FOOTNOTES:

HORTICULTURE

Scionis a metaphor from the garden. It is Fr.scion, "a scion; a young and tender plant; a shoot, sprig, or twig" (Cotgrave). Ger.Sprössling, sproutling, is also used of an "offshoot" from a "stock." We have a similar metaphor in the wordimp. We nowgrafttrees, a misspelling of oldergraffe, Fr.greffe, Greco-Lat.graphium, a pencil, from the shape of the slip. But the older word wasimp, which we find also used of inserting a new feather into the wing or tail of a hawk, or fitting a small bell-rope to a larger one. The art of grafting was learnt from the Romans, who had a post-classical verbimputare,[87]to graft, which has given Eng.imp, Ger.impfen, Fr.enter, and is represented in most other European languages.Impwas used likescion, but degenerated in meaning. In Shakespeare it has already the somewhat contemptuous shade of meaning which we find in Ger.Sprössling, and is only used by comic characters. Thus Pistol addresses Prince Hal—

"The heavens thee guard and keep, most royalimpof fame."(2Henry IV., v. 5.)

"The heavens thee guard and keep, most royalimpof fame."

(2Henry IV., v. 5.)

But Thomas Cromwell, in his last letter to Henry VIII., speaks of—

"That most nobleimp, the prince's grace, your most dear son."

The special sense of "young devil" appears to be dueto the frequent occurrence of such phrases as "imps(children) of Satan," "the devil and hisimps," etc. Ger.impfenalso means to vaccinate. Our earlier terminoculate[88]originally meant to graft, and, in fact,engraftwas also used in this sense.

Zestis quite obsolete in its original meaning of a piece of orange peel used to give piquancy to wine. It is a French word of unknown origin, properly applied to the inner skin of fruit and nuts. Cotgrave explains it as "the thick skinne, or filme whereby the kernell of a wallnut is divided."

FOOTNOTES:[81]It would be interesting to trace the rise and spread of nautical metaphor in English. We have a good example of the transition from the bucolic to the nautical in the expression "To lose theshipfor a ha'porth of tar." Few people who use this metaphor know thatshipis here the dialect pronunciation ofsheep; cf.Ship Street, at Oxford (and elsewhere), forSheep Street. Tar was, and is, used as a medicine for sheep, but in this particular case the allusion seems to be rather to the marking of sheep with tar;cf."tarred with the same brush,"i.e., members of the same flock.[82]Seemettle, p.144.[83]Lat.fustis, a staff, cudgel, gave also Old Fr.fust, a kind of boat, whence obsolete Eng.foistin the same sense. Both meanings seem to go back to a time when casks and boats were "dug out" instead of being built up.[84]Related arebouche béante, orbée, mouth agape;bâiller, to yawn; andbadaud, "a gaping hoydon" (Cotgrave,badault).[85]Cf.theStickitMinister.[86]Or perhaps*alboculare, asalbus oculus, lit. white eye, is used of blindness in an early Vulgar Latin glossary.[87]Of uncertain origin. Lat.putare, to cut (cf.amputate), or Gk.ἔμφυτος, implanted?[88]Fromoculus, eye, in the sense of bud.

[81]It would be interesting to trace the rise and spread of nautical metaphor in English. We have a good example of the transition from the bucolic to the nautical in the expression "To lose theshipfor a ha'porth of tar." Few people who use this metaphor know thatshipis here the dialect pronunciation ofsheep; cf.Ship Street, at Oxford (and elsewhere), forSheep Street. Tar was, and is, used as a medicine for sheep, but in this particular case the allusion seems to be rather to the marking of sheep with tar;cf."tarred with the same brush,"i.e., members of the same flock.

[82]Seemettle, p.144.

[83]Lat.fustis, a staff, cudgel, gave also Old Fr.fust, a kind of boat, whence obsolete Eng.foistin the same sense. Both meanings seem to go back to a time when casks and boats were "dug out" instead of being built up.

[84]Related arebouche béante, orbée, mouth agape;bâiller, to yawn; andbadaud, "a gaping hoydon" (Cotgrave,badault).

[85]Cf.theStickitMinister.

[86]Or perhaps*alboculare, asalbus oculus, lit. white eye, is used of blindness in an early Vulgar Latin glossary.

[87]Of uncertain origin. Lat.putare, to cut (cf.amputate), or Gk.ἔμφυτος, implanted?

[88]Fromoculus, eye, in the sense of bud.

Thesound, spelling, and even the meaning of a word are often perverted by influences to which the collective name of folk-etymology has been given. I here use the term to include all phenomena which are due to any kind of misunderstanding of a word. A word beginning withnsometimes loses this sound through its being confused with thenof the indefinite articlean. Thusan adderandan augerare fora nadder(cf.Ger.Natter) anda nauger, Mid. Eng.navegor, properly an instrument for piercing thenaveof a wheel.Apronwas in Mid. Englishnaprun, from Old Fr.naperon, a derivative ofnappe, cloth. Theaitch-bonewas formerly thenache-bone, from Old Fr.nache, buttock, Vulgar Lat.*naticafornates.Nacheis still used by French butchers.Humble-pieis a popular perversion ofumble-pie,i.e., a pie made from theumbles, or inferior parts of the stag. Butumbleis for earliernumble, Old Fr.nomble, formed, with dissimilation, from Lat.lumbulus, diminutive oflumbus, loin; cf.niveau(p.58). Thushumble-piehas etymologically no connection with humility.Umpirerepresents Old Fr.non per(pair), not equal, theumpirebeing a third person called in when arbitrators could not agree. This appears clearly in the following extract from a medieval letter—

"And if so be that the said arbitrators may not accord before the said feast of Allhalowes, then the said parties bethe advise abovesaid are agreed to abide the award and ordinance of annoumperto be chosen be the said arbitrators."(Plumpton Correspondence, 1431.)

(Plumpton Correspondence, 1431.)

For the sense we may compare Span.tercero, "the third, a broaker, a mediator" (Percyvall).An eyasfalcon is fora neyasfalcon, Fr.niais, foolish, lit. nestling, related tonid, nest. Rosenkrantz uses it in the literal sense—

"But there is, sir, an aiery of children, littleeyases, that cry out on the top of question, and are most tyranically clapped for't."(Hamlet, ii. 2.)

"But there is, sir, an aiery of children, littleeyases, that cry out on the top of question, and are most tyranically clapped for't."

(Hamlet, ii. 2.)

Somewhat similar is the loss in French of initialainla boutiqueforl'aboutique, Greco-Lat.apotheca, andla Pouilleforl'Apouille, Apulia, or of the initiallinounce, a kind of tiger-cat, from Fr.once, earlierlonce, "theounce, a ravenous beast" (Cotgrave), taken asl'once. It is almost a doublet oflynx.

The opposite has happened in the case ofa newtforan ewtanda nick-nameforan eke-name.Eke, also, occurs in the first stanza of John Gilpin. It is cognate with Ger.auch, also, and Lat.augere, to increase.Nuncle, the customary address of a court fool to his superiors—

"How now,nuncle! Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters."(Lear, i. 4.)

"How now,nuncle! Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters."

(Lear, i. 4.)

is formine uncle. We also findnaunt.Nonceoccurs properly only in the phrasefor the nonce, which is for earlierfor then ones, wherethenis the dative of the definite article. Family names likeNash,Nokesare aphetic foratten ash, at the ash,atten oakes, at the oaks. The creation of such forms was perhaps helped by our tendency to use initialnin Christian names, e.g.,NedforEdward,NollforOliver,NellforEllen.

AGGLUTINATION OF THE ARTICLE

Agglutination of the definite article is common in French, e.g.,lingot, ingot,lierre, ivy, forl'ierre, Lat.hedera, and the dialectlévier, sink, forévier, Lat.aquarium, whence Eng.ewer. The derivation of Fr.landier, andiron, is unknown, but theironof the English word is due to folk-etymology. Such agglutination occurs often in family names such asLanglois, lit. the Englishman,Lhuissier, the usher (see p.90), and some of these have passed into English, e.g.,Levickforl'évêque, the bishop.

The two wordsalarmandalertinclude the Italian definite article. The first is Ital.all'arme, to arms, fora le arme, and the second isall'ertaforalla (a la) erta, the last word representing Lat.erecta. With rolledr,alarmbecomesalarum, whence the apheticlarum—

"Then we shall hear theirlarum, and they ours."(Coriolanus, i. 4.)

"Then we shall hear theirlarum, and they ours."

(Coriolanus, i. 4.)

Ger.Lärm, noise, is the same word. In Luther's time we also findAllerm.

We have the Arabic definite article in a great many words borrowed from Spanish.Alcalde, oralcade, andalguazil, common in Elizabethan literature, are two old friends from theArabian Nights, thecadiand thewazir, orvizier. The Arabic article also occurs inacton, Old Fr.auqueton, nowhoqueton, foral qutn(cotton), because originally used of a wadded coat—

"But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail,Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail;Through shield, and jack, andactonpast,Deep in his bosom broke at last."(Scott,Lay, iii. 6.)

"But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail,Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail;Through shield, and jack, andactonpast,Deep in his bosom broke at last."

(Scott,Lay, iii. 6.)

Inalligator, Span.el lagarto, the lizard, from Lat.lacertus, we have the Spanish definite article. See alsolariat, p.24.

A foreign word ending in a sibilant is sometimes mistaken for a plural. Thus Old Fr.assets(assez), enough, Lat.ad satis, has given Eng.assets, plural, with a barbarous, but useful, singularasset.Cherryis forcheris, from a dialect form of Fr.cerise, andsherryforsherris, fromXeresin Spain (see p.51). Falstaff opines that—

"A goodsherris-sack[89]hath a twofold operation in it."(2Henry IV., iv. 3.)

"A goodsherris-sack[89]hath a twofold operation in it."

(2Henry IV., iv. 3.)

Peais a false singular from olderpease, Lat.pisum. Perhaps the frequent occurrence ofpease-soup, not to be distinguished frompea-soup, is partly responsible for this mistake.Marquee, a large tent, is from Fr.marquise. With this we may class the heathenChineeand thePortugee. Milton wrote correctly of—

"The barren plainsOf Sericana, whereChinesesdriveWith sails and wind their cany waggons light."(Paradise Lost, iii. 438.)

"The barren plainsOf Sericana, whereChinesesdriveWith sails and wind their cany waggons light."

(Paradise Lost, iii. 438.)

It has been ingeniously suggested thatYankeehas been derived in the same way from Du.Jan Kees, John Cornelius, supposed to have been a nickname for early Dutch colonists. It is more probably the Dutch dim.Janke, i.e. Johnny. The vulgarismshayforchaise[90]is of similar formation.Corp, forcorpse, is also used provincially.Kickshawsis really a singular from Fr.quelque chose—

"Art thou good at thesekickshawses, knight?"(Twelfth Night, i. 3.)

"Art thou good at thesekickshawses, knight?"

(Twelfth Night, i. 3.)

Cotgrave spells itquelkchoses(s.v.fricandeau).

FALSE SINGULARS AND DOUBLE PLURALS

Skatehas a curious history. It is a false singular from Du.schaats. This is fromescache, an Old French dialect form oféchasse, stilt, which was used in the Middle Ages for a wooden leg. It is of German origin, and is related toshank.Cf., for the sense development, Eng.patten, from Fr.patin, a derivative ofpatte, foot, cognate withpaw.Skatesare still calledpattensby the fenmen of Cambridgeshire. We also had formerly a doublet from Old Fr.escachedirectly, but in the older sense, for Cotgrave haseschasses(échasses), "stilts, orscatchesto go on."Row, a disturbance, belongs torouse, a jollification—

"The king doth wake to-night and takes hisrouse."(Hamlet, i. 4.)

"The king doth wake to-night and takes hisrouse."

(Hamlet, i. 4.)

of uncertain origin, but probably aphetic forcarouse,drink carousebeing wrongly separated asdrink a rouse. The bird called awheatearwas formerly calledwheatears, a corruption of a name best explained by its French equivalentcul blanc, "the bird called a whittaile" (Cotgrave). We may compare the bird-nameredstart, wherestartmeans rump.

Conversely a word used in the plural is sometimes regarded as a singular, the result being a double plural. Many Latin neuter plurals were adopted into French as feminine singulars, e.g.,cornua,corne, horn;labra,lèvre, lip;vela,voile, sail. It is obvious that this is most likely to occur in the case of plurals which are used for a pair, or set, of things, and thus have a kind of collective sense.Breechesorbreeksis a double plural, Anglo-Sax.brēcbeing already the plural ofbrōc. In Mid. English we still findbrecheorbrekeused of this garment.Trouserswas earliertrouses, plural oftrouse, nowtrews, and was used especially of Irish native costume. The latest researches throw doubt on theidentity of these words with Fr.trousse, a page's short breeches. The etymology which now finds most favour is Irish and Gaelictriubhas, from Late Lat.tubracciortribracci, which is supposed to be a corrupted compound fromtibia, leg, shank, andbraccæ, breeches.Bodiceis forbodies, aspenceis forpennies. Cotgrave explainscorsetby "a paire ofbodiesfor a woman," and the plural sense occurs as late as Harrison Ainsworth—

"Apair of bodiceof the cumbrous form in vogue at the beginning of the last century."(Jack Sheppard, Ch. 1.)

"Apair of bodiceof the cumbrous form in vogue at the beginning of the last century."

(Jack Sheppard, Ch. 1.)

Trace, of a horse, is the Old Fr. pluraltrais[91](traits) oftrait, "a teame-trace" (Cotgrave).Apprenticeis the plural of Fr.apprenti, formerlyapprentif, a derivative ofapprendre, to learn, hence a disciple.Invoiceis the plural of the obsoleteinvoy, from Fr.envoi, sending.

In theGrecian steps, at Lincoln, we have a popular corruption of the common Mid. Eng. and Tudorgrece,grese, plural of Old Fr.gré, step, from Lat.gradus. Shakespeare spells itgrize—

"Let me speak like yourself; and lay a sentence,Which, as agrize, or step, may help these loversInto your favour."(Othello, i. 3.)

"Let me speak like yourself; and lay a sentence,Which, as agrize, or step, may help these loversInto your favour."

(Othello, i. 3.)

SINGULARS FROM PLURALS

Scot.brose, orbrewis, was in Mid. Eng.browes, from Old Fr.brouez, plural ofbrouet, a word cognate with ourbroth. From this association comes perhaps the use ofbrothas a plural in some of our dialects.Porridge, not originally limited to oatmeal, seems to be combined frompottageand Mid. Eng.porrets, plural ofporret, leek,a diminutive from Lat.porrum.Porridgeis sometimes used as a plural in Scottish—

"They're fine, halesome food, they're grand food,parritch."(Kidnapped, Ch. 3.)

"They're fine, halesome food, they're grand food,parritch."

(Kidnapped, Ch. 3.)

and in the northern counties of England people speak of taking "a few" porridge, or broth.Baize, now generally green, is for earlierbayes, the plural of the adjectivebay, now used only of horses;cf.Du.baai, baize. The origin of the adjectivebay, Fr.bai, forms of which occur in all the Romance languages, is Lat.badius, "of bay colour, bayarde" (Cooper). Hence the nameBayard, applied to FitzJames' horse inThe Lady of the Lake(v. 18), and earlier to the steed that carried the four sons of Aymon.Quinceis the plural ofquin, from the Norman form of Old Fr.coin(coing), which is derived from Gk.κυδώνιον.Truceis the plural of Mid. Eng.trewe(lit. truth, faith) with the same meaning. Already in Anglo-Saxon it is found in the plural, probably as rendering Lat.induciæ.Lettuce, Mid. Eng.letows, seems also to be a plural, from Fr.laitue, Lat.lactuca.

Earnestin the sense of pledge—

"And, for anearnestof a greater honour,He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor."(Macbeth, i. 3.)

"And, for anearnestof a greater honour,He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor."

(Macbeth, i. 3.)

has nothing to do with the adjectiveearnest. It is the Mid. Eng.ernes, earliererles, which survives asarlesin some of our dialects. The verb toearlis still used in Cumberland of "enlisting" a servant with a shilling in the open market. The Old French word wasarresorerres, now written learnedlyarrhes, a plural from Lat.arrha, "anearnestpenny,earnestmoney" (Cooper). The existence of Mid. Eng.erlesshows that there must have been also an Old French diminutive form. For the apparently arbitrary changeofltonwe may comparebanisterforbaluster(see p.60).

Thejessesof a hawk—

"If I do prove her haggard,[92]Though that herjesseswere my dear heart-strings,I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind,To prey at fortune."(Othello, iii. 3.)

"If I do prove her haggard,[92]Though that herjesseswere my dear heart-strings,I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind,To prey at fortune."

(Othello, iii. 3.)

were the thongs by which it was held or "thrown" into the air.Jessis the Old Fr.jes, the plural ofjet, fromjeter, to throw. In Colman'sElder Brotherwe read of a gentleman who lounged and chatted, "not minding time asouse," wheresouseis the plural of Fr.sou, halfpenny. From Fr.muer, to moult, Lat.mutare, we get Fr.mue, moulting, later applied to the coop or pen in which moulting falcons were confined, whence the phrase "tomew(up)"—

"More pity, that the eagles should bemew'd,While kites and buzzards prey at liberty."(Richard III., i. 1.)

"More pity, that the eagles should bemew'd,While kites and buzzards prey at liberty."

(Richard III., i. 1.)

When, in 1534, the royalmews, or hawk-houses, near Charing Cross were rebuilt as stables, the word acquired its present meaning.

Chess, Old Fr.esches(échecs), is the plural ofcheck, Fr.échec, from Persianshāh, king. By analogy with the "game of kings," the namejeu des dameswas given in French to draughts, still calleddamsin Scotland.Draught, fromdraw, meant in Mid. English a "move" at chess. The etymology oftweezerscan best be made clear by starting from Frenchétui, a case, of doubtful origin. This became in Englishetwee, ortwee,e.g., Cotgrave explainsestui(étui) as "a sheath, case, or box to put things in; and (more particularly) a case of little instruments, as sizzars, bodkin, penknife,etc., now commonly termed anettwee." Such a case generally opens book-fashion, each half being fitted with instruments. Accordingly we find it called a surgeon's "pair oftwees," or simplytweese, and later a "pair oftweeses." The implement was named from the case (cf.Fr.boussole, p.127), and becametweezersby association withpincers(Fr.pinces),scissors, etc.

ANALOGY

The form of a word is often affected by association with some other word with which it is instinctively coupled. Thuslarboard, for Mid. Eng.ladeboard,i.e.loading side, is due tostarboard, steering side.Bridal, forbride-ale, from the liquid consumed at marriage festivities, is due to analogy withbetrothal,espousal, etc. A 16th-century Puritan records with satisfaction the disappearance of—

"Church-ales, helpe-ales, and soule-ales, called also dirge-ales, and heathenish rioting atbride-ales."(Harrison,Description of England, 1577.)

"Church-ales, helpe-ales, and soule-ales, called also dirge-ales, and heathenish rioting atbride-ales."

(Harrison,Description of England, 1577.)

Rampartis from Old Fr.rempar, a verbal noun fromremparer, to repair;cf.Ital.riparo, "arampire, a fort, a banke" (Florio). By analogy with Old Fr.boulevart(boulevard), of German origin and identical with ourbulwark,[93]remparbecamerempart. The older English form occurs in the obsoleterampierorrampire, which survive in the dialectramper, embankment, causeway. For the spellingrampirewe may compareumpire(p.113). The apple called ajenneting, sometimes "explained" as forJune-eating, was once speltgeniton, no doubt for Fr.jeanneton, a diminutive ofJean. It is called in Frenchpomme de Saint-Jean, and in GermanJohannisapfel, because ripe about St John's Day (June 24).The modern form is due to such apple names asgolding,sweeting,codlin,pippin.

In the records of medieval London we frequently come across the distinction made between people who lived "in the city," Anglo-Fr.deinz (dans) la cité, and "outside the city," Anglo-Fr.fors (hors) la cité. The former were calleddeinzein, whence ourdenizen, and the latterforein.[94]The Anglo-French form of modern Fr.citoyenwascitein, which becamecitizenby analogy withdenizen. The following passage from a medieval London by-law shows how rigid was the division between "denizen" and "foreign" traders—

"Item, qe nulle pulleteredeinzeynn'estoise a Carfeux del Ledenhalle deins mesoun ne dehors, ove conilles, volatilie, n'autre pulletrie pur vendre ... issint qe lesforreinspulleters, ove lour pulletrie, estoisent par eux mesmes, et vendent lour pulletrie sur le cornere de Ledenhalle, sanz ceo qe ascuns pulleteredeinzeinviegne ou medle en vent ou en achate ove eux, ne entre eux."[95](Liber Albus.)

(Liber Albus.)

Even words which have opposite meanings may affect each other by association. Thus Lat.reddere, to give back, became Vulgar Lat.*rendereby analogy withprendere(prehendere), to take away; hence Fr.rendre. Our wordgrief, from Fr.grief, is derivedfrom a Vulgar Lat.*grĕvis, heavy (forgrăvis), which is due tolĕvis, light.

TITMOUSE—PURLIEU

The plural oftitmouseis now usuallytitmice, by analogy withmouse,mice, with which it has no connection. The second part of the word is Anglo-Sax.māse, used of several small birds. It is cognate with Ger.Meise, titmouse, and Fr.mésange, "a titmouse, or tittling" (Cotgrave).Tit, of Norse origin, is applied to various small animals, and occurs also as a prefix intitbitortidbit. Cf.tomtit(p.37).

The Spanish wordsalva, "a taste, a salutation" (Percyvall), was used of the pregustation of a great man's food or drink. We have given the name to the tray or dish from which the "assay" was made, but, by analogy withplatter,trencher, we spell itsalver. In another sense, that of a "salutation" in the form of a volley of shot, we have corrupted it intosalvo. With the use of Span.salvawe may compare that of Ital.credenza, lit. faith, "the taste or assaie of a princes meate and drinke" (Florio), whence Fr.crédence, side-board, used in English only in the ecclesiastical compoundcredence table, and Ger.credenzen, to pour out.

In spoken English the ending-ew,-ue, of French origin, has been often changed to-ee,-ey. Thuspedigreewas formerlypedigrew(see p.77). The fencing termveney—

"I bruised my shin the other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence—threeveneysfor a dish of stewed prunes."(Merry Wives, i. 1.)

"I bruised my shin the other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence—threeveneysfor a dish of stewed prunes."

(Merry Wives, i. 1.)

also speltvenew, is from Fr.venue, "avennyin fencing" (Cotgrave).Carewhas becomeCarey, andBeaulieu, in Hampshire, is calledBewley. Under the influence of these double forms we sometimes get the opposite change, e.g.,purlieu, now generally used of the outskirtsof a town, is forpurley, a strip of disforested woodland. This is a contraction of Anglo-Fr.pour-allée, used to translate the legal Lat.perambulatio, a going through. A change ofvenue[96]is sometimes made when it seems likely that an accused person, or a football team, will not get justice from a local jury. Thisvenueis in law Latinvicinetum, neighbourhood, which gave Anglo-Fr.visné, and this, perhaps by confusion with thevenire facias, or jury summons, becamevenew,venue.

In the preceding examples the form has been chiefly affected. In the wordluncheonboth form and meaning have been influenced by the obsoletenuncheon, a meal at noon, Mid. Eng.none-chenche, for*none-schenche, noon draught, from Anglo-Sax.scencan,[97]to pour. Drinking seems to have been regarded as more important than eating, for in some counties we find thisnuncheonreplaced bybever, the Anglo-French infinitive from Lat.bibere, to drink.Lunch, a piece or hunk, especially of bread, also used in the sense of a "snack" (cf.Scot. "piece"), was extended toluncheonby analogy withnuncheon, which it has now replaced—

"So munch on, crunch on, take yournuncheon,Breakfast, supper, dinner,luncheon."(Browning,Pied Piper of Hamelin.)

"So munch on, crunch on, take yournuncheon,Breakfast, supper, dinner,luncheon."

(Browning,Pied Piper of Hamelin.)

WRONG ASSOCIATION

The term folk-etymology is often applied in a narrower sense to the corruption of words through a mistaken idea of their etymology or origin. The tendency of the uneducated is to distort an unfamiliar or unintelligible word into some form which suggests a meaning. Some cases may have originated in a kindof heavy jocularity, as insparrow-grassforasparagusorsparagus(see p.66), or Rogue Riderhood'sAlfred Davidforaffidavit—

"'Is that your name?' asked Lightwood. 'My name?' returned the man. 'No; I want to take aAlfred David.'"(Our Mutual Friend, Ch. 12.)

"'Is that your name?' asked Lightwood. 'My name?' returned the man. 'No; I want to take aAlfred David.'"

(Our Mutual Friend, Ch. 12.)

In others there has been a wrong association of ideas,e.g., theprimrose,rosemary, andtuberosehave none of them originally any connection with therose.Primrosewas earlierprimerole, an Old French derivative of Latinprimula;rosemary, Frenchromarin, is from Lat.ros marinus, sea-dew;tuberoseis the Latin adjectivetuberosus, bulbous, tuberous. Or attempts are made at translation, such as Sam Weller'sHave his carcaseforHabeas Corpus, or the curious names which country folk give to such complaints asbronchitis,erysipelas, etc. To this class belongs Private Mulvaney's perversion oflocomotor ataxy—

"'They call utLocomotus attacks us,' he sez, 'bekaze,' sez he, 'it attacks us like a locomotive.'"(Love o' Women.)

"'They call utLocomotus attacks us,' he sez, 'bekaze,' sez he, 'it attacks us like a locomotive.'"

(Love o' Women.)

Our language is, owing to our borrowing habits, particularly rich in these gems. Examples familiar to everybody arecrayfishfrom Fr.écrevisse,gilly-flowerfrom Fr.giroflée,shame-facedforshamefast. Other words in which the second element has been altered arecauseway, earliercausey, from the Picard form of Fr.chaussée, Lat. (via)calciata,i.e., made with lime,calx;penthouse, forpentice, Fr.appentis, "thepenthouseof a house" (Cotgrave), a derivative of Old Fr.appendre, to hang to. Fr.hangar, a shed, now introduced into English by aviators as unnecessarily asgarageby motorists, may also contain the same idea of "hanging."

Inhiccough, for earlierhickup, an onomatopœic word, the spelling, suggested bycough, has notaffected the pronunciation.Surceaseis Fr.sursis, past participle ofsurseoir, "tosurcease, pawse, intermit, leave off, give over, delay or stay for a time" (Cotgrave), Lat.supersedere.Taffrailhas been confused withrail, its older form beingtafferel, from Du.tafereel, diminutive oftafel, picture, from Lat.tabula. It meant originally the flat part of the stern of a ship ornamented with carvings or pictures. This is calledtableauin nautical French. Fr.coutelas, an augmentative of Old Fr.coutel(couteau), knife, gave Eng.cutlass, which has no more etymological connection with "cutting" than acutler, Fr.coutelier, or acutlet, Fr.côtelette, little rib, Lat.costa.Cutlaswas popularly corrupted intocurtal-axe, the form used by Rosalind—

"A gallantcurtal-axeupon my thigh,A boar-spear in my hand."(As You Like It, i. 3.)

"A gallantcurtal-axeupon my thigh,A boar-spear in my hand."

(As You Like It, i. 3.)

We have a similar corruption inpick-axe, Mid. Eng.pikeys, Old Fr.piquois,picquois, "a pickax" (Cotgrave), from the verbpiquer. The wordposthumoushas changed its meaning through folk-etymology. It represents the Latin superlativepostumus, latest born. By association withhumus, ground, earth, it came to be used of a child born, or a work published, after its author's death, a meaning which the derivatives ofpostumushave in all the Romance languages.

The first part of the word has been distorted inpursy, short-winded—

"Andpursyinsolence shall break his windWith fear and horrid flight."(Timon of Athens, v. 5.)

"Andpursyinsolence shall break his windWith fear and horrid flight."

(Timon of Athens, v. 5.)

Fr.poussif, from Lat.pulsus, throbbing. It was formerly used also in connection with horses—

"You must warrant this horse clear of the glanders, andpursyness."(The Gentleman's Dictionary, 1705.)

"You must warrant this horse clear of the glanders, andpursyness."

(The Gentleman's Dictionary, 1705.)

ARQUEBUS—JAUNTY

Arquebus, Fr.arquebuse, is a doublet ofhackbut, Old Fr.haquebute, "anhaquebut, orarquebuse; a caliver" (Cotgrave). The corruption is due toarcus, bow. Botharquebusandhackbutare common in Scott—

"His arms were halbert, axe, or spear,A cross-bow there, ahackbuthere,A dagger-knife, and brand."(Marmion, v. 3.)

"His arms were halbert, axe, or spear,A cross-bow there, ahackbuthere,A dagger-knife, and brand."

(Marmion, v. 3.)

The origin is Du.haakbus, hook-gun, the second element of which appears inblunderbuss. The first part of this word has undergone so many popular transformations that it is difficult to say which was the original form. Ludwig hasDonner-büchs, Blunder-büchs, oder Muszketon, "a thunder-box; ablunder-buss; a musketoon; a wide-mouthed brass-gun, carrying about twenty pistol bullets at once." It was also called in GermanPlantier-büchs, fromplantieren, to plant, set up, because fired from a rest. Du.bus, like Ger.Büchse, means both "box" and "gun." In thebushes, or axle-boxes, of a cart-wheel, we have the same word. The ultimate origin is Greekπύξος, the box-tree, whence also the learned wordpyx. Fr.boîte, box, is cognate, and Fr.boussole, mariners' compass, is from the Italian diminutivebossola, "a boxe that mariners keepe their compasse in. Also taken for the compasse" (Florio).

Scissorswere formerlycizars(cf.Fr.ciseaux), connected with Lat.cædere, to cut. The modern spelling is due to association with Lat.scissor, a cutter, tailor, fromscindere, to cut.Runagateis well known to be a corrupt doublet ofrenegade, one who has "denied" his faith.Recreant, the present participle of Old Fr.recreire, Vulgar Lat.*recredere, to change one's faith, contains very much the same idea; cf.miscreant, lit. unbeliever.Jaunty, speltjantybyWycherley andgentyby Burns, is Fr.gentil, wrongly brought into connection withjaunt.

In some cases of folk-etymology it is difficult to see to what idea the corruption is due.[98]The mollusc called aperiwinklewas in Anglo-Saxonpinewincla, which still survives in dialect aspennywinkle. It appears to have been influenced by the plant-nameperiwinkle, which is itself a corruption of Mid. Eng.pervenke, from Lat.pervinca;cf.Fr.pervenche. The material calledlutestringwas formerlylustring, Fr.lustrine, from its glossiness. Awiseacreis "one that knows or tells truth; we commonly use itin malam partemfor a fool" (Blount,Glossographia, 1674). This comes, through Dutch, from Ger.Weissager, commonly understood aswise-sayer, but really unconnected withsagen, to say. The Old High Ger.wīzago, prophet, is cognate with Eng.witty. The military and naval wordensignis in Shakespeare corrupted, in both its meanings, intoancient. Thus Falstaff describes his tatterdemalion recruits as—

"Ten times more dishonourable ragged than an old-facedancient."(1Henry IV., iv. 2.)

"Ten times more dishonourable ragged than an old-facedancient."

(1Henry IV., iv. 2.)

whileAncientPistol is familiar to every reader. Acordwainer, from Old Fr.cordouanier, "a shoomaker, acordwainer" (Cotgrave), worked withcordouan, "Cordovan leather; which is properly a goat's skin tanned." The modern French formcordonnieris due to association withcordon, a thong, bootlace, etc.Witch-elmhas nothing to do with witches. It is for olderweech-elm,wiche-elm, and belongs to Anglo-Sax.wīcan,to bend.Service-treeis a meaningless corruption of Mid. Eng.serves, an early loan word from Lat.sorbus.

In the case of a double-barrelled word, folk-etymology usually affects one half only, e.g.,verdigrisis for Fr.vert-de-gris, for Old Fr.vert de Grece, Greek green. The reason for the name is unknown. Cotgrave calls it "Spanish green." Mid. English had the more correctvertegresseandverte Grece(Promptorium Parvulorum, 1440). The cavalry trumpet-callboot and saddleis for Fr.boute-selle, lit. "put saddle."Court cardis forcoat card, a name given to these cards from the dresses depicted on them. Florio hascarta di figura, "acotecarde." The card game calledPope Joanwould appear to be in some way corrupted fromnain jaune, lit. "yellow dwarf," its French name.

"PREPOSTEROUS" PERVERSIONS

But occasionally the results of folk-etymology are literallypreposterous.[99]The Fr.choucrouteis fromsūrkrūt, a dialect pronunciation of Ger.Sauer-kraut, sour cabbage, so that the first syllable, meaning "sour," has actually been corrupted so as to mean "cabbage." Another example, which I have never seen quoted, is the name of a beech-wood near the little town of Remilly in Lorraine. The trees of this wood are very old and curiously twisted, and they are called in Frenchles jolis fous, wherefou(Lat.fagus) is the Old French for "beech" (fouet, whip, is its diminutive). This is rendered in German astolle Buchen, mad beeches, thefouhaving been misunderstood as referring to the fantastic appearance of the trees.

Forlorn hopeis sometimes used metaphorically as though thehopewere of the kind that springs eternal inthe human breast. In military language it now means the leaders of a storming party—

"Theforlorn hopeof each attack consisted of a sergeant and twelve Europeans."(Wellington's Despatches, 1799.)

"Theforlorn hopeof each attack consisted of a sergeant and twelve Europeans."

(Wellington's Despatches, 1799.)

but was earlier used of soldiers in any way exposed to special danger. Cotgrave hasenfans perdus, "perdus; or theforlorne hopeof a campe (are commonly gentlemen of companies)." It is from obsolete Du.verloren hoop, wherehoop, cognate with Eng.heap, is used for a band or company. In 16th-century German we findein verlorener Haufe. Both the Dutch and German expressions are obsolete in this sense.

The military phraseto run the gauntlethas no connection withgauntlet, glove. The older formgantlope—

"Some said he ought to be tied neck and heels; others that he deserved torun the gantlope."(Tom Jones, vii. 1.)

"Some said he ought to be tied neck and heels; others that he deserved torun the gantlope."

(Tom Jones, vii. 1.)

It is a punishment of Swedish origin from the period of the Thirty Years' War. The Swedish form isgatlopp, in whichgatis cognate with Eng.gate, in its northern sense of "street," andloppwith Eng.leapand Ger.laufen, to run.

Thepress-ganghad originally nothing to do with "pressing." When soldiers or seamen were engaged, they received earnest money calledprest-money,i.e., an advance on "loan," Old Fr.prest(prêt), and the engagement was calledprestingorimpresting. Florio explainssoldato(see p.154), lit. "paid," by "prestwith paie as soldiers are." The popular corruption topresstook place naturally as the method of enlistment became more "pressing."

Theblack artis a translation of Old Fr.nigromance, "nigromancie, conjuring, theblack art" (Cotgrave); but this is folk-etymology fornécromantie, Greco-Lat.necromantia, divination by means of the dead. The popularformnégromanciestill survives in French. Tocurry favouris a corruption of Mid. Eng. "to curryfavel." The expression is translated from French. Palsgrave hascurryfavell, a flatterer, "estrille faveau,"estriller(étriller) meaning "to curry (a horse)."Faveau, earlierfauvel, is the name of a horse in the famousRoman de Fauvel, a satirical Old French poem of the early 14th century. He symbolises worldly vanity carefully tended by all classes of society. The name is a diminutive of Fr.fauve, tawny, cognate with Eng.fallow(deer). (See also p.192,n.)

A very curious case of folk-etymology is seen in the old superstition of thehand of glory. This is understood to be a skeleton hand from the gallows which will point out hidden treasure—

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