Wichita eagle., 1889-08-16
VERBAL CURIOSITIES.
FRANK STAUFFER'S RESEARCH AZ
TER THE ORIGIN OF WORDS.

Many Expressions That Sound Awkward
and Redundant Had Sensible Begin
nins-Words That Have Been Twisted
Yet Retain Their Original Significance.
The origin Of some words is as peculiar
as the subsequent DETECTION of their
meaning is interesting. The word tariff
had queer origin. A promontory called
Tarifa, in southern Spain, juts into the
Straits of Gibraltar and commands the
entrance into the Mediterranean sea.
The ancient Moors built a fortress upon
it and levied duty on the merchandise
carried by the passing ships. This tax
was called 'tarifa," which was finally
shortened to tariff. Another word with
q queer origin is the word stoker. In
old English ''steik" means to "shut,"
and "stoke" to ''shut up" Chaucer says:
''Then hadst thou the gate stoke" Shut.
The man on the engine who puts the
coal into the furnace, and then ''stokes"
the door, becomes a "stoker," or shut
UPPER!
COMMON SALVATION.
The annual fair in the Isle of Ely was
called ST. Audrey's fair, and much ordi-
nary but snowy lace was sold to the
country lasses. st. Audrey's lace soon
became proverbial, and from that cause
taudry, a corruption of st. Audrey, was
established as a common expression to
denote not only cheap lace, but any other
part of female dress which was more
gaudy in appearance than warranted by
its quality or value. We now spell the
word '.tawdry" and use it in the same
sense.
The salutation, 'sHow do you dol"
sounds like an awkward and redundant
sentence, and yet its origin was sensi-
BILE one. Dow in old English, pro-
nounced do, means "to be able" "to
thrive" ''to prosper 1t should not
suggest redundancy, for 1t is equivalent
to saying, "How do you thriveT' "How
do you prosper" The colloquialism,
HE is a do-less (dow-less) fellow" had
the same origin, and means one who is
too weak Or shiftieas to prosper.
When, as Americans, we use the word
cute in the sense of "clever" or ''sharp,"
we keep within the legitimate, which
cannot be said when we use it instead of
pretty. "Ain't it cute?' has been adopt
ed by the fair sex TO an exasperating ex-
tent. When we hear aspeaker say "sist-
rem" (sisters) we consider him lacking in
educa1ion. 1t is as legitimate word as
"brethren, land both words date back to
the time of Chaucer, who called the
fates sthe fatal sistren."
RIGHT TO SAY "ANYwHEN
If it is proper to say anyhow" and
anywhere" why is it not proper to say
"anywhen?" The others merely survived
it, for Mackay quotes the expression, II
will talk the matter over with you any
where and anywhen." Graft" and
cunning" at one time stood for ''skill''
and ability" The word 'fbotch," ap-
piled to a bad workman or his work, is
from the word ''bauch,' meaning indif-
ferent. Putting the cart before the
horse" a common expression for begin
ming to do thing at the wrong end,
was in use as early as 1898, and first ap~
peared in the Greek of Lucien, nearly
1,700 year, ago.
''Vamose," a slang expression which
came into use after the Mexican war, is
the Spanish vamos, ''let us CO." To
t'bully," meaning to worry or torment
in staggering manner, is said TO have
been derived from the noisy way in
10 Ill
Bogus is a corruption Of Borgese, the
name Of man who at one time flooded
the west and southwest with counterfeit
money. Bother is said to have been
first used by sergeant, who cried out
to two incessant takers, one at each ear,
Don't both ear me-"
Canteen is one of the few words in the
English language which passed into
foreign tongue and was afterwards taken
back in a modified form. The Saxon
called it ''tincan," but the Gaul, as is
wont, placed the noun before the adiec-
tive, and pronounced the as e, thus
rendering it canteen. 1t became French
military term, and the English incorpo
rated it among their military terms The
changes that have occurred in the Eng
lish language are remarkable. Going
back to the time of Qneen Elizabeth, we
can readily note them. In the time OF
Chaucer and Cover, little more than 600
years ago, the dialect has half foreign
look, while as early as the days of King
Alfred it is unintelligible without the
aid of a glossary. S. Stauffer IN
Datroit Free Press