The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-07-05
The Origin sBd Gse Of the Wers
~Commsneemento "a Applied 60 God

THE Origin eRd Gse Of the Wcr1
commencement :" 90 Applied 60 God
geges. &c.
TO he Editors Of The Dispatchs
Will you allow a quiet reader, who ha'
been following with interest the discussion
between the Dispatch and It's correspondent
~A. NJ" on the origin of the term ICON
.mencement," as applied to the time for con-
ferripg degrees in colleges and uniyersIues'
20 express bis humble opinion that Dotn axe
wrong, and to give WHIST be thinks must oe
regarded as The true explanation OF %nls aI
parentiy anomalous use OF That woro! a
college commencement Is not the anniVersa-
~ Of the day when tbs college commenced
lis existence; nor is II so called because the
graduate then "commences life" or enters
mon it's active duties; but because the stu
dent then commences to he Bachelor Of Arts
m. Master of Arts. This, l think, will clear
" appear from q few citations. 10 Johnson's
Dictionary, among the definitions Of the
-Ineuterl verb commence Is this: To take q
new chMacter;" which IL illustrated by the
following quotation from Pope:
ar wit so much from ignorance undergo,
All! let not learning, too, commence iss Zoe y
that IL, commence 10 be its foe.
To W ebster edition 184D we IND th's de'
fnition OF commence: To begin TO be,
as In change of character u; and the same
quotation from Pope 10 given IN Illustration.
In the edition Of 1873 we have the dedni.
top. Hto begin to be or to appear to begin
TO net in the capacity of"-which Is exem.
plifed by the following from C0leridge :
aWhen we are weared of the trouble OF
prosecutiue crimes ut the bar we commence
Judges ourselves" Richard Grant White
objects 10 this as "misuse " of the word but
beadmits that british writers Of all grades
but the very highest will say, for instance,
that man went TO London and commenced
poet, or commenced politician. MIR. Swim
burne says that Blake commenced pupil"
He adduces also the above lines from Pope.
After the above citations we easily under.
stand how the verb "commence" may
mean "to take degree, or the first degree
in university or college," which is one OF
the definitions given by Webster and cor
responding definitions are Civ by various
other photographers. We also perceive the
aptness OF the following definition Of the
word comm encement. which Is among those
given by Webster led. 1S4D: "Tbe time
when students in college commence bache-
Tors; day on which degrees are publicly
conferred" &c. Whatever Mr.. White may
think Of this use of the word commence, it
must be admitted that the authority of Pope
aud Coleridge is pretty good justification
of IL; and there can be no reasonable doubt
that Webster's definition last quoted "hits
the nail on the bead +" as to the way in which
the day for comforting degrees came to be
called commencement"
Richmond, July 2. l.. S. j.
We may add that Worcester gives as one
OF the meanings of commence" "to take
an academical degree at college or univer-
sity." This explanation, like that of our
correspondent H., is plausible and possibly
true. We shall be satisfied if the discussion
shall show it to be the fact that the com.
monly-reeeived theory, which seems to US to
be absurd, is destitute Of all foundation In
truth,