Evening star., 1899-06-24
I'd y
LANGUAGE dOF ASSENT.
The Origin Of some Curious Words
and Phrases.

and Phrases.
From the London 9iobe.sr
The variations in public methods of eX-
pressing assent are curious. Every one is
familiar with tie public meeting formula,
in which all who are of a certain opinion
are bid to expHess the same in the usual
manner, whereupon !up go what the re-
porter loves t9 cali forest of hands,
More inspiring is the method sometimes
adopted of inviting 7these who assent to
say aye This is house of commons
fashion, though comparatively few prop
ositions sufficiently stir the house to the
excited public meeting. The curious thing
about AYE" is that no one knows whence
the word came. DR.. Murray says that
a affirmative exclamation it appeared sud-
denly about 1915 and was exceedingly COM
mon about 1900, but it's origin is unknown.
OF course, it is easy to guess, and the
plausible suggestion has been made that
it is the same the adverb "ay," which
means ever, always. But, curiouSly
enough, at first it was always written pho
netically, pa spelling never found with
the meaning of ''ay.' ever. so the problem
remains open. Drayton, in his string of
sonnets called IDEAL q 5sl writes Moth
ing but No and l, and / and No" The
word, wherever it may have come from,
was early adopted by the house of COM
mons. Andrew Marvel in one of his let
in 1863, writes: THE ayes proved 13S and
the noes 129,' and 1t was in use long be-
fore that date.
The house of lords fashion of express
ing assent and the reverse-''content'' and
mot content''-is equally old, but grown
quainter in style. 1t is, of course founded
on the older eIliptical use of content as
an exclamation of agreement which is now
part of Henry VIZ the king calls upon
the contentious servingmen-some with
their heads already broken-to cease from
disturbing the peace and join in friendship
their superiOrs had done. Content
exclaims one; ''Fl- to the surgeons The
earliest alusion to the house of lords
practice which has been found is datea
1921, in an account printed by the Cam
den Society of Peers Debates: Such
as are of OPINION that the charge
shall be sent to the lord chancellor saye-
Content. Such wyll have his lordship
come neither to heare the charge, saye-
Not Content. Another variation, the
"placet' and it's reverse of ecclesiastical
councils and of university governing
bodies, is, of course, simply the Latin
equivalent "it pleases,'' of content"
Perhaps the most singular of English
forms of expressing agreement or appro-
bation-Iong since obsolete-was the prac-
tice once in vogue even among church con-
gregations of making humming noise
when anything was said which the au-
dience particularly liked or agreed with
hcdi tiy. LII Soii al dCCouHl VI luc
trial of the regicfdes in 1860 it is often
stated that 1.-The people humid" evidently
in approval of what was being said. Once,
later, when Bishop Burnet preached be-
fore the house of commons. part of his
congregation, we are told, ''hummed," SO
loudly and so long that he sat down to en-
joy it, and rubbed his face with his hand
kerchief. Another preacher of that era
however, DIR. Spratt, bishop of Rochester,
when loud hum arose from the congrega-
ton, stretched out his hand and cried:
Peace peace, I pray you peace" Ma
cauley tells usthat@when William III, five
days after his proclamation, went down to
the house of lords. and from his seat on
the throne addressed the commons assem-
the crowd of members of the lower house
with the deep, hum by which our ancestors