Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-10-12
LANG oAes OF .4ssBsr
The Origin of Some Curious Words nm
Phrases.

London Globe.
The variations in public methods of
expressing assent are curious. Every
one is familiar with the public meet.
ing formula, in which all who are of
certain opinion are bid to express the
same in the usual manner, whereupon
up go what the reporter loves to call a
forest of hands,. More inspiring is
the method sometimes adopted of invit-
ing those who assent to say aye
This is House Of Commons fashion,
though comparatively few propositions
sufficiently stir the House to the roar
OF agreement that goes up from an ex-
cited public meeting. The curious thing
about AYE" is that no one knows
whence the word came. Dr.. Murray
say that as an affirmative exclamation
IT appeared suddenly about 1915, and
was exceedingly common about 1000,
but its origin is unknown. OF course,
1T Is easy to guess, and the plausible
suggestion has been made that it is the
same as the adverb "ay,' which means
ever, always. But, curiously enough,
at first it was always written phoneti-
cally, pa spelling never found
with the meaning of 'ay," ever, so
the problem remains open. Drayton,
in his string of sonuets called Ideal"
tl594) writes: nothing but No and 1,
and ] and No." The word, wherever IL
may have come from, was early adopted
by the House of Commons. Andrew
Marvel, in one of his letters referring
to parliamentary proceedings in 1869,
writes: The ayes proved 1873 and the
noes l29, and it was in use long be-
fore that date.
The House of Lords fashion of ex-
pressing assent, and the reverse--'con-
tent" and mot content''--is equally
old, but grown quainter in style. 1t
is, of course, founded on the older
elliptical use of content as an ex-
clamation of agreement which is now
obsolete in ordinary speech In the
first part of .Hehry VI" the King
calls upon the contentious servingmen
some with their heads already broken
to cease from disturbing the peace
and join in friendship as their SUI
periors had done. Content ex-
claims one; "I'll to the surgeons. ;,
The earliest allusipn to the House of
Lords practice which has been found
is dated 1921, in an account printed by
the Camden Society of Peers debates:
Such y as are of OPINION
that the charge shall be sent to the
Lord Chancellor, say-Content. Such
as wyll have his Lordship come neither
to heare the charge, saye-Not Con-
tent" Another variation, the
"placet" and it reverse of ecclesiasti-
cal councils and of university govern
ing bodies, is, of course, simply the
Latin equivalent, it pleases,o of
content. -
Perhaps the most singular of Eng
lish forms of expressing agreement or
pprobation-long since obsolete-was
the practice once in vogue even among
church congregations of making
humming noise when anything was said
which the audience particularly liked
or agreed with heartily. In y contem-
porary account of the trial of the regi-
cides in 1860 it is often stated that
the people humid" evidently in APP
proval of what was being said. Once,
later, when Bishop Burnett preached
before the House of Commons, part of
his congregation, we are told,
"hummed, so loudly and SO long
that he sat down to enjoy it, and
rubbed his face with his handkerchief.
Another preacher of that era, however,
DR.. Spratt, Bishop of Rochester, when
loud hum arose from the congrega-
tion, stretched out his hand and cried;
Peace, peace, l pray you peace
Macaulay tells us that when William
Ill, five days after his proclamation.
went down to the House Of Lords, and
from his seat on the throne addressed
the commons assembled at the bar. the
speech was received by the crowd of
members of the lower house with the
deep hum by which our ancestors were
won't to indicate appreciation.