The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-01

The Spelling OF Many Gives No CIew
10 Their Meaning

From the Baltimore Sun.
We have large number of words whose
present spelling is apt to mislead Coun-
terpane. for example, has no connection
with counter nor with pane. The original
form IS said to have been contre-pointe,
from low Latin, culcita punets, a pune
tured quilt. So of country dance. Ii has
no connection with country. but is a cor
rupt1on of contra DANA, a dance in which
each dancer stands contra, or opposite his
partner. Crayfish has nothing 10 do with
hsh, but Is from the old French escrevisse,
a Frenchified form of the German word
for crab. If the parts of the word are
properly separated, IS in Crayf-ish the ap-
parent connection with fish Vanishes.
These examples show the danger of hasty
theorizing as to the origin of words. Pretty
sentiment has been evoked by the word
husband, che idea being entertained that
the part band is from the root of the verb
bind and that a husband is the bond of the
house. But band is really a participle of
an old verb ban, to dwell, so that husband
means only a dwelier in A house. a house
holder. Misleading also is the spelling of
pea-jacket, the short, thick jacket worn by
seamen. Here jacket is a useless repetition,
as pea itself means a coat, being the old
English word py, a coal. Chaucer has
courtepy, short coat PickaX, tool used
i'll digging, is not connected with ak. but
is a corruption of an old word, pickeys
which is akin TO the words peak, pike and
pick. Amateur etymologiSts often puzzle
over summerset. They may be pleased to
find that 1t has nothing to do with summer
or set, but is derived from the French SOU
bresault, which in its turn was derived
from the Latin supra, above, and saltus,
leap. Similarly verdigris suggests grease.
but the g does not belong TO it, the origi-
nal being from the Latin viride aeris, the
green (rusD of brass.
Meikeljohn mentions some very curious
corruptions of words, Luncheon, for exam
pie, results from the mixing up of MUNICH
ion and lunch. Nunchion is from the old
word none-schenche, or noon drink while
lunch is a provincial English word mean
ing lump of bread. Whole ought to have
been spelled hole, being from the same
root as hale, heal and health. The is
supposed to have crept in in Southwest
England, where people saw whoam for
home. When English sailors captured the
French ship Bellerophon the name con-
veyed no idea to their minds, but il sound
ed like Bully Ruffian. and they made 1t
that Similarly English soldiers turned the
name of the Indian prince, Surajah Dow
lah into Sir Roger Dowler. This determina-
ton to make something ineligible out of
foreign words that convey no idea to the
uneducated EngliShman or American ae-
counts for the present form of many prop
er names. Thus Barkdoll seems more in
telligible than Bergthal, Bumpus than
Bonpas, etc The twisting that names get
in the effort TO become inteFigible other
wise than by translation is at times very
peroleXing.
Sporting readers will be interested to
know that the name of that much-abused
individual, the umpire, bears witness to
the hard knocks he has had. The name has
lost an initial, n, the spelling formerly hav
ing been numpire. It seems to come to us
from the Latin non par not equal or odd.
The umpire is the odd man of a number of
judges. who decides when partisans differ,
and thus incures the dislike of one side.
A similar loss of initial n has given us
orange and apron, from norange and nap
ron. The latter is to We compared with
napkin and napery. This loss of initial
letters is further Illustrated in same Gor
example), scorch flor old French escorcer),
special (for especiaD and stranger (for
French stranger, Latin eXtraneus). The
tendency, recently noticed in the Sun, to
write alright" as one word, instead of all
right, is to be firmly withstood 1t follows,
of course, the analogy of such spellings as
already almost, almighty, which custom
has anctioned and good usage approves.
AS much cannot be said for alright"
which. by the general consent of an au-
thorities. is all wrong. The formative pc
Rod in which all ready might he displaced
in certain connections by already is past
and the writer's Of to-day are not allowed
TO take such liberties with the Queens
English or McKinley's American.