CHAPTER XIII
ETYMOLOGICAL FACT AND FICTION
Romance and Germanic etymology dates from the middle of the 19th century, and is associated especially with the names of two great Germans, Friedrich Diez, who published his _Woerterbuch der romanischen Sprachen_ in 1853, and Jakob Grimm, whose _Deutsches Woerterbuch_ dates from 1852. These two men applied in their respective fields of investigation the principles of comparative philology, and reduced to a science what had previously been an amusement for the learned or the ignorant.
[Page Heading: EARLY ETYMOLOGISTS]
Men have always been fascinated by word-lore. The Greeks and Romans played with etymology in a somewhat metaphysical fashion, a famous example of which is the derivation of _lucus a non lucendo_. Medieval writers delight in giving amazing information as to the origin of the words they use. Their method, which may be called learned folk-etymology, consists in attempting to resolve an unfamiliar word into elements which give a possible interpretation of its meaning. Thus Philippe de Thauen, who wrote a kind of verse encyclopedia at the beginning of the 12th century, derives the French names of the days of the week as follows: _lundi_, day of light (_lumiere_), _mardi_, day of toil or martyrdom (_martyre_), _mercredi_, day of market (_marche_), _jeudi_, day of joy (_joie_), _vendredi_, day of truth (_verite_), _samedi_, day of sowing (_semence_). Here we perhaps have, not so much complete ignorance, as the desire to be edifying, which is characteristic of the medieval etymologists.
Playful or punning etymology also appears very early. Wace, whose _Roman de Rou_ dates from about the middle of the 12th century, gives the correct origin of the word _Norman_--
"Justez (_put_) ensemble _north_ et _man_ Et ensemble dites _northman_."
But he also records the libellous theory that _Normendie_ comes from _north mendie_ (begs). We cannot always say whether an early etymology is serious or not, but many theories which were undoubtedly meant for jokes have been quite innocently accepted by comparatively modern writers.[142]
The philologists of the Renaissance period were often very learned men, but they had no knowledge of the phonetic laws by which sound change is governed. Nor were they aware of the existence of Vulgar Latin, which is, to a much greater extent than classical Latin, the parent of the Romance languages. Sometimes a philologist had a pet theory which the facts were made to fit. Hellenists like Henri Estienne believed in the Greek origin of the French language, and Perion even derived _maison_ from the Gk. {oikon} ({oikos}, a house) by the simple method of prefixing an _m_. At other periods there have been Celtomaniacs, _i.e._, scholars who insisted on the Celtic origin of French.
The first English etymological dictionary which aims at something like completeness is the _Guide into the Tongues_ of John Minsheu, published in 1617. This attempts to deal not only with English, but with ten other languages. It contains a great deal of learning, much valuable information for the student of Tudor literature, and some amazing etymologies. "To _purloine_,[143] or get privily away," is, says Minsheu, "a metaphor from those that picke the fat of the _loines_." _Parmaceti_, a corruption of _spermaceti_--
"And telling me, the sovereign'st thing on earth Was _parmaceti_ for an inward bruise." (1 _Henry IV._, i. 3.)
he derives from Parma, which has given its name to _parmesan_ cheese. On the word _cockney_[144] he waxes anecdotic, always a fatal thing in an etymologist--
"_Cockney_, or _cockny_, applied only to one borne within the sound of Bow-bell, that is, within the City of London, which tearme came first out of this tale: That a cittizens sonne riding with his father out of London into the country, and being a novice and meerely ignorant how corne or cattell increased, asked, when he heard a horse _neigh_, what the horse did; his father answered, the horse doth _neigh_; riding farther he heard a _cocke_ crow, and said, doth the _cocke neigh_ too?"
[Page Heading: EARLY ETYMOLOGISTS]
Moliere often makes fun of the etymologists of his time and has rather unfairly caricatured, as Vadius in _Les Femmes savantes_, the great scholar Gilles Menage, whose _Dictionnaire etymologique_, published in 1650, was long a standard work. Moliere's mockery and the fantastic nature of some of Menage's etymologies have combined to make him a butt for the ignorant, but it may be doubted whether any modern scholar, using the same implements, could have done better work. For Menage the one source of the Romance languages was classical Latin, and every word had to be traced to a Latin word of suitable form or sense. Thus Fr. _haricot_[145] is connected by him with Lat. _faba_, a bean, _via_ the conjectural "forms" _*fabarius_, _*fabaricus_, _*fabaricotus_, _*faricotus_, _*haricotus_, a method to which no problem is insoluble.[146] He suggests that Fr. _geindre_, or _gindre_,[147] baker's man, comes from Lat. _gener_, son-in-law, because the baker's man always marries the baker's daughter; but this practice, common though it may be, is not of sufficiently unfailing regularity to constitute a philological law. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the derivation of Span. _alfana_,[148] a mare, from Lat. _equus_, a horse, which inspired a well-known epigram--
"_Alfana_ vient d'_equus_, sans doute, Mais il faut avouer aussi Qu'en venant de la jusqu'ici Il a bien change sur la route."
These examples show that respect for Menage need not prevent his work from being a source of innocent merriment. But the above epigram loses some of its point for modern philologists, to whom equations that look equally fantastic, _e.g._ Eng. _wheel_ and Gk. {kyklos},[149] are matters of elementary knowledge. On the other hand, a close resemblance between words of languages that are not nearly related is proof presumptive, and almost positive, that the words are quite unconnected. The resemblance between Eng. _nut_ and Ger. _Nuss_ is the resemblance of first cousins, but the resemblance of both to Lat. _nux_ is accidental. Even in the case of languages that are near akin, it is not safe to jump to conclusions. The Greek cousin of Lat. _deus_ is not {theos}, God, but {Zeus}, Jupiter.
[Page Heading: ANECDOTIC ETYMOLOGY]
An etymology that has anything to do with a person or an anecdote is to be regarded with suspicion. For both we want contemporary evidence, and, in the case of an anecdote, we never, to the best of my knowledge, get it. In Chapter III. are a number of instances of words formed according to authentic evidence from names of persons. But the old-fashioned etymologist will not be denied his little story. Thus, in explanation of _spencer_ (p. 40), I find in a manual of popular information of the last century,[150] that--
"His Lordship, when Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, being out a-hunting, had, in the act of leaping a fence, the misfortune to have one of the skirts of his coat torn off; upon which his lordship tore off the other, observing, that to have but one left was like a pig with one ear! Some inventive genius took the hint, and having made some of these half-coats, out of compliment to his lordship, gave them the significant cognomen of _Spencer_!"
This is what Pooh-Bah calls "corroborative detail intended to give artistic verisimilitude to a bald and unconvincing narrative." From the same authority we learn that--
"_Hurly-burly_[151] is said to owe its origin to Hurleigh and Burleigh, two neighbouring families, that filled the country around them with contest and violence."
and that--
"The word _boh!_ used to frighten children, was the name of Boh, a great general, the son of Odin, whose very appellation struck immediate panic in his enemies."[152]
The history of _chouse_ exemplifies the same tendency. There is no doubt that it comes from a Turkish word meaning interpreter, spelt _chaus_ in Hakluyt and _chiaus_ by Ben Jonson. The borrowing is parallel to that of _cozen_ (p. 110), interpreters having a reputation little superior to that of horse-dealers. But a century and a half after the introduction of the word we come across a circumstantial story of a Turkish _chiaus_ who swindled some London merchants of a large sum in 1609, the year before Jonson used the word in the _Alchemist_. "Corroborative detail" again. The story may be true, but there is not an atom of evidence for it, and Skinner, who suggests the correct derivation in his _Etymologicon_ (1671), does not mention it. Until contemporary evidence is adduced, the story must be regarded as one of those fables which have been invented in dozens by early etymologists, and which are perpetuated in popular works of reference. It is an article of faith in Yorkshire that the coarse material called _mungo_ owes its name to the inventor of the machine used in its fabrication, who, when it stuck at a first trial, exclaimed with resolution, "It _mun go_."
Many stories have been composed _apres coup_ to explain the American _hoodlum_ and the Australian _larrikin_, which are both older than our _hooligan_ (see p. 12). The origin of _hoodlum_ is quite obscure. The story believed in Australia with regard to _larrikin_ is that an Irish policeman, giving evidence of the arrest of a rough, explained that the accused was _a-larrikin'_ (larking) in the street, and this was misunderstood by a reporter. But there appears to be not the slightest foundation for this story. The word is perhaps a diminutive of the common Irish name _Larry_, also immortalised in the stirring ballad--
"The night before _Larry_ was stretched."
As I write, there is a correspondence going on in the Nottingham papers as to the origin of the nickname _Bendigo_, borne by a local bruiser and evangelist. According to one account, he was one of triplets, whom a jocular friend of the family nicknamed Shadrach, Meschach, and _Abed-Nego_, the last of which was the future celebrity. It is at any rate certain that his first challenge (_Bell's Life_, 1835) was signed "Abed-Nego of Nottingham." The rival theory is that, when he was playing in the streets and his father appeared in the offing, his companions used to warn him by crying "_Bendy go!_" This theory disregards the assertion of the "oldest inhabitant" that the great man was never called _Bendy_, and the fact, familiar to any observer of the local dialect, that, even if he had been so called, the form of warning would have been, "Look aht, Bendy, yer daddy's a-coomen."
In the Supplement to Littre there is an article on _domino_, in which he points out that investigation must start from the phrase _faire domino_ (see p. 102). He also quotes an absurd anecdote from a local magazine, which professes to come from a "vieille chronique." Littre naturally wants to know what chronicle. In Scheler's _Dictionnaire etymologique_ (Brussels, 1888), it is "proved," by means of the same story elaborated, "que c'est la la veritable origine du mot dont nous parlons."
[Page Heading: ANECDOTIC ETYMOLOGY]
In Brewer's _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_, s.v. _sirloin_, we read that "it is generally said that James I. or Charles II. knighted the loin of beef, but Henry VIII. had done so already." This sounds like a determination to get at the root of things, but does not go far enough. The word is found in the 15th century, and Fr. _surlonge_, from which it comes, in the 14th. It is compounded of _sur_, over, and _longe_, a derivative of Lat. _lumbus_, loin. The belief in the knightly origin of the _sirloin_ was so strong that we find it playfully called the _baronet_ (_Tom Jones_, iv. 10). Hence, no doubt, the name _baron_ of beef for the double sirloin. _Tram_ is persistently connected with a Mr _Outram_, who flourished about 1800. This is another case of intelligent anticipation, for the word is found in 1555. It means log or beam, and was probably first applied to a log-road laid across bad ground, what is called in America a "corduroy" road. On the other hand, the obvious and simple derivation of _beef-eater_, _i.e._ a man who is in the enviable position of being sure of his daily allowance,[153] has been obscured by the invention of an imaginary Fr. _*beaufetier_, waiter at the side-board. Professor Skeat attributes the success of this myth to its inclusion in Mrs Markham's _History of England_. But the most indestructible of all these superstitions is connected with the word _cabal_. It comes from a Hebrew word meaning hidden mystery, and is found in the chief Romance languages. The word is of frequent occurrence in English long before the date of Charles II.'s acrostic ministry,[154] though its modern meaning has naturally been affected by this historic connection.
Even anecdotic etymologies accepted by the most cautious modern authorities do not always inspire complete confidence. _Martinet_ is supposed to come from the name of a well-known French officer who re-organised the French infantry about 1670. But we find it used by Wycherley in 1676, about forty years before Martinet's death. Moreover this application of the name is unknown in French, which has, however, a word _martinet_ meaning a kind of cat-o'-nine-tails. In English _martinet_ means the leech-line of a sail, hence, possibly, rope's end, and Wycherley applies the term to a brutal sea-captain. The most renowned of carriers is probably Hobson, of Cambridge. He was sung by Milton, and bequeathed to the town Hobson's conduit which cleanses the Cambridge gutters. To him is also ascribed the phrase _Hobson's choice_, from his custom of refusing to let out his horses except in strict rotation. But we find a merchant venturer, living in Japan, using "_Hodgson's_ choice" fourteen years before the carrier left this world and became a legendary figure--
"We are put to _Hodgson's choise_ to take such previlegese as they will geve us, or else goe without." (_Correspondence of Richard Cocks_, Oct. 1617.)
[Page Heading: BACK-FORMATIONS]
The most obvious etymology needs to be proved up to the hilt, and the process is rich in surprises. _Cambridge_ appears to be the _bridge_ over the _Cam_. But the river's older name, which it preserves above the town, is the _Granta_, and Bede calls the town itself _Grantacester_. Camden, in his _Britannia_ (trad. Holland, 1637), notes that the county was called "in the English Saxon" _Grentbrigseyre_, and comments on the double name of the river. Nor can he "easily beleeve that _Grant_ was turned into _Cam_; for this might seeme a deflexion some what too hardly streined, wherein all the letters but one are quite swallowed up." _Grantabrigge_ became, by dissimilation (see p. 57), _Gantabrigge_, _Cantabrigge_ (cf. _Cantab_), _Cantbrigge_, and, by assimilation (see p. 56), _Cambridge_, the river being rechristened from the name of the town.
A _beggar_ is not etymologically one who _begs_, or a _cadger_ one who _cadges_. In each case the verb is evolved from the noun. About the year 1200 Lambert le _Begue_, the Stammerer, is said to have founded a religious order in Belgium. The monks were called after him in medieval Latin _beghardi_ and the nuns _beghinae_. The Old Fr. _begard_ passed into Anglo-French with the meaning of mendicant and gave our _beggar_. From _beguine_ we get _biggin_, a sort of cap--
"Sleep with it (the crown) now! Yet not so sound, and half so deeply sweet, As he, whose brow with homely _biggin_ bound, Snores out the watch of night." (2 _Henry IV._, iv. 4.)
_Cadger_, or rather its Scottish form _cadgear_, a pedlar, occurs about one hundred and fifty years earlier than the verb to _cadge_. We find, noted as foreign words, in 16th-century Dutch, the words _cagie_, a basket carried on the back, and _cagiaerd_, one who carries such a basket. These must be of French origin, and come, like the obsolete Eng. _cadge_,[155] a panier, from _cage_, for the history of which see p. 109. _Cadger_ is used in Scottish of an itinerant fish merchant with his goods carried in paniers by a pony--
"Or die a _cadger_ pownie's death, At some dyke-back." (BURNS, _Epistle to J. Lapraik_.)
_Tobacco_ does not take its name from the island of Tobago, but from the native name of the tube through which the Caribs smoked it.
The traditional derivation of _vaunt_ is from Fr. _vanter_, and this from a late Lat. _vanitare_, to talk emptily, used by St Augustine. This looks very simple, but the real history of these words is most complicated. In Mid. English we regularly find _avaunt_, which comes from Old Fr. _avanter_, to put forward, from _avant_, before. This gets mixed up during the Tudor period with another _vaunt_ from Fr. _vanter_, to extol, the derivation of which can only be settled when its earliest form is ascertained. At present we find _venter_ as early as _vanter_, and this would represent Lat. _venditare_ (frequentative of _vendere_, to sell), to push one's goods, "to do anything before men to set forth himselfe and have a prayse; to _vaunt_; to crake; to brag" (Cooper).
[Page Heading: ETYMOLOGICAL TESTS]
A sound etymology must fulfil three conditions. It must not violate the recognised laws of sound change. The development of meaning must be clearly traced. This must start from the earliest or fundamental sense of the word. It goes without saying that in modern corruptions we are sometimes faced by cases which it would be difficult to explain phonetically (see p. 136). There are, in fact, besides the general phonetic and semantic laws, a number of obscure and accidental influences at work which are not yet codified. As we have seen (p. 188), complete apparent dissimilarity of sound and sense need not prevent two words from being originally one[156]; but we have to trace them both back until dissimilarity becomes first similarity and then identity.
The word _peruse_ meant originally to wear out, Old Fr. _par-user_. In the 16th century it means to sort or sift, especially herbs, and hence to scrutinise a document, etc. But between the earliest meaning and that of sifting there is a gap which no ingenuity can bridge, and, until this is done, we are not justified in regarding the modern _peruse_ as identical with the earlier.[157]
The maxim of Jakob Grimm, "von den Woertern zu den Sachen," is too often neglected. In dealing with the etymology of a word which is the name of an object or of an action, we must first find out exactly what the original object looked like or how the original action was performed. The etymologist must either be an antiquary or must know where to go for sound antiquarian information. I will illustrate this by three words denoting objects used by medieval or Elizabethan fighting men.
A fencing _foil_ is sometimes vaguely referred to the verb _foil_, to baffle, with which it has no connection. The Fr. _feuille_, leaf, is also invoked, and compared with Fr. _fleuret_, a foil, the idea being that the name was given to the "button" at the point. Now the earliest _foils_ and _fleurets_ were not buttoned; first, because they were pointless, and secondly, because the point was not used in early fencing. It was not until gunpowder began to bring about the disuse of heavy armour that anybody ever dreamt of thrusting. The earliest fencing was hacking with sword and buckler, and the early _foil_ was a rough sword-blade quite unlike the implement we now use. _Fleuret_ meant in Old French a sword-blade not yet polished and hilted, and we find it used, as we do Eng. _foil_, of an apology for a sword carried by a gallant very much down at heel. As late as Cotgrave we find _floret_, "a foile; a sword with the _edge_ rebated." Therefore _foil_ is the same as Fr. _feuille_,[158] which in Old French meant sword-blade, and is still used for the blade of a saw; but the name has nothing to do with what did not adorn the tip. It is natural that Fr. _feuille_ should be applied, like Eng. _leaf_, _blade_, to anything flat (_cf._ Ger. _Blatt_, leaf), and we find in 16th-century Dutch the borrowed word _folie_, used in the three senses of leaf, metal plate, broadsword, which is conclusive.
[Page Heading: PETRONEL]
We find frequent allusions in the 16th and 17th centuries to a weapon called a _petronel_, a flint-lock fire-arm intermediate in size between an arquebus and a pistol. It occurs several times in Scott--
"'Twas then I fired my _petronel_, And Mortham, steed and rider, fell." (_Rokeby_, i. 19.)
On the strength of a French form, _poitrinal_, it has been connected with Fr. _poitrine_, chest, and various explanations are given. The earliest is that of the famous Huguenot surgeon Ambroise Pare, who speaks of the "mousquets _poitrinals_, que l'on ne couche en joue, a cause de leur calibre gros et court, mais qui se tirent _de la poitrine_." I cannot help thinking that, if the learned author had attempted this method of discharging an early fire-arm, his anatomical experience, wide as it was, would have been considerably enlarged. Minsheu (1617) describes a _petronell_ as "a horseman's peece first used in the Pyrenean mountaines, which hanged them alwayes _at their breast_, readie to shoote, as they doe now at the horse's breast." This information is derived from Claude Fauchet, whose interesting _Antiquites francoises et gauloises_ was published in 1579. Phillips, in his _New World of Words_ (1678) tells us that this "kind of harquebuse, or horseman's piece, is so called, because it is to aim _at a horse's brest_, as it were _poictronel_." When we turn from fiction to fact, we find that the oldest French name was _petrinal_, explained by Cotgrave as "a _petronell_, or horse-man's peece." It was occasionally corrupted, perhaps owing to the way in which the weapon was slung, into _poitrinal_. This corruption would be facilitated by the 16th-century pronunciation of _oi_ (p_ei_trine). The French word is borrowed either from Ital. _petronello_, _pietronello_, "a petronell" (Florio), or from Span. _pedrenal_, "a _petronall_, a horse-man's peece, ita dict. quod _silice petra_ incenditur" (Minsheu, _Spanish Dictionary_, 1623). Thus Minsheu knew the origin of the word, though he had put the fiction in his earlier work. We find other forms in Italian and Spanish, but they all go back to Ital. _pietra_, _petra_, or Span. _piedra_, _pedra_, stone, flint. The usual Spanish word for flint is _pedernal_. Our word, as its form shows, came direct from Italian.[159] The new weapon was named from its chief feature; _cf._ Ger. _Flinte_, "a light gun, a hand-gun, pop-gun, arquebuss, fire-arm, fusil or fusee"[160] (Ludwig). The substitution of the flint-lock for the old match-lock brought about a re-naming of European fire-arms, and, as this substitution was first effected in the cavalry, _petronel_ acquired the special meaning of horse-pistol. It is curious that, while we find practically all the French and Italian fire-arm names in 17th-century German, a natural result of the Thirty Years' War, _petronel_ does not appear to be recorded. The reason is probably that the Germans had their own name, viz., _Schnapphahn_, snap-cock, the English form of which, _snaphaunce_, seems also to have prevailed over _petronel_. Cotgrave has _arquebuse a fusil_, "a _snaphaunce_," and explains _fusil_ as "a fire-steele for a tinder-box." This is medieval Lat. _focile_, from _focus_, fire, etc.
[Page Heading: HELMETS]
The most general name for a helmet up to about 1450 was _basnet_, or _bacinet_. This, as its name implies (see p. 156), was a basin-shaped steel cap worn by fighting men of all ranks. The knights and nobles wore it _under_ their great ornamental helms.[161] The _basnet_ itself was perfectly plain. About the end of the 16th century the usual English helmets were the _burgonet_ and _morion_.[162] These were often very decorative, as may be seen by a visit to any collection of old armour. Spenser speaks of a "guilt engraven _morion_" (_Faerie Queene_, vii. 7). Between the basnet and these reigned the _salet_ or _salade_, on which Jack Cade puns execrably--
"Wherefore, on a brick wall have I climbed into this garden, to see if I can eat grass, or pick a _sallet_ another while, which is not amiss to cool a man's stomach this hot weather. And I think this word _sallet_ was born to do me good, for many a time, but for a _sallet_, my brain-pan had been cleft with a brown-bill." (2 _Henry VI._, iv. 10.)
It comes, through Fr. _salade_, from Ital. _celata_, "a scull, a helmet, a morion, a _sallat_, a headpiece" (Florio). The etymologists of the 17th century, familiar with the appearance of "guilt engraven morions," connected it with Lat. _caelare_, to engrave, and this derivation has been repeated ever since without examination. Now in the Tower of London Armoury is a large collection of _salets_, and these, with the exception of one or two late German specimens from the ornate period, are plain steel caps of the simplest form and design. The _salet_ was, in fact, the _basnet_ slightly modified, worn by the rank and file of 15th-century armies, and probably, like the _basnet_, worn under the knight's tilting helm. There is no Italian verb _celare_, to engrave, but there is a very common verb _celare_, to conceal. A steel cap was also called in Italian _secreta_, "a thinne steele cap, or close skull, worne under a hat" (Florio), and in Old French _segrette_, "an yron skull, or cap of fence" (Cotgrave). Both words are confirmed by Duez, who, in his _Italian-French Dictionary_ (1660), has _secreta_, "une secrette, ou segrette, un morion, une bourguignotte, armure de teste pour les picquiers." Ergo, the _salet_ belongs to Lat. _celare_, to hide, secrete.
We now _caulk_ a ship by forcing oakum into the seams. Hence the verb to _caulk_ is explained as coming from Mid. Eng. _cauken_, to tread, Old Fr. _cauquer_, _caucher_, Lat. _calcare_, from _calx_, heel. This makes the process somewhat acrobatic, although this is not, philologically, a very serious objection. But we _caulk_ the ship or the seams, not the oakum. Primitive _caulking_ consisted in plastering a wicker coracle with clay. The earliest _caulker_ on record is Noah, who pitched[163] his ark within and without with pitch. In the Vulgate (_Genesis_, vi. 14), the _pitch_ is called _bitumen_ and the verb is _linere_, "to daub, besmear, etc." Next in chronological order comes the mother of Moses, who "took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch" (_Exodus_, ii. 3), _bitumine ac pice_ in the Vulgate. Bitumen, or mineral pitch, was regularly applied to this purpose, even by Elizabethan seamen. Failing this, anything sticky and unctuous was used, _e.g._, clay or lime. _Lime_ now means usually calcium oxide, but its original sense is anything viscous; _cf._ Ger. _Leim_, glue, and our bird-_lime_. The oldest example of the verb to _caulk_ is about 1500. In Mid. English we find to _lime_ used instead, _e.g._, in reference to the ark--
"Set and _limed_ agen the flood" (c. 1250),
and--
"_Lyme_ it with cleye and pitche within and without." (Caxton, 1483.)
Our _caulk_ is in medieval Latin _calcare_, and this represents a rare Latin verb _calicare_, to plaster with lime, from _calx_, lime. Almost every language which has a nautical vocabulary uses for our _caulk_ a verb related to Fr. _calfater_. This is of Spanish or Portuguese origin. The Portuguese word is _calafetar_, from _cal_, lime, and _afeitar_, to put in order, trim, etc.
[Page Heading: GHOST-WORDS]
The readiness of lexicographers to copy from each other sometimes leads to ludicrous results. The origin of the word _curmudgeon_ is quite unknown; but, when Dr Johnson was at work on his dictionary, he received from an unknown correspondent the suggestion that it was a corruption of Fr. _c[oe]ur mechant_, wicked heart. Accordingly we find in his dictionary, "It is a vitious manner of pronouncing _c[oe]ur mechant_, Fr. an unknown correspondent." John Ash, LL.D., who published a very complete dictionary in 1775, gives the derivation "from the French _c[oe]ur_, unknown, and _mechant_, a correspondent," an achievement which, says Todd, "will always excite both in foreigners and natives a harmless smile!"
It is thus that "ghost-words" come into existence. Every considerable English dictionary, from Spelman's _Glossarium_ (1664) onward, has the entry _abacot_, "a cap of state, wrought up into the shape of two crowns, worn formerly by English kings." This "word" will no longer appear in dictionaries, the editor of the _New English Dictionary_ having laid this particular ghost.[164] _Abacot_ seems to be a misprint or misunderstanding for a _bicocket_, a kind of horned head-dress. It corresponds to an Old Fr. _bicoquet_ and Span. _bicoquete_, cap, the derivation of which is uncertain. Of somewhat later date is _brooch_, "a painting all in one colour," which likewise occurs in all dictionaries of the 18th and 19th centuries. This is due to Miege (_French Dict._ 1688) misunderstanding Cotgrave. There is a Fr. _camaieu_, a derivative of _cameo_, which has two meanings, viz., a cameo _brooch_, and a monochrome painting with a cameo effect. Miege appears to have taken the second meaning to be explanatory of the first, hence his entry--_brooch_, "camayeu, ouvrage de peinture qui n'est que d'une couleur." In Manwayring's _Seaman's Dictionary_ (1644), the old word _carvel_, applied to a special build of ship, is misprinted _carnell_, and this we find persisting, not only in the compilations of such writers as Bailey, Ash, etc., but even in technical dictionaries of the 18th century "by officers who serv'd several years at sea and land." The Anglo-Saxon name for the kestrel (see p. 100) was _stangella_, stone-yeller (_cf._ nightin_gale_), which appears later as _stonegall_ and _staniel_. In the 16th century we find the curious spelling _steingall_, _e.g._, Cooper explains _tinnunculus_ as "a kistrel, or a kastrell; a _steyngall_." In Cotgrave we find it printed _fleingall_, a form which recurs in several later dictionaries of the 17th century. Hence, somewhere between Cooper and Cotgrave, an ornithologist or lexicographer must have misprinted _fleingall_ for _[/s]teingall_ by the common mistake of _fl_ for _[/s]t_, and the ghost-word persists into the 18th century.
The difficulty of the etymologist's task is exemplified by the complete mystery which often enshrouds a word of comparatively recent appearance. A well-known example is the word _Huguenot_, for which fifteen different etymologies have been proposed. We first find it used in 1550, and by 1572 the French word-hunter Tabourot, generally known as des Accords, has quite a number of theories on the subject. He is worth quoting in full--
"De nostre temps ce mot de _Huguenots_, ou _Hucnots_ s'est ainsi intronise: quelque chose qu'ayent escrit quelques-uns, que ce mot vient _Gnosticis haereticis qui luminibus extinctis sacra faciebant_, selon Crinit: ou bien du Roy Hugues Capet, ou de la porte de Hugon a Tours par laquelle ils sortoient pour aller a leur presche. Lors que les pretendus Reformez implorerent l'ayde des voix des Allemans, aussi bien que de leurs armees: les Protestans estans venus parler en leur faveur, devant Monsieur le Chancelier, en grande assemblee, le premier mot que profera celuy qui portoit le propos, fut, _Huc nos venimus_: Et apres estant presse d'un reuthme (_rhume_, cold) il ne peut passer outre; tellement que le second dit le mesme, _Huc nos venimus_. Et les courtisans presents qui n'entendoient pas telle prolation; car selon la nostre ils prononcent _Houc nos venimous_, estimerent que ce fussent quelques gens ainsi nommez: et depuis surnommerent ceux de la Religion pretendue reformee, _Hucnos_: en apres changeant _C_ en _G_, _Hugnots_, et avec le temps on a allonge ce mot, et dit _Huguenots_. Et voyla la vraye source du mot, s'il n'y en a autre meilleure."[165]
The only serious etymology is Ger. _Eidgenoss_, oath companion, which agrees pretty well with the earliest recorded Swiss-French form, _eiguenot_, in Bonivard's _Chronique de Geneve_.
[Page Heading: UNSOLVED PROBLEMS]
The engineering term _culvert_ first appears about 1800, and there is not the slightest clue to its origin. The victorious march of the ugly word _swank_ has been one of the linguistic phenomena of recent years. There is a dialect word _swank_, to strut, which may be related to the common Scottish word _swankie_, a strapping youth--
"I am told, young _swankie_, that you are roaming the world to seek your fortune." (_Monastery_, Ch. 24.)
But, in spite of the many conjectures, plausible or otherwise, which have been made, neither the etymology of _swank_ nor its sudden inroad into the modern language are at present explained. The word _ogre_, first used by Perrault in his _Contes de Fees_ (1697), has occasioned much grave and learned speculation. Perhaps the philologists of the future may theorise as sapiently as to the origin of _jabberwock_ and _bandersnatch_.
FOOTNOTES:
[142] The following "etymologies" occur, in the same list with a number which are quite correct, in a 16th-century French author, Tabourot des Accords:--
_Bonnet_, de _bon_ et _net_, pource que l'ornement de la teste doit estre tel.
_Chapeau_, quasi, _eschappe eau_; aussi anciennement ne le souloit on porter que par les champs en temps de pluye.
_Chemise_, quasi, sur _chair mise_.
_Velours_, quasi, _velu ours_.
_Galant_, quasi, _gay allant_.
_Menestrier_, quasi, _meine estrier_ des espousees.
_Orgueil_, quasi, _orde gueule_.
_Noise_, vient de _nois_ (_noix_), qui font _noise_ et bruit portees ensemble.
_Parlement_, pource qu'on y _parle et ment_!
[143] Old Fr. _pourloignier_, to remove; cf. _eloigner_.
[144] A very difficult word. Before it was applied to a Londoner it meant a milksop. It is thus used by Chaucer. Cooper renders _delicias facere_, "to play the wanton, to dally, to play the _cockney_." In this sense it corresponds to Fr. _acoquine_, made into a _coquin_, "made tame, inward, familiar; also, growne as lazy, sloathful, idle, as a beggar" (Cotgrave).
[145] Thought to be a Mexican word.
[146] "Sache que le mot _galant homme_ vient d'_elegant_; prenant le _g_ et l'_a_ de la derniere syllabe, cela fait _ga_, et puis prenant _l_, ajoutant un _a_ et les deux dernieres lettres, cela fait _galant_, et puis ajoutant _homme_, cela fait _galant homme_." (Moliere, _Jalousie du Barbouille_, scene 2.)
[147] Old Fr. _joindre_, Lat. _junior_.
[148] Of Arabic origin.
[149] That is, they are both descended from the same Indo-Germanic original. Voltaire was thus, superficially, right when he described etymology as a science in which the vowels do not count at all and the consonants very little.
[150] _Pulleyn's Etymological Compendium_, 3rd ed., revised and improved by M. A. Thoms (Tegg & Co., 1853).
[151] _Cf._ Fr. _hurluberlu_, which occurs in Rabelais, and in Rostand's _Cyrano de Bergerac_.
[152] _Tit-Bits_, which honoured the _Romance of Words_ with a notice (8th June 1912), approvingly quoted these three "etymologies" as being seriously propounded by the author. This is dramatic justice.
[153] The following explanation, given in Miege's _French Dictionary_ (1688), is perhaps not far wrong: "C'est ainsi qu'on appelle par derision les _Yeomen of the Guard_ dans la cour d'Angleterre, qui sont des gardes a peu pres comme les cent Suisses en France. Et on leur donne ce nom-la, parce qu' a la cour ils ne vivent que de b[oe]uf: par opposition a ces colleges d'Angleterre, ou les ecoliers ne mangent que du mouton."
[154] An acrostic of this kind would have no point if it resulted in a meaningless word. In the same way the Old Fr. _Fauvel_, whence our _curry favour_ (see p. 131), has a medieval explanation of the acrostic kind. It is supposed to be formed from the initial letters of the vices _Flatterie_, _Avarice_, _Vilenie_, _Variete_, _Envie_, _Lachete_.
[155] There is also a word _cadge_, explained in the glossary to a book on falconry (1615) as a kind of frame on which an itinerant vendor of hawks carried his birds. But it is unrecorded in literature and labours under the suspicion of being a ghost-word. Its first occurrence, outside the dictionaries, is, I believe, in Mr Maurice Hewlett's _Song of Renny_--"the nominal service of a pair of gerfalcons yearly, in golden hoods, upon a golden _cadge_" (Ch. 1).
[156] This seems to have been realised by the author of the _Etymological Compendium_ (see p. 188, _n._ 2), who tells us that the "term _swallow_ is derived from the French _hirondelle_, signifying indiscriminately voracious, literally a marshy place, that absorbs or _swallows_ what comes within its vortex."
[157] It is much more likely that it originated as a misunderstanding of _pervise_, to survey, look through, earlier printed _peruise_. We have a similar misunderstanding in the name _Alured_, for _Alvred_, i.e. _Alfred_. The influence of spelling upon sound is, especially in the case of words which are more often read than heard, greater than is generally realized. Most English people pronounce a _z_ in names like _Dalziel_, _Mackenzie_, _Menzies_, etc., whereas this _z_ is really a modern printer's substitution for an old symbol which had nearly the sound _y_ (_Dalyell_, etc.).
[158] And therefore identical with the _foil_ of _tinfoil_, _counterfoil_, etc.
[159] It is a diminutive of some word which appears to be unrecorded (_cf._ Fr. _pistolet_ for the obsolete _pistole_). Charles Reade, whose archaeology is very sound, makes Denys of Burgundy say, "_Petrone_ nor harquebuss shall ever put down Sir Arbalest" (_Cloister and Hearth_, Ch. 24); but I can find no other authority for the word.
[160] _Fusee_, in this sense, occurs in _Robinson Crusoe_.
[161] Over the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral hangs his cumbrous tilting helmet. But the magnificent recumbent bronze effigy below represents him in his fighting kit, basnet on head.
[162] _Burgonet_, Fr. _bourguignotte_, is supposed to mean _Burgundian_ helmet. The origin of _morion_ is unknown, but its use by Scott in _Ivanhoe_--"I have twice or thrice noticed the glance of a _morrion_ from amongst the green leaves." (Ch. 40)--is an anachronism by four centuries. Both words are used vaguely as general names for helmet.
[163] See _pay_ (p. 160). It will be found that all verbs of this nature are formed from the name of the substance applied.
[164] See letter by Dr Murray, afterwards Sir James Murray, in the _Athenaeum_, Feb. 4, 1884.
[165] The _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ does not imitate the wise reticence of Tabourot's saving clause, but pronounces authoritatively for the _porte de Hugon_ fable.
INDEX
abacot, 201
abet, 77, _n._
abeyance, 108
abominable, 3, _n._
abominate, 3
abracadabra, 15, _n._ 2
accomplice, 128, _n._
acquaint, 78
acton, 115
adder, 113
adjutant, 34, 147
admiral, 148
affidavit, 4
ague, 139
aitch-bone, 113
akimbo, 100
Alabaster, 170
alarm, 115
alarum, 115
albert chain, 39
alcade, 115
alderman, 92
Aldridge, 171
Alec, 70
alert, 115
_alfana_, 187
Alfred David, 125
alguazil, 115
alibi, 4
alley, 69
alligator, 115
Allman, 173
allure, 110
alone, 62
Alured, 195, _n._ 2
A.M., 4
ampersand, 57
analysis, 6
_ananas_, 32, _n._ 1
ancient, 128
andiron, 115
Andrea Ferrara, 50
anecdotage, 132
animal, 4
anlace, 59
Annabel, 58
_ansatus_, 100
antic, 141
antlers, 99
ant-lion, 32
_apache_, 12
_Apfelsine_, 31
appeach, 62
appendicitis, 11
apprentice, 118
apricot, 20
apron, 57, 113
Arabella, 58
arbour, 133
arch, 83
argosy, 50
_aringo_, 21
Arkwright, 176
arles, 119
armada, 2
_armee_, 2
Armitage, 5
Armstrong, 180
aroma, 6
arquebus, 127
arrant, 83
arras, 47
array, 95, _n._
_arriere-ban_, 72
artillery, 161, _n._
assassin, 22
assegai, 25
asset, 116
assize, 62
assoil, 10
astonish, 106
astound, 106
Atkin, 171
atlas, 6
atomy, 62
_atout_, 9
Atterbury, 172
Atwood, 172
_auberge_, 133, 164
Aubray, 174
_Augensprosse_, 99
auger, 113
avers, 143
avoirdupois, 143, _n._ 2
ayah, 26
Bacchus, 170
'baccy, 66
bacinet, 198
bachelor's buttons, 30
backgammon, 158
_badaud_, 108, _n._ 1
Bailey, 175
_bailler_, 108, _n._ 1
bait, 77, _n._
baize, 119
Bakerloo, 66
bald, 38
bald-faced stag, 38
ballad, 152
ballet, 152
baluster, 60
ban, 72
banal, 73
bandore, 149
bandy, 109
banish, 72
Banister, 179
banister, 60
_banlieue_, 73
banjo, 149
bannal, 73, _n._
banns, 72
Barclay, 145
Bardell, 171
Barker, 178
baron, 191
barracking, 13
bartisan, 14
Barton, 172
Bart's, 66
basilisk, 38
basnet, 156, 198
bastinado, 26, _n._ 2
_battant neuf_, 107
batter, 154
battledore, 132
_Bauer_, 160
bay, 108, 119
Bayard, 119
Bayliss, 175
bead, 74
beadroll, 74
beadsman, 74
_beante_, 108, _n._ 1
beat the bush, 108
Beaufoy, 170
Beaulieu, 123
_beaupre_, 128, _n._
beaver, 155
_bec-jaune_, 96
bedlam, 61
Beecham, 169
beef-eater, 191
beejam, 96
beg, 193
begum, 157
belcher, 85
beldam, 85
_belette_, 91
belfry, 164
Bell, 170
Bella, 70
belladonna, 85
Bellows, 170
Bendigo, 190
_benet_, 45
bergamot, 157
_bergeronnette_, 34
bergomask, 157
Bert, 70
bess, 42
bet, 77, _n._
_bete a bon Dieu_, 35
Betts, 172
betty, 42
bever, 124
beverage, 60
Bewsher, 85, _n._
bey, 157
bezant, 49
bible, 86
biggin, 193
bike, 66
bilbo, 50
billiments, 66
Billingsgate, 48
billy-cock, 40
binnacle, 63
bird-lime, 200
Bishop, 175
biz, 67
black art, 130
blackguard, 84
Blood, 181
Blount, 181
bluff, 94, _n._
Blundell, 181
blunderbuss, 127
Blunt, 181
Bob, 172
bobby, 45
bodice, 118
Bodkin, 171
boer, 84, _n._ 1
_boite_, 127
Boleyn, 173
bombasine, 96
bombast, 96
_bona-fide_, 4
Bone, 181
bonfire, 151
_bonhomme_, 80
_bonne femme_, 80
Bonner, 181
bonus, 4
boojum, 16
book, 86
Booker, 178
boom, 17
Boon, 170, 181
boor, 84
boot and saddle, 129
_bordereau_, 93
borel, 73
boss, 20
_boudoir_, 75
_boulevard_, 121
_boussole_, 127
_boutique_, 114
_bouvreuil_, 33
Bovril, 16
bowdlerise, 41
bower, 160
Bowery, 160, _n._ 2
bowie, 39
Bowser, 85, _n._
Bowyer, 176
boycott, 41
Boyer, 176
Brabazon, 173
brand new, 107
brandy, 68
branks, 8
_brasse_, 87
Brazil, 51
breeches, 117
breeks, 117
Brett, 173
Brewer, 182
briar, 165
bridal, 121
Bridges, 173
brig, 67
brigantine, 67
brisk, 63, _n._ 2
Bristow, 173
Britton, 173, _n._ 2
Brock, 180
Broderer, 178
broker, 150
bronze, 48
brooch, 151, 202
brose, 118
brougham, 39
Bruin, 36
Brunel, 181
buccaneer, 61, _n._
_Buechse_, 127
_Buchstabe_, 86
buck, 150
Buckhurst Holt, 135
budget, 88
bugle, 69
Bull, 181
Bullen, 173
bulwark, 121
buncombe, 48
bungalow, 94, _n._
bunkum, 48
burden, 157
bureau, 73
burgonet, 199
Burgoyne, 173
Burke, 41
_Bursche_, 94
bus, 69
bushes, 127
butcher, 150
buttery, 165
buxom, 82
Bythesea, 172
cab, 66
cabal, 192
cabbage, 153
_caboche_, 153
cad, 66
caddie, 66
cadge, 193
Caesar, 175
Caffyn, 181
cage, 109
_cahier_, 146
caitiff, 139
cajole, 109
calculation, 87
calendar, 159
calender, 159
_calfater_, 201
Caliban, 132
callant, 68
calumet, 24
Calvert, 179
cambric, 47
Cambridge, 193
camomile, 32
canary, 51
cancel, 88
cancer, 35
_canif_, 55
canker, 35
cannibal, 132
canter, 68
canvass, 72
cape, 26
Capel Court, 152
_capestro_, 67
_capot_, 102
captain, 139
captive, 139
carat, 21
Carew, 123
Carfax, 122, _n._ 2
cargo, 142
cark, 142
carmine, 147
carnell, 202
carol, 152
carousal, 166
carouse, 166
cartridge, 61
case, 157
cash, 157
cashier, 18, 157
cashmere, 47
casket, 140
cass, 157
cast, 157
caste, 26
catch, 143
catchpole, 165
cate, 62
cater, 63
caterpillar, 33
catkin, 33
Catonet, 41
Cator, 62
cattle, 143
caucus, 13
caudle, 7
cauliflower, 153
caulk, 200
causeway, 125
caveat, 4
_cavestrolo_, 67
cavie, 109
celandine, 30
_cercueil_, 140
_cerf-volant_, 38
cervelas, 136
chabouk, 26
_chaise_, 116, _n._ 2
Challen, 173
Challis, 173
Chaloner, 177
chamberlain, 90
_chambree_, 94
chameleon, 32
Champain, 173
Champneys, 174
chancel, 88
chancellor, 88
chancery, 165
Chaney, 174
_Chantecler_, 36
chap, 67
_chapeau_, 26
chapel, 26, 152
chaperon, 27
chaplet, 26
Chapman, 175
chapman, 67
chare, 2
charge, 142
charwoman, 2
chase, 143, 157
Chater, 143
_chaton_, 33
chattel, 143
Chaucer, 175
_chauvin_, 13
chawbuck, 26
Chawner, 177
Chaworth, 173
cheat, 84
check, 87, 120
cheer, 135
chelidonium, 30
_chenapan_, 55
Chenevix, 174, _n._ 2
_chenille_, 33
_cheptel_, 143
cheque, 89
chequer, 87
_chercher_, 57
cherry, 116
Chesney, 174
chess, 120
Chesterfield, 40
cheval-de-frise, 47, _n._ 1
_chevalet_, 39
_chevaucher_, 66
chewet, 37
chieftain, 139
chime, 8
Chinee, 116
Chippendale, 40
Chipping, 67, _n._
chit, 96
chore, 2
chortle, 16
_chou_, 153
_choucroute_, 129
chouse, 189
chuet, 37
chum, 94
churl, 84
cinch, 24
cinematograph, 11
cipher, 147
cit, 66
citizen, 122
Clark, 145
_Claude_, 45
claymore, 132
Cleaver, 178
clerk, 145
clothes-horse, 39
clove, 91
club, 78
cobalt, 44
Cobbett, 171
cobra, 26
cockney, 186
cocoa, 23
cocoa-nut, 23
coffer, 140
Coffin, 181
coffin, 140
cognovit, 4
colander, 154
_Colas_, 45
cole, 153
Collet, 170
colon, 6
colonel, 58
Coltman, 177
colza, 153
_comadreja_, 92
comma, 6
_commere_, 94
companion, 93, 165
compassion, 2
_compere_, 94
complex, 4
compound, 157
comptroller, 88
comrade, 94
connect, 105
constable, 89
_controle_, 88
controller, 88
Conyers, 173
coon, 64
cooper, 81, _n._
coopering, 67
_cordonnier_, 128
cordwainer, 128
_corne_, 117
Corner, 177
Cornwall, 151
Cornwallis, 174
corp, 116
corsair, 22
costermonger, 63, _n._ 1
_couleuvre_, 7
counterpane, 137
counterpoint, 137
court-card, 129
Coward, 181
coward, 36
cowslip, 30
cozen, 110
crack, 67
_cracovienne_, 50
crane, 38
crane's bill, 29
cratch, 8
cravat, 48
crayfish, 125
credence table, 123
crestfallen, 108
_cretin_, 45
crew, 64
Cri, 66
crimson, 147
crinoline, 137
Crocker, 178
Croker, 178
crowd, 176
crowfoot, 29
Crowther, 176
crosier, 164
cubit, 87
Cuddy, 36
cuddy, 165
cuirass, 161
Cullen, 173
cullis, 154
culverin, 7, 38
culvert, 203
cummer, 92, 95
_curee_, 161
curmudgeon, 201
currant, 49
curry, 95
curry favour, 131
curtal axe, 126
Curtis, 181
cushion, 169, _n._
cuss, 68
Custance, 171
_custodia_, 103
cutlass, 60, 126
cutler, 126
cutlet, 126
_dada_, 91
dado, 142
daffadowndilly, 71
daffodil, 71
Daft, 183
Dago, 45
dahlia, 31
dainty, 139
dairy, 165
dais, 139
daisy, 29
Dalmain, 174
Dalziel, 195
dam, 120, 142
damask, 47
dame, 142
_dame-jeanne_, 44
Dampier, 173
damson, 49
Dance, 181
dandelion, 30
dandy, 45
Dangerfield, 175
Danvers, 174
dapper, 80
dapple-gray, 71
darbies, 40
Darblay, 174
Darby, 145
Daubeney, 174
dauphin, 34
_Daus_, 109
_davier_, 42
davit, 42
Dawnay, 174
Day, 165
day-woman, 165
_de_, 61, 131
dead men's fingers, 30
Debbyhouse, 175, _n._ 1
debenture, 5
decoy, 109
Dedman, 181
_dejeuner_, 148
delf, 48
deliberate, 1
delight, 122, _n._ 1
demijohn, 44
demure, 101
denizen, 122
Dennis, 170
Denry, 70
Depew, 8
_derive_, 55
derrick, 40
derring-do, 15
derringer, 39
desk, 139
deuce, 109
_Deus_, 188
Devereux, 174
Dexter, 176
dexterity, 3
_di_, 8
_diablotin_, 171
_diane_, 10
diaper, 52
dice, 142
Dick, 172
dickens, 44
dicky bird, 37
die, 142
_Dietrich_, 42
Digg, 172
digit, 87
dimity, 149
_dinde_, 52
_dindon_, 52
_diner_, 148
diocese, 150
dirge, 5
dirk, 20
_dirk_, 42
_Dirne_, 82
disaster, 106
disc, 139
dish, 139
dishevelled, 135
disk, 139
dismal, 8
Disney, 174
ditto, 153
ditty, 153
Dob, 172
Dobbin, 91
docket, 93
dodo, 33
dogma, 6
doily, 40
Dolman, 174
doll, 43
dollar, 49
dominie, 5
domino, 102, 191
_Dompfaffe_, 34
donah, 142
_doninha_, 92
donkey engine, 38
_donna_, 142
_donnola_, 92
do re me fa sol la si, 7
dornick, 47
dote, 80
dotterel, 33
dowlas, 48
_Drachen_, 38
dragon, 38
dragoon, 38
Drakensberg, 31
dram, 87
drat, 65
draught, 120
drawing-room, 65
drill, 148
drilling, 148
Drinkwater, 180
dropsy, 61
drub, 26, _n._ 2
Druce, 173
drugget, 52
Dubberley, 174
ducat, 49
duenna, 142
duffel, 48
Duke, 175
_dummer Peter, Michel_, 45
dunce, 45
Dupuy, 8
Durbeyfield, 175
Durward, 179
duty, 11
Duverney, 174, _n._. 1
D.V., 4
_dyrk_, 42
eager, 80
earnest, 119
easel, 18, 39
_echouer_, 97
_ecouvillon_, 43
_ecrou_, 93, _n._
_ecurie_, 135
_ecuyer_, 135
_effendi_, 22
_Eisenhut_, 29
eke, 114
elbow, 87
ell, 87
_Eltern_, 92
embarrass, 106
emir, 148
Emmot, 36
employ, 105
endeavour, 11
ensign, 128
epitome, 6
equerry, 134
'Erb, 70
ermine, 48
errant, 83
_Erz-_, 83
_escabeau_, 107
escheat, 84
eschew, 64
esquire, 64, 135
etch, 18, 133
_etincelle_, 59
ewer, 115
example, 64
exchequer, 87
excise, 134
exeat, 4
exit, 4
expression, 105
eyas, 114
eyre, 83
_faire la noce_, 95
Fairfax, 181
fairy, 77, 92
falconet, 38
faldstool, 141
fane, 58
farce, 93
Farrar, 176
farrier, 176
farthingale, 137
_Fata Morgana_, 77
Faulkner, 176
_fauteuil_, 141
_Fauvel_, 131, 192, _n._
fay, 77
feckless, 12
fed up, 96
fee, 143
feeble, 58
fellow-feeling, 2
felon, 24
fence, 64
fender, 64
ferret, 33, 149
Ferrier, 176
ferrule, 167
ferule, 167
fetish, 26
feverfew, 30
fiat, 4
filbert, 35
filibuster, 61
_fille_, 82
fire-new, 107
firkin, 21, _n._ 2
Fitch, 180
fives, 10
flail, 58
flawn, 136, _n._
fleingall, 202
Fletcher, 176
floret, 150
florin, 49
flounce, 60
flour, 144
flower, 144
foil, 196
foist, 107, _n._
folio, 6
fond, 80
foot, 86
footpad, 167
force-meat, 93
foreign, 122
forget-me-not, 30
forlorn hope, 18, 129
Forster, 176
Foster, 176
_fou_, 80
_fouet_, 129
_Frauenzimmer_, 94
fragile, 139
frail, 58, 139
freebooter, 61
fret, 133
fretwork, 133
frieze, 47
fritter, 154
Frobisher, 177
_froncle_, 25
frontispiece, 82, _n._ 1
frounce, 60
fruiterer, 63
fuchsia, 31
fugleman, 59
Fuller, 178
_funkelnagelneu_, 107
furlong, 87
furlough, 18
_furoncle_, 25
fusee, 198
_fusil_, 198
fustian, 47, 96
fustian-anapes, 46
fusty, 107
Galvanism, 40
gambit, 158
gamboge, 51
game, 158
gammon, 158
gammy, 158
gamut, 6
gantlope, 130
gaol, 109
garage, 125
garble, 21, 72
_garce_, 82
garibaldi, 39
garret, 104
Garrett, 171
gas, 16
Gascoyne, 173
Gaskin, 173
_gaufre_, 78
Gaunt, 173
gauntlet, 130
geezer, 12
_gefallen_, 109
_geindre_, 187
_Gelbschnabel_, 96
_Geld_, 142
generous, 3
geneva, 68
genius, 4
gent, 66
geranium, 30
_gerben_, 95
_gerfaut_, 121, _n._
_Geschenk_, 91
_Geselle_, 94
_Gevatter_, 95
_Gewehr_, 64, _n._
Gibbon, 172
_Gift_, 91
gift horse, 97
Gilbey, 171
Gillott, 170
gilly-flower, 125
gimbals, 144
gimmal, 144
gin, 65, 68
_gindre_, 187
gingham, 52
gist, 10
_glai_, 132
glaive, 132
glamour, 13, 60, 145
gleek, 102
gloss, 155
gloze, 155
Godbehere, 170
goffer, 78
Gogs, 65
gonfalon, 57
Goodbeer, 170
Goodenough, 170
Goodeve, 171
Goodlake, 171
Goodrich, 171
gorilla, 27
goshawk, 153
Gosling, 180
Gosse, 180
gossip, 94
Gotobed, 170
_goupil_, 35
graft, 111
grail, 13
grain, 87
gramarye, 146
grampus, 33
Grant, 181
Great Orme, 99, _n._
Grecian steps, 118
Greenfield, 175
greengage, 32
greenhorn, 95
Greenhow, 135
Greenman, 181
greyhound, 135
grief, 122
_grimaldello_, 42
grimalkin, 43
_grimoire_, 146
grize, 118
grocer, 175
grog, 68
grogram, 56, _n._, 68
gross, 175, _n._ 3
grotesque, 141, _n._
_guerite_, 103
guillotine, 170
guinea, 51
guinea-fowl, 51
guinea-pig, 32, 51
guitar, 149
guts, 84
guy, 45
Habeas Corpus, 125
hack, 66
hackbut, 127
Hackett, 171
hag, 109
haggard, 108
haggis, 37, _n._
_Hahnenfuss_, 29
Haig, 179, _n._
half a mo', 66
halibut, 35
Hammond, 171
hand, 87
hand of glory, 131
_hangar_, 125
Hannay, 174
Hannibal, 170
Hansom, 56, _n._
hansom, 53, _n._
Hanway, 173
harangue, 23, 55
harbinger, 2, 90, 164
harbour, 2, 133, 164
harry, 2
Harvey, 171
hatchell, 12
hatchment, 136
hauberk, 164
Haunce, 174
_haut_, 132
haversack, 18, _n._
'haviour, 66
hawse, 164, _n._
Hawtrey, 173
Hay, 179, _n._
Hayward, 179
hearse, 75
heart's ease, 30
heckle, 12
hempie, 67
Herd, 179
Hereford, 2
_herrisch_, 92, _n._ 2
Hewett, 171
Hewlett, 171
Hibbert, 171
hiccough, 125
Hick, 172
Hig, 172
hinterland, 14
hippopotamus, 32
Hitch, 172
Hob, 172
hobby, 91
hobgoblin, 37
Hobson's choice, 192
_Hochzeit_, 95
hock, 68
Hoggart, 179
holland, 47
hollyhock, 35
homely, 81
Homer, 176
homespun, 73
_homme_, 55
Honeyball, 170
honeysuckle, 99
_honte_, 55
Hood, 172
hooligan, 12
Horner, 177
horse-coper, 67
host, 2, 158
Howard, 179
Howitt, 171
Hudson, 172
Huggin, 171
Huguenot, 203
humble pie, 113
hunks, 82
hurly-burly, 70, 189
hussar, 22
hussy, 82
Hutchin, 171
Ib, 70
Ibbotson, 172
ill-starred, 106
imp, 111
indenture, 89
index, 4
Indian corn, 52
Indian ink, 52
indigo, 51
infantry, 76
innuendo, 3
inoculate, 112
insult, 3
interfere, 106
inure, 159
inveigle, 110
invoice, 118
_Irrgarten_, 63
isinglass, 137
item, 4
jack, 42, 44
jackanapes, 45
jackass, 37
jackdaw, 37
jacket, 44
Janaway, 174
_jaquette_, 37
Jarvey, 41
jaunty, 127
jean, 47
jemmy, 42
Jenner, 176
jenneting, 121
Jenny wren, 37
jeopardy, 108
jesses, 120
Jessop, 171
jest, 74
jilt, 46
jingo, 13
jockey, 45, 111
_Johannisapfel_, 121
_jolis fous_, 129
_Joenkoeping_, 67, _n._
jonquil, 153
joss, 27
journeyman, 106, 165
jovial, 106
jug, 43
Juggins, 43, _n._
jumble, 144
junket, 153
_Juette_, 42
Kafir, 26, _n._ 1
kail, 153
_Kanzel_, 88
_Kapelle_, 152
Kemp, 176
kennel, 158
kerseymere, 47
kestrel, 100
kickshaws, 116
Kiddier, 176
kidnap, 110
kilderkin, 21
kilt, 19
kimmer, 95
King, 175
kirtle, 150
Kisser, 178
kit, 149
kitcat, 42
kite, 38
kittle, 59
_Kjoebenhavn_, 67, _n._
_kjoenne_, 92
_Klaus_, 42
kloof, 91
knapsack, 18
knave, 55
_Knecht_, 84
knickerbockers, 44
knight, 84
_Knoblauch_, 91
_Kohl_, 153
_kooi_, 109
kraal, 25
laager, 18
label, 93
Labouchere, 178
lace, 24
lacrosse, 164
lady-bird, 35
lady's bedstraw, 35
lady's garter, 35
lady's slipper, 35
Lambert, 179
_Lambertsnuss_, 35
lampoon, 9
lancegay, 25
Lander, 178
_landier_, 115
landscape, 18
_Langlois_, 115
lanterloo, 69
larboard, 121
larder, 165
lariat, 24, 115
Larkin, 171
larkspur, 29
_Laerm_, 115
larrikin, 12, 190
larum, 115
lasso, 24
lateen, 51
Latimer, 177
_Launay_, 174
Launder, 178
_lavandiere_, 34
lawn, 47
lay-figure, 18, 166
leaguer, 18
leech, 155
legend, 3
Leggatt, 171
lemon, 160
lemon sole, 160
lettuce, 119
level, 58
_levier_, 115
Levick, 115, 175, _n._ 2
_levre_, 117
_Lhuissier_, 90, _n._, 115
libel, 42
_liber_, 86
_liebaeugeln_, 110
_lierre_, 115
Lilywhite, 180
limb, 98
limbeck, 63
limbo, 5
lime, 56
Limehouse, 48
limner, 63
linden, 56
_Lindwurm_, 99, _n._
_lingot_, 115
liquorice, 137
list, 93
Lister, 176
little Mary, 43
littoral, 14
Liverpool, 56
livery, 77
lobelia, 31
locomotor ataxy, 125
lockram, 48
Loftus, 170
Lombard, 56
lone, 62
'longing, 66
loo, 69
lords and ladies, 30
Lorimer, 177
Loring, 174
Loveday, 172
love in a mist, 30
Lovell, 171
Lowell, 171
_Loewenmaul_, 30
_Loewenzahn_, 30
L. s. d., 4
Lubbock, 173
lucifer, 4
Luck, 173
_lucus_, 184
lugger, 101
lugsail, 101
lumber-room, 76
_Luemmel_, 96, _n._
luncheon, 124
lupus, 35
Lush, 90, _n._
Lusher, 90, _n._
lutestring, 128
Lyndhurst, 56
Mabel, 58
macadamise, 41
Mackenzie, 195
mackintosh, 39
Macnab, 19, _n._
Macpherson, 19, _n._
Madeira, 51
madge owl, 37
madonna, 142
magazine, 93
magenta, 39, _n._
maggot, 59
magnet, 48
magnolia, 31
magpie, 37
mailed fist, 156
_main de gloire_, 131
Mainwaring, 169
majolica, 48
Malins, 173
malkin, 42
Mall, 166, _n._ 2
malmsey, 51
Malthus, 170
malvoisie, 51
mammet, 43
_manant_, 150
mandarin, 27
mandoline, 149
manger, 8
mangle, 140
mangonel, 140
Mann, 173
manner, 158
man[oe]uvre, 159
manor, 9
Mansell, 173
mansworn, 15, _n._ 1
manual, 3
manure, 159
marabout, 147
maravedi, 147
marble, 69
_marchand des quatre saisons_, 63, _n._
Marchant, 145
_Marienkaefer_, 35
_marionnette_, 43
marmalade, 31
Marner, 176
marquee, 116
Marriot, 36
marshal, 89
Marshalsea, 90
_marsouin_, 32
Martello tower, 60
martin, 37
martinet, 192
_martin-pecheur_, 37
mascot, 13
mask, 145
_masnadiere_, 151
Massinger, 177
masterpiece, 106
match, 8
mate, 93
_matelot_, 93
Maud, 70
maudlin, 61
maul, 166
_Maulbeere_, 58
maul-stick, 166
maxim, 39
maximum, 4
Mayhew, 171
Mayne, 173
mayor, 153
maze, 63
mazurka, 49
_mediastinus_, 92
_Meerschwein_, 32
_Meerschweinchen_, 51
megrims, 35
meiny, 151
melon, 31
_menage_, 151
menagerie, 151
mend, 62
menetrier, 76
menial, 151
Menzies, 195
merchant, 67
mercurial, 106
merino, 153
Merryweather, 180
mesmerism, 40
mess, 93
_messer_, 92
messmate, 93
metal, 144
_metier_, 160
mettle, 144
mews, 120
miasma, 6
Middlemas, 172
milliner, 48
miniature, 81
minstrel, 76
mint, 142
minx, 82
miscreant, 127
miser, 4
misnomer, 9
miss, 160, _n._ 1
mister, 160
mistery, 159
mizen, 9
mob, 66
Mohock, 12
moidore, 142
_moineau_, 34
money, 141
monkey, 36
monkey-wrench, 38
monkshood, 29
_monnaie_, 142
_monsieur_, 92
Moon, 170
Morel, 181
morion, 199
Morris, 174
morris dance, 49
morris pike, 49
mosaic, 168
mosquito, 39, 59
Mother Carey's chicken, 36
_mouchoir_, 99
_moustique_, 59
Moxon, 172
muckinder, 99
_muguet_, 148
mulberry, 58
mulligrubs, 35
Mullins, 175
mungo, 190
_Muenze_, 142
_mure_, 58
mushroom, 56
musk, 148
musket, 38
muslin, 47
mustang, 23
Musters, 175
_mutande_, 99
mystery, 159
_Naegele_, 91
namby-pamby, 70
Napier, 57, 182
napkin, 57
_nappe_, 57
Nash, 114
naunt, 114
nausea, 6
nave, 153
navvy, 68
navy, 153
nectar, 6
nectarine, 6
Ned, 114
Neddy, 36
_negromancie_, 131
negus, 40
neighbour, 84, _n._ 1
Neil, 171
_Nelke_, 91
Nell, 114
newt, 114
nice, 80
nickel, 44
nickname, 114
nickum, 45
nickumpoop, 45
_Nicodeme_, 45
nicotine, 40
niddering, 15
nincompoop, 45
ninny, 45
ninnyhammer, 45
_niveau_, 58
noddy, 45
noddypeak, 45
_noix gauge_, 152
Nokes, 114
Noll, 114
nonce, 114
Norfolk Howard, 180
Norman, 185
Norris, 174
Norroy, 174
nostrum, 4
Nowell, 172
Nugent, 173
nuncheon, 124
nuncle, 114
nurse, 174
nut, 188
nutmeg, 148
Nutter, 179
_nux_, 188
object, 105
obligation, 3
obvious, 105
odium, 4
odsbodikins, 65
ogle, 110
ogre, 204
_oignon_, 95
_oiseau de Saint Martin_, 37
Old Nick, 44
omelet, 136
omen, 4
omnibus, 5
onion, 91, _n._ 1
Onslow, 182
orange, 31
_oreste_, 132
oriel, 58
orlop, 18
orrery, 40
_orteil_, 132
ortolan, 33
_oseille_, 162
ostler, 55, 164
ounce, 114
pad, 167
padder, 167
padding, 96
Padgett, 172
_padrastro_, 25
paj, 66
paladin, 139
Palatine, 139
palaver, 26
pallet, 156
Palliser, 177
Pall Mall, 166, _n._ 2
palmer, 33
Palsgrave, 139
palsy, 61
Pam, 69
pamphlet, 41
pandy, 5
pantaloons, 44
pantry, 165
_Panzer_, 156
paper, 86
parable, 26
_parbleu_, 65
parchment, 49
parish, 61, 150
Parker, 177
Parkin, 171
parley, 26
parmaceti, 186
parmesan, 186
Parminter, 177
Parnell, 172
parole, 26
parrot, 36
parse, 5
parson, 145
Partlet, 36
partridge, 61
Pascal, 172
Pascoe, 172
pasquinade, 41
pastern, 76
past master, 106
Patch, 181
patch, 8
pathos, 6
patten, 117
patter, 69
_paume_, 10
pauper, 4
Pav, 66
pawn, 160
pay, 160
Payn, 181
paynim, 77
pea, 116
peach, 49, 62
peajacket, 135
peal, 62
Pearce, 181
_pecunia_, 143
pedigree, 77, 123
Peel, 173
pelargonium, 30
_pelerin_, 58
_Pelissier_, 176
pen, 167
pencil, 167
Pennefather, 180
Pentecost, 172
penthouse, 125
peon, 160
perch, 87
periwig, 63, _n._ 2
periwinkle, 128
Perkin, 171
Perrot, 36
person, 145
pert, 80
peruse, 195
pester, 76, 167
_Peterchen_, 42
petrel, 36
petronel, 197
Pettifer, 77
Pettigrew, 77
petty, 80
pew, 8
_Pfalz_, 139
Phillimore, 175
Philpot, 171
Physick, 170
pickaback, 71
pick-axe, 126
Pickard, 173
pie, 37
piebald, 38
_pierrot_, 36
pig-iron, 38
Pilcher, 176
pilgrim, 58
pinchbeck, 40
Pinder, 177
pine-apple, 32
_pion_, 160
pips, 102
plain, 81
plaudit, 5
Playfair, 181
plover, 99
pluck, 83
pocket, 97, _n._
pocket-handkerchief, 98
Pocock, 181
Poidevin, 173
_pointe_, 66
poison, 91
poke, 97
polecat, 165
polka, 49
Pollock, 174
Poll parrot, 36
_polonaise_, 50
polony, 49
pomander, 57
pomcitron, 32
pomegranate, 32
_Pomeranze_, 31
Pomeroy, 174
_pomme de pin_, 32
ponder, 1
Pope Joan, 129
porcelain, 39
porcupine, 32
porpoise, 32
porridge, 118
port, 51
portcullis, 154
porter, 81, _n._
Portugee, 116
Portwine, 173, _n._ 3
Poslett, 169
Posnett, 169
possum, 64
posthumous, 126
_post-mortem_, 4
posy, 145
_potence_, 40
_Potz_, 65
_pouce_, 87
_Pouille_, 114
poulterer, 63
pounce, 108
pouncet-box, 108
_pourboire_, 91
Power, 181
power, 9
pow-wow, 14
Poyser, 176
prayer, 74
premises, 6
premisses, 6
premium, 4
prentice, 63, 106
prepense, 1
preposterous, 129, _n._
press-gang, 130
Prester John, 92, _n._ 2
Priddle, 175, _n._ 1
priest, 92
primrose, 125
proctor, 61
pub, 66
pudding, 74
puisne, 80
pun, 66
punch, 94, _n._
pundigrion, 66
_pundit_, 94, _n._
Punjaub, 94, _n._
puny, 80
Purcell, 180
purley, 124
purlieu, 123
purloin, 186
pursy, 126
purview, 4
_Puy de Dome_, 8
puzzle, 64
python, 6
pyx, 6, 127
quaint, 78
quair, 146
quarrel, 161
quarry, 160
quarto, 6
quean, 82
querry, 134
query, 5
quilt, 137
quince, 119
quintal, 21
quire, 146
quirry, 134
quirt, 24
quorum, 6
rack, 155
radius, 4
raiment, 61
rampart, 121
ramper, 121
ranch, 23
rank, 23
rappee, 9
Read, 181
Reader, 178
reasty, 79
_reata_, 24
rebus, 5
recreant, 127
recruit, 64
redstart, 117
Reed, 181
Reeder, 178
_Regenpfeifer_, 99
_Regenschirm_, 64, _n._
Reginald, 36
rehearse, 106
Reid, 181
_reine Claude_, 32
reist, 79
relent, 3
remainder, 9
remnant, 9
Renard, 35
_rendre_, 122
renegade, 127
requiem, 5
restive, 79
revel, 141
revelly, 10
Reynold, 36
Rich, 172
Rick, 172
_Rittersporn_, 29
rival, 3
Rob, 172
rob, 148
robe, 148
Robin, 91
robin, 37
Rocinante, 177
romance, 74
Ronald, 36
rosemary, 125
_rossignol_, 42
roster, 18
_rote_, 176
rouncy, 177
Rouse, 181
rouse, 117
row, 117
Rudge, 181
rudimentary, 105
rum, 68
rummage, 76
runagate, 127
Runciman, 177
Russell, 181
rusty, 79
sabotage, 11
Sacheverell, 182
sack, 116, _n._ 1
sake, 2
saker, 38
salade, 199
salary, 3
salet, 199
Salmon, 181
salt-cellar, 135
salver, 123
salvo, 123
samite, 149
samphire, 35
sample, 64
_Samt_, 149
sandwich, 39
Sandy, 70
_Sankt Peters Vogel_, 36
Saragossa, 51
sarcenet, 47
sardine, 48
_Sarg_, 140
Sargent, 145
sash, 158
sassafras, 30
satire, 93
saveloy, 136
saxifrage, 30
scabbard, 164
scallion, 48
scaramouch, 64, _n._, 142
scavenger, 84
schedule, 93
_scheitern_, 97
_Schemel_, 107
_schirmen_, 64, _n._
_Schoentierlein_, 92
school, 56, 162
scintilla, 4
scion, 111
scissors, 127
score, 89
scrimer, 64, _n._
scrimmage, 64, _n._, 142
Scriven, 178
scroll, 93
scruple, 87
scull, 162
scullery, 43
scullion, 43
'sdeath, 65
seal, 133
sea-lion, 32
sear, 162
search, 57
secretary, 34
sedan, 52
seel, 133
seesaw, 70
_sehr_, 168
_Seide_, 27
_seigneur_, 92
_Sekt_, 116, _n._ 1
_selig_, 45
sendal, 47
seneschal, 92
senior, 4
sennet, 153
_senor_, 92
sentinel, 102
sentry, 102
sepoy, 146
seraglio, 132
serge, 27
sergeant, 148
serpent, 38
servant, 148
service-tree, 129
Seward, 179
sexton, 61
Seymour, 169
shalloon, 47
shallop, 55
shallot, 48
shambles, 106
shame-faced, 125
shark, 33
shawm, 24
shay, 116
Sheepshanks, 77
sherbet, 146
sherry, 51, 116
shift, 99
shilly-shally, 70
ship, 105
shirk, 33
shirt, 150
short, 150
shrapnel, 39
shrew, 34
shrewd, 34
shrive, 74
shrub, 146
_sieur_, 92
_signor_, 92
silhouette, 40
silk, 27
silly, 45
silly Johnny, 45
Sinclair, 169
sinister, 3
sir, 92
sire, 92, 142, _n._
sirloin, 191
sirup, 146
Sisson, 172
sizar, 62
size, 62
sjambok, 26
skate, 117
skeeter, 65
sketch, 18, 22
skew, 64
skinker, 124, _n._ 2
skipper, 17
skirmish, 61, 64, _n._, 142
skirt, 150
slave, 22
slim, 20
Sloper, 178
slow-worm, 99
slug, 94, _n._
slug-horn, 14
smock, 99
smug, 81
snap, 18
snapdragon, 29
snaphaunce, 198
snapsack, 18
snark, 16
snickersnee, 70
Snooks, 170
soccer, 66
solder, 154
soldier, 154
_Soeldner_, 154
solemn, 140
sorrel, 162
sorrow, 168
sorry, 168
_soudard_, 154
_souillon_, 43
souse, 120
sovereign, 122, _n._ 1
spade, 78
_spahi_, 146
span, 87
spaniel, 49
sparagus, 66
sparrow-grass, 125
spatula, 78
spec', 67
species, 140
spence, 165
Spencer, 65, 165
spencer, 39, 188
spice, 64, 140
Spicer, 175
spick and span, 107
spinning-jenny, 42
Spitalfields, 64
spite, 65
Spittlegate, 64
splay, 65
sponge, 56
Spoonerism, 60
sport, 65
sprightly, 122, _n._ 1
sprite, 64
_Sproessling_, 111
spruce, 48
squarson, 66
squire, 64
stable, 56
stage, 64
staid, 101
stain, 65
stale, 101
stance, 143
staniel, 202
stank, 26
stanza, 143
starboard, 121
stationer, 63, _n._ 1
_Steckenpferd_, 91
_Steinbrech_, 30
steingall, 202
_Steppdecke_, 137
sterling, 79
stevedore, 76, _n._
steward, 90
Stewart, 90
stickler, 75, 172, _n._ 2
still-room, 165
stimulus, 4
Stoddart, 179
stomacher, 156
stone, 87
stonegall, 202
_Storchschnabel_, 29
_stortelli_, 144
stout, 81
stranded, 97
stun, 106
sullen, 140
Summerfield, 175
Sumner, 176
supercilious, 3
surcease, 126
surly, 92
surplice, 176, _n._
surround, 164
Surtees, 172
swank, 203
sward, 84
sweet William, 30
sympathy, 2
synopsis, 6
syrup, 146
tabby, 47
taffrail, 126
taint, 64
talisman, 22
tallage, 134
tally, 88
talon, 9
Tammany, 14
tandem, 4
tank, 26
tankard, 59
tansy, 30
tantalise, 41
_tante_, 70
tarantella, 50
tarantula, 50
tartan, 19, 47
tassel, 163
'tater, 66
tattoo, 18, 162
tawdry, 65
tease, 12
teasel, 12
'tec, 65
teetotaller, 6
teetotum, 6
Telford, 182
'tench, 65
tender, 64
tenet, 4
tennis, 10
tent, 163
tenter-hooks, 154
termagant, 46
test, 106
testy, 79
tetchy, 163
_tete_, 106
thimble, 61
Thoroughgood, 170
Tibbet, 171
Tibert, 36
tick, 67
tidbit, 123
tiddlebat, 172, _n._ 2
'Tilda, 70
Tillet, 171
Tillotson, 172
tilt, 108
_tinnunculus_, 100
tinsel, 59
tire, 63
tit, 123
titbit, 123
titmouse, 123
tittlebat, 172, _n._ 2
tittle-tattle, 70
'Tizer, 69
tobacco, 194
toby jug, 44
tocsin, 152
Todhunter, 177
toils, 108
_tolle Buchen_, 129
tomtit, 37
Tono-Bungay, 16
Toogood, 170
Tooley St., 65
touchy, 163
tousle, 12
Towser, 12
toy, 18
Tozer, 12
trace, 118
tram, 191
traveller's joy, 30
treacle, 75
trellis, 148
trepan, 109
tret, 144
trews, 117
tribunal, 4
_Trinkgeld_, 91
tripod, 140
tripos, 140
trivet, 139
trivial, 3
trouble, 59
Troublefield, 175
trousers, 117
trove, 61, 101
troy, 50
truce, 119
trump, 9
Trumper, 177
tuberose, 125
Tucker, 178
tucket, 153
tuck of drum, 153
tulip, 147
turban, 147
turkey, 52
Turney, 171
turnip, 95
tweeny, 92
tweezers, 120
twill, 148
Tybalt, 36
umber, 152
umbrella, 152
umpire, 113
uncouth, 2
Underhill, 172
undertaker, 63, _n._ 1
unkempt, 2
unseal, 133
upholder, 178
upholsterer, 63
usher, 90
usquebaugh, 68
utterance, 163
vagabond, 168
vagrant, 168
Valais, 152
vambrace, 62
vamose, 10
vamp, 61
van, 62, 69
vane, 58
vanguard, 62
_varech_, 55
Varney, 174, _n._ 1
'varsity, 69
_varsovienne_, 50
vaunt, 194
vauntcourier, 62
Veck, 175, _n._ 2
_vedette_, 104
vellum, 56
veneer, 147
venew, 123
veney, 123
venom, 56
venue, 124
verdigris, 129
_verheeren_, 2
Verney, 174, _n._ 1
verse, 143
_vertugadin_, 137
vet, 66
veto, 4
Vick, 175, _n._ 2
victoria, 39
videlicet, 4
vie, 65
_vigie_, 103
vignette, 81
viking, 168
villa, 150
villain, 150
vinegar, 80
_viva-voce_, 4
viz., 4
_voile_, 117
voltaism, 40
vril, 16, _n._
wafer, 78
wag, 67
Wait, 176
waits, 76
Wales, 151
Walker, 178
Wallachia, 151
wallet, 59
_Wallis_, 152
Walloon, 151
walnut, 151
Ward, 179
warison, 14
Warner, 176
Wat, 36
wattle, 59
weed, 2
week-end, 12
Weenen, 31
weir, 64, _n._
wellington, 39
wench, 82
wergild, 142
wheatear, 117
wheel, 189
whisky, 63, _n._ 2, 68
white feather, 108
Whittaker, 175
Whittier, 177
wig, 69
Wilmot, 171
wipe, 66
wire, 66
wiseacre, 128
wistaria, 31
witch-elm, 128
worsted, 48
write, 74
Wyatt, 171
Xeres, 51
yacht, 18
Yankee, 116
yard, 87
yare, 95
_Ysopet_, 41
zany, 45
_Zentner_, 21
zero, 147
zest, 112
_Zettel_, 93
zigzag, 70
_zijde_, 27
_Zins_, 134
Zoo, 66
zounds, 65
_Zwiebel_, 95
_Zwilch_, 148
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH
Transcriber's Endnotes:
The text remains as printed, with the following exceptions:
Page 60. Chapter V. "colonets" amended to _colonnettes_. "... but to the bulging colonnettes on which it rests."
Page 174. Chapter XII. "Northener" amended to _Northerner_. "... may stand for _le Noreis_, the Northerner."
Page 177. Chapter XII. "palissades" amended to _palisades_. "... maker of palings and palisades ..."
Page 222. Index. "sire, 92, 131, n." amended to _sire, 92, 142, n_.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Words (4th ed.), by Ernest Weekley