Language

It may be that the members of the far-flung legions of the Roman Empire sometimes wearied of waiting for their pay. That may have been the reason, we do not know; but at some time during the first or second century A.D., they began to refer to the aurum, the gold coin used in paying … Read more

The professional comedian of ancient Rome, he who acted in comedy, took every precaution when he stepped upon the stage to have no one mistake him for other than a comic actor. Of course he wore the grinning mask which, by its hair or beard, complexion or wrinkles, or other well-known markings would indicate whether … Read more

No one knows the origin of the word “snob.” It may be related to an Old Norse word that means “dolt,” but in the late eighteenth century snob was a British slang term for a shoemaker. Students at Cambridge took up the term and applied it somewhat more broadly to any townsman, to one not … Read more

Comparatively few of our roads could now rightly be called turnpikes. The Merritt Parkway in Connecticut; the Skyline Drive in western Virginia; the Pennsylvania Turnpike stretching more than a hundred and fifty miles between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and a few other roads in the United States could properly be so termed, but the onetime great … Read more

London has been troubled throughout its history by occasional blankets of fog, so dense that traffic becomes dangerous. The condition is aggravated, especially during the heating season, by the vast volumes of black smoke rising from the soft coal used by householders and industries and in public buildings. The result is almost total darkness at … Read more

Prior to the Christian Era little was known of the people living north of the Carpathian Mountains, in the vast regions now embracing, in particular, Poland and adjacent areas. The names of a few tribes had been mentioned by some Roman and Greek historians, but few travelers or even military expeditions had penetrated those lands. … Read more

Schools of philosophy in ancient Greece were almost as plentiful as the philosophers. Thus, in the third century B.C., came the philosopher Pyrrho who carried some of the earlier theories a stage further and thereby provided a new name for his followers. His thesis, in the main, was that human judgment is liable to uncertainty, … Read more

Here we have the word size passing through a great shift in meaning. The parent word, which became assize, was borrowed from France after the Norman Conquest and meant “a sitting,” as of a legislative body or court, a meaning that it still retains. Assize also began to embrace the regulations established at such sittings, … Read more

Sometime about the year 1830 a weaver in the south of Scotland shipped a quantity of his woolen fabric to a London merchant. The material was twilled and with a rough surface, but there was nothing otherwise unusual about the shipment. The merchant who received it is said to have been James Locke, although in … Read more

There was anciently a colony in the province of Cilicia, Asia Minor, known as Soli. The colony had been settled by Grecians, and the inhabitants thought they spoke Greek. But the ears of fastidious Athenians were greatly offended by the barbarous, uncouth speech of these outlanders. Words were mispronounced; speech was slurred, but most prominent … Read more

In 1884 a British manufacturer of medical and pharmacal supplies, Messrs. Burroughs, Wellcome & Co., registered a trade-mark for a name that the Company applied to certain of its products. These were, generally, chemical drugs compressed into tablets. The name which the Company had devised was Tabloid, a name which, by process of registry, was … Read more

In the biblical parable of the man who, before going on an extensive journey, left certain amounts of money with three of the servants whom he wished to test, the amount in each instance is referred to as talents. The source of the word is the Greek talanton which, like the English word “pound,” was … Read more

For a number of centuries the British Exchequer kept its accounts by a system that now seems fantastic. A stick of willow or hazel, about one inch square and twelve inches long, represented each transaction, the nature of which was written on two opposite faces of the stick. The sum of money involved, as, for … Read more

One story accounting for the severe punishment administered to Tantalus was that he had stolen nectar and ambrosia from the table of the gods to give to his friends. Another was that, receiving a golden dog, stolen by someone else from the temple to Zeus, he later denied that he had received the dog. And … Read more

Greeks of old did not customarily drink with their meals. Instead, after a dinner was finished, the host and his guests, and perhaps some guests who had not attended the dinner, were served wine to the extent that might be desired. This drinking party was called symposion (taken into Latin as symposium), derived from syn, … Read more

The great German alchemist of the early sixteenth century, best known under his assumed name, Paracelsus, collected a vast amount of information and made many important contributions to medical and chemical knowledge. The science of the times, however, compelled him to sail some uncharted seas, and we might today laugh at some of his theories. … Read more

Royal permission was granted, in the thirteenth century, to merchants of Hamburg, Lubeck, and Cologne to set up a trading assodation, a hanse or branch of the Hanseatic League, in the city of London. These merchants took a place of business near London Bridge on the north bank of the Thames, and designated it Stalhof. … Read more

The story is told of various British monarchs. Henry VIII was the first to receive credit. That would be some time between 1509 and 1547, although he did not receive the credit until 1655. Next, in 1732, Jonathan Swift bestowed the credit upon James I, who reigned from 1603 to 1625. The last to be … Read more

Along about 708 B.C., a body of Greeks from Sparta moved across the Adriatic Sea and established a colony on a favorable spot upon a seacoast in southern Italy. Under the ancient name, Tarentum, the colony prospered, vying briefly with Rome for greatness in the third century B.C. The present city, its name altered to … Read more

When Odysseus was nearing the end of his long homeward journey after the Trojan War, according to Homer, he was told one evening by the sorceress Circe of some of the perils that yet awaited him. The first would be the sweet-voiced sea nymphs, the Sirens. These, she told him sang the most beguiling songs … Read more

Roman augurs, when studying the heavens for signs which, it was believed, would indicate the will of the gods, faced toward the south. The eastern heavens from which favorable omens were expected, were therefore upon the left; unfavorable omens in the west or toward the right. Thus among the Romans, sinister, which means left or … Read more

The word “sinecure” began as a church term, part of the Latin phrase beneficium sine cura, a benefice without care (of souls). It was a practice of the Church of England, developing in the seventeenth century, upon occasion to reward a deserving rector by allotting to him a parish in which he did not reside … Read more

In the eighth chapter of Acts in the New Testament, we are told of the conversion of a magician to Christianity by the Apostles. That is, the magician professed to be converted, but it soon turned out that he was not. He had himself been skilled, and was able to perform marvelous tricks. Hence, when … Read more

Some books that may still be in circulation account for the word “tariff” in an interesting fashion. The story is plausible, but unfortunately is not true. It runs thus: For many centuries the Moors had strongholds on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. Thus their vessels were able to intercept all merchant craft sailing … Read more

The term staple that now means the chief commodity of a place, once had a quite different meaning. The German word stapol, which had once meant a post or pillar, developed into the English word staple which came to mean a U-shaped pin or rod to be driven into a post or pillar or the … Read more

It has been often said that the word sincere came from two Latin words sine, without, and cera, wax. This fanciful source was explained as arising from the alleged practice by Roman artisans of using wax for filling cracks or holes in furniture, whence sine cera would mean “without flaw; pure; clean.” Modern scholars, however, … Read more

The German philosopher of the nineteenth century, F. W. Nietzsche, used the German term, übermensch, to describe his notion of the ideal man evolved from the present type. This, by literal translation, would produce the English “overman” or perhaps “beyondman,” but neither of these terms seemed agreeable to the ear of George Bernard Shaw when, … Read more

Actually the Latin source, supercilium, means the eyebrow, from super, above, and cilium, eyelid. But the haughty man who looks contemptuously at those whom he regards as inferiors, inevitably looks at them with his eyebrows raised. The old Romans were aware of this characteristic lifting of the brows in expression of scorn, and even with … Read more

The age of this liturgical vestment is not precisely known, but it dates at least from the eleventh century. At that time and probably earlier, but certainly for a number of centuries after, lack of heat in the churches necessitated that the clergy wear warm garments as a protection from the cold dampness of those … Read more

The Roman tunic, like the Greek chiton, was a simple garment worn by all classes of people. In its early form it was a wide woolen sheet, folded across the body and pinned over one shoulder, sometimes with a hole on the opposite side for the other arm. This garment was thus sleeveless and entirely … Read more

About three centuries before Christ, the Greek philosopher Zeno founded a new sect. Various principles were expounded by the founder, but the supreme duty of the wise man, he maintained, was complete and serene submission to divine will. The doctrines were taught by Zeno in the corridor on the north side of the market place … Read more

Greek slaves, on the whole, were treated leniently. But they were usually captives taken as a result of warfare, and it was but natural that escape was eagerly sought. If they did not succeed, however, they were returned to their owners and, to make further attempts to escape more difficult, they were branded upon the … Read more

Among the Greeks at the siege of Troy, as recorded in Homer’s Iliad, was a herald named Stentor. Homer described him as having “a voice of bronze” and with a cry “as loud as the cry of fifty men.” His name passed into a Greek saying, “to shout louder than Stentor,” whence stentorian became an … Read more

In the eighth century B.C., some people from Thessaly in central Greece crossed the Ionian Sea and established a colony on the shores of the Gulf of Tarantum in southern Italy. They named the colony Sybaris. The land was found to be very fertile and it was not long before the city that sprang up … Read more

The ancients knew that of all the things required for the support of human life salt was the most essential. The Romans called this element sal, and whenever the Roman soldier was sent to a foreign land he was given, over and above his regular pay, an amount of money for the purchase of salt. … Read more

Because it was the custom in ancient Rome to offer cakes, or fruits, or even pots of cooked beans upon the altars of the gods as tokens of gratitude, there was an always present temptation before the poor people of the city to steal and eat of these when no priest was in sight, or … Read more

Among most early religions based upon the worship of supernatural beings, the thought persisted that evil might be averted or some purpose achieved if something treasured were offered in exchange. The greater the treasure or the more it was cherished, it was thought, the greater the chance that the desired end might be obtained. When … Read more

All Roman soldiers, at the beginning of any military campaign, took an oath of allegiance. The usual method was that one soldier in each legion was called forward by its tribune and asked if he would swear that he would obey the commands of his generals and execute them promptly, that he would not desert, … Read more

Various attempts have been made to explain the original intent of the word sycophant. Its source is the Greek sykophantes, which came from the two words, sykon, a fig, and phaino, to show. Because the Greeks themselves used sykophantes to mean “an informer,” the general supposition is that the early “one who shows figs” was … Read more

This container for salt has nothing in common with the cellar of a house, except its spelling. And the spelling is a mistake. It should be, and originally was, saler. If we returned to that spelling, however, it would be redundant to leave salt in front of it, because saler itself denoted a saltcellar. The … Read more

Poison was the favored medium for getting rid of one’s enemies in olden times, and was especially popular in the Middle Ages. Placed in the wine cup or the food, the victim had it swallowed before its presence was detected, and cook or servitor could be bribed to put the poison into the plate or … Read more

For the entire duration of the American Revolution, or until March of 1782, the first lord of the British admiralty was John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He was exceedingly unpopular, and the period of his tenure of office was notorious for graft, bribery, and general mismanagement. The personal life of the Earl was also … Read more

In the word rostrum we commemorate an event in Roman history dating back to 338 B.C. It happened off the coast of Antium, a spot of Italy that will again be long remembered under its present historic name, Anzio. The inhabitants of the region in those days had long been guilty of acts of piracy … Read more

Many centuries ago in Old England the name shrew (Old English screawa) was applied to a common small animal about the size and appearance of a mouse, though having a long sharp snout. The source of the name is unknown. The animals, living chiefly in the woods and feeding upon insects, grubs, and the like, … Read more

Nobody knows just when the French began to use the word sabotage. Probably it was formed a number of years ago when children found to their delight that, clattering together in their clumsy wooden sabots, they could drive their teachers or their parents to distraction. At least, in some such manner, sabotage came to signify … Read more

The Greeks loved metaphor. They loved to compare human emotions and human tendencies with the actions or traits exhibited by animals. And, because dogs were ever at hand for purposes of comparison, the ways of the dog served as convenient and well-understood metaphor. Thus they took the word sarkazo and gave it a figurative meaning. … Read more

Generally the ancient Greeks disposed of their dead very much as do we of the present age, either by burial or by cremation. But there were some who adopted a burial custom found in Egypt. In place of the ordinary coffin of baked clay or the elaborately carved stone tomb, a stone coffin was procured … Read more

There grew on the island of Sardinia, according to ancient Grecian folklore, a plant that was to be shunned above all others. It had a fearful effect upon anyone so unfortunate as to eat it. The mouth and face became horribly drawn up as if in scornful laughter. The victim was fortunate if he did … Read more

The material which we call rubber was not known in Europe before the voyages of Columbus. The first probable mention occurs in the account written by that discoverer after his second trip, in which he tells of the “bouncing balls” with which the people of Haiti amuse themselves. But, although the Spaniards of the seventeenth … Read more

It is traditional that the word roam was derived from Rome, and that it referred originally to the roundabout course taken by English pilgrims of the Middle Ages to that holy city. Language experts through the past hundred years, however, have searched for proof of that tradition and have been unable to find it. All … Read more

In the early days of the English language, road meant the act of riding, a journey upon a horse. The horseback journey itself was made upon a “highway,” if upon the principal way between two cities, or upon a “way,” if a lesser path were used. At that time road had a sinister meaning also. … Read more

The reason is not known, but back in the fourteenth century a list or roll of names was called a ragman. Later this was altered to ragman, and the list itself was generally called ragman roll. Perhaps because, like in a dictionary, the subject matter in a list or roll changes frequently, ragman roll became … Read more

France was ill prepared when, at the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War in 1756, Louis XV plunged his government into the conflict. Under the domination of his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, the government had become completely corrupt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Both Canada and India, partly French possessions at the time, speedily … Read more

The Latin rivalis, whence our word rival, referred to one who lives on the same stream with another, it came from rivus, a brook. That would make any such two persons neighbors, of course. But the ancients had many things in common with men of today. Two people who share the same stream are inevitably … Read more

The rhubarb is a plant that was known to the ancient Greeks, and it was they who named it. The general theory explaining its source is that the plant was native to the regions along the river Volga, then known as the Rha. This, of course, was territory foreign to the Greeks, and was therefore … Read more

Some time, probably in the tenth century, but that is not certain, there began to develop in France or Flanders a series of stories about animals. They were somewhat like the Uncle Remus stories of our present age, but the chief character was a fox, instead of a rabbit. The name given to the fox … Read more

Some notion of the extreme poverty of the common people of Europe in the Middle Ages may be obtained from a treatise written by Sir John Fortescue. Though written (in Latin) in the latter part of the fifteenth century, his description would have served equally well in the preceding three or four hundred years. He … Read more

In its earliest sense in our language a shamble, although then spelled scomul, meant a stool. By a roundabout course it had come from the Latin scamellum, a little bench. From stool, shamble became the name of the bench, table, or stall where meat was sold. Then, although after the fifteenth century always spelled in … Read more

The skill of the metal workers of Damascus and Arabia was gradually acquired by European artisans after the Crusades. Along with that skill the new workmen also copied many of the practices which the Orientals had learned through long centuries of experience. Thus it had long been known that nothing was better for rubbing and … Read more

There were really seventy-two of these men, according to the story, although the Latin septuaginta means “seventy” only. The story was supposed to have been told by a man of Cyprus, Aristeas by name, in a letter to his brother Philocrates, some time during the reign of Ptolemy II, 285 to 247 B.C. It relates … Read more

In the republics of Greece and Rome the government was divided between the popular assembly and a group of men selected for their wisdom. But because it was considered that full wisdom came only with advanced years, all members of the latter group were persons of advanced age, old men. For this reason the Roman … Read more

In olden times, although the source is uncertain, a scot was the amount that one owed for entertainment, usually the amount of one’s share in that entertainment, as for the drinks in a tavern. Scot-free thus described one whose debt was assumed by others or whose drink was “on the house.” From that beginning, the … Read more

The Hebrew word shibboleth actually means “ear of grain” but, because of the odd use to which the word was put on one occasion, it has taken on an altogether different meaning. This meaning arises from a bit of history told in the Bible, in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Judges. It is … Read more

Captain Andrew Robinson, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is credited with being the builder of the first vessel of this type, known as a schooner. It was completed in 1713, according to evidence, and attracted a good deal of notice. Its launching was attended with much interest. When the blocks were knocked away and the vessel slid … Read more

The Greek schole which was the original source of school, once meant just the opposite from what the schoolboy of today thinks of that institution. It meant vacation, leisure, rest. The education of a Greek boy was by private teachers in reading, writing, arithmetic, singing, and gymnastics. But no man ever considered his education to … Read more

It was the custom in London and some of the other cities of England, during the late Middle Ages especially, to inspect the wares and collect a fee or toll from foreign merchants who might exhibit their wares for sale. The Old English law called such a toll a sceawung, “showing,” but after the Norman … Read more

And he (Aaron) shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats ; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. … Read more

The inventor, for whom this missile was named, was Henry Shrapnel. He was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1761, entered the army when a young man, and began the study of hollow projectiles as a young officer of twenty-three. He was a colonel, however, before the most notable invention resulting from his studies was accepted … Read more

Anyone whose shoe has worn thin enough for a nail to press through into the foot can have some sympathy for the sufferings constantly threatening the old Romans. They were not troubled with nails coming through the soles of their sandals, but there was every likelihood of picking up a sharp pebble, and no stocking … Read more

Most plants and animals growing or living in forested country are wild. For this reason the Romans spoke of all such things as silvaticus. The term was really equivalent to our word “sylvan,” of or pertaining to forests, being derived from silva, forest, but was transferred to mean the plants and animals found in such … Read more

Egyptian astronomers believed that there were only seven planets and that these all revolved about the earth. From the most remote they were successively Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, using our present names. These planets were held to preside in the same order over the twenty-four hours of the day, … Read more

The skeptron of the Homeric period of Greece was a walking-stick, a cane or staff for the aged or infirm. But such a staff was also carried by foot travelers as a weapon of defense, or perhaps of offense. Either as cane or weapon, however, it received ornamentation and embellishment, and was handed down from … Read more

The oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the most celebrated of all the places in ancient Greece where the will of the gods was sought. But, by some traditions, this oracle had not always been sacred to Apollo. Its chasm, from which mysterious smoke arose, was believed to have first been an oracle of the … Read more

Travelers in southern Egypt brought tales to ancient Greece of a fabulous race of dwarfs who lived along the upper Nile. These dwarfs, it was said, were so small that they were in constant battle with the cranes, constantly on guard against being seized and swallowed. Greek historians, at a loss for a name for … Read more

Hundreds of years before the Christian Era the Phoenicians who dwelt along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea near Tyre discovered a curious shellfish attached to the adjacent rocks. This shellfish or mussel was found to yield a minute quantity of fluid which imparted a dark crimson color to cloth. It is said that the … Read more

Among the traditions of the Greeks was one of an ancient hero whose name, Prometheus, signified “forethought,” and his brother Epimetheus, whose name meant “afterthought.” It was Prometheus who stole fire from Zeus and brought it to mortals, and who taught them in all the useful arts and sciences. It was Epimetheus who, against the … Read more

In certain rites of the ancient religions of the Greeks and Romans none but men who were fully initiated into the mysteries were permitted to participate. Those sacred ceremonies and sacrifices, the objects of worship, and the traditions, with the interpretations of all of these, were disclosed only to those admitted into the body of … Read more

We have a saying, “Never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.” But most of us practice procrastination instead. The ancient Romans condensed such an action into a single word, procrastinatio. Its literal meaning is “a putting off to the morrow.” It was formed by joining the preposition pro, for the benefit of, … Read more

The duck makes the same sound regardless of the country she is in and, with her waddle, she reminds one always of a pompous person, strutting along, and eternally quack quacking to himself. That is what the Dutch thought of the charlatans and mountebanks parading around through plague-ridden Europe in the sixteenth century, each proclaiming … Read more

If a cowboy had been seen in the streets of Rome in the days of Caesar it is likely that a spectator, seeing his bowed legs, would have called him a prevaricator. That is what the term meant, a bandy-legged person, a straddler with crooked legs, one who, because of his distorted legs, cannot walk … Read more

The principal outer garment of the Roman citizen, in olden days, was the toga. This outer cloak was variously marked to distinguish the rank of its wearer. That worn by various high magistrates, and by freeborn children until the age of puberty, was marked in front by a border of purple. It was known as … Read more

When the Romans had occasion to express the notion that we have in mind when we use “putting the cart before the horse,” they did it by the compound word praeposterus. Freely translated, that means “the before coming after,” from pre, before, and posterus, following. The exact meaning of our word preposterous is, therefore, “inverted; … Read more

The word retaliate, in its Latin form, retalio, might be said to have been the equivalent of the English response, “And the same to you!” after an uncomplimentary remark. The source was re, back, and talis, such. Retalio thus meant “to give tit for tat, to return like for like.” In legal usage it meant … Read more

According to Greek legend, there lived in the days of Theseus a highwayman named Procrustes who dwelt on the road toward Eleusis. Travelers, it was said, seeing his house by the roadside, sometimes stopped to seek accommodation for the night. Procrustes never turned any away. But he had two beds, one a short one and … Read more

Were we to reserve the word “precocious” for its ancient Latin meaning, we would use it now instead of “precooked,” for that was the original literal sense. It was derived from prae, before, and coquo, cook or boil. But praecoquo came early to mean “to ripen fully,” and from that sense its participle, praecoquus or … Read more

Shortly after the West Indies were discovered, Spanish navigators must have learned of the potato plant, new to them, with its tuberous roots which the natives used as a food. But the first mention of these plants in European accounts appears to have been in 1526. The name, in Haiti, was batata, and it was … Read more

Marco Polo is responsible for our use of the word post in connection with mail. It was after his return from his long sojourn in China in the thirteenth century, when he described the Great Khan’s system for receiving and sending messages from and to all parts of his vast empire. Large stations, housing many … Read more

The Latin source of the word “precipitate” is prcecipito which, in early use, meant “to cast down or fall headlong,” as if from a high place. It is from pre, before, and ca put, head; hence, literally, “headforemost.” The term was used many times by Roman writers when referring to criminals executed by being cast … Read more

Our own language once contained an exact synonym of the word “remorse”, ayenbite, “again bite.” There was a fourteenth-century English book under the title, Ayenbite of Invwit, literally, “Again-bite of Inner Wit,” but which we would understand better if translated, “Remorse of Conscience.” Remorse came to us, through French, from the Latin remordeo, and its … Read more

Sometimes a stubborn horse or mule is content to let fly a few kicks without doing much damage, and let it go at that, but at other times he does not stop until he has broken up the cart to which he is hitched or has injured the driver. On the first occasion the animal … Read more