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 like as a fastener.
We still attach such a meaning to the word. But through another line of development the German term came also to designate a place, specifically the place where the judgment of a king was administered.
Thence, borrowed by the French in the form estapie (modern hoe), its meaning was altered to specify a market place, emporium.
By the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the French estapie, transformed to staple in English, especially designated a town appointed by the king in which the merchants had a monopoly on the purchase of certain goods for export.
Thus, for example, as long as the port of Calais was an English possession, that is from about 1390 to 1558, that city was the staple for the export of all English wool. Its merchants had the exclusive right to purchase wool for export.
Other important cities enjoyed similar privileges.
Gradually the meaning of the word staple underwent reversal. From the place where certain wares could be bought, it came to have the present meaning of the chief wares to be found at a certain place.
Related Posts
-
Where does the term “Cousin-German” come from and What does Cousin German mean?
This matter of cousinship is sometimes made more complicated than it should be. German is now rarely used in such relationship, replaced by the more readily understood first or full, coming from Latin…
-
Where does the term “German Silver” come from and What does German Silver mean?
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…
-
Where Did the Word Dollar Come From and What Does the the Word Dollar Mean in German?
In 1516, a silver mine opened in the German town of Sankt Joachimsthal in what today is the Czech Republic. St. Joachim was the husband of St. Anne and the father of the…
-
How Did the Word “Tip” Originate and What Does the Word For a Gratuity Mean In German?
The word "tip" is not an acronym for "To Insure Promptness." In the 1800s a tip was understood to be a bribe. As insider information, tip first appeared in the seventeenth century and…
-
Where does the word “shako” come from and What does shako mean in German?
This time our modern word "shako" shows evidence of Hungarian influence, even though the ultimate derivation seems to be from the Germans. Starting with the German Zacke, "a peak," the trail leads next…
-
Where does the word “Rakish” come from and What does Rakish mean in German?
Many years ago some enterprising naval architect, perhaps tired of the squared-off look of the vessels of his day, or perhaps to increase the deck area of his ship, designed a craft with…
