The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-28
SOME ouEER ENGLISH WORDS.
The Spelling of Many Gives No Clew to
Their Meaning

Their Meaning
We have large number of words
whose present spelling is apt to mislead.
Counterpart, for example, has no con-
nection with counter nor with pane The
original form is said to have been con-
tre-pointe, from low Latin, culcita pune
TIA, a punctured quilt So with country
dance. 1t has no connection with coun-
try. but is corruption of contra-danza,
a dance in which each dancer stands
contra, or opposite his partner. Cray
fish has nothing to do with fish, but is
from the old French eserevisse. a
Frenchified form of the German word
for crab. If the parts Of the word are
properly separated. as in crayf-ish, the
apparent connection with fish vanishes
These examples show the danger OF
hasty theorzing as to the origin of
words. Pretty sentiment has been
evoked by the word husband, the idea
being entertained that the part band
is from the root of the verb bind and
that husband is the bond Of the house.
But band is really a participle of the
old verb bua, to dwell, so that husband
means only a dweller in a house, a
householder. Misleading also is the
spelling of pea-iacket, the short, thick
jacket worn by seamen. Here Jacket is
useless repetition, as pea itself means
coat, being the old English word ply.
a coat. Chaucer has courtepy, a short
| coat. PickaX, tool used in digging, is
| not connected with AK, but is corrup-
ton of an old word pickeys, which is
| akin to the words peak, pike and pick.
| Amateur etymologsts often puzzle over
| summerset They may be pleased to
find that it has nothing to do with sum-
mer or set. but is derived from the
| French soubresault, 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 original be-
ing from the Latin viride aeris, the
! green (rusD of brass.
| Meiklejohn mentions some very cur
| ious corruptions of words. Luncheon
for example results from the mixing up
of nunchion and lunch. Nunchion is
from the old word none-schenche. or
moo drink. while lunch is provincial
English word meaning lump of bread.
| Whole ought to have been spelled hole.
| being from the same root as hale, heal
and health. The w is supposed to have
| crept in in southwest England, where
| people say whoam for home. When
English sailors captured the French
ship Bellerophon the name conveyed no
| idea to their minds, but it sounded like
Bully Ruffian. and they made it that.
| Similarly English soldiers turned the
name of the Indian prince, Suraiah
Dowlah, into Sir Roger Bowler. This
determination to make something in
telligible out of foreign words that con-
vey no idea to the uneducated English
man or American accounts for the pres
ent form of many proper names. Thus
Barkdoll seems more ineligible than
Bergthal, Bumpus than Bonpas. etc
The twisting that names get in the ef-
fort to become ineligible otherwise
than by translation is at times very
perpleXing
Sporting readers will be interested Il
know that the name Of that much
abused individual, the umpire, pears
witness to the hard knocks he has had
The name has lost an initial, n, tn
spelling formerly having been numplre
1t seems to come to us from the Latir
non par, not equal, or odd. The umpire
is the odd man of a number of judges
who decides when partisans Differ, ant
thus incurs the dislike of one side !
. similar loss of initial has given Vi
, orange and apron, from norange ant
napron. The latter is to be compares
with napkin and napery. This loss D
! initial letters is further illustrated i
. same (for example), scorch for oil
French escorcer), special for especial
and stranger for French stranger, Lat
in extraneus). The tendency, recent
noticed in the Sun, to write alright
,, as one word, instead OF all right, IS
: be firmly wthstood 1t follows, Q
course, the analogy of such spelling a
already, almost, almighty, which Gus
tom has sanctioned and good usage Lf
proved AS much cannot be said 10
: ''alright," which, by the general consen
: of all authorities is all wrong. IL
= formative period in which all read
= might be displaced in certain connee
lions by already is past and the writer
! of to-day are not allowed to take sue
e privileges with the queens English G
: McKinleys American.