Evening star., 1933-10-07
HISTORY OF HOME
TERMS IS TRACED
House and Floor Are of Ger
manic Invention, Ceiling
Comparatively New.
ny JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.
The names of human dwellings and
the terms applied to the various parts
of them come into the English Ian
guage from many different sources, and
the domestic phase of the science of
philology has particular attraction.
There are no commoner or more con-
sistently used phrases in the day-to-
day speech of the people, and their
origins and genealogieS are faScinat-
ing.
House." for example, is a word of
ancient Gothic derivation. Signifying
"a structure intended or used for
human habitation," it appears in Mid
die English as "hous" and "hus," in
Anglo-Saxon as "hus," and is akin to
Old Friesian "hus," Danish "huis" and
German "haus" Probably in one form
or another it was in use among the
ancestors Of the modern nations of
Northern Europe milleniums ago.
Floor" likewise is of Germanic in
vention, and Is allied with the Dutch
"vloer" and the Icelandic flor"
Roof Is Anglo Saxon.
Roof" comes from the Anglo Saxon
''hrof." denoting top" In the sense of
being the cover of any building, in
cluding the roofing and all the materials
and construction necessary to carry and
maintain the same upon the walls or
other uprights," it is word of very
ancient usage.
The term ceiling appears to be
comparatively new 1t has been traced
through old French "cG)eler," to Latin
"caelare,' Ito carve" but some writer's
have thought it was connected with
French "ciel," "sky" or canopy" OBJ
tained from Latin "caelum," "arched
covering" To symbolic the lining
or covering Of room or apartment, the
overhead inside lining or finish of a
room" it has been employed for only
O few hundred years
Wall Is from Latin "vallum," "a
wall set with palisades" related to
Of the upright inclosing parts of
building or a room it is found in
Anglo-Saxon as "weall"
Room" has an Anglo-Saxon form,
rum" and Middle English, ''roum."
It may be a distinctly northern word.
but on the other hand 1t may be based
on rus" the Latin term for country"
"Alcove," "a covered recess, any re-
cessed bay or small room attached to
q larger one," is of Arabian or Moorish
parentage. It comes from al" 'the"
plus "qobbah," vault" In Italian it is
"alcovo," in Spanish "alcoba."
Cellar From Old French.
Cellar" arrives in modern English
by way of Old French "celier" from
Latin "cellarium,'' a receptacle for
food" and celia" "a store room" At
one period cellar might be anywhere;
in modern times, the dictionaries say,
1t invariably is "a room or set of rooms
below the surface of the ground"
The word "garret" is reasonably an
tiquated. Its Middle English form was
''garite" and is signified "a watch
it comes from old French "garir," ito
preserve" Even now, as that part of
house which is on the uppermost floor,
Immediately under or within the roof"
Is a place for preserving all sorts of
things and, on occasions, a lookout"
or "hideout"
attic" from French antique" is a
modern term. "A low story or wall
above the main order or orders of
fascade, in the classical styles; room
or rooms behind that part of the ex-
terror; all the rooms Immediately be-
low the roof" it was introduced into
English as late as the seventeenth CEN
tury. Obviously, 1t pertains to Attica
or Athens, Greece.
Porch" however, is Latin in char
acter. It springs from ''porticus," "a
covered entrance to building"
Stair" "a series of steps from one
level to another" is northern. In Mid
die English 1t is "steir" or "steyer," in
Anglo-Saxon, "staeger." It is traced to
"stigan," meaning to ascend" or rise"
How Door" Came Into Use.
door" came into current use over the
same path as floor" It was "dore"
in middle English and "duru" in Anglo
Saxon. AS "the movable frame or bar
rier Of boards, or other material, usually
turning on hinges or pivots or sliding,
by which an entrance way into house
or apartment is closed and opened" it
has relation to German "deur," Danish
dor" and Swedish "dorr"
window also, was imported into
English from Scandinavia In Mid
die English it was "windoge," and it
has been identified with Icelandic
''Wndauga," literally wind eye" SYM
bolizing its purpose as a ventilator.
The modern definition is: "An opening
in the wall of building for admis-
sion Of light and air. usually closed
transparent material, as glass, and ca
pable of being opened and shut" but
there was a period in European his
tory when the principal value of such
a device was that of affording oppor-
tunity for pouring molten lead on the
heads Of besieging enemies, or, at least,
SO some chroniclers say. Fine, wide
windows in the present-day style are
Of comparatively recent invention.
The Middle English synonym for
'shearth" was "herthe," an approx
mate phonetic equivalent. "The pave
ment or floor. as of brick, stone or
metal, on which a fire is made, usually
in a chimney" it has relation to Dutch
"haard" and Swedish hard"
"Fireside" comes from Middle Eng
lish "fir" and Anglo-Saxon "fyr." The
environment of the blaze Lit for