Until the seventeenth century there was no necessity for anyone to speak of “Latin grammar,” because that was the only kind of grammar that was taught.
Anyone who knew his “grammar” necessarily knew Latin. Even in these days, among untutored folk, any learned person is regarded with something akin to awe.
But in those days, when few men in any community could read or write, one who was so learned that he could read and speak Latin was believed, by common folks, to possess occult powers, to be capable of witchcraft or of working magic spells.
Accordingly, in the speech of England, such a person was said to have gramary, that is, ability to effect charms through a knowledge of grammar. In Scotland he had Blamer, a corruption of the same word and with the same meaning.
Various Scottish writers, spelling it glower, glamor, or glamour, used the term in that sense, but it was Sir Walter Scott who explained it and brought it into English usage slightly more than a century ago.
Since then we have extended the earlier sense by glorifying the enchantment, though we no longer imply that one possessing glamour is necessarily learned.
Related Posts
-
Where does the word “Glamour” come from and What does Grammar mean in Latin?
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…
-
What does the word “gauntlet” mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
During the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, the English forces observed a form of disciplinary punishment used among their German allies. It looked highly effective, so it was not…
-
What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word “incubus” come from?
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…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
-
What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
A Scapegoat is a member of a group singled out for undeserved blame or negative treatment. The word "scapegoat" is a mistranslation of the word Azazel. An early Greek translation of the Old…
-
What Does the Word “Clock” Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
Like cloche in French, the word clock literally means bell. When the large mechanical clock was invented in the fourteenth century it didn't tell time with a face and hands, but rather by…
