The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1900-01-06
QUEER ENGLISH WORDS,
The Spelling of Many Gives No Ciew
to Their Meanlng-How They
Have Been Changed.


We have u large number of words
whose present spelling is apt TO mis-
lead. Counterpart, for example, has
no connection with counter nor pane.
The original form is said TO have been
contre-pointe, from low Latin, culcita
puneta, a punctured quilt. So Of coun-
try dance. Ii has no connection with
country, but is corruption of contra
danza, dance in which each dancer
stands contra, or opposite his partner
Crayfish has nothing TO do with fish,
but is from the old French escrevisse,
Frenchifled form of the German word
for crab. II the parts of the word are
properly separated, as in crayf-ish, the
apparent connection with fish yanishes.
These examples show the danger of
hasty theorizing 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 participle of an old
verb bua, 10 dwell, so that husband
means only a dweller in the house, a
householder. Misleading also is the
spelling of pea-jacket, the short, thick
jacket worn by seamen. Here jacket is
useless repetition, as pea itself means
coat, being the old English word py,
a coat. Chaucer has courtepy, short
coat. Pickax, tool used In digging is
not connected with ak, but is a eorrup-
tion 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 II 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
yerdigris suggests grease, but the
does not belon to it, the original being
from the Latin viride aeris, the green
(rust) Of brass.
Meiklejohn mentions some very curl
GUS corruptions of words. Luncheon,
for example, results from the mixing up
"a iunon'oi anu ,uuen' Nuu'iion 10
noon drink, while lunch is provincial
English word meaning lump of bread.
"no'e oushe " nave peeii speiieu noie'
being from the same root as hale, heal
and health. The W is supposed to have
crept in in southwest England, where
Peop,e 'ay Wnoain ior none' Nhen
rnsnsn saliors csp'ureo lne rreneh
snip 'eiierophon .he hanie conveyed No
,oea " 'ueir niinus' ou' II sounueu ,ihe
nuiiy nuinsn' anu 'ney naue II 'na'
summary Lhsiism soiuieis 'urneu .ne
IAN, VI 'ne anuinn Pr,nce' ouiaJai'
Do"ian ih,o Or hoger Do"ler, Inns
ue,.i ,. miha''oh " MAKE soi,e e'nins in-
'ei'siDie ou' VI ,eisn "orus 'hS' eon
uey no 'ue" W ,ne uneuuea'ee Hns
nshan u H"eiiean ueeoun'S ioi 'ne
peoeI, ~" Vi many Piopet aes' ,,.Nr'"
mus nsINuo', seems ihoIe in'eiiisioie
a" ~, e 'na,, 'uipua 'nan pInpqa'
sHart a., hoaC,,,, intsiI;sr;i,Ia othor,,,;sa
Than nv trarslation is az times vary nor.
nIsx,nS
Sportirc rc,,-nrs will be Interested
IN Lpoy tbot The n.me ~ TINT much.
abused indiyidual tbe pmnire hears
witness 10 Tho hard l,nocks he has had
The name has lost an initial n the smell.
inc formerlv baviny beep numnira II
seems IN come IN ms from the Latin non
mar NOT eo,oI or odd The pmnirs is
tbe odd man NJ n numher NJ iudoes who