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DEODAND.

From Deo, God-dand, a forfeit. Dr. Johnson, or rather Cowley, from whence the quotation is made, gives the following definition of Deodand:-"A thing given or forfeited to God, for the pacifying of his wrath in case of any misfortune by which any Christian comes to a violent end, without the fault of any reasonable creature." Blackstone's account is different, and more rational: He refers it, and very properly, to the humane superstition of our ancestors; and the forfeited chattel was intended, as were also the garments of a stranger found dead, to purchase m asses for the soul of him who had been snatched from the world by sudden death. 'Deodands at present go to the king; some to the lord of the manor.

DRUID.

Various opinions have been held respecting the origin of the word Druid; some have imagined it to come from the Celtic Deru, an oak. Pliny supposes it to have been derived from the Greek Apus, which also signifies an oak; and were we to compare the deity of the Druids, worshipped in the oaken forests of Anglesea, with Jupiter, the great divinity of the Greeks, we might be led to conclude, that the Druids borrowed their religion as well as their names from the Greeks, did we not recollect that no Grecian colony ever came to Britain, and therefore that, to the former, the religion and language of the latter must have been unknown: others derive the word Druid from the ancient British Tru-wis, or Trou-wys, which may be rendered wise men; whilst others suppose it to have its origin in the Saxon Dru, a soothsayer. Vossius is, however, of opinion, that it is derived from the Hebrew verb W, to seek out, or inquire diligently. Of all these various suppositions I am most inclined to adopt the last, and there can hardly be a doubt that this verb is the root of the Saxon word Dru; yet, as I may be mistaken in my ideas on this head, I shall be happy in having the error pointed out, and the true derivation given; for, however unnecessary the tracing of words to their origin may appear to some, yet I doubt not there are many who will agree, that it is both a profitable and pleasing employment, particularly when we find (as is mostly the case) that all words may, directly or indirectly, be proved to originate in that language which the Almighty made use of to declare his will to men.

ECHO.

The word Echo, according to Heathen Mythology, is derived from Echo, the daughter of Aer and Terra. Juno condemned

her to repeat nothing but the last word of those who asked her any question, because she had offended her.

FINIS.

The word Finis was first used at the termination of a book, in the year 1600; before that period it was marked with this character, called cornis, and which may be met with now in the libraries of antiquaries; nay, indeed, may occasionally be stumbled upon amid the heterogeneous collection of a book-stall.

GENTLEMAN.

Chamberlayne says, that in strictness, a gentleman is one whose ancestors have been freemen, and have owed obedience to none but their prince; on which footing, no man can be a gentleman but one who is born such. But among us, the term gentleman is applicable to all above yeomen; so that noblemen may properly be called gentlemen. In our statutes, gentilis homo was adjudged a good addition for a gentleman; 27 Edward III. The addition of knight is very ancient; but that of esquire, or gentleman, was rare before 1 Henry V. Sir Thomas Smith, who wrote in the time of Edward VI. on the dignity and title, says, " As for gentlemen, they be may be made good cheap in this kingdom; for whosoever studieth the laws of the realm, who studies in the Universities, who possesses the liberal sciences, and to be short, who can live idly and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called master, and shall be taken for a gentleman."

In Bird's Magazine of Honour, printed in the year 1642, is the following description of the term gentleman: "And whoever studieth in the Universities, who professeth the liberal sciences, and, to be short, who can live idly and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called master: for this is the title that men give to 'squires and other gentlemen. For true it is with us, as one said, tanti eris aliis quamti tibi fueris: and, if need be, a king of heralds shall for money give him arms newly made and invented, with the crest and all; the title whereof shall pretend to have been found by the said herald in perusing and viewing of old registers, where his ancestors in time past had been recorded to bear the same; or, if he will do it more truly, and of better faith, he will write that former merits of, and certain qualifications that he doth see in him, and for sundry noble acts which he hath performed, he, by the authority which he hath, asked of the heralds in his province; and of arms give unto him and his heirs these, and these heroical bearings in arms.'

GINS.

The species of snares or engines, called Gins, and which are used for ensnaring game, vermin, &c., derive their appellative from a corruption of the word Engine.

GIPSY.

This term, which is given to a race of itinerants, is derived from Egyptian; or, in other words, a race of people from Egypt. How long since they first emigrated from thence, the ablest writers have merely conjectured. It is generally believed, however, that they quitted Egypt when attacked by the Turks in 1513. Germany is the most famed for them: they have their own laws, rules, and regulations of society; and although generally considered and treated as vagabonds, yet, as a witty writer observes, "There is only this difference between them and us; their people rob our people, and our people rob one another."

GAZETTE.

The name Gazette is said to be derived from Gazetta, a small Venetian coin, being the price which was paid for one of the flying sheets of commercial and military information which were first published by that republic in 1563.

GEHO!

A learned friend of Mr. Brand's says, "The exclamation Geho, which carmen use to their horses, is probably of great antiquity. It is not peculiar to this country, as I have heard it used in France." In the story of the milkmaid who had kicked down her pail, and with it all her hopes of getting rich, as related in a very ancient collection of apologues, entitled "Dialogus Creaturanem," printed at Gouda in 1480, is the following passage: "Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum quanta gloria duceretur, ad illum virum super equum dicendo gio, gio, cepit pede percutere terram qua si pungeret equum calcaribus."

GRENADIER.

It was the province of the grenadier company of a regiment, in times past, to carry with them a kind of missile which was used at sieges, called a Grenade, which, when ignited, was thrown among or against the besieged; hence originated the term Grenadier.

GUINEA.

During the reign of Charles II., when Sir Robert Holmes, of the Isle of Wight, brought gold dust from the Coast of Guinea,

that piece of money, so highly favoured, and so long in circulation, first received its name in this country.

HOCUS-POCUS.

"With a sleight

Convey men's interest, and right,
From Stiles's pocket into Nokes's

As easily as hocus pocus."-Hudibras, Part iii. c. iii. 1. 713.

Archbishop Tillotson tells us, that "in all probability these common juggling words of hocus-pocus are nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome in their trick of Transubstantiation."

HOST.

This term, used in the Roman Catholic Church, is derived from the Latin word Hostia, meaning a victim. It is a consecrated wafer, of a circular form, composed of flour and water.

HAGGIS.

The savoury Scotch haggis (from hag to chop) is a dish commonly made in a sheep's maw, of its lungs, heart, and liver, mixed with suet, onions, salt, and pepper; or of toasted oatmeal mixed with the latter, without any animal food.

HAVERSACK.

Cobbett says, "A soldier's haversack means a thing to put havings into. It is made up of two French words, avoir and sac. Avoir means, to have; when used as a noun, it means property, goods, things possessed, or havings; and when a soldier has once got any thing into this sack, be it lamb, or fowl, or goose, the having is very safe, I can assure you!"

HONOUR.

Honour's but a word

To swear by only in a lord,
In other men 'tis but a huff,

To vapour with instead of proof,
That like a wen, looks big and swells,
Is senseless, and just nothing else."

HONESTY.

The term honesty is derived from Honestus, a Grecian slave whose integrity was such, that although liberty, and an immensity

of gold awaited him, would he but betray a secret he possessed, refused so to do, alleging that liberty and gold were of little value to him who had lost self-esteem.

Honesty, however, is a very different matter now:

"O monstrous world!

Take note, take note, O world!

To be direct and honest, is not safe."-Othello.

HOB AND NOB.

This phrase, according to Grose, "originated in the days of good Queen Bess. When great chimneys were in fashion, there was at each corner of the hearth or grate, a small elevated projection, called hob, and behind it a seat. In winter-time the beer was placed on the hob to warm, and the cold beer was set on a small table, said to have been called the nob: so that the question, Will you have hob or nob? seems only to have meant, Will you have warm or cold beer? i.e., beer from the hob, or beer from the nob." But Nares in his Glossary, s. v. Habbe or Nabbe, with much greater reason, shows that hob or nob, now only used convivially to ask a person whether he will have a glass of wine or not, is most evidently a corruption of the old hab-nab, from the Saxon habban, to have, and nabban, not to have.

HUSTING.

The term Husting or Hustings, as applied to the scaffold erected at elections, from which candidates address the electors, is derived from the Court of Hustings, of Saxon origin, and the most ancient in the kingdom. Its name is a compound of hus and ding, the former implying a house, and the latter a thing, cause, suit, or plea; whereby it is manifest that Husding imports a house or hall, wherein causes are heard and determined; which is further evinced by the Saxon dingere or thingere, an advocate or lawyer.

HERMAPHRODITE.

This term, as applied to one partaking of the nature of the two sexes, is derived from Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Venus. The nymph Salmacis fell in love with him, and begged of the gods that their bodies might be always united, and make but one.

HAMMOCK.

The natives of Brazil used to sleep in nets composed of the rind of the Hamack Tree, suspended between poles fixed tight in the ground. Hence the Sailor's Hammock derived its name.

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