Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-06
NEW WORDS:
Copious Recent Additions to the Vo-
cabulary of English.

Letter to the Editor Of the New York Sun.
Your editorial article on the London
Times review of DR.. Murray's latest con-
tribution to photography shows that in
England the study of English is still
more the occupation of photographers
than that of the people. The dictionary
is work to be studied assiduously rather
than consulted fitfully, as was evidently
done by the Times reviewer referred to-
Our worthy mayor, who delights in lin
guistic gymnastics and in digging up de-
cayed words, such as .'spissitude,' which
he says typifies certain of the ministry,
might have been properly subdued If
some one of them had accused him OF
'hckscorning" a word once used to
characterize those who decried the clergy.
No one living in this country could pos
sibly deny the virility of English. for no
people on earth have added to the Eng
lish vocabulary more cop1ously than the
people of the United States Our slang
is the richer because it is untrammeled
by convention, and so much OF IL sur
wives which may some day become part
of the literary language that we have
good reason to fiatter ourselves on our
native resourcefulneSs in expression. 1t
is for this very reason, the reason that
people here speak their minds In their
own way, that we are told every now ana
then that in America English Is quite
too free and admits of eXpletVes that
are not in the best use.
But apart from slang We are creating
and assinilating reputable words every
day. There was a time when the pl-
plane was unknown the cabaret snow
formed no part of our civilization. the
"cattalo," "citrange," "plumcot," tan
gelo," 'zebrass' and "zebrule" did not
exist. The "radiogram'' is fast displac-
Ing the wireless telegram, and although
we have "aerogram and marconlgram,
these terms being. so to speak, pro-
prietary terms, may perhaps some day
be discarded, except in the special uses
of the companies which have acquired
title to them. The necessity for more
rapid intercommunication led to the
might letter. Such a parsonage as a
"suffra gette'' or such thing as "kitch-
enette" was unknown twenty years. more
or less, ago. Our new methods or loco-
motion have given US the "taxicab.' pop
ularly cut to taxi the "taximeter," the
"motorboat." NOTORIOUS and motor
cycle" not to revert TO the automobile
Limousine" chauffeur" garage"
| "speedometer," etc.
We also have the. "dirigible,' and vari-
plane" "triplane," 'hydroplane" and ny
droaeroplane," together with the "han-
gar" which gives them shelter. and the
''velodrome," where some are tried out.
Manicure and "manicurist' are old
friends compared with massage" mas
seur and ''masseuse," yet they all form
part of our everyday speech now. The
"dictagraph" and ''dictaphone." met al
most daily in the newspapers, are of more
recent birth. and with them may be classed
the ''signagraph" and "pulmotor." AL
though the '.populist" and the ''popo-
craft have come and gone, we have more
virile subjects in the ''progressives'' and
the ''bull moose" In athletics the re-
vival of the Olympic games has given
us ''olympiad," marathon. decathlon'
and .pentathlon." In England the ia
borite" is an addition to political life,
as was the sunionist" before him.