Karen Hill

The plague that beset England in 1563-64 terrified the populace. A thousand people were reported to have died from it each week in London alone, while everyone feared that it might reach the terrific toll of the Black Plague of the fourteenth century when two-thirds or more of the population of the entire country was … Read more

Here we have a curious pronunciation. As seen from the words alone and atone, which are really compounds formed from all one and at one, an early sound of one was identical with our present word “own.” Our word “only,” once written “onely,” still preserves the old pronunciation. There were variances, of course, but that … Read more

The ancients would not think of entering upon any important undertaking without first consulting the will of the gods. (See also AUGUR.) Perhaps this was partly curiosity as to the outcome of future events, but more probably it arose from a deep reverence for their gods and a belief that nothing should be undertaken without … Read more

The French ambassador to Lisbon in 1560, Jean Nicot, became curious about some seeds that he saw. They had been brought from the new continent of America a year or two earlier and were said to be seeds from the curious plant that the Spaniards called “tobacco.” Some of the seeds were courteously presented to … Read more

From early times men have been in the custom of giving to their acquaintances some name considered to be more fitting than the name given by the parents. It is an added name, one in addition to the name already borne. In olden England, when eke meant to “add,” such an added name became known … Read more

When Athens adopted the constitution, in 508 B.C., that was intended to make it an ideal democratic state, unique provision was made that no one should again be able to exert his wealth or power and seize the reins of government. Each year, at a stated assembly of the populace, the question was asked whether … Read more

Perhaps to frighten birds away, or perhaps to propitiate the gods, it was the custom of ancient Roman vintners to hang little images of the face of Bacchus upon their vines, to be swung by the breeze and turned in all directions. The supposition was that in whatever direction the faces were turned about, the … Read more

German miners looking for copper were often baffled by an ore which, though it had an appearance of copper, yielded none whatsoever when it was tediously excavated, brought to the surface, and treated. Time and time again they were fooled by this stuff. They thought it must be that a demon or sprite had entered … Read more

Oddly enough, omelet comes to us from the Latin word lamina, a plate, by virtue of several modifications in passing through French. The Romans had earlier created lamella to denote “a small plate.” This became la lemelle, the thin plate, in French, and, in manner very similar to the alteration of English an ekename to … Read more

Just as in the Roman Empire of the East the master of the stable, comes stabuli, became count of the stable, his title eventually altered to constable, so in the West was the history of our word marshal. Under the kings of the Franks the mariscalcus, to use the Latin form of the old Teutonic … Read more

When the young king of France, Louis XIV, decided to take the reins of government into his own hands in 1660, after the death of Mazarin, the former minister, he appointed as his war minister a youthful military genius, Francois Michel le Tellier Louvain. The young minister, he was only nineteen at the time, promptly … Read more

It isn’t a certainty, but it is the belief that match, referring to the article with which we make fire, is a descendant from the Greek word myxa, which meant mucus from the nostril. This may seem far-fetched, but the course is reasonably straight. Greek myxa gave rise to Latin my xus, which by metonymy … Read more

“Noon” did not always refer to the middle of the day, as we always understand it now to mean. It formerly meant three o’clock. That is, in the Roman system of reckoning, the day began at sunrise, or six o’clock, as the average time of sunrise. The principal meal of the day, dinner, was served … Read more

March, the name of the third month in our calendar, denoted the first month in the Roman year before the reforms made under Julius Caesar. (See JANUARY.) We commonly think of the Roman god Mars, for whom the month was named, as their god of war, equivalent to the Greek god Ares, and think it … Read more

The word “manure” was originally a verb, its origin the Old French verb manouvrer. Thus, in the fourteenth century, it meant “to work by hand; especially, to work the soil by hand; to cultivate the soil.” From that came the noun, which at first meant “that which may be worked by hand; the action of … Read more

The plant we know as “mandrake” was formerly known as mandragora, which is still its scientific name. Five or six hundred years ago, however, although actually of Greek source, this name was thought to be a combination of man and dragon. But at that time a dragon was commonly known as drake; so mandragora became … Read more

Homer and Plato knew about the magnet. The ancients, that is to say, had discovered a peculiar stone native to the neighborhood of the town of Magnesia, in Thessaly, which had the power of attracting small pieces of iron. They called it magnes, from the name of the town, or more frequently, lithos Magnetis, stone … Read more

In theory, at least, this delicacy should always be made of or contain quince, for such is implied by the name. Or to be even more exact, if the fruit were available, it should be a “honey-apple,” which was anciently obtained through grafting some kind of apple upon the quince stalk. The Greek name for … Read more

On the morning of June 4, 1859, in the series of wars for a unified Italy, the French and allied Italian armies, though of inferior strength, fell upon the Austrian army defending Milan in the vineyards and mulberry groves about the small town of Magenta. (See also FIFE.) This battle, which subsequently was known by … Read more

The word “maelstrom” now means any strong power that seems to influence one irresistibly, especially a power composed of conflicting forces which seem to engulf one. That meaning is figurative. It is derived from the name, Maelstrom, which means whirlpool, given to a certain strong tidal current found near the island of Moskenes off the … Read more

In the early years of the nineteenth century numerous chemists and inventors were trying to find satisfactory ways to utilize the baffling substance known as “rubber.” The substance got that name because the one thing for which a use had been found for the stuff was to “rub” out lead-pencil marks. The most notable success … Read more

The late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries produced a great Florentine student of political affairs. He lived at the time of the Borgias and de Medicis and it is undoubted that his chief work, 17 Principe, was greatly colored by his knowledge of the practical politics played by those two unscrupulous families. He was Niccolo … Read more

John Mercer was born in Lancashire, England, in 1791. He became a calico printer. When he was fifty-three years old he discovered a chemical process by which cotton fabric became thicker and softer and its affinity for dyes greatly increased. He patented the process in 1855, but no practical use came of the discovery for … Read more

From early in the sixteenth century traders from Milan flocked into England with the products of their city and of Lombardy. Steel work was a large part of the manufactures they brought, but their chief articles of commerce were textile fabrics. Milan bonnets, Milan gloves, Milan lace, Milan ribbons were in great demand. The English … Read more

In 1766 a young Austrian physician of 32, Friedrich Anton Mesmer, published a thesis in which he argued that, through the diffusion of some invisible vapor, the heavenly bodies affect the nervous systems of all living beings. The argument did not receive the attention which the young physician had hoped, so he went to Vienna … Read more

Important writings or manuscripts in the Middle Ages were often decorated or illuminated with “minium.” This was the name then used for the color that we now call vermilion, taking the name of the Latin minium, red lead. Thus the monks or scribes who illuminated those manuscripts were said to “miniate” the parchment, because the … Read more

Through its origin, miscreant was at first used only in a theological sense. Its source was the Old French prefix, mes, badly or wrongly, and creant, believing. Hence a miscreant in olden times was a heretic, an unbeliever. But through the fact that an unbeliever is one who is likely to violate the code of … Read more

It used to be called a rabble. Then some Latin scholar of the seventeenth century recalled that the Latin phrase for a “fickle rabble” was mobile vulgus. This was picked up by others who shortened it to the one word, mobile (pronounced “mobilly” at that time). But even this was too long, and before the … Read more

When Odysseus left Ithaca to participate in the siege and capture of Troy, according to Homer’s Odyssey, he entrusted the care of his wife, Penelope, and his infant son, Telemachus, to his great friend, Mentor. Homer does not develop the character of the loyal friend to any extent, but twenty years later the young Telemachus, … Read more

Because of its whiteness and softness, and because it was often cast up along the shores of the sea, the ancients thought this light, soft mineral actually to be the foam of the sea turned into stone. Hence in all languages it was named “sea foam.” Little practical use was found for the mineral until … Read more

There is a river in the western part of Turkey, Asia Minor, now called Menderes, known in ancient times as Maeander. The nature of the stream has greatly changed in the centuries since it was described by Herodotas, Xenophon, and other writers. In those days, however, although the river was not remarkable for length or … Read more

According to legend, during a war when the Romans were hard pressed for the means to carry on their campaign they appealed to the goddess Juno for aid. They were told that their cause was just and therefore that their resources would be replenished and made ample for their needs. In grateful appreciation for the … Read more

The month of May is believed to have been named in honor of a goddess Maia, but it is not certain which goddess was thus honored. Among the Greeks the divinity so named was regarded as the mother of Hermes, whose father was Zeus. It would have been strange, however, for the Romans to have … Read more

There was once, in Asia Minor, a small kingdom known as Caria. In the fourth century B.C., its inhabitants were mostly Persians, although those dwelling in the two principal cities, Halicarnassus and Rhodes, were mainly Greeks. The Persian king at that time was not outstanding and had done nothing that would particularly commend him, but … Read more

The Christian Church early laid stress upon humility. There were various instances in the New Testament to show that this was a basic precept. Perhaps chief of these was the washing of the feet of His disciples by Jesus before the Feast of the Passover. This, because of the example of great condescension, is observed … Read more

Any sign thought to have been given by the old Roman gods, that is, any strange incident or wonderful appearance, was taken as a warning, a belief that the gods were provoked. The sign prophesied the approach of a calamity or misfortune, of public nature or to the nation as a whole, rather than to … Read more

The history of the word “knave” is similar to the slow change we are witnessing in the meaning of the word “boy,” now often applied to servants and grown men. Originally, back in Old English times, a knave was a boy in a literal sense, a male child. It had the same meaning as the … Read more

The search for word origins takes us into some strange places. Here, we look into the miracle plays, as they are called, of Old England, and we must learn something about their production. These crude plays flourished for about three hundred years, from the late thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century at least. They … Read more

Although born in Scotland, John Loudon McAdam went to New York in 1770, at the age of fourteen, to work with an uncle. He returned to Scoltand when a young man of twenty-seven and bought an estate in Ayrshire. There he became interested in the improvement of roads. The French had been experimenting with the … Read more

From early English antiquity a physician has been called a leech, and from equally early times physicians have used the aquatic bloodsucking worm, known as leech, for bloodletting under certain conditions. It is impossible to tell which was first to receive the name. Etymologists believe, however, that present identity of spelling is accidental and that, … Read more

Toward the end of the thirteenth century the Archbishop of Genoa, Jacobus de Voragine James of Viraggio), brought forth a book upon which he had long been engaged. It was, largely, a collection of the stories told about a number of the Christian saints within the several churches with which they were chiefly connected. The … Read more

Dispute has waged during the past century over the identity of the man who achieved the doubtful honor of adding this name to our language. Was it Colonel Charles Lynch, or was it Captain William Lynch? The case for each has been stoutly maintained. Both were Virginians and each was an officer of militia in … Read more

This is often written danse Macabre and is sometimes Anglicized into “Dance of Death,” in allusion to the common representations of the dance in paintings. The origin of macabre is disputed. Some think it to be merely a French corruption of the Arabic makbara, funeral chamber. Others think that it was the name of the … Read more

It is a far cry from the woman of Old England from whom this title descended to the one who often calls herself a lady today. That remote woman was proud to be known as the breadinaker, hkefdige, a word subjected to many changes, becoming levedi in the thirteenth century, levdi and ladi in the … Read more

Spartan youths were all trained with the utmost rigor. But in addition to the activity, vigilance, endurance, and cunning which were practiced in all the land, those dwelling within the province of Laconia were also taught modesty of deportment and conciseness of speech. The Laconians thus became so noteworthy for their short and pithy way … Read more

Some time in the latter part of the seventeenth century, probably about 1682, a gentle Dutch farmer from Holland settled with his family near the site that was to become Albany, New York. There he prospered greatly and left sizable properties to his seven children. His name was Harmen Jansen Knickerbocker. The eldest of his … Read more

Europe first heard the term “khan” in the year 1222. A strange band of invaders from the east had pushed across the Volga and the Don, and was threatening Galicia and Bulgaria. (See HORDE.) The Russian princes who opposed this invading force were destroyed with all their armies, and the inhabitants of towns and villages … Read more

Many years ago it was the popular belief that the caterpillar concealed within itself the complete butterfly in perfect form. It was then thought, that is, that the caterpillar served as a mask for the butterfly. For that reason it was called larva, Latin for “mask.”

Manufacturers will continue to spell it catchup and catsup, but the spelling here shown is that which best resembles its source, the Chinese term, ke-tsiap. The Dutch, who were heavy importers of this Asiatic condiment in the eighteenth century, spelled it ketjap, indicating a pronunciation very similar to ketchup. The original importation, however, was a … Read more

A great controversy arose about the name of the Australian animal known as the kangaroo, a controversy that now may never be settled. Captain James Cook, the British explorer, and his shipmate, the noted naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, both trained observers, understood that the Australian natives called this strange animal a kangaroo (which each of … Read more

Sir David Brewster, when a young man, had intended to follow his father’s career in the ministry, but found within a few years after entering that field that his greatest interest was in science. Hence, at the age of twenty-seven he had become an editor of the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, writing upon scientific subjects. The study … Read more

Originally a “junket” was a creel, a basket of woven rush in which to catch or carry fish. The Norman-French word was jonket or jonquette, from jonc, a rush. But even before the Normans invaded England some housewife had discovered that the same basket, before being contaminated with fish, could be used in preparing a … Read more

Properly, as it was of old, a lace is a noose, a cord or the like with which to snare game or a victim. It was so used in the time of Chaucer. The word comes to us from the Latin laqueus, noose, which in popular spelling was lacius. The latter term became las in … Read more

We like to think that all those who flocked to North America from England after the founding of Jamestown and Plymouth came eagerly and of their own accord. That was far from the case. Many of the early colonists, especially those in Maryland and Virginia, flocking into the country which, they were told, offered such … Read more

The British army borrowed both the material and the name “khaki” from India, where the army first used it. The Indian name means “dusty,” and the original material was a stout cotton drill of the color of dust. For clothing it served a twofold requirement. It was adapted to a warm climate, and its color … Read more

The story of the word “lounge” is not certain; all that we can say is “perhaps.” The name of the centurion who pierced the side of Jesus with a spear as He hung upon the cross, was said to be Longinus, according to the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus (7:8). This Longinus, by later legend, became … Read more

Just as “lady” was gradually formed through alterations in the pronunciation of the Old English original hlaefdige, so was “lord” formed from hlaford or hlafweard. The forms in which it appeared were also numerous, including the twelfth century laford, leverd, lauerd, and the fourteenth century louerd, lhord, and lorde. And just as the original meaning … Read more

From remote antiquity disputes have been settled, ownership agreed upon, priority established, leadership determined, or the like, by casting or drawing lots. The emperors of Rome introduced a novelty into the old practice when, during the Saturnalia, or feasts to Saturn in mid-December, they awarded elaborate gifts to the person fortunate enough to hold or … Read more

Livery formerly corresponded exactly with our word “rations,” except that it denoted the rations allotted to servants and retainers. The term, from Old French livree, delivered, was taken to England by the Norman conquerors, and was meant to include food, clothing, or other provisions “delivered” to the servants. In time it came to include allowances … Read more

In ancient Rome, libertinus denoted a slave who had been liberated, a freedman, and this was the meaning of libertine in early English use. But, just as a schoolboy released from irksome confinement of school is likely to break all bonds in his exuberance, so it was found that those released from slavery were likely … Read more

In legal use, a libel must be published. Otherwise the damaging statement may be slander, but not libel, although the latter word is often popularly used when “slander” should be employed. The legal interpretation emphasized the source of the word, for libel, from the Latin libellus, originally meant a “little book.” Thus a libel, in … Read more

Originally, the Lombards were a Teutonic people whose earlier name, Langobardi, long beards, was traditionally derived from the appearance, before the god Wotan, of their women with their hair combed over their faces. Startled, as he awoke from sleep, Wotan asked, “Who are the longbeards (longobardi)?” They were a warlike tribe, and in the year … Read more

In its truest sense, the word “insolent” would mean “unusual, not according to custom.” Its source was the Latin in, not, and soleo, to be accustomed. But even the Latin writers realized that one who violates custom is usually willing to offend and is, indeed, likely to be offensive. So they used insolens also to … Read more

Artists of ancient Greece, employed in the painting of murals, sometimes used a process that is no longer fully known. As described by Pliny, the colors were mixed with wax and resin. The mixture was heated in a brazier and was then applied as needed to the wall or other surface with a spatula, which … Read more

The literal meaning of infant, from the Latin word info’s, is “one unable to speak.” Though that literal sense actually applies only to the first year or two of babyhood, both under Roman law and those of our own country a person is referred to as an infant until he has reached such age as … Read more

When Cicero coined the term indolentia, from in, not, and doleo, suffer, he meant it to be the equivalent of the Greek word apatheia, lack of sensibility to pain or passion, indifference. And this was the sense in which indolence was first employed by the philosophers of the seventeenth century. But because indifference is usually … Read more

Among the epithets borne by Apollo was Lycean, an epithet of such antiquity that it has never been determined whether it was derived from the root lute, light, or lyco, wolf. In the one case it would refer to the god as the giver of light; the other as the wolf-slayer. Either explanation could be … Read more

There was a river in the lower world or the region of Hades, according to Greek mythology. Its name was Lethe, which signifies forgetfulness or oblivion; its water was believed to possess such properties that one who drank of it totally forgot all of the past. Shades of the dead, entering into the pleasures of … Read more

To prevent the likelihood of alteration in deeds and other contracts between two parties, a certain practice was introduced into the England of the late Middle Ages. The contract was written out in duplicate upon a sheet of parchment or paper, with a blank strip between, and then the two documents were cut or torn … Read more

In the Middle Ages any woman who gave birth to a witch or sorceress was supposed to have been visited, in her sleep, by a male demon or evil spirit. The name given to this spirit was incubus, from the Latin in, upon, and cumbo, to lie. It was also supposed to be the cause … Read more

Those who were slaves in ancient Rome were usually left unfettered, their hands and feet unbound for the better performance of work. Severe and sometimes barbarous punishments for those who attempted to run away, involving scourging, mutilation, or even death, Were generally sufficient to make it unnecessary for the owners to chain them. It was … Read more

When the twins, Romulus and Remus, decided to found a city along the banks of the Tiber, according to ancient Roman legend, they disagreed upon the hill on which the city should be laid out. Romulus preferred the hill later called the Palatine, Remus the Aventine. They agreed, however, to leave the decision to the … Read more

One of the most prominent of the families in ancient Rome was that to which the members of the clan Junius belonged. Their ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, drove out the last of the Tarquin kings, 5 z o B.C., and was elected the first consul of Rome. We owe the name of our sixth month, … Read more

Someone with a sense of humor, back near the beginning of the nineteenth century, must have remembered his Bible when he first beheld a huge brandy bottle. He was reminded of the verse which says, “And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor” (I Kings 12:28), and the one, also about Jeroboam, “who … Read more

Usually a slang term baffles those who search for its source. By the time it has become popular, the person who invented it and the occasion leading to the invention are forgotten and cannot be located. Jitney acquired popularity throughout the United States in 1914 and 1915 as a slang term for a five-cent piece, … Read more

Like our words bus and mob, contracted by humorists of bygone years from the more pompous Latin terms omnibus and mobile vulgus respectively, the word “joke” came into our language in the seventeenth century as a contraction by some unknown wit of the Latin jocus, a jest. The legend that John Milton originated the contraction … Read more

Through the fact that French jour means “day,” it is not surprising to find that Old French journey meant the space of a day, or that which was accomplished in a day, such as work, employment, travel, or the like. It was the sense of day’s travel, however, in which the word was carried to … Read more

From the early sixteenth century, in England, a popular nickname for anyone with the name Joan or Joanna was Jug. Especially was she called by that name if she were a servant or of unattractive appearance. No one knows why, any more than one can explain why the name “John” became altered to “Jack” as … Read more

About the middle of the sixteenth century a group of British merchants formed a company for the carrying on of trade with Russia. The company, under the name of the Russia Company, was highly successful through the next thirty or forty years. Perhaps too successful, because toward the end of the century some Spanish traders … Read more

The literal sense of the Latin insulto, from which the word “insult” is derived, was to leap at or spring upon a person or thing. A wild beast might spring upon its prey, ready to tear it apart; a soldier leap at his foe, prepared to take his life. But the ancients realized that they … Read more

In the days of King Alfred, that is, in Old English, an imp was a sapling or offshoot of a tree. This meaning gave rise to a figurative use, the scion of some noble house or, especially, a male child. Then, in due course, probably because most male children are mischievous, imp became synonymous with … Read more

Literally, the word “Ignoramus” is a Latin plural, meaning “we do not know.” The term was introduced into the courts of law in England in the sixteenth century. When used by a grand jury it was written across the back of an indictment presented to the jury if the members thought the evidence was too … Read more

In ancient times some armies equipped their archers with poisoned arrows. Greek and Roman writers referred to it as a practice of barbarians, and, in order to describe it, the Greeks had to distort the meanings of some of their own words. Thus the Greek word for an archer’s bow was toxon, and accordingly that … Read more

When we say that the word idiot is derived from the Greek idiotes, it must be understood that the Greek term had no such meaning as we give to idiot, not remotely. Its stem, idio, is the same as that which gives us “idiom,” one’s own personal or individual language, and “idiosyncrasy,” one’s own personal … Read more

The word “iconoclast” means “a breaker of images,” from Greek eikon, image, and klastes, breaker. It originated in a great struggle within the Christian Church, beginning in the eighth century and lasting for one hundred and sixteen years. For a number of generations there had been discussion over the appearance of works of art, pictures … Read more

About the year 200 B.C., an inventive genius, named Ctesibius, lived in Alexandria. He is supposed to have conducted experiments upon air pressures, but his chief invention was a water organ or clypsydra. It is not certain how this organ was operated, but it is likely that water served to regulate the air pressure within … Read more

There is an ancient Greek legend of a youth of such delicate beauty that he might have been taken for a maid. His name was Hymen or Hymenxus. The girl with whom he fell in love spurned him, but in the disguise of a girl he followed her into the country to a festival. On … Read more

Aldus Manutius was the Latin name of the noted Italian printer, Teobaldo Mannucci, who was born in 1450. He received an excellent education before establishing himself as a printer in Venice in 1490. There he surrounded himself with other scholars and set out to make Venice the center of literature, especially in the printing of … Read more

It is regrettable that the story of the word jeep is not complete. In 1937 the cartoonist, E. C. Segar, began to use an animal in his comic strips about “Popeye,” which he called “Eugene, the Jeep.” This creature was described as being able to move at will between the third and fourth dimension, being … Read more

A few hundred years ago it was believed that one need merely wear this stone to be free of colic or of disorders of the kidney. It was sometimes called “colic stone” or “nephrite” (from Greek nephros, kidney) for that reason. The Spaniards, who found much of the stone in Peru and Mexico in the … Read more