Language

In England a gangplank is a gangboard, though both here and there the same thing is also called a gangway. In any case, whether plank, board, or way, it’s a means of “going” aboard or off a ship. And that, in Old English, is what a gang was, a “going.” In later times gang began … Read more

Chiefly known to us because of its use by Edgar Allan Poe in “The Bells,” the word tintinnabulation is based on the Latin tintinnabulum, “a bell,” from tintinnare, “to ring.” It seems probable that tintinnare and its relatives were coined in imitation of the sound of bells, quite as our ding-dong, ting-a-ling, etc., were coined … Read more

A skewbald horse (or other animal) is one that is basically white, but whose coat also has patches of some other color. It is thus similar to piebald (especially for the derivation of -bald), and is sometimes used synonymously therewith, but when a distinction is made, piebald is used when the patches are black, skewbald … Read more

The ducking stool is more modest than the tucking stool, though still an unpleasant device for the punishment of scolds, prostitutes, or women judged guilty of witchcraft. It replaced the older device during the sixteenth century, though the older term was then sometimes used for it, and was still in use until the early nineteenth … Read more

Architects and masons of the thirteenth century certainly had an odd sense of humor. Obviously it was their duty to provide means whereby rainwater should be diverted away from the walls immediately below the roof of cathedral or other imposing edifice. So expert workers in stone were set to carve spouts for this purpose. And … Read more

Sad might you be if told that, as heir to your grandfather’s estate, the only things you would receive after all taxes were paid would be “all my various looms,” but it might be far better than you think. The old gentleman may have been testing your knowledge of Scottish or northern English dialect and … Read more

Although now a dialectal word, causey is the basis for the word causeway, and no pun is intended. That is, a causey is a raised footway or embankment over marshy ground made firm by stamping or pounding. Probably it is derived from Latin calx, “heel.” Such an original footway might later be widened for the … Read more

It is the American practice to add point or mark; the British are content with “exclamation,” or occasionally with the older terms, ecphonesis or epiphonema. The mark itself(!), however, came into English use about three hundred and fifty years ago, borrowed from earlier Italian usage.

Sorry, but maybe it would be best to slide over the word fetlock. It is the tuft or lock of hair that grows at the back of the pastern joint of the leg of a horse, or the part of the leg where this lock grows, but the word experts of our language have been … Read more

Although the name Taffeta has been applied and misapplied to many different fabrics during the span of the nearly six centuries during which it has been in the language, its original sense, “a plainly woven, glossy silk,” reflects its origin closely. The word has been through just about all the Romance languages on its way … Read more

The name catacomb was, originally, merely applied to a low-lying plot, Greek kata, “down,” kumbe, “hollow”, on the outskirts of Rome along the Appian Way. The church of San Sebastiano was erected on this plot, and, by tradition, the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul were briefly interred beneath it. In consequence, however, the … Read more

In North America, Catamount is a name applied to the cougar or the lynx. Although the Hazlitt Diary, describing the appearance of one on Cape Cod, says: “It was said to be five feet long; besides, the tail was as much more; and it could mount trees, whence its name,” the name is actually formed … Read more

The American wildflower Jack-in-the-Pulpit, growing only in marshy woodlands, is unknown in some parts of the country. To anyone who has seen it in springtime, the cause of the name is obvious. The upright sturdy spadix or flower spike stands under a protecting canopy or spathe, vividly resembling a priest at his pulpit with sounding … Read more

In England, to this day, a pallbearer is one who does about what the name indicates, one who, at a funeral, is assigned the duty of holding up the corners or edges of the pall draping the coffin. But in America, unless serving in an honorary capacity only, he is one of those delegated to … Read more

Like our stock companies today, traveling groups of actors in the Middle Ages had a limited repertory, which then was often but one play. Such a group of strolling players, from Italy, visited London in the latter part of the seventeenth century, bringing with them a pantomime in which one of the chief characters was … Read more

The descendants of mixed racial unions have been known by many names, most of them sufficiently distinctive to identify immediately the races of the parents. Many of these names can be traced to the Spanish, who were the great adventurers and explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We owe to them the terms mestizo … Read more

An older spelling of sophomore was sophimore, and it is believed that this resulted from sophism plus the suffix -or, “one who practiced sophism,” which is the art of argumentation, especially on a fallacious premise. The present spelling stems from the theory that a second-year college student, having acquired some measure of erudition, tends to … Read more

Probably the term Gewgaw for a gaudy ornament of little value was originally nothing more than a contemptuous duplication of nonsensical sounds, such as shilly-shally, fiddle-daddle, and many others. No definite source has yet been found for the term, but it is very old. Though then spelled giuegoue, it appears in the text of Ancren … Read more

It was not that the road, sea, way, or the like was elevated above others of its kind that it was labeled high, tracing back to Old English times, but that it possessed some quality that made it outstanding, especially notable. The highroad and highway were main or principal roads; the high seas were oceans; … Read more

Although slyboots has the meaning of “a crafty or cunning person,” it is closely related to footpad, “a thief”; gumshoe, “a detective”; pussyfoot, “a prying, nosy person”; also to the German Leisetreter (light treader), “a sneak, spy”; and the French pied plat (flat foot), “a sneak, knave.” All of these carry the common connotation of … Read more

With all the current interest in space travel, rocketry, and so on, ultramundane is a word that should become ever more important, although, being polysyllabic, it may never become part of the argot of the “man in the street.” For, with the literal meaning of “out of this world,” it can well apply to the … Read more

A sulky person is one who, at least for the moment, wants nothing but to be let alone, and it is directly from this meaning that the vehicle sulky gets its name. For this vehicle is designed to seat a single person, and one choosing to ride therein presumably feels that degree of aloofness best … Read more

The average drugstore soda fountain clerk would be quite upset to be called a drunkard, but this is what was meant by a jerker some hundred and fifty years ago. A habitual drunkard, in time, loses his ability to move smoothly; his actions become quite jerky, and this led to the coining of the slang … Read more

The word hijack came into American speech shortly after the First World War, during the “silk shirt” era of prosperity when the prohibition amendment was still in force and people with money to spend wanted to spend it on liquor. Some say it originated in the Middle West, in reference to the activities of hoboes … Read more

German silver was named in honor of the country where discovered, for the original alloy was found in nature in ore found in Hildburghausen, Germany. Actually, it contains no silver at all, but is about one-half copper and one-quarter each nickel and zinc. Being silvery in appearance, the alloy has been used for inexpensive decorative … Read more

It is said, and we believe it to be true, that there are far more English words having insulting or derogatory meaning than there are those carrying a complimentary connotation. Certainly slubberdegullion would rank among the most degrading of epithets short of foul speech. For slubber is an older form of slobber, “to befoul as … Read more

Early in the nineteenth century, a German, Baron von Drais, invented a machine that had a remarkable likeness to a modern bicycle, except that it lacked pedals, chain, and sprockets. The rider sat upon a saddle and propelled himself by pushing with the feet, and is said to have been able to achieve a speed … Read more

The surest proof that the letter R was not formerly sounded as “ah,” the approximate current pronunciation in parts of England, New England, and some of our Southern states, lies in the fact that, as Ben Jonson put it (1636): “R is the dog’s letter, and hurreth in the sound, the tongue striking the inner … Read more

“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? “He’d chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could, if a woodchuck could chuck wood!” Confirming this old tongue-twister, a woodchuck can’t and doesn’t chuck wood, nor does wood as such have anything to do with his having been so named. The … Read more

Quite a number of words that have existed in the English language (and in other languages, as well) were coined in imitatation of some sound. One of these is swash, little used now, but apparently originally created as descriptive of the sound of a blow. A buckler, back when knighthood was in flower, was a … Read more

The boatswain was, back in Old English days, merely the lad, swainwith the duty of attending to the small open boats of that period. His duty involved the care of the boat, of its oars and steering paddle, of its sails and rigging, if so equipped, and the summoning of its crew. In very early … Read more

Gypsum would be a much simpler name than plaster of Paris. But English artisans of the fourteenth and fifteenth century thought the best quality of gypsum for conversion into plaster and mortar came from the large deposits in the region of Montmartre on the outskirts of Paris, and thus insisted upon plaster of Paris. The … Read more

In Germany they call the flower Vergissmeinnicht; in France it’s ne m’oubliez pas; in Sweden, forgata mig ej; in Italy, non ti scordar di me; in Spain, nomeolvides, all meaning “forget me not,” and in these, as in other countries, the flower is used as a token of friendship or, by lovers, in token of … Read more

Today, a stool pigeon is usually someone engaged in illegal or shady activities who, to save his own neck, voluntarily turns informer against his confederates. Earlier, he was someone deliberately planted by the authorities to serve as a decoy to gather evidence against those among whom he was sent to spy upon, or to influence … Read more

The most curious feature of the word sofa is its ubiquity, for it is to be found in all the Romance languages, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and has even been adopted into German, with the same spelling and meaning. It is thus far from clear as to the immediate source of the word into English; … Read more

One couldn’t do better than quote from the 1856 Illinois State Register: “There is which is called ‘bock’, in English buck or an item in an issue of a Bavarian lager beer goat, and is so called because of its great strength making its consumers prance and tumble about like these animals.” This beer, incidentally, … Read more

Though regarded as slang, it is fitting, nevertheless, to use the word coconut in reference to one’s head, for it was from that that the nut had its name. Portuguese explorers of the fifteenth century, sailing around Africa, found this fruit growing upon islands of the Indian Ocean. Not only was the nut about the … Read more

The date of coinage for the word hitchhike is not definite but was probably during the period of training of American boys in military camps in the First World War. Making their way home on a brief furlough, that is, the boys would hike until a car or truck approached going their way, then hitch … Read more

Your French dictionary will define the expression hors d’oeuvres, “in composition, art, or the like, that which is not an essential part of the work.” Then it may go on to say, “In cuisine, something such as radishes, olives, etc., served before the main dish.” From this you may see that the literal idea of … Read more

The plum duff is a delicacy which originated in the north of England, probably early in the last century. It was a kind of plum pudding, boiled in a bag, but the “plums” in the dough, raisins or currants, lacked the variety expected in a pudding. Why duff? Well, in the north of England, dough … Read more

The use of “a stiff neck” to denote obstinacy can be found in Deuteronomy 31:27, where Moses uses the term to describe the Levites to whom he entrusted his book of laws. The adjective stiff-necked is used in the same sense in Acts 7:51, where Stephen is pleading his defense against blasphemy. The German hartnackig … Read more

H. L. Mencken, in The American Language: Supplement One (1945), relates that he had accumulated “numerous etymologies” purporting to account for the name of the American beverage we know as the cocktail, but only seven of them could be regarded as plausible. His list, with dates, highly condensed, is: (1) from French coquetier, “egg cup,” … Read more

Foolscap is a size of paper, usually folded, and running in size from 12 to 12.5 inches in width and 15 to 16 inches in length. Rarely, if at all, does the paper now carry as a watermark the design in outline of a fool’s cap, but that is what gave it the name. A … Read more

The name of the horehound (hoarhound) herb is really contained in the second element, which, though considerably altered through the centuries, seems to have been earliest in use. That is, in England of about a thousand years ago, the name of the plant seems to have been hune, and, to distinguish the one covered with … Read more

It is from the Spanish, who were the principal explorers and masters of the Atlantic in the sixteenth century, that we get the word tornado. It originated from tronada, “a thunderstorm,” from tronar, “to thunder.” Somehow, very likely through a spelling error, the word was taken into English as ternado. Later, when it became noted … Read more

The Ascot was a popular tie affected by us young males in the late 1890’s, narrow around the neck and broad and slightly padded where it was loosely tied at the throat, the broad sections then crossing diagonally. Popularity and name sprang from sporting circles attending the fashionable races held annually at Ascot Heath in … Read more

It is to the credit of humanity that the original practice of this eighteenth-century “sport” was suppressed, in England and America, before the close of the same century. As practiced, by men and boys, a broomstick was cast from a distance of twenty yards at a cock tied by a cord attached to its leg. … Read more

The explorers who invaded Mexico in the sixteenth century found, in addition to treasure of silver and gold, a vegetable treasure in the form of a new fruit, unknown in Europe, which the Mexican Indians called tomati. They thought sufficiently well of this fruit to take samples back to the Old World, and the name … Read more

This, gratefully appreciated in rural American courtship in grandfather’s day, is now rapidly disappearing, replaced by humdrum metal or concrete culverts on hilly roads everywhere. On early roads in such country, an earthen diagonal ridge served to carry rain water or melting snow from high side to low side, thus preventing excessive wash. But, passing … Read more

That brave hero Robin Hood was one, that is, a highwayman who, having no horse, pads along on foot to hold up and rob people in carriages or on horseback. Or, let us say, Robin might have been called one, had he lived in the seventeenth century, for it was then that the term footpad … Read more

The great Oxford English Dictionary waxes facetious about the word cocksure. It says, in effect, this should mean “as sure as a cock,” that is, “as secure, safe, certain, trustworthy, reliable, etc.,” as a cock. But what kind of cock? Certainly not a rooster. So, the dictionary suggests, possibly the reference, four and a half … Read more

The Latin word tandem means “at length (with respect to time),” that is, “for a long time.” Back in the eighteenth century, when the study of Latin was a normal part of English university curricula, some student noticed a carriage harnessed to two horses, one before the other, and, being somewhat of a wag, he … Read more

The oldest words in the language sometimes seem to be among the most difficult to trace to their origins, perchance because these origins have become lost in the mists of age. Snood is such a word. It has been found to have been in English, in much its present meaning (“a fillet or ribbon for … Read more

It is characteristic of the American “man in the street” that he displays very little reverence for the purity or tradition of his language. If he can coin a new, catchy phrase, or twist an old one into a new meaning, he delights in so doing. Thus, early in the nineteenth century someone, just who … Read more

To have the world seem to turn upside-down is a feeling that must have been common to mankind for many years, and for at least almost that number of years people have needed to express this feeling. Topsy-turvy was coined for this purpose over four hundred years ago, and has the literal meaning of “top … Read more

Depending upon the circumstances prevailing at the time, any act of familiarity may be interpreted in either of two ways. On the one hand, it may be an expression of friendly companionship, on the other, it may be a deliberate puncturing of pomposity. One such act of familiarity, very common today, is the bestowal of … Read more

Nothing to do with any railroad, the trainband was a group of citizen soldiery organized to serve as reserves in depth for the regular militia. The term arose in the sixteenth century and lived in this sense as long as the practice of having such citizen reserves continued, that is, into the eighteenth century. It … Read more

Beyond the spelling, the name of the Artichoke has no connection either with art or with choking, although the latter was at one time seriously suggested. Actually the name has been highly corrupted through various European versions of the original Arabic name, al-kharshuf. Italians eventually made that into articiocco, and through some four centuries of … Read more

Knickerbockers, such as we used to wear in the early years of the twentieth century, were gathered just below the knee. They were thus likely to be stretched pretty tight over the kneecap, especially on a growing boy or in certain sports, such as golfing. Some brave English tailor along about 1920 came to the … Read more

Of course the original gold brick was of the pure metal which, for convenience in handling, had been melted and molded into brick form. But skullduggery reared its ugly head among Western promoters of mining properties, and, especially after 1880, many of these gentlemen began to create bricks of identical form of lead, coated with … Read more

Acrobats have been doing the somersault for years, and the word has been in the language at least since the sixteenth century. It came to us from the Old French sombresault, which is from the Provengal sobresaut. An obsolete English spelling of equal age is sobersault. But to get back to the derivation. The Provençal … Read more

Sorry, there doesn’t seem to be any valid explanation of the animal prefix. A botanist of the seventeenth century called the European plant the dogberry tree, because of its dark purple berries, but that throws no light on the “dog” element. One writer only gives this explanation: “It is called Dogwood, because a decoction of … Read more

Taken into English directly from the French, in which trousseau is the diminutive of trousse (from which we get truss), “a bundle, a pack.” If taken literally, then, it would seem that a bride’s trousseau would be “a little bundle,” presumably consisting only of a few of her most needed personal effects and household linens.

The Earl of Strafford, in the seventeenth century, wrote of the dish known as Bonnyclabber, “it is the bravest, freshest drink you ever tasted,” a verdict with which we agree. But our friends agree with Ben Jonson, who, at about the same period, called it “balderdash.” What is it? Just milk that has coagulated in … Read more

Stark, in many of its senses in English, is closely, sometimes very closely, related in meaning to the German word of the same spelling and with the meaning “strong.” But this is not the case with stark-naked, for here stark is a corruption for the original term in the phrase, which was start. Start-naked dates … Read more

Though in our impious youth one was considered as very clever who could work this in as, “Let her cofferdam head off,” it really has no connection with an oath. A coffer is merely a tight chest, as for the storing of valuables. By extension, it denotes a watertight box or caisson. And a cofferdam … Read more

We think our American male ancestors of a hundred-odd years ago took keen delight in playing with the word devil. It sounded just short of a swear word, and probably annoyed their wives. At least it is certain that farmers especially took to calling various mechanical implements which, in early stages of development, acted erratically … Read more

Belial is the Anglicized form of the Hebrew b’li-ya’al, from b’li, “not,” and ya’al, “worth, profit.” Thus the original sense of belial was merely “unprofitable.” From this sense, though, the term Belial came to have the meaning of “wickedness,” and the many references in the Old Testament to a “son of Belial,” “daughter of Belial,” … Read more

Touch-, in each of the words touchhole, touch-powder, touchwood, has the special sense of “to set fire to” or “readily ignited”, a sense not found in other uses of “touch” either alone or in combination except those derived from the above. There are two distinct theories to explain the origin of this special meaning, but … Read more

Hunters, almost since time immemorial, have made use of a variety of tricks and ruses devised to enable them to approach their quarry (or vice-versa) without being noticed. One of the oldest of these is the stalking-horse. At first, as the name indicates, it was an actual horse, behind or alongside of which the hunter … Read more

The brothers Bowie, John J., Rezin P., and James, enjoyed better reputations after death than in life. The three, that is, were in the slave trade in Louisiana in the 1820’s, smuggling Negroes into the country from Jean Lafitte’s stronghold on Galveston Island. But James was among the defenders of the Alamo, butchered on his … Read more

The Sphinx name comes to us from the fabled monster of Thebes, which had a woman’s head on the winged body of a lioness. This creature would stop passers-by and propound to them the riddle, “What is it that in the morning travels on four feet, during the day on two feet, and in the … Read more

In the slang of the submarine arm of the navy, a torpedo is called a “fish,” and in applying this nickname our sailors are more nearly correct than they are probably aware with respect to the origin of the name. For the object which was the first torpedo was indeed a fish, in particular, that … Read more

The verb to tread is one of the oldest words known in the English language and its forebears, being found in that most ancient of Anglo-Saxon writings, Beowulf, which dates to the seventh century A.D. It, or rather, its close relatives, are also known in all the languages of the Teutonic group, with the general … Read more

A Corn Dodger is made of corn meal, all right, plus a little salt and water or milk, and then fried in a hot skillet, three or four at a time, and it’s perfectly delicious, especially served hot at breakfast. Why it is virtually unknown north of the Mason-and-Dixon line is a mystery, as it … Read more

Here again, as in hobbyhorse, we find hob as a nickname, this time as a variant form of Rob, the diminutive of Robin. And the allusion was to the tricksy sprite of ancient superstitious belief, Robin Goodfellow. But whereas hob, among our remote ancestors, was rarely more than mischievous, when they united his name with … Read more

In 1889 the Federal Government decided to throw open the Territory of Oklahoma for settlement, and those in charge took great pains to try to see that no potential settler received any unfair advantage over another with respect to the more choice land. The borders were closed, and policed to keep them closed until the … Read more

If those who seek to entice us into a movie theater with repetitions of the word glamour knew its source, perhaps they would use it less freely. Or more freely. Who knows? But originally it was just a Scottish mispronunciation of grammar. The reference was then to Latin grammar, the only grammar that anyone knew … Read more

Along about 1830 a lively dance originated in Bohemia which speedily took all of Europe and America by storm. It was named Polka, meaning a Polish woman, just as Polak means a Polish man. So popular did the dance become that tradesmen vied with one another to attach the name to jackets, hats, gauze, and … Read more

Because brimstone was formerly the common name for sulfur, one would suppose that it was so called because it could be stone taken from the brim, say, of a volcano. But, no; brim is just the surviving form, in this word, of a dozen ways in which burn was spelled four and five centuries ago. … Read more

The Draper’s Dictionary (1882) blandly says, “The name corduroy is of French origin, where it was originally corde du roi, the king’s cord.” But, alas, no such name has ever been used in France. The French name for the material is velours a cotes, “ribbed velvet.” First mention of the fabric was in the 1790’s, … Read more

Ever since mankind began to practice chicanery upon his fellows, it has been found necessary to develop techniques for ascertaining the true value of those materials that are to be found in the marketplace, particularly gold and silver. Long ago it was discovered that if suspected gold were rubbed on the mineral known as basanite, … Read more

The dictionaries try to satisfy consultants by saying, “Origin unknown,” or something of similar import. It might be more honest to confess, “I don’t know.” A lot of speculation by brainy men has been given, but no one knows yet whether the term hobbledehoy came into England from some other language, or whether it was … Read more

Today most of us think of the term four-in-hand only as a necktie, to be tied in its own special loop. But the horsemen among us may have another notion. To them it means four horses harnessed to a single vehicle and driven by one person. And it is to these sportsmen of the nineteenth … Read more

St. Augustine, one of the most renowned fathers of the Christian Church, was, in his youth, rather a dissolute profligate. After embracing Christianity in his early thirties, though, he became a most devout member of the faith, eventually being awarded a bishopric. He was always a prolific writer, and many of the books of his … Read more

A dogwatch is a two-hour vigil on shipboard, so arranged as to alternate from day to day the regular four-hour watches of the divisions of a crew. That is, instead of dividing the twenty-four hours of the day into six periods of four hours each, they are divided into five such periods and two of … Read more

The “curtal friar,” Friar Tuck, of the Robin Hood ballads, was merely so called because the frock worn by the friar was short, curtal being derived from the Latin curtus, “short.” Other things were also “curtal” four hundred years ago, especially a horse whose tail had been bobbed, a “bobtailed horse,” we would say now. … Read more

We don’t use the word hobnob as Shakespeare did. With us it is a verb, to hold intimate conversation with (another); to be convivial with. But Shakespeare used it (Twelfth Night, III, iv) as an adverb: “He is (a) knight . . . ; but he is a diuell in a private brall; . . … Read more

A slipshoe was, at one time, the name used for a shoe or slipper that fitted loosely and was worn for comfort, within the home, rather than for street wear. However, it happened that even back in the sixteenth century, when the term was in vogue, there were certain of the citizenry who valued comfort … Read more

Attempts have been made to give the term country-dance a French background, insisting that it was first the contre-danse of French, Italian, or Spanish origin. Such is not so. It was the other way round. Those dances were eighteenth-century adaptations from the English country-dances. It is not known when nor in what part of England … Read more