The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-03-22
A Few Words About Words.

A rev WORDS About Words
Prior to engaging in it one might
imagine The study of words tedious and
prOhtless, whereas it is interesting and
instructive to the last degree. Particu-
Iarly is this the case with respect to
the words composing our own language,
by reason of the variety of sources
whence they are drawn.
The Incompatible essayist, Macau-
lay, says: Those revolutions that II ost
influence mankind are noiseless;" and
the sentiment is voiced b another emil
nent author when he remarks There
are instances in which more knowledge
OF more value may be obtained from the
history of Il word than from the history
of campaign
That constellation known as the
Pleiades received its name from the
Greek ptei71, Ito sail" because nayiga-
ton in Greek waters was considered
safe after its appearance in and until
its disappearance from the heavens. In
Italy it appeared about the first of
May, and was then called tlrgHCP, from
OjrQd, "a spro It," as May is the slime
of the year when sprouts start forth.
Idiot, from the Greek ,diOteS,
originally meant the private citizen. in
stincton from the one who held
OihCietA Si1tOLs LCA IL WIS dBlJlI6ll
to him who, owing to his ignorance,
was allowed no part in pubic affairs.
From this secondary meaning it cas- ly
came to signify person entirely desti-
tutG of intellect-a natural fool.
The Latin cubaIt1ts " a pack-horse,'
gave birth to cavalry i" Infantry
originally consisted of the intGnte$-
boys and seryants-whOran beside their
masters, themselves on horseback.
9 Dragoon, the soldier who is prepared
to serve on foot or on horseback, rs the
occasion requires was suggested bv the
fabulous dragoon--an animal furnished
with wings and able either to run or fly.
The Roman soldier who suffered him
self to be made a prisoner of war-cGptlS
was considered worthless fellow.
From c0ptuS, through the Norman
French caitiH, comes our "caiti >" a
term that forcibly indicates the charac-
ter of mean people.
The first ''saunterer'' was led by an
earnest religious enthusiasm to visit la
Sdtnte Ie1Tt, the Holy Land. Gradually,
those idlers who preferred a ramble to
the active dutie OF life TOOK a al and
set out for the Holy Land, and thus the
word lost its honorable meaning
The family of Merode was distin-
guished in the history OF the Ne her
lands. 1t had one member who made
incursiOns into the enemy's country
from which he always returned laden
with spOils. From his time they who
wander i'll quest of plumber have been
termed MerOdG-ers, "marauders -
During a war between Germany and
Austria. the most ncred BILE rumors con
corning he victory or de of the
Germans were circulated. All of them
were found to originate in Hamburg,
and whenever unreliable news was an
nOunced it would be said: That is a
Hamburg" eventually, a ''hum-
bug"
Mara was an elf of Finland, and she
was accustomed to torment those whom
she disliked with horrible visions
Hence our nightmare"
A priOry in ondon, ''St. Mary's of
Bethlehem" was granted to the city by
Henry Will as a place O. Judgment for
the insane. Bethlehem, by degrees,
was corrupted to "bedlam,'' the name
now given to lunatic asylums.
Gazette, " is derived from qdSettn, a
small Venetian coin, which was the
price of paper cOnta' aiming commercial
and military informal on, published by
the Republic of Venice in 1868.
When the MOOrs ruled Spain they i'm
posed duties on all merchandise carried
past a certain town -Tari a-Iocated at
the extremity of a promoutOry extend
ing far out into the Mediterranean, near
the Straits OF Gibraltar. These taxes
were called taTttd. and then fa7if
Tantalus, a King of Phrygia, COM
mitted many deeds in opposition to the
gods, and. after death, according to
ancient mythology, n the under world,
was condemned, as a punishment, to
stand in a pool with apples, pears,
figs and other fruit Just above his head
hOugh parched with thirst, and almost
famished, he was unable to salty his
desire for drink and food. When he
bowed his head towards the water, it
receeded; when he tried to seize the
fruit, the winds whisked it beyond his
reach. From this circumstance we
have tantalize, . which means to tor
ment by exciting hopes that are never
to be realized.
The Danes have a word, Gieu, which
signifies ''gO On;'' and, formerly, French
heralds, wishing to stop knight in his
course at a tournament, cried, HOld.
'Ghee, whoa, used by Transfers, are
derived from the above two words.
Some authorities, however, saw they are
derive ed from Jehu, the celebrated /
char Oteer.
But there is really "nO end'' to such
things, and we may as well stop here as
anywhere We sincerely trust to have
SO interested or readers -espec ally the /
yOung-in words" that they will CON
tinue the invest cations which we have
begun; for we are positive the result
win compensate them for their time
and labor. +. Foster, IN Christian
t'1ioR.