The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-02-23


personality. AS illustrative instances
taken at random, of instances of
words that have travelled from their
primitive import, the following speak
for themselves: The term funeral
is from the Latin "funis, torch;
the name was applied to the burial
service, because the Romans were ac-
customed to bury their dead by torch
light. With us the functionary who
superinteuds the burial is sty led "un
dertaker," but why that word should
be monopolized by him does not ap-
pear, unless it is because he puts
under the deceased. The word which
is now generally used to indicate
aff1iction, "tribulation," came also
from the Latin, "tiibulum," which
originally meant separating, as we
separate the wheat from the chaff by
the threshing machine. There are
few persons, doubtless, who have not
been visited by the evil genius called
nightmare. Warton gives us the fol.
lowing derivation of the name:
"Mara, from whence our mig ghtmare
is derived, was, in the Runic theology,
a spirit or spectre of the night, which
seized men in their sleep and sudden
ly deprived them of speech and mo-
tion." That spell bound name, wom-
an, comes from the Anglo Saxon
times, when it was called "wif man"
from her employment at the woof; as
the name applied to the other sex was
"weap-man," indicative of his use of
weapons of war. Spinster was the
name of maidens, because they were
supposed to be occupied in spinning.
King Alfred, in his will, calls the
feminines of his establishment the
spindle side" and Egbert, when en-
failing his estates on his male des
cendents, says, "to the spear sideand
not to the spindle SIDE"
The word entreat, which formerly
was equivalent to treat of, has come
to mean persuade; and the phrase en-
doIse, which with us implies pledging
oneself, as on promissory note, had
formerly quite a different import, as
indicated by the line of Milton,-
"Chariots or elephants indorsed with towers of
archers."
The term school has variety of
applied uses, such as a place for
pupils and tutors, sect, or system of
philosophy or science, and also it is
employed to designate a multitude of
fishes.
The origin of throwing the shoe
after bridal party did not originally
imply good fortune, but submission
of the bride. The phrase "forlorn
hope," originally was an advanced
guard, military term, but now
means the opposite, despair, hence
Byron's line
"rhe fall of hope. misnamed forlorn."
The following words have Travelled
from their primal meaning-for ex-
ample, silly" originally meant inno-
cent; ''idiot," an unofficial person;
"knave," servant, not a rogue; Git
erati," stigma of disgrace, now
distinction of honor; and lastly, 're-
sentiment" which we use to express
anger, originally meant responsive
love.
The term "nice," which is so con
stantly used to express variety of
persons and things, had its origin, or
root, in the Latin 'nescius" knowing
nothing). The nice lerson of our
day was, in Chaucer's time. an igno-
ramus, as we learn from his use of it
-"wise and nothing nice" Thus
the word has travelled far indeed from
its primitive import. A similar in
stance is that of the word "idiot,"
which is derived from a Greek root,
and was originally used to imply
citizen in private life, as distinguished
from an official one. Jeremy Taylor
used the term in that sense, thus:
Humility is duty in great ones, as
we'll as idiots"
There is an old saying, keep 10
the right, and you II never go wrong"
He who is right acts right, according
to law and principle; but the opposite
is wrong, that which is twisted,
"wrung," or distorted from the right
thing. The right hand usually does
our bidding, does the work; the term
is from the Latin "regorectum," Ito
direct or command), while the other
is our left hand, that not being re-
quired or used.
Some words, which are identical
in spelling, are used in more than
one sense, according as they are
accentuated; invalid" with the &C.