Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-05-21
ORIGIN OF FAMILIAR WORDS.

ORIGIN OF FAMILIAR WORDS.
Afraid. Philologists have discovered
the fact that the word "afraid - is con.
traction of latter aid" The old ''Anglos, !"
in their difficult undertakings, used often
to 90 latter aid. An expression habitu-
ally used was understood without refined
articulation, and when one was seen daily.
ing about something he hardly dare under
take, others said he was "af'r aid. :"
Finally we have the word afraid, the full
meaning of which is only understood by
tracing it to its origin.
Windfall. This word, in the sense Of
unexpected good fortune or acquisition of
money, owes its origin to the fact that in
former times several of the English nobil-
ity held their estates on condition that the
trees were to be reserved for the use of the
navy, but such as fell by the wind became
the property of the landlord. A tornado,
therefore, was perfect godsend in every
sense of the term to those who had occu-
pancy of extensive forests, and the wind
fall was sometimes of great value.
Hoosier. celebrated Bergen family
emigrated from Bergen, Norway, by the
way of Holland to America, and peopled
parts of New York and New Jersey. In
1918 one branch of the family moved to
the vicinity of Lexington, KY. In 1924
they decided to move from Kentucky to
Indiana, and sent out an exploring party
of four. The latter made stand near
where indianapolis, the Capital of the
State, now is. One night while they were
around the fire, where they were making
their claim, they were suddenly aroused
by the cry of "Who's here ?'-Hoosier-
and from this has come the name OF the
Indianians, g HOLSTERS"
Bigot This word is not, as generally
supposed, of religious, but of secular and
political origin. Rollo, Duke of Nor
mandy, receiving Gissa, daughter. of King
Charles, in marriage, and with her the
investiture of the Dukedom, refused to
perform the usual cermony of kissing the
Kings foot in token of subsection unless
the King would hold it out for that pur-
pose, aEd when he urged it answered has
tily, "No, by God, whereupon the King
gave him the name OF by God or bigot, and
the name has passed to all stubborn and
peevish insisters on their own notions.
Tammany. Society of Tammany,
or Tammany Hall, as it is more commonly
called, is over century and half old.
1t was originally sociable club of com.
panionable gentlemen, and gradually as
sumed the fern of political association,
becoming powerful and even dictatorial In
connection with the local parties of New
York It is now and has been for years
the So wheel within the wheel of the DEM
ocratic party Of that city and State, and
its recently elected chief is Mr.. John
Kelly, better known as Boss Kelly, the
successor of Tweed. The word "Tam-
many" was derived from the name of a
great chief of the Delaware Indians-Tam-
amend-a leader and warrior of superior
wisdom and bravery, who at the time of
his death was known as ''St Tammany"
Lucifer.-One of the finest Of all names,
once borne by bishop-Lucifer, Bishop
of Cagliar-and signifying the light burner,
the bright morning star, is now universally
disused, chiefly, perhaps, because ministers
believe it is the devils name, which it
really is not. 1t is one of the greatest
compliments you can pay man to call him
Lucifer, for it is really the brightest of all
names, and they only are worthy to bear
it who bring light into the world. 1t is a
popular error that has excluded it from the
baptismal font. The name has been de-
nounced by being applied to phosphoric
matches, which certainly deserve 1t; but
it was pity to lose it as a Christian name
of men. 1t may yet be restored to its
original Specification.
Panic. This word is used to signify q
great and general alarm without any APP
parent adequate cause. In the Oldest
heather mythology Pan blew his conch-
shell when the Titans were fighting with
the gods. The audacious rebels had stood
undaunted against the thunders of Jupiter,
but they fled at the blast of this
harsh clarion. Having succeeded SO well
on this occasion, he gave a wild
scream, which filed the echoes of the
mountains and put the enemy to fight.
These old fables = what foundation of
fact they may have had in the experience
of infant humanity, who can tell struck
the heart Of the race, aud have given a
name to the saddest realities in every
period Of history.
Canard, This word, now popularity
used for hoax, is the French word for
duck, and the origin for it's new application
is said to have been the following amusing
"sell on the public: To give sly lift
to the ridiculous pieces of intelligence
which the journals are in the habit of pub.
fishing every morning, Cornlissen stated
that an interesting experiment had just been
made calculated to prove the extraordinary
voracity ofducks. Twenty of these fowlshad
been placed together, and one OF them having
been killed and cut up into the smallest
possible pieces, feathers aud all, and
thrown to the other nineteen, had been
gluttonously gobbled up in an exceedingly
brief space of time. Another was
taken from the remaining nineteen.
and being chopped small like its predeces-
sor, was served up to the eighteen, and at
once devoured like the other and in like
manner to the last, who was thus placed in
the remarkable position of having eaten
his nineteen companions in wonderfully
abort time All this, most pleasantly mar.
rated, obtained success which the writer
was far from anticipating, for the story ran
the rounds OF all the journals in Europe. 1t
then became almost forgotten for about a
score of years, when it came back to Amer
lea with application, and with regular
certificate of the autopsy of the body of
the surviving duck, whose esophagus was
declared to have been seriously injured.
Every one laughed at the history of the
canard thus brought up again, but the
moral retains its novel Specification, as
applied to hoax.
A most successful experiment in theater
illumination, says the Nature, was tried on
March Both and 3lst at the Atheneum of the
Rue des Martyrs, Paris, with the Werder-
mann tso-called) incandesceat light. The
popularity of it is that it can be graduated
at will for scenic effects either by intro
ducing resistance coils or by varying the
velocity of the Gramme machine which
supplies the electricity. These experiments
were witnessed by several influential men,
bers of the Municipal Council, who soon
thereafter proposed an inquiry to deter
n,;ne the rronriety of comDellinu all thest