VERBA NOMINALIA; OR, WORDS DERIVED FROM PROPER NAMES. BY RICHARD STEPHEN CHARNOCK, PH.DR., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., F.R.S.S.A., F.R.S.N.A., FELLOW OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON ; "Nomina si nescis, perit cognitio rerum." COKE ON LITTLETON. LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. PREFACE. Ir must, without any research, have been apparent to most people that many well-known words have had their origin in Proper Names; but whoever has made even a slight study of the various branches of etymology will have discovered that the number of words so derived is very large indeed. The ordinary reader of history may know that" to roam " is to wander about on the pretence of a pilgrimage to Rome; that the word calico is derived from Calicut; humbug from Hamburg; or that bayonets are supposed to have first seen the light at Bayonne. He will doubtless be further interested in finding dimity referred to Damietta, marigold to the Virgin, mayduke to Médoc, fuchsia to Dr. Fuchs, coffee to Káfa, quince to Cydonia. This latter class of names, however, not being usually met with in the narrative of great and exciting events, required an independent, chronicler, and I determined to volunteer my services to investigate and register them. The chief difficulty lay in deciding where to stop. Should the work be confined to the most common words found in a dictionary of the English language? or should it embrace also those used in the Arts and Sciences? On the whole, I was inclined to think that these also |