Evening journal., 1893-11-03
Tt,e STUDY or A WORD.
The resouyrcs aud Variety Of Information
- Isliscly 70 Furnish.

The resouyrcs aud Variety Of Information
- Islilscly 20 Furnish
Tho great dictionaries are a library in
l. YES and furnish an exhaustlcss
SOC. &C Of information. a study of
single word lie Cross in the Century
Dictionary shows the resources and ~
rioty of information that familiar
word may furnish. There are 10 coli
umns devoted TO this word and It's COM
binations There nrc "a pictorial illus
uations An in all there are 257 differ
ent worde made out Of cross which have
to be defined. In the great Oxford Die
tonary there are II pages given TO this
word OF twice MS much as in the Cen
fury. In the Century the study is
highly fascinating. There are IA radical
ly different sets OF definitions to the
word itself
The fundamental idea is, Of course,
the cross, the crux for crucifying, but it
has come TO have variety of meaning
as monument, crucifix, the atone
mont, the Christian religion itself, any
suffering for Christ's sake, anything that
tliwarts or vexes, a mixing Of breeds in
animal breeding, term used IN chang
ing plants, joint in a pipe, the acci-
dental contact of two electric wires, a
sportsman phrase for contest dishon-
estly decided.
Then cross becomesan adjective, with
several meanings, as falling, athwart,
passing from one of two positions, per-
verse, ETC., 60 the other, being opposed,
being peevish or fretful, i'll tempered,
thoroughly contrary, in She breeders
vocabulary. Then IL becomes an adverb,
meaning transversely oradversely. Then
it becomes n verb, with al kinds of sig
nihcance, from the running of line to
cross a thing, 10 cancel by crossing, to
cross ones self in devotion, passing from
side to side of a man, to go over q body
Of water. to obstruct, to cause to inter-
fere, 10 cross plants, TO hoist from the
deck TO it's place on the mast any of the
lighter yards.
Then there is the proposition, in riding
cross-country or walking cross-lots. All
this with the simple word itself, which
| goes cavorting from the most sacred
thought in the world 20 the breeders
and the sportsman's language Of the
coop and ranch.
After this the mysteries begin. There
are anserated, arellane, beam
~, bretesse, catoosed, commisse, Gre
nelc, cstoile, ftche, feury, gringole, lam
beaux, moline, nowyed, nyle, quatre-
foil, saltier, sarele, resarceled. Then
there are the innumerable compounds Of
cross from cross-armed, cross-bated
cross-biter, cross-bar and cross-bun
through cross-fucan, cross-ruff, cross
sower and cross-spale TO crossword.
Then there are a cross-grained set Of
crosses, such as crossarchinal. cross
archus, crossette, crossopinal, crossop
terygia, crossopterygian, crossopterygi
dae, crossopterygii, crossopterygia, cross
Opterygium, crossOpus, crossorhined an,
crossorhininae.
II is incomprehensible that a word S,
simple should have gone rollicking al
over the earth, into the bowels of tn
earth, into tho depths OF the sea, anon,
the fowls Of The air, the horse upon th
turf, to card table, 10 the ships upon tn
sea, " the fishes in their glee, to tn
sharks in their ferocity, TO the architec
and plumber, 20 the farmer ia his har
rowing, to the railroad in its building
to the engine in itsworking, to the seam
stress in her labors, to the spider in hi
webbing, to the spinner ut his loom, L
the lawyers in their pleading, TO a shrey
in her wranglipg to the gunner in IN
fort TO tho miner at his lode. to th
Turk IS he sits, TO the sword of the glad
iator, TO tho expert with his telescope, {
the woman in her gazing and in he
dressing. to the athletes in their wre.
Ting and to theswindler at his arts.-
e. Winship IN Journal of Education.