Language

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

Turkey became an independent monarchy in the year 1300. Its army, however, was too feeble and poorly organized for the wars of aggression that the political leaders wished to wage against neighboring states. Hence, in 1330, it was suggested that a band of Christian youths be taken from their parents each year, and that this … Read more

The month of January derived its name from the ancient Italian god, Janus, Januarius being the Latin name, which signified “the month pertaining to Janus.” How old the worship of the god may have been cannot be determined, but it undoubtedly dated back prior to the foundation of Rome. Janus was the tutelary deity of … Read more

Hunters through all the ages have known that their game could be found by following its footprints or the traces that it left of its passage. Roman hunters used the word vestigium for footprint or trace, whence our word vestige, trace, and thus investigo meant to trace or track out, as a dog scents game. … Read more

Once there was a Spartan youth, son of a king, who possessed such extraordinary beauty as to win the affection of the god Apollo. The name of this remarkably beautiful lad, according to Greek legend, was Hyacinthus. But he was also beloved by the West Wind, Zephyrus. And one day, when Apollo and Hyacinthus were … Read more

In Old English the common name for any of the flatfish, skate, turbot, plaice, flounder, or whatever, was “butt.” The most highly regarded of all, however, the one that was reserved for eating upon holy days, was the largest of the flatfishes, so large that fish weighing three and four hundred pounds are not uncommon, … Read more

Greek legend relates that Halcyone, whose name sometimes occurs as Alcyone, threw herself into the sea when she found the drowned body of her husband. She was one of the demigods, a daughter of Aeolus, but had married a mortal. The couple were blissfully happy and their wedded life had been compared with that of … Read more

Among the Greeks a sound body was considered to be equally as important as a sound mind. Thus physical training was as much a part of the general education of boys and young men as was mental training. Buildings were set aside for the purpose and officials were especially selected for their fitness in supervising … Read more

After Queen Isabella of Spain was deposed in 1868 the country was without a ruler for some years. Members of the royal families of Europe declined to accept the vacant throne, but at last, in 1870, Prince Amadeo of Savoy accepted the offer. Three years later, however, he was glad to resign. Thereupon one branch … Read more

In early November, 1605, a plot, long under preparation, was about ready to be put into execution. It was to blow up King James I of England and the entire House of Parliament when the king was to address the opening session of that body on November 5. The gunpowder, covered with faggots to fire … Read more

In 1663, the Royal Mint of England made a special gold coinage of twenty-shilling pieces “in the name and for the use of the Company of Royal Adventurers of England trading with Africa.” These coins, and others of the same value afterward coined for general use, were called guineas, because the trade of the “Royal … Read more

Sponsors for infants in the rite of baptism were, at one time, held to contract a spiritual kinship with the infant in whose name they took the vows. We still observe that kinship by the terms we use for sponsors, “godparents,” parents in God; “godfather,” “godmother.” Such godparents thus were held to be spiritually related … Read more

In the game of chess, as played in England until about the beginning of the sixteenth century, a problem which posed an even chance of winning or losing was known as a iuparti. This was from the Old French iu parti, meaning “divided chance” or “even game.” The term was also introduced into other games … Read more

Ancient physicians, Hippocrates, Galen, and others, and even the physicians of the Middle Ages, believed that the body was governed by four primary fluids, or humors, as they said, using the Latin term for “fluid.” These four fluids were the blood, the yellow bile, the black bile, and the phlegm. The nature of the four … Read more

Because the name is actually a corruption of holy hock, in which hock is an old name for mallow, an ingenious scholar of the past century (Hensleigh Wedgwood) made the statement that it “was doubtless so called from being brought from the Holy Land, where it is indigenous.” This statement has been repeated by others, … Read more

Although this is another word for “helpmate,” it was formed through a misunderstanding. If one turns to Genesis 2: 18, one reads, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The meaning of meet in this passage is “suitable, … Read more

The ibis-headed god Thoth, in Egyptian theology, was the god of wisdom, science, magic, religion, and art. The Greeks identified him with Hermes, and he was therefore often known as Hermes Trismegistus (Hermes Thrice-greatest). He was the reputed author of the 42 books that constituted the sum of Egyptian learning, books which were therefore known … Read more

Among the amusements in England of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially in the May-day celebrations, was one known as the morris dance. Its original name had been “Moorish dance,” and some of the features, probably borrowed from the Moors of Spain, were long retained. Thus, although the group of characters costumed for the dance … Read more

Little more may be done with the word “hobo” than to repeat the several theories that have been advanced to explain its origin. Any one of them might be true, but there is no proof as yet. Slightly less than four centuries ago the French musical instrument, the hautbois, came into English use. Its name … Read more

Genghis Khan, great leader of the Mongols, died in 1227. He left his vast empire to his sons and grandsons, dividing it among them. To one of the grandsons, Batu Khan, fell the leadership in 1235 of the Mongol invasion of Europe. Without meeting much resistance his armies crossed the Volga River, where one part … Read more

After he had plowed, the old British agriculturalist raked his land with a “harrow.” The Norman invaders of England in the eleventh century called this implement a herse, a term which had come down in French from the Latin hirpex, rake. This was a heavy, triangular affair of wood, with spikes projecting from the lower … Read more

Here is an instance of a word being formed first, through mispronunciation, and a meaning then devised which would account for the word. Anciently the English word on which “hangnail” was based was angmegl, which then meant “a painful corn or wart on the foot.” It was literally, “a painful nail,” because at that time … Read more

In 1738, the British House of Commons was stirred by a story related by one Robert Jenkins. Jenkins, a master mariner, said that he had been peacefully trading in the West Indies when his vessel had been boarded by a Spanish guard, his hold had been rifled, and as a crowning indignity one of his … Read more

In Homer’s Iliad, the chief hero and champion among the Trojans was Hector, the son of their king, Priam. He was described as being an ideal son, husband, and father, loyal to his friends, and a man of the highest courage and bravery. He was feared by the Greeks above all others among their Trojan … Read more

Gramm is the Latin word for grain or seed, and is the source of a number of the words we now use. Not only grain and grange and granary, but also garnet, grenade, and pomegranate. The latter words came from the Latin adjective, granatus, “having many seeds.” Anyone who has eaten a pomegranate will readily … Read more