French pattern,carreau(see p.161), diamond,cœur, heart,pique, pike, spear-head,trèfle, trefoil, clover-leaf, but have given to the two latter the names used in the Italian and Spanish pattern, which, instead of the pike and trefoil, has the sword (Ital.spada) and mace (Ital.bastone). Etymologically bothspadesare identical, the origin being Greco-Lat.spatha, the name of a number of blade-shaped objects;cf.the diminutivespatula.

Wafer, in both its senses, is related to Ger.Wabe, honeycomb. We find Anglo-Fr.wafrein the sense of a thin cake, perhaps stamped with a honeycomb pattern. The cognate Fr.gaufreis the name of a similar cake, which not only has the honeycomb pattern, but is also largely composed of honey. Hence our verb togoffer, to give a cellular appearance to a frill.

MEANINGS OF ADJECTIVES

The meanings of adjectives are especially subject to change.Quaintnow conveys the idea of what is unusual, and, as early as the 17th century, we find it explained as "strange, unknown." This is the exact opposite of its original meaning, Old Fr.cointe, Lat.cognitus; cf.acquaint, Old Fr.acointier, to make known. It is possible to trace roughly the process by which this remarkablevolte-facehas been brought about. The intermediate sense of trim or pretty is common in Shakespeare—

"For a fine,quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten on't."(Much Ado, iii. 4.)

"For a fine,quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten on't."

(Much Ado, iii. 4.)

We applyrestiveto a horse that will not stand still. It means properly a horse that will not do anything else. Fr.rétif, Old Fr.restif, fromrester, to remain, Lat.re-stare, has kept more of the original sense of stubbornness. Scot.reest,reist, means to stand stock-still—

"Certain it was that Shagramreisted, and I ken Martin thinks he saw something."(Monastery, Ch. 4.)

"Certain it was that Shagramreisted, and I ken Martin thinks he saw something."

(Monastery, Ch. 4.)

Dryden even usesrestivein the sense of sluggish—

"So James the drowsy genius wakesOf Britain, long entranced in charms,Restive, and slumbering on its arms."(Threnodia Augustalis.)

"So James the drowsy genius wakesOf Britain, long entranced in charms,Restive, and slumbering on its arms."

(Threnodia Augustalis.)

Reasty, used of meat that has "stood" too long, is the same word (cf.testy, Old Fr.testif, heady), andrustybacon is probably folk-etymology forreastybacon—

"And then came haltyng Jone,And brought a gamboneOf bakon that wasreasty."(Skelton,Elynour Rummyng.)

"And then came haltyng Jone,And brought a gamboneOf bakon that wasreasty."

(Skelton,Elynour Rummyng.)

Sterlinghas an obscure history. It is from Old Fr.esterlin, a coin which etymologists of an earlier age connected with theEasterlings, or Hanse merchants, who formed one of the great mercantile communities of the Middle Ages; and perhaps some such association is responsible for the meaning thatsterlinghas acquired; but chronology shows this traditional etymology to be impossible. We findunus sterlingusin a medieval Latin document of 1184, and the Old Fr.esterlinoccurs in Wace'sRoman de Rou(Romaunt of Rollo the Sea King), which was written before 1175. Hence it is conjectured that the original coin was named from thestarwhich appears on some Norman pennies.

When Horatio says—

"It is a nipping and aneagerair."(Hamlet, i. 4.)

"It is a nipping and aneagerair."

(Hamlet, i. 4.)

we are reminded thateageris identical with the second part of vin-egar, Fr.aigre, sour, Lat.acer, keen. It seems hardly possible to explain the modern sense ofnice, which in the course of its history has traversed nearly the whole diatonic scale between "rotten" and "ripping." In Mid. English and Old French it means foolish. Cotgrave explains it by "lither, lazie, sloathful, idle; faint, slack; dull, simple," and Shakespeare uses it in a great variety of meanings. It is supposed to come from Lat.nescius, ignorant. The transition fromfond, foolish, which survives in "fondhopes," tofond, loving, is easy. Frenchfouis used in exactly the same way.Cf.also todoteon,i.e., to be foolish about.Punyis Fr.puîné, frompuis né, later born, junior, whence thepuisnejustices. Milton uses it of a minor—

"He must appear in print like apunywith his guardian."(Areopagitica.)

"He must appear in print like apunywith his guardian."

(Areopagitica.)

Petty, Fr.petit, was similarly used for a small boy.

In some cases a complimentary adjective loses its true meaning and takes on a contemptuous or ironic sense. None of us care to be calledbland, and to describe a man asworthyis to apologise for his existence. We may compare Fr.bonhomme, which now means generally an old fool, andbonne femme, good-wife, goody.Dapper, the Dutch for brave (cf.Ger.tapfer), andpert, Mid. Eng.apert, representing in meaning Lat.expertus, have changed much since Milton wrote of—

"Thepertfairies and thedapperelves."(Comus, l. 118.)

"Thepertfairies and thedapperelves."

(Comus, l. 118.)

Pertseems in fact to have acquired the meaning of its oppositemalapert, though the older sense of brisk, sprightly, survives in dialect—

"He looks spry andpeartfor once."(Phillpotts,American Prisoner, Ch. 3.)

"He looks spry andpeartfor once."

(Phillpotts,American Prisoner, Ch. 3.)

Smug, cognate with Ger.schmuck, trim, elegant, beautiful, has its original sense in Shakespeare—

"And here thesmugand silver Trent shall runIn a new channel, fair and evenly."(1Henry IV., iii. 1.)

"And here thesmugand silver Trent shall runIn a new channel, fair and evenly."

(1Henry IV., iii. 1.)

The degeneration of an adjective is sometimes due to its employment for euphemistic purposes. The favourite substitute forfatisstout, properly strong,[57]dauntless, etc., cognate with Ger.stolz, proud. Precisely the same euphemism appears in French, e.g., "une dame un peuforte."Uglyis replaced in English byplain, and in American byhomely—

"She is not so handsome as these, maybe, but herhomelinessis not actually alarming."(Max Adeler,Mr Skinner's Night in the Underworld.)

"She is not so handsome as these, maybe, but herhomelinessis not actually alarming."

(Max Adeler,Mr Skinner's Night in the Underworld.)

In the case of this word, as in many others, the American use preserves a meaning which was once common in English. Kersey'sDictionary(1720) explainshomelyas "ugly, disagreeable, course (coarse), mean."

INFLUENCE OF ASSOCIATION

Change of meaning may be brought about by association. Aminiatureis a small portrait, and we even use the word as an adjective meaning small, on a reduced scale. But the true sense ofminiatureis something painted inminium, red lead. Florio explainsminiaturaas "a limning (see p.63), a painting with vermilion." Such paintings were usually small, hence the later meaning. The word was first applied to the ornamental red initial capitals in manuscripts.Vignettestill means technically in French an interlaced vine-patternon a frontispiece.[58]Cotgrave hasvignettes, "vignets; branches, or branch-like borders, or flourishes in painting, or ingravery."

The degeneration in the meaning of a noun may be partly due to frequent association with disparaging adjectives. Thushussy,i.e.housewife,quean,[59]woman,wench, child, have absorbed such adjectives as impudent, idle, light, saucy, etc. Shakespeare usesqueanonly three times, and these three include "cozeningquean" (Merry Wives, iv. 2) and "scoldingquean" (All's Well, ii. 2). Withwench, still used without any disparaging sense by country folk, we may compare Fr.garce, lass, and Ger.Dirne, maid-servant, both of which are now insulting epithets, but, in the older language, could be applied to Joan of Arc and the Virgin Mary respectively.Garcewas replaced byfille, which has acquired in its turn a meaning so offensive that it has now given way tojeune fille.Minx, earlierminkes, is probably the Low Ger.minsk, Ger.Mensch, lit. human, but used also in the sense of "wench." For the consonantal change cf.hunks, Dan.hundsk, stingy, lit. doggish. These examples show that the indignant "Who are you calling awoman?" is, philologically, in all likelihood a case of intelligent anticipation.

BUXOM—PLUCK

Adjectives are affected in their turn by being regularly coupled with certain nouns. Abuxomhelp-mate was once obedient, the word being cognate with Ger.biegsam, flexible, yielding—

"The place where thou and DeathShall dwell at ease, and up and down unseenWing silently thebuxomair."(Paradise Lost, ii. 840.)

"The place where thou and DeathShall dwell at ease, and up and down unseenWing silently thebuxomair."

(Paradise Lost, ii. 840.)

An obedient nature is "buxom, blithe and debonair," qualities which affect the physique and result in heartiness of aspect and a comely plumpness. Anarchdamsel is etymologically akin to anarchbishop, both descending from the Greek prefixἀρχι, fromἀρχή, a beginning, first cause. Shakespeare usesarchas a noun—

"The noble duke my master,My worthyarchand patron comes to-night."(Lear, ii. 1.)

"The noble duke my master,My worthyarchand patron comes to-night."

(Lear, ii. 1.)

Occurring chiefly in such phrases asarchenemy,archheretic,archhypocrite,archrogue, it acquired a depreciatory sense, which has now become so weakened thatarchnessis not altogether an unpleasing attribute. We may compare the cognate German prefixErz. Ludwig has, as successive entries,Ertz-dieb, "an arch-thief, an arrant thief," andErtz-engel, "an arch-angel." The meaning ofarrantis almost entirely due to association with "thief." It means lit. wandering, vagabond, so that thearrantthief is nearly related to the knighterrant, and to the Justices ineyre, Old Fr.eire, Lat.iter, a way, journey. Fr.errer, to wander, stray, is compounded of Vulgar Lat.iterare, to journey, and Lat.errare, to stray, and it would be difficult to calculate how much of each enters into the composition ofle Juif errant.

As I have suggested above, association accounts to some extent for changes of meaning, but the process is in reality more complex, and usually a number of factors are working together or in opposition to each other. A low word may gradually acquire right of citizenship. "That article blackguardly calledpluck" (Scott) is now much respected. It is the same word aspluck, the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal—

"During the Crimean war,plucky, signifying courageous, seemed likely to become a favourite term in Mayfair, even among the ladies."(Hotten'sSlang Dictionary, 1864.)

"During the Crimean war,plucky, signifying courageous, seemed likely to become a favourite term in Mayfair, even among the ladies."

(Hotten'sSlang Dictionary, 1864.)

Having become respectable, it is now replaced in sporting circles by the more emphaticguts, which reproduces the original metaphor. A word may die out in its general sense, surviving only in some special meaning. Thus the poeticsward, scarcely used except with "green," meant originally the skin or crust of anything. It is cognate with Ger.Schwarte, "thesward, or rind, of a thing" (Ludwig), which now means especially bacon-rind. Related words may meet with very different fates in kindred languages. Eng.knightis cognate with Ger.Knecht, servant, which had, in Mid. High German, a wide range of meanings, including "warrior, hero." There is no more complimentary epithet thanknightly, while Ger.knechtischmeans servile. The degeneration of words likeboor,[60]churl, farmer, is a familiar phenomenon (cf.villain, p.150). The same thing has happened toblackguard, the modern meaning of which bears hardly on a humble but useful class. The nameblack guardwas given collectively to the kitchen detachment of a great man's retinue. Thescavengerhas also come down in the world, rather an unusual phenomenon in the case of official titles. The medievalscavager[61]was an important official who seems to have been originally a kind of inspector of customs. He was called in Anglo-Frenchscawageour, from the nounscawage, showing. The Old French dialect verbescauweris of Germanic origin and cognate with Eng.showand Ger.schauen, to look. Thecheater, now usuallycheat, probably deserved his fate. Theescheatorslooked afterescheats,i.e., estates or property that lapsed and were forfeited. The origin ofthe word is Old Fr.escheoir(échoir), to fall due, Vulgar Lat.ex *cadēreforcadĕre. Their reputation was unsavoury, andcheathas already its present meaning in Shakespeare. He also plays on the double meaning—

"I will becheaterto them both, and they shall be exchequers to me."(Merry Wives, i. 3.)

"I will becheaterto them both, and they shall be exchequers to me."

(Merry Wives, i. 3.)

CHEAT—BELCHER

Beldamimplies "hag" as early as Shakespeare, but he also uses it in its proper sense of "grandmother,"e.g., Hotspur refers to "oldbeldamearth" and "ourgrandamearth" in the same speech (1Henry IV., iii. 1), and Milton speaks of "beldamnature"—

"Then sing of secret things that came to passWhenBeldamNature in her cradle was."(Vacation Exercise, l. 46.)

"Then sing of secret things that came to passWhenBeldamNature in her cradle was."

(Vacation Exercise, l. 46.)

It is of course frombelle-dame, used in Mid. English for grandmother, asbelsirewas for grandfather. Hence it is a doublet ofbelladonna. The masculinebelsiresurvives as a family name,Belcher[62]; and to Jim Belcher, most gentlemanly of prize-fighters, we owe thebelcherhandkerchief, which had large white spots with a dark blue dot in the centre of each on a medium blue ground. It was also known to the "fancy" as a "bird's-eye wipe."

FOOTNOTES:[52]Archaic Eng.bannalalready existed in the technical sense.[53]This is the usual explanation. But Fr.hersealso acquired the meaning "portcullis," the pointed bars of which were naturally likened to the blades of a harrow; and it seems possible that it is to this later sense that we owe the older English meaning ofhearse(see p.154).[54]"Numquidresinanon est in Galaad?" (Vulgate.)[55]A Spanish word, Lat.stipator, "one that stoppeth chinkes" (Cooper). It came to England in connection with the wool trade.[56]In "livery and bait" there is pleonasm.Bait, connected withbite, is the same word as in bear-baitingand fishermen'sbait. We have it also,viaOld French, inabet, whence the apheticbet, originally to egg on.[57]Hence the use ofstoutfor a "strong" beer.Porterwas once the favourite tap ofporters, and a mixture of stout and ale, now known ascooper, was especially relished by the brewerycooper.[58]Folk-etymology forfrontispice, Lat.frontispicium, front view.[59]Related to, but not identical with,queen.[60]The older meaning ofboorsurvives in the compoundneighbour, i.e.,nigh boor, the farmer near at hand. Du.boeris of course the same word.[61]English regularly insertsnin words thus formed; cf.harbinger,messenger,passenger,pottinger,etc.[62]Other forms of the same name areBowserandBewsher. The formBelcheris Picard—"On assomma la pauvre bête.Un manant lui coupa le pied droit et la tête.Le seigneur du village à sa porte les mit;Et ce dicton picard à l'entour fut écrit:'Biaux chiresleups, n'écoutez mieMère tenchent (grondant) chen fieux (son fils) qui crie.'"(La Fontaine,Fables, iv. 16.)

[52]Archaic Eng.bannalalready existed in the technical sense.

[52]Archaic Eng.bannalalready existed in the technical sense.

[53]This is the usual explanation. But Fr.hersealso acquired the meaning "portcullis," the pointed bars of which were naturally likened to the blades of a harrow; and it seems possible that it is to this later sense that we owe the older English meaning ofhearse(see p.154).

[53]This is the usual explanation. But Fr.hersealso acquired the meaning "portcullis," the pointed bars of which were naturally likened to the blades of a harrow; and it seems possible that it is to this later sense that we owe the older English meaning ofhearse(see p.154).

[54]"Numquidresinanon est in Galaad?" (Vulgate.)

[54]"Numquidresinanon est in Galaad?" (Vulgate.)

[55]A Spanish word, Lat.stipator, "one that stoppeth chinkes" (Cooper). It came to England in connection with the wool trade.

[55]A Spanish word, Lat.stipator, "one that stoppeth chinkes" (Cooper). It came to England in connection with the wool trade.

[56]In "livery and bait" there is pleonasm.Bait, connected withbite, is the same word as in bear-baitingand fishermen'sbait. We have it also,viaOld French, inabet, whence the apheticbet, originally to egg on.

[56]In "livery and bait" there is pleonasm.Bait, connected withbite, is the same word as in bear-baitingand fishermen'sbait. We have it also,viaOld French, inabet, whence the apheticbet, originally to egg on.

[57]Hence the use ofstoutfor a "strong" beer.Porterwas once the favourite tap ofporters, and a mixture of stout and ale, now known ascooper, was especially relished by the brewerycooper.

[57]Hence the use ofstoutfor a "strong" beer.Porterwas once the favourite tap ofporters, and a mixture of stout and ale, now known ascooper, was especially relished by the brewerycooper.

[58]Folk-etymology forfrontispice, Lat.frontispicium, front view.

[58]Folk-etymology forfrontispice, Lat.frontispicium, front view.

[59]Related to, but not identical with,queen.

[59]Related to, but not identical with,queen.

[60]The older meaning ofboorsurvives in the compoundneighbour, i.e.,nigh boor, the farmer near at hand. Du.boeris of course the same word.

[60]The older meaning ofboorsurvives in the compoundneighbour, i.e.,nigh boor, the farmer near at hand. Du.boeris of course the same word.

[61]English regularly insertsnin words thus formed; cf.harbinger,messenger,passenger,pottinger,etc.

[61]English regularly insertsnin words thus formed; cf.harbinger,messenger,passenger,pottinger,etc.

[62]Other forms of the same name areBowserandBewsher. The formBelcheris Picard—"On assomma la pauvre bête.Un manant lui coupa le pied droit et la tête.Le seigneur du village à sa porte les mit;Et ce dicton picard à l'entour fut écrit:'Biaux chiresleups, n'écoutez mieMère tenchent (grondant) chen fieux (son fils) qui crie.'"(La Fontaine,Fables, iv. 16.)

[62]Other forms of the same name areBowserandBewsher. The formBelcheris Picard—

"On assomma la pauvre bête.Un manant lui coupa le pied droit et la tête.Le seigneur du village à sa porte les mit;Et ce dicton picard à l'entour fut écrit:'Biaux chiresleups, n'écoutez mieMère tenchent (grondant) chen fieux (son fils) qui crie.'"(La Fontaine,Fables, iv. 16.)

"On assomma la pauvre bête.Un manant lui coupa le pied droit et la tête.Le seigneur du village à sa porte les mit;Et ce dicton picard à l'entour fut écrit:'Biaux chiresleups, n'écoutez mieMère tenchent (grondant) chen fieux (son fils) qui crie.'"

(La Fontaine,Fables, iv. 16.)

Theconvenient name semantics has been applied of late to the science of meanings, as distinguished from phonetics, the science of sound. The comparative study of languages enables us to observe and codify the general laws which govern sense development, and to understand why meanings become extended or restricted. One phenomenon which seems to occur normally in language results from what we may call the simplicity of the olden times. Thus the whole vocabulary which is etymologically related towritingandbookshas developed from an old Germanic verb that means toscratchand the Germanic name for thebeech. Our earliest books were wooden tablets on which inscriptions were scratched. The wordbookitself comes from Anglo-Sax.bōc, beech;cf.Ger.Buchstabe, letter, lit. beech-stave. Lat.liber, book, whence a large family of words in the Romance languages, means the inner bark of a tree, andbibleis ultimately from Greekβύβλος, the inner rind of thepapyrus, the Egyptian rush from whichpaperwas made.[63]

The earliest measurements were calculated from the human body. All European languages use thefoot, andwe still measure horses byhands, whilespansurvives in table-books.Cubitis Latin forelbow, the first part of which is the same asell, cognate with Lat.ulna, also used in both senses. Fr.brasse, fathom, is Lat.brachia, the two arms, andpouce, thumb, means inch. A further set of measures are represented by simple devices: ayard[64]is a small "stick," and therod,pole, orperch(cf.perchfor birds, Fr.perche, pole) which gives charm to our arithmetic is a larger one. Afurlongis afurrow-long. For weights common objects were used,e.g., agrain, or ascruple, Lat.scrupulus, "a little sharpe stone falling sometime into a man's shooe" (Cooper), for very small things, astonefor heavier goods. Gk.δραχμά, whence ourdram, means a handful. Our decimal system is due to our possession of tendigits, or fingers, andcalculationcomes from Lat.calculus, a pebble.

FINANCIAL TERMS

A modern Chancellor of the Exchequer, considering his budget, is not so near the reality of things as his medieval predecessor, who literally sat in his counting-house, counting up his money. For theexchequer, named from the Old Fr.eschequier(échiquier), chess-board, was once the board marked out in squares on which the treasurer reckoned up with counters the king's taxes. This Old Fr.eschequier, which has also givenchequer, is a derivative of Old Fr.eschec(échec), check. Thus "checktrousers" and a "chequeredcareer" are both directly related to an eastern potentate (seechess, p.120.). Thechancellorhimself was originally a kind of door-keeper in charge of achancel, a latticed barrier which we now know in church architecture only.Chancelis derived, through Fr.chancelorcancel, from Lat.cancellus, a cross-bar, occurring more usually in the plural in the sense of lattice, grating. We stillcancela document by drawing such a pattern on it. In Germancancellushas givenKanzel, pulpit. Thebudget, now a document in which millions are mere items, was the chancellor's little bag or purse—

"If tinkers may have leave to live,And bear the sow-skinbudget,Then my account I well may give,And in the stocks avouch it."(Winter's Tale, iv. 2.)

"If tinkers may have leave to live,And bear the sow-skinbudget,Then my account I well may give,And in the stocks avouch it."

(Winter's Tale, iv. 2.)

Fr.bougette, from which it is borrowed, is a diminutive ofbouge, a leathern bag, which comes from Lat.bulga, "a male orbougetof leather; a purse; a bagge" (Cooper). Modern French has borrowed back ourbudget, together with several other words dealing with business and finance.

Among the most important servants of the exchequer were thecontrollers. We now call them officiallycomptroller, through a mistaken association with Fr.compte, account. The controller had charge of thecounter-rolls(cf.counterfoil), from Old Fr.contre-rolle, "the copy of a role (of accounts, etc.), a paralell of the same quality and content, with the originall" (Cotgrave). In Frenchcontrôlehas preserved the sense of supervision or verification which it has lost in ordinary English.

A very ancient functionary of the exchequer, the tally-cutter, was abolished in the reign of George III.Tallies(Fr.tailler, to cut) were sticks "scored" across in such a way that the notches could be compared forpurposes of verification. Jack Cade preferred those good old ways—

"Our fore-fathers had no other books but thescoreand thetally; thou hast caused books to be used."(2Henry VI., iv. 7.)

"Our fore-fathers had no other books but thescoreand thetally; thou hast caused books to be used."

(2Henry VI., iv. 7.)

This rudimentary method of calculation was still in use in the Kentish hop-gardens within fairly recent times; and some of us can remember very old gentlemen asking us, after a cricket match, how many "notches" we had "scored"—

"Thescorerswere prepared tonotchthe runs."(Pickwick, Ch. 7.)

"Thescorerswere prepared tonotchthe runs."

(Pickwick, Ch. 7.)

This use ofscore, for a reckoning in general, or for twenty, occurs in Anglo-Saxon, but the word is Scandinavian. The wordsscoreandtally, originally of identical meaning, were soon differentiated, a common phenomenon in such cases. For the exchequertallywas substituted an "indented cheque receipt." Anindenture, chiefly familiar to us in connection with apprenticeship, was a duplicate document of which the "indented" or toothed edges had to correspond like the notches of the score or tally.Cheque, earliercheck, is identical withcheck, rebuff. The metaphor is from the game of chess (see p.120), tochecka man's accounts involving a sort of control, or pulling up short, if necessary. Achequeis a method of payment which makes "checking" easy. The modern spelling is due to popular association withexchequer, which is etymologically right, though the words have reached their modern functions by very different paths.

OFFICIAL TITLES

The development of the meaning ofchancellorcan be paralleled in the case of many other functionaries, once humble but now important. The titles of two great medieval officers, theconstableand themarshal, meanthe same thing.Constable, Old Fr.conestable(connétable), is Lat.comes stabuli, stable fellow.Marshal, the first element of which is cognate withmare, while the second corresponds to modern Ger.Schalk, rascal, expresses the same idea in German. Bothconstableandmarshalare now used of very high positions, but Policeman X. and thefarrier-marshal, or shoeing-smith, of a troop of cavalry, remind them of the base degrees by which they did ascend. TheMarshalseawhere Little Dorrit lived is formarshalsy, marshals' office, etc. Thesteward, orsty-ward, looked after his master's pigs. He rose in importance until, by the marriage of Marjorie Bruce to Walter theStewartof Scotland, he founded the most picturesque of royal houses. Thechamberlain, as his name suggests, attended to the royal comforts long before he became a judge of wholesome literature.

All these names now stand for a great number of functions of varying importance. Other titles which are equally vague aresergeant(see p.148) andusher, Old Fr.uissier[65](huissier), lit. door-keeper, Lat.ostiarius, a porter. Another official was theharbinger, who survives only in poetry. He was a forerunner, or vauntcourier, who preceded the great man to secure him "harbourage" for the night, and his name comes from Old Fr.herberger(héberger), to shelter (see p.164). As late as the reign of Charles II. we read that—

"On the removal of the court to pass the summer at Winchester, Bishop Ken's house, which he held in the right of his prebend, was marked by theharbingerfor the use of Mrs Eleanor Gwyn; but he refused to grant her admittance, and she was forced to seek for lodgings in another place."(Hawkins,Life of Bishop Ken.)

"On the removal of the court to pass the summer at Winchester, Bishop Ken's house, which he held in the right of his prebend, was marked by theharbingerfor the use of Mrs Eleanor Gwyn; but he refused to grant her admittance, and she was forced to seek for lodgings in another place."

(Hawkins,Life of Bishop Ken.)

PARALLEL METAPHORS

One of the most interesting branches of semantics, and the most useful to the etymologist, deals with the study of parallel metaphors in different languages. We have seen (p.29) how, for instance, the names of flowers show that the same likeness has been observed by various races. The spice calledcloveand theclove-pink both belong to Lat.clavus, a nail. The German for pink isNelke, a Low German diminutive,nail-kin, ofNagel, nail. The spice, orGewürznelke, is called in South GermanyNägele, little nail. Acloveof garlic is quite a separate word; but, as it has some interesting cognates, it may be mentioned here. It is so called because the bulbcleavesnaturally into segments.[66]The German name isKnoblauch, for Mid. High Ger.klobe-louch, clove-leek, by dissimilation of onel. The Dutch doublet iskloof, a chasm, gully, familiar in South Africa.

Fr.poison, Lat.potio,potion-, a drink, and Ger.Gift, poison, lit. gift, seem to date from treacherous times. On the other hand, Ger.Geschenk, a present, means something poured out (seenuncheon, p.124), while a tip is in Frenchpourboireand in GermanTrinkgeld, even when accepted by a lifelong abstainer. In English we "ride ahobby,"i.e., a hobby-horse, or wooden horse. German has the same metaphor, "einSteckenpferdreiten," and French says "enfourcher undada,"i.e., to bestride a gee-gee.Hobby, for Mid. Eng.hobin, a nag, was a proper name for a horse. LikeDobbinandRobin, it belongs to the numerous progeny of Robert.

In some cases the reason for a metaphor is not quite clear to the modern mind. The bloodthirsty weasel is called in Frenchbelette,[67]little beauty, in Italiandonnola, in Portuguesedoninha, little lady, in Spanishcomadreja, gossip (Fr.commère, Scot.cummer, p.94), in BavarianSchöntierlein, beautiful little animal, in Danishkjönne, beautiful, and in older Englishfairy.[68]From Lat.mediuswe getmediastinus, "a drugge (drudge) or lubber to doe all vile service in the house; a kitching slave" (Cooper). Why this drudge should have a name implying a middle position I cannot say; but to-day in the North of England a maid-of-all-work is called atweeny(between maid).

A stock semantic parallel occurs in the relation between age and respectability. All of us, as soon as we get to reasonable maturity, lay great stress on the importance of deference to "elders." It follows naturally that many titles of more or less dignity should be evolved from this idea of seniority. The Eng.aldermanis obvious.Priest, Old Fr.prestre[69](prêtre), from Gk.πρεσβύτερος, comparative ofπρέσβυς, old, is not so obvious. In the Romance languages we have a whole group of words,e.g., Fr.sire,sieur,seigneur, Ital.signor, Span.señor, with their compoundsmonsieur,messer, etc., all representing eitherseniororseniorem. Ger.Eltern, parents, is the plural comparative ofalt, old, and the first element ofseneschal(seemarshal, p.90) is cognate with Lat.senex. From Fr.sirecomes Eng.sir, and from this was formed the adjectivesirly,[70]now speltsurly, which in Shakespeare still means haughty, arrogant—

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