Chapter XX: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (17)

[1900.—"... that most curious of fruits, the CARAMBOLA, called by the
Chinese the _yong-t'o_, or foreign peach, though why this name should
have been selected is a mystery, for when cut through, it looks like a
star with five rays. By Europeans it is also known as the _Cape
gooseberry_."—_Ball, Things Chinese_, 3rd ed. p. 253.]

CARAT, s. Arab _ḳirrāt_, which is taken from the Gr. κεράτιον, a bean of the κερατεία or carob tree (_Ceratonia siliqua_, L.). This bean, like the Indian _rati_ (see RUTTEE) was used as a weight, and thence also it gave name to a coin of account, if not actual. To discuss the carat fully would be a task of extreme complexity, and would occupy several pages.

Under the name of _siliqua_ it was the 24th part of the golden solidus of Constantine, which was again = 1/6 of an ounce. Hence this carat was = 1/144 of an ounce. In the passage from St. Isidore quoted below, the _cerates_ is distinct from the _siliqua_, and = 1½ _siliquae_. This we cannot explain, but the _siliqua Graeca_ was the κεράτιον; and the _siliqua_ as 1/24 of a solidus is the parent of the _carat_ in all its uses. [See Prof. Gardner, in Smith, _Dict. Ant._ 3rd ed. ii. 675.] Thus we find the _carat_ at Constantinople in the 14th century = 1/24 of the _hyperpera_ or Greek _bezant_, which was a debased representative of the solidus; and at Alexandria 1/24 of the Arabic _dīnār_, which was a purer representative of the solidus. And so, as the Roman _uncia_ signified 1/12 of any unit (compare _ounce_, _inch_), so to a certain extent _carat_ came to signify 1/24. Dictionaries give Arab. _ḳirrāṭ_ as "1/24 of an ounce." Of this we do not know the evidence. The _English Cyclopaedia_ (s.v.) again states that "the _carat_ was originally the 24th part of the _marc_, or half-pound, among the French, from whom the word came." This sentence perhaps contains more than one error; but still both of these allegations exhibit the _carat_ as 1/24th part. Among our goldsmiths the term is still used to measure the proportionate quality of gold; pure gold being put at 24 _carats_, gold with 1/12 alloy at 22 _carats_, with ¼ alloy at 18 _carats_, &c. And the word seems also (like ANNA, q.v.) sometimes to have been used to express a proportionate scale in other matters, as is illustrated by a curious passage in Marco Polo, quoted below.

The _carat_ is also used as a weight for diamonds. As 1/144 of an ounce troy this ought to make it 3⅓ grains. But these carats really run 151½ to the ounce troy, so that the diamond _carat_ is 3-1/6 grs. nearly. This we presume was adopted direct from some foreign system in which the carat _was_ 1/144 of the local ounce. [See Ball, _Tavernier_, ii. 447.]

c. A.D. 636.—"Siliqua vigesima quarta pars solidi est, ab arboris semine
vocabulum tenens. _Cerates_ oboli pars media est siliquã habens unam
semis. Hanc latinitas semiobulũ vocat; CERATES autem Graece, Latine
siliqua cornuũ interpretatur. Obulus siliquis tribus appenditur, habens
_cerates_ duos, calcos quatuor."—_Isidori Hispalensis Opera_ (ed. Paris,
1601), p. 224.

1298.—"The Great Kaan sends his commissioners to the Province to select
four or five hundred ... of the most beautiful young women, according to
the scale of beauty enjoined upon them. The commissioners ... assemble
all the girls of the province, in presence of appraisers appointed for
the purpose. These carefully survey the points of each girl.... They will
then set down some as estimated at 16 CARATS, some at 17, 18, 20, or more
or less, according to the sum of the beauties or defects of each. And
whatever standard the Great Kaan may have fixed for those that are to be
brought to him, whether it be 20 carats or 21, the commissioners select
the required number from those who have attained to that
standard."—_Marco Polo_, 2nd ed. i. 350-351.

1673.—"A stone of one Carrack is worth 10_l._"—_Fryer_, 214.

CARAVAN, s. P. _karwān_; a convoy of travellers. The Ar. _ḳāfila_ is more generally used in India. The word is found in French as early as the 13th century (_Littré_). A quotation below shows that the English transfer of the word to a wheeled conveyance for travellers (now for goods also) dates from the 17th century. The abbreviation _van_ in this sense seems to have acquired rights as an English word, though the altogether analogous _bus_ is still looked on as slang.

c. 1270.—"Meanwhile the convoy (la CARAVANA) from Tortosa ... armed seven
vessels in such wise that any one of them could take a galley if it ran
alongside."—_Chronicle of James of Aragon_, tr. by _Foster_, i. 379.

1330.—"De hac civitate recedens cum CARAVANIS et cum quadam societate,
ivi versus Indiam Superiorem."—_Friar Odoric_, in _Cathay_, &c., ii. App.
iii.

1384.—"Rimonda che l'avemo, vedemo venire una grandissima CAROVANA di
cammelli e di Saracini, che recavano spezierie delle parti
d'India."—_Frescobaldi_, 64.

c. 1420.—"Is adolescens ab Damasco Syriae, ubi mercaturae gratiâ erat,
perceptâ prius Arabum linguâ, in coetu mercatorum—hi sexcenti erant—quam
vulgo CAROANAM dicunt...."—_N. Conti_, in _Poggius de Varietate
Fortunae_.

1627.—"A CARAVAN is a convoy of souldiers for the safety of merchants
that trauell in the East Countreys."—_Minshew_, 2nd ed. s.v.

1674.—"CARAVAN or KARAVAN (Fr. _caravane_) a Convoy of Souldiers for the
safety of Merchants that travel by Land. Also of late corruptly used with
us for a kind of Waggon to carry passengers to and from
London."—_Glossographia_, &c., by J. E.

CARAVANSERAY, s. P. _karwānsarāī_; a SERAI (q.v.) for the reception of CARAVANS (q.v.).

1404.—"And the next day being Tuesday, they departed thence and going
about 2 leagues arrived at a great house like an Inn, which they call
CARABANSACA (read _-sara_), and here were Chacatays looking after the
Emperor's horses."—_Clavijo_, § xcviii. Comp. _Markham_, p. 114.

[1528.—"In the Persian language they call these houses CARVANCARAS, which
means resting-place for caravans and strangers."—_Tenreiro_, ii. p. 11.]

1554.—"I'ay à parler souuent de ce nom de CARBACHARA: ... Ie ne peux le
nommer autrement en François, sinon vn CARBACHARA: et pour le sçauoir
donner à entendre, il fault supposer qu'il n'y a point d'hostelleries es
pays ou domaine le Turc, ne de lieux pour se loger, sinon dedens celles
maisons publiques appellée CARBACHARA...."—_Observations_ par _P. Belon_,
f. 59.

1564.—"Hic diverti in diversorium publicum, CARAVASARAI Turcae vocant ...
vastum est aedificium ... in cujus medio patet area ponendis sarcinis et
camelis."—_Busbequii, Epist._ i. (p. 35).

1619.—"... a great bazar, enclosed and roofed in, where they sell stuffs,
cloths, &c. with the House of the Mint, and the great CARAVANSERAI, which
bears the name of _Lala Beig_ (because Lala Beig the Treasurer gives
audiences, and does his business there) and another little CARAVANSERAI,
called that of the _Ghilac_ or people of Ghilan."—_P. della Valle_ (from
Ispahan), ii. 8; [comp. Hak. Soc. i. 95].

1627.—"At _Band Ally_ we found a neat CARRAVANSRAW or Inne ... built by
mens charity, to give all civill passengers a resting place _gratis_; to
keepe them from the injury of theeves, beasts, weather, &c."—_Herbert_,
p. 124.

CARAVEL, s. This often occurs in the old Portuguese narratives. The word is alleged to be not Oriental, but Celtic, and connected in its origin with the old British _coracle_; see the quotation from Isidore of Seville, the indication of which we owe to Bluteau, s.v. The Portuguese _caravel_ is described by the latter as a 'round vessel' (_i.e._ not long and sharp like a galley), with lateen sails, ordinarily of 200 tons burthen. The character of swiftness attributed to the _caravel_ (see both Damian and Bacon below) has suggested to us whether the word has not come rather from the Persian Gulf—Turki _ḳarāwul_, 'a scout, an outpost, a vanguard.' Doubtless there are difficulties. [The _N.E.D._ says that it is probably the dim. of Sp. _caraba_.] The word is found in the following passage, quoted from the Life of St. Nilus, who died c. 1000, a date hardly consistent with Turkish origin. But the Latin translation is by Cardinal Sirlet, c. 1550, and the word may have been changed or modified:—

"Cogitavit enim in unaquaque Calabriae regione perficere navigia.... Id
autem non ferentes Russani cives ... simul irruentes ac tumultuantes
navigia combusserunt et eas quae CARAVELLAE appellantur secuerunt."—In
the Collection of _Martene_ and _Durand_, vi. col. 930.

c. 638.—"CARABUS, parua scafa ex vimine facta, quae contexta crudo corio
genus navigii praebet."—_Isidori Hispal. Opera._ (Paris, 1601), p. 255.

1492.—"So being one day importuned by the said Christopher, the Catholic
King was persuaded by him that nothing should keep him from making this
experiment; and so effectual was this persuasion that they fitted out for
him a ship and two CARAVELS, with which at the beginning of August 1492,
with 120 men, sail was made from Gades."—_Summary of the H. of the
Western Indies_, by _Pietro Martire_ in _Ramusio_, iii. f. 1.

1506.—"Item traze della Mina d'oro de Ginea ogn anno ducati 120 mila che
vien ogni mise do' CARAVELLE con ducati 10 mila."—_Leonardo di Ca'
Masser_, p. 30.

1549.—"Viginti et quinque agiles naues, quas et CARAVELLAS dicimus, quo
genere nauium soli Lusitani utuntur."—_Damiani a Goës, Diensis
Oppugnatio_, ed. 1602, p. 289.

1552.—"Ils lâchèrent les bordées de leurs KARAWELLES; ornèrent leurs
vaisseaux de pavillons, et s'avancèrent sur nous."—_Sidi Ali_, p. 70.

c. 1615.—"She may spare me her mizen and her bonnets; I am a CARVEL to
her."—_Beaum. & Flet., Wit without Money_, i. 1.

1624.—"Sunt etiam naves quaedam nunciae quae ad officium celeritatis
apposite exstructae sunt (quas CARUELLAS vocant)."—_Bacon, Hist.
Ventorum._

1883.—"The deep-sea fishing boats called _Machoās_ ... are CARVEL built,
and now generally iron fastened...."—_Short Account of Bombay Fisheries_,
by _D. G. Macdonald_, M.D.

CARBOY, s. A large glass bottle holding several gallons, and generally covered with wicker-work, well known in England, where it is chiefly used to convey acids and corrosive liquids in bulk. Though it is not an Anglo-Indian word, it comes (in the form _ḳarāba_) from Persia, as Wedgwood has pointed out. Kaempfer, whom we quote from his description of the wine trade at Shiraz, gives an exact etching of a carboy. Littré mentions that the late M. Mohl referred CARAFFE to the same original; but see that word. _Ḳarāba_ is no doubt connected with Ar. _ḳirba_, 'a large leathern milk-bottle.'

1712.—"Vasa vitrea, alia sunt majora, ampullacea et circumducto scirpo
tunicata, quae vocant KARABÀ.... Venit _Karaba_ una apud vitriarios
duobus mamudi, raro carius."—_Kaempfer, Amoen. Exot._ 379.

1754.—"I delivered a present to the Governor, consisting of oranges and
lemons, with several sorts of dried fruits, and six KARBOYS of Isfahan
wine."—_Hanway_, i. 102.

1800.—"Six CORABAHS of rose-water."—_Symes, Emb. to Ava_, p. 488.

1813.—"CARBOY of Rosewater...."—_Milburn_, ii. 330.

1875.—"People who make it (Shiraz Wine) generally bottle it themselves,
or else sell it in huge bottles called 'KURABA' holding about a dozen
quarts."—_Macgregor, Journey through Khorassan_, &c., 1879, i. 37.

CARCANA, CARCONNA, s. H. from P. _kārkhāna_, 'a place where business is done'; a workshop; a departmental establishment such as that of the commissariat, or the artillery park, in the field.

1663.—"There are also found many raised Walks and Tents in sundry Places,
that are the offices of several Officers. Besides these there are many
great Halls that are called KAR-KANAYS, or places where Handy-craftsmen
do work."—_Bernier_, E. T. 83; [ed. _Constable_, 258].

c. 1756.—"In reply, Hydur pleaded his poverty ... but he promised that as
soon as he should have established his power, and had time to regulate
his departments (KĀRKHĀNAJĀT), the amount should be paid."—_Hussein Ali
Khan, History of Hydur Naik_, p. 87.

1800.—"The elephant belongs to the KARKANA, but you may as well keep him
till we meet."—_Wellington_, i. 144.

1804.—"If the (bullock) establishment should be formed, it should be in
regular KARKANAS."—_Ibid._ iii. 512.

CARCOON, s. Mahr. _kārkūn_, 'a clerk,' H.—P. _kār-kun_, (_faciendorum factor_) or 'manager.'

[c. 1590.—"In the same way as the KARKUN sets down the transactions of
the assessments, the _muḳaddam_ and the _patwāri_ shall keep their
respective accounts."—_Āīn_, tr. _Jarrett_, ii. 45.

[1615.—"Made means to the CORCONE or Scrivano to help us to the copia of
the King's licence."—_Foster, Letters_, iii. 122.

[1616.—"Addick Raia Pongolo, CORCON of this place."—_Ibid._ iv. 167.]

1826.—"My benefactor's chief CARCOON or clerk allowed me to sort out and
direct despatches to officers at a distance who belonged to the command
of the great Sawant Rao."—_Pandurang Hari_, 21; [ed. 1873, i. 28.]

CARÉNS, n.p. Burm. _Ka-reng_, [a word of which the meaning is very uncertain. It is said to mean 'dirty-feeders,' or 'low-caste people,' and it has been connected with the _Kirāta_ tribe (see the question discussed by _McMahon, The Karens of the Golden Chersonese_, 43 _seqq._)]. A name applied to a group of non-Burmese tribes, settled in the forest and hill tracts of Pegu and the adjoining parts of Burma, from Mergui in the south, to beyond Toungoo in the north, and from Arakan to the Salwen, and beyond that river far into Siamese territory. They do not know the name _Kareng_, nor have they one name for their own race; distinguishing, among these whom we call Karens, three tribes, _Sgaw_, _Pwo_, and _Bghai_, which differ somewhat in customs and traditions, and especially in language. "The results of the labours among them of the American Baptist Mission have the appearance of being almost miraculous, and it is not going too far to state that the cessation of blood feuds, and the peaceable way in which the various tribes are living ... and have lived together since they came under British rule, is far more due to the influence exercised over them by the missionaries than to the measures adopted by the English Government, beneficial as these doubtless have been" (_Br. Burma Gazetteer_, [ii. 226]). The author of this excellent work should not, however, have admitted the quotation of Dr. Mason's fanciful notion about the identity of Marco Polo's _Carajan_ with Karen, which is totally groundless.

1759.—"There is another people in this country called CARIANNERS, whiter
than either (Burmans or Peguans), distinguished into _Buraghmah_ and
_Pegu_ CARIANNERS; they live in the _woods_, in small Societies, of ten
or twelve _houses_; are not wanting in industry, though it goes no
further than to procure them an annual subsistence."—In _Dalrymple, Or.
Rep._ i. 100.

1799—"From this reverend father (V. Sangermano) I received much useful
information. He told me of a singular description of people called
CARAYNERS or CARIANERS, that inhabit different parts of the country,
particularly the western provinces of Dalla and Bassein, several
societies of whom also dwell in the district adjacent to Rangoon. He
represented them as a simple, innocent race, speaking a language distinct
from that of the Birmans, and entertaining rude notions of religion....
They are timorous, honest, mild in their manners, and exceedingly
hospitable to strangers."—_Symes_, 207.

c. 1819.—"We must not omit here the CARIAN, a good and peaceable people,
who live dispersed through the forests of Pegù, in small villages
consisting of 4 or 5 houses ... they are totally dependent upon the
despotic government of the Burmese."—_Sangermano_, p. 34.

CARICAL, n.p. Etymology doubtful; Tam. _Karaikkāl_, [which is either _kārai_, 'masonry' or 'the plant, thorny webera': _kāl_, 'channel' (_Madras Adm. Man._ ii. 212, _Gloss._ s.v.)]. A French settlement within the limits of Tanjore district.

CARNATIC, n.p. _Karṇāṭaka_ and _Kārṇāṭaka_, Skt. adjective forms from _Karṇāṭa_ or _Kārṇāṭa_, [Tam. _kar_, 'black,' _nādu_, 'country']. This word in native use, according to Bp. Caldwell, denoted the Telegu and Canarese people and their language, but in process of time became specially the appellation of the people speaking Canarese and their language (_Drav. Gram._ 2nd ed. Introd. p. 34). The Mahommedans on their arrival in S. India found a region which embraces Mysore and part of Telingāna (in fact the kingdom of Vijayanagara), called the _Karṇāṭaka_ country, and this was identical in application (and probably in etymology) with the CANARA country (q.v.) of the older Portuguese writers. The _Karṇāṭaka_ became extended, especially in connection with the rule of the Nabobs of Arcot, who partially occupied the Vijayanagara territory, and were known as Nawābs of the _Karṇāṭaka_, to the country below the Ghauts, on the eastern side of the Peninsula, just as the other form _Canara_ had become extended to the country below the Western Ghauts; and eventually among the English the term _Carnatic_ came to be understood in a sense more or less restricted to the eastern low country, though never quite so absolutely as Canara has become restricted to the western low country. The term _Carnatic_ is now obsolete.

c. A.D. 550.—In the _Bṛihat-Saṅhitā_ of Varāhamihira, in the enumeration
of peoples and regions of the south, we have in Kern's translation (_J.
R. As. Soc._ N.S. v. 83) _Karnatic_; the original form, which is not
given by Kern, is KARNĀTA.

c. A.D. 1100.—In the later Sanskrit literature this name often occurs,
_e.g._ in the _Kathasaritsāgara_, or 'Ocean of Rivers of Stories,' a
collection of tales (in verse) of the beginning of the 12th century, by
Somadeva, of Kashmir; but it is not possible to attach any very precise
meaning to the word as there used. [See refs. in _Tawney_, tr. ii. 651.]

A.D. 1400.—The word also occurs in the inscriptions of the Vijayanagara
dynasty, _e.g._ in one of A.D. 1400.—(_Elem. of S. Indian Palaeography_,
2nd ed. pl. xxx.)

1608.—"In the land of KARṆĀṬA and Vidyānagara was the King
Mahendra."—_Taranatha's H. of Buddhism_, by _Schiefner_, p. 267.

c. 1610.—"The Zamindars of Singaldip (Ceylon) and KARNÁTAK came up with
their forces and expelled Sheo Rai, the ruler of the Dakhin."—_Firishta_,
in _Elliot_, vi. 549.

1614.—See quotation from Couto under CANARA.

[1623.—"His Tributaries, one of whom was the Queen of CURNAT."—_P. della
Valle_, Hak. Soc. ii. 314.]

c. 1652.—"Gandicot is one of the strongest Cities in the Kingdom of
CARNATICA."—_Tavernier_, E. T. ii. 98; [ed. _Ball_, i. 284].

c. 1660.—"The Ráís of the KARNÁTIK, Mahratta (country), and Telingana,
were subject to the Ráí of Bidar."—_'Amal-i-Sálih_, in _Elliot_ vii. 126.

1673.—"I received this information from the natives, that the CANATICK
country reaches from _Gongola_ to the _Zamerhin's_ Country of the
_Malabars_ along the Sea, and inland up to the Pepper Mountains of
_Sunda_.... _Bedmure_, four Days Journey hence, is the Capital
City."—_Fryer_, 162, in Letter IV., _A Relation of the_ CANATICK
_Country_.—Here he identifies the "Canatick" with Canara below the
Ghauts.

So also the coast of Canara seems meant in the following:—

c. 1760.—"Though the navigation from the CARNATIC coast to Bombay is of a
very short run, of not above six or seven degrees...."—_Grose_, i. 232.

" "The CARNATIC or province of Arcot ... its limits now are greatly
inferior to those which bounded the ancient CARNATIC; for the Nabobs of
Arcot have never extended their authority beyond the river Gondegama to
the north; the great chain of mountains to the west; and the branches of
the Kingdom of Trichinopoli, Tanjore, and Maissore to the south; the sea
bounds it on the east."—_Ibid._ II. vii.

1762.—"Siwaee Madhoo Rao ... with this immense force ... made an
incursion into the KARNATIC Balaghaut."—_Hussein Ali Khan, History of
Hydur Naik_, 148.

1792.—"I hope that our acquisitions by this peace will give so much
additional strength and compactness to the frontier of our possessions,
both in the CARNATIC, and on the coast of Malabar, as to render it
difficult for any power above the Ghauts to invade us."—_Lord
Cornwallis's_ Despatch from Seringapatam, in _Seton-Karr_, ii. 96.

1826.—"Camp near Chillumbrum (CARNATIC), March 21st." This date of a
letter of Bp. Heber's is probably one of the latest instances of the use
of the term in a natural way.

CARNATIC FASHION. See under BENIGHTED.

(1). CARRACK, n.p. An island in the upper part of the Persian Gulf, which has been more than once in British occupation. Properly KHĀRAK. It is so written in _Jaubert's Edrisi_ (i. 364, 372). But Dr. Badger gives the modern Arabic as _el-Khārij_, which would represent old P. _Khārig_.

c. 830.—"KHAREK ... cette isle qui a un farsakh en long et en large,
produit du blé, des palmiers, et des vignes."—_Ibn Khurdādba_, in _J.
As._ ser. vi. tom. v. 283.

c. 1563.—"Partendosi da Basora si passa 200 miglia di Golfo co'l mare a
banda destra sino che si giunge nell' isola di CARICHI...."—_C.
Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 386v.

1727.—"The Islands of CARRICK ly, about West North West, 12 Leagues from
_Bowchier_."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 90.

1758.—"The Baron ... immediately sailed for the little island of KAREC,
where he safely landed; having attentively surveyed the spot he at that
time laid the plan, which he afterwards executed with so much
success."—_Ives_, 212.

(2). CARRACK, s. A kind of vessel of burden from the Middle Ages down to the end of the 17th century. The character of the earlier _carrack_ cannot be precisely defined. But the larger cargo-ships of the Portuguese in the trade of the 16th century were generally so styled, and these were sometimes of enormous tonnage, with 3 or 4 decks. Charnock (_Marine Architecture_, ii. p. 9) has a plate of a Genoese carrack of 1542. He also quotes the description of a Portuguese carrack taken by Sir John Barrough in 1592. It was of 1,600 tons burden, whereof 900 merchandize; carried 32 brass pieces and between 600 and 700 passengers (?); was built with 7 decks. The word (L. Lat.) _carraca_ is regarded by Skeat as properly _carrica_, from _carricare_, It. _caricare_, 'to lade, to charge.' This is possible; but it would be well to examine if it be not from the Ar. _ḥarāḳah_, a word which the dictionaries explain as 'fire-ship'; though this is certainly not always the meaning. Dozy is inclined to derive _carraca_ (which is old in Sp. he says) from _ḳarāḳir_, the pl. of _ḳurḳūr_ or _ḳurḳūra_ (see CARACOA). And _ḳurḳūra_ itself he thinks may have come from _carricare_, which already occurs in St. Jerome. So that Mr. Skeat's origin is possibly correct. [The _N.E.D._ refers to _carraca_, of which the origin is said to be uncertain.] Ibn Batuta uses the word twice at least for a state barge or something of that kind (see _Cathay_ p. 499, and _Ibn Bat._ ii. 116; iv. 289). The like use occurs several times in _Makrizi_ (_e.g._ I. i. 143; I. ii. 66; and II. i. 24). Quatremère at the place first quoted observes that the _ḥarāḳah_ was not a fire ship in our sense, but a vessel with a high deck from which fire could be thrown; but that it could also be used as a transport vessel, and was so used on sea and land.

1338.—"... after that we embarked at Venice on board a certain CARRACK,
and sailed down the Adriatic Sea."—_Friar Pasqual_, in _Cathay_, &c.,
231.

1383.—"Eodem tempore venit in magnâ tempestate ad Sandevici portum navis
quam dicunt CARIKA (mirae) magnitudinis, plena divitiis, quae facile
inopiam totius terrae relevare potuisset, si incolarum invidia
permisisset."—_T. Walsingham, Hist. Anglic._, by _H. T. Riley_, 1864, ii.
83-84.

1403.—"The prayer being concluded, and the storm still going on, a light
like a candle appeared in the cage at the mast-head of the CARRACA, and
another light on the spar that they call bowsprit (_bauprés_) which is
fixed in the forecastle; and another light like a candle _in una vara de
espinelo_ (?) over the poop, and these lights were seen by as many as
were in the CARRACK, and were called up to see them, and they lasted
awhile and then disappeared, and all this while the storm did not cease,
and by-and-by all went to sleep except the steersman and certain sailors
of the watch."—_Clavijo_, § xiii. Comp. _Markham_, p. 13.

1548.—"De Thesauro nostro munitionum artillariorum, Tentorum, Pavilionum,
pro Equis navibus CARACATIS, Galeis et aliis navibus
quibuscumque...."—Act of Edw. VI. in _Rymer_, xv. 175.

1552.—"Ils avaient 4 barques, grandes comme des _ḳarrāḳa_...."—_Sidi
'Ali_, p. 67.

1566-68.—"... about the middle of the month of Ramazan, in the year 974,
the inhabitants of Funan and Fandreeah [_i.e._ Ponany and PANDARĀNI,
q.v.], having sailed out of the former of these ports in a fleet of 12
grabs, captured a CARACCA belonging to the Franks, which had arrived from
Bengal, and which was laden with rice and sugar ... in the year 976
another party ... in a fleet of 17 grabs ... made capture off Shaleeat
(see CHALIA) of a large CARACCA, which had sailed from Cochin, having on
board nearly 1,000 Franks...."—_Tohfut-ul-Mujahideen_, p. 159.

1596.—"It comes as farre short as ... a cocke-boate of a CARRICK."—_T.
Nash, Have with you to Saffron Walden_, repr. by _J. P. Collier_, p. 72.

1613.—"They are made like CARRACKS, only strength and storage."—_Beaum. &
Flet., The Coxcomb_, i. 3.

1615.—"After we had given her chase for about 5 hours, her colours and
bulk discovered her to be a very great Portugal CARRACK bound for
Goa."—_Terry_, in _Purchas_; [ed. 1777, p. 34].

1620.—"The harbor at Nangasaque is the best in all Japon, wheare there
may be 1000 seale of shipps ride landlockt, and the greatest shipps or
CARICKES in the world ... ride before the towne within a cable's length
of the shore in 7 or 8 fathom water at least."—_Cocks, Letter to
Batavia_, ii. 313.

c. 1620.—"Il faut attendre là des Pilotes du lieu, que les Gouverneurs de
Bombaim et de Marsagão ont soin d'envoyer tout à l'heure, pour conduire
le Vaisseau à Turumba [_i.e._ Trombay] où les CARAQUES ont coustume
d'hyverner."—_Routier ... des Indes Or._, by _Aleixo da Motta_, in
_Thevenot_.

c. 1635.—

"The bigger Whale, like some huge CARRACK lay
Which wanted Sea room for her foes to play...."
_Waller, Battle of the Summer Islands._

1653.—"... pour moy il me vouloit loger en son Palais, et que si i'auois
la volonté de retourner a Lisbone par mer, il me feroit embarquer sur les
premieres KARAQUES...."—_De la Boullaye-le-Gouz_, ed. 1657, p. 213.

1660.—"And further, That every Merchant Denizen who shall hereafter ship
any Goods or Merchandize in any CARRACK or Galley shall pay to your
Majesty all manner of Customs, and all the Subsidies aforesaid, as any
Alien born out of the Realm."—Act 12 Car. II. cap. iv. s. iv. (Tonnage
and Poundage).

c. 1680.—"To this City of the floating ... which foreigners, with a
little variation from _carroços_, call CARRACAS."—_Vieira_, quoted by
_Bluteau_.

1684.—"... there was a CARACK of Portugal cast away upon the Reef having
on board at that Time 4,000,000 of Guilders in Gold ... a present from
the King of Siam to the King of Portugal."—_Cowley_, 32, in _Dampier's
Voyages_, iv.

CARRAWAY, s. This word for the seed of _Carum carui_, L., is (probably through Sp. _alcaravea_) from the Arabic _karawiyā_. It is curious that the English form is thus closer to the Arabic than either the Spanish, or the French and Italian _carvi_, which last has passed into Scotch as _carvy_. But the Arabic itself is a corruption [not immediately, _N.E.D._] of Lat. _careum_, or Gr. κάρον (_Dozy_).

CARTMEEL, s. This is, at least in the Punjab, the ordinary form that 'mail-cart' takes among the natives. Such inversions are not uncommon. Thus Sir David Ochterlony was always called by the Sepoys _Loni-okhtar_. In our memory an officer named _Holroyd_ was always called by the Sepoys _Roydāl_, [and _Brownlow_, _Lobrūn_. By another curious corruption _Mackintosh_ becomes _Makkhanī-tosh_, 'buttered toast'!]

CARTOOCE, s. A cartridge; _kārtūs_, Sepoy H.; [comp. TOSTDAUN].

CARYOTA, s. This is the botanical name (_Caryota urens_, L.) of a magnificent palm growing in the moister forest regions, as in the Western Ghauts and in Eastern Bengal, in Ceylon, and in Burma. A conspicuous character is presented by its enormous bipinnate leaves, somewhat resembling colossal bracken-fronds, 15 to 25 feet long, 10 to 12 in width; also by the huge pendent clusters of its inflorescence and seeds, the latter like masses of rosaries 10 feet long and upwards. It affords much TODDY (q.v.) made into spirit and sugar, and is the tree chiefly affording these products in Ceylon, where it is called _Kitul_. It also affords a kind of sago, and a woolly substance found at the foot of the leaf-stalks is sometimes used for caulking, and forms a good tinder. The sp. name _urens_ is derived from the acrid, burning taste of the fruit. It is called, according to Brandis, the _Mhār_-palm in Western India. We know of no Hindustani or familiar Anglo-Indian name. [Watt, (_Econ. Dict._ ii. 206) says that it is known in Bombay as the _Hill_ or _Sago_ palm. It has penetrated in Upper India as far as Chunār.] The name _Caryota_ seems taken from Pliny, but his application is to a kind of date-palm; his statement that it afforded the best wine of the East probably suggested the transfer.

c. A.D. 70.—"Ab his CARYOTAE maxume celebrantur, et cibo quidem et suco
uberrimae, ex quibus praecipua vina orienti, iniqua capiti, unde pomo
nomen."—_Pliny_, xiii. § 9.

1681.—"The next tree is the _Kettule_. It groweth straight, but not so
tall or big as a _Coker-Nut-Tree_; the inside nothing but a white pith,
as the former. It yieldeth a sort of Liquor ... very sweet and pleasing
to the Pallate.... The which Liquor they boyl and make a kind of brown
sugar called _Jaggory_ [see JAGGERY], &c."—_Knox_, p. 15.

1777.—"The CARYOTA _urens_, called the Saguer tree, grew between Salatiga
and Kopping, and was said to be the real tree from which sago is
made."—_Thunberg_, E. T. iv. 149. A mistake, however.

1861.—See quotation under PEEPUL.

CASH, s. A name applied by Europeans to sundry coins of low value in various parts of the Indies. The word in its original form is of extreme antiquity, "Skt. _karsha_ ... a weight of silver or gold equal to 1/400 of a _Tulā_" (_Williams, Skt. Dict._; and see also a Note on the _Kārsha_, or rather _kārshāpaṇa_, as a copper coin of great antiquity, in _E. Thomas's Pathân Kings of Delhi_, 361-362). From the Tam. form _kāsu_, or perhaps from some Konkani form which we have not traced, the Portuguese seem to have made _caixa_, whence the English _cash_. In Singalese also _kāsi_ is used for 'coin' in general. The English term was appropriated in the monetary system which prevailed in S. India up to 1818; thus there was a copper coin for use in Madras struck in England in 1803, which bears on the reverse, "XX Cash." A figure of this coin is given in _Ruding_. Under this system 80 cash = 1 fanam, 42 fanams = 1 star pagoda. But from an early date the Portuguese had applied _caixa_ to the small money of foreign systems, such as those of the Malay Islands, and especially to that of the Chinese. In China the word _cash_ is used, by Europeans and their hangers-on, as the synonym of the Chinese _le_ and _tsien_, which are those coins made of an alloy of copper and lead with a square hole in the middle, which in former days ran 1000 to the _liang_ or TAEL (q.v.), and which are strung in certain numbers on cords. [This type of money, as was recently pointed out by Lord Avebury, is a survival of the primitive currency, which was in the shape of an axe.] Rouleaux of coin thus strung are represented on the surviving bank-notes of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368 onwards), and probably were also on the notes of their Mongol predecessors.

The existence of the distinct English word _cash_ may probably have affected the form of the corruption before us. This word had a European origin from It. _cassa_, French _caisse_, 'the money-chest': this word in book-keeping having given name to the heading of account under which actual disbursements of coin were entered (see _Wedgwood_ and _N.E.D._ s.v.). In Minsheu (2nd ed. 1627) the present sense of the word is not attained. He only gives "a tradesman's CASH, or Counter to keepe money in."

1510.—"They have also another coin called CAS, 16 of which go to a _tare_
of silver."—_Varthema_, 130.

" "In this country (Calicut) a great number of apes are produced,
one of which is worth 4 CASSE, and one CASSE is worth a
_quattrino_."—_Ibid._ 172. (Why a monkey should be worth 4 _casse_ is
obscure.)

1598.—"You must understand that in _Sunda_ there is also no other kind of
money than certaine copper mynt called CAIXA, of the bignes of a Hollãdes
doite, but not half so thicke, in the middle whereof is a hole to hang it
on a string, for that commonlie they put two hundreth or a thousand vpon
one string."—_Linschoten_, 34; [Hak. Soc. i. 113].

1600.—"Those (coins) of Lead are called CAXAS, whereof 1600 make one
mas."—_John Davis_, in _Purchas_, i. 117.

1609.—"Ils (les Chinois) apportent la monnoye qui a le cours en toute
l'isle de Iava, et Isles circonvoisines, laquelle en lãgue Malaique est
appellee CAS.... Cette monnoye est jettée en moule en Chine, a la Ville
de Chincheu."—_Houtman_, in _Nav. des Hollandois_, i. 30_b_.

[1621.—"In many places they threw abroad CASHES (or brasse money) in
great quantety."—_Cocks, Diary_, ii. 202.]

1711.—"Doodoos and CASH are Copper Coins, eight of the former make one
Fanham, and ten of the latter one Doodoo."—_Lockyer_, 8. [_Doodoo_ is the
Tel. _duddu_, Skt. _dvi_, 'two'; a more modern scale is: 2 _dooggaunies_
= 1 _doody_: 3 _doodies_ = 1 _anna_.—_Mad. Gloss._ s.v.]

1718.—"CASS (a very small coin, eighty whereof make one
Fano)."—_Propagation of the Gospel in the East_, ii. 52.

1727.—"At Atcheen they have a small coin of leaden Money called CASH,
from 12 to 1600 of them goes to one _Mace_, or _Masscie_."—_A. Hamilton_,
ii. 109.

c. 1750-60.—"At Madras and other parts of the coast of Coromandel, 80
CASCHES make a fanam, or 3d. sterling; and 36 fanams a silver pagoda, or
7s. 8d. sterling."—_Grose_, i. 282.

1790.—"So far am I from giving credit to the late Government (of Madras)
for œconomy, in not making the necessary preparations for war, according
to the positive orders of the Supreme Government, after having received
the most gross insult that could be offered to any nation! I think it
very possible that every CASH of that ill-judged saving may cost the
company a crore of rupees."—Letter of _Lord Cornwallis_ to E. J. Hollond,
Esq., see the _Madras Courier_, 22nd Sept. 1791.

[1792.—"Whereas the sum of Raheties 1223, 6 fanams and 30 KHAS has been
deducted."—Agreement in _Logan, Malabar_, iii. 226.]

1813.—At Madras, according to Milburn, the coinage ran:

"10 CASH = 1 _doodee_; 2 _doodees_ = 1 pice; 8 _doodees_ = 1 single
fanam," &c.

The following shows a singular corruption, probably of the Chinese _tsien_, and illustrates how the striving after meaning shapes such corruptions:—

1876.—"All money transactions (at Manwyne on the Burman-Chinese frontier)
are effected in the copper coin of China called '_change_,' of which
about 400 or 500 go to the rupee. These coins are generally strung on
cord," &c.—_Report on the Country through which the Force passed to meet
the Governor_, by _W. J. Charlton, M.D._

An intermediate step in this transformation is found in Cocks's _Japan Journal_, _passim_, _e.g._, ii. 89:

"But that which I tooke most note of was of the liberalitee and devotion
of these heathen people, who thronged into the Pagod in multetudes one
after another to cast money into a littel chapell before the idalles,
most parte ... being _gins_ or brass money, whereof 100 of them may
vallie som 10d. str., and are about the bignes of a 3d. English money."

CASHEW, s. The tree, fruit, or nut of the _Anacardium occidentale_, an American tree which must have been introduced early into India by the Portuguese, for it was widely diffused apparently as a wild tree long before the end of the 17th century, and it is described as an Indian tree by Acosta, who wrote in 1578. Crawfurd also speaks of it as abundant, and in full bearing, in the jungly islets of Hastings Archipelago, off the coast of Camboja (_Emb. to Siam, &c._, i. 103) [see _Teele's_ note on _Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. ii. 27]. The name appears to be S. American, _acajou_, of which an Indian form, _kājū_, [and Malay _gajus_], have been made. The so-called fruit is the fleshy top of the peduncle which bears the nut. The oil in the shell of the nut is acrid to an extraordinary degree, whilst the kernels, which are roasted and eaten, are quite bland. The tree yields a gum imported under the name of _Cadju_ gum.

1578.—"This tree gives a fruit called commonly CAIU; which being a good
stomachic, and of good flavour, is much esteemed by all who know it....
This fruit does not grow everywhere, but is found in gardens at the city
of Santa Cruz in the Kingdom of Cochin."—_C. Acosta, Tractado_, 324
_seqq._

1598.—"CAJUS groweth on trees like apple-trees, and are of the bignes of
a Peare."—_Linschoten_, p. 94; [Hak. Soc. ii. 28].

[1623.—_P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. i. 135, calls it CAGIU.]

1658.—In _Piso, De Indiae utriusque Re Naturali et Medicâ_, Amst., we
have a good cut of the tree as one of Brasil, called _Acaibaa_ "et
fructus ejus ACAJU."

1672.—"... il CAGIU.... Questo è l'Amandola ordinaria dell'India, per il
che se ne raccoglie grandissima quantità, essendo la pianta fertilissima
e molto frequente, ancora nelli luoghi più deserti et inculti."—_Vincenzo
Maria_, 354.

1673.—Fryer describes the tree under the name _Cheruse_ (apparently some
mistake), p. 182.

1764.—

"... Yet if
The ACAJOU haply in the garden bloom...."
_Grainger_, iv.

[1813.—Forbes calls it "the _chashew_-apple," and the
"_cajew_-apple."—_Or. Mem._ 2nd ed. i. 232, 238.]

c. 1830.—"The CASHEW, with its apple like that of the cities of the
Plain, fair to look at, but acrid to the taste, to which the far-famed
nut is appended like a bud."—_Tom Cringle_, ed. 1863, p. 140.

1875.—"CAJOO kernels."—_Table of Customs Duties imposed in Br. India up
to 1875._

CASHMERE, n.p. The famous valley province of the Western Himālaya, H. and P. _Kashmīr_, from Skt. _Kaśmīra_, and sometimes _Kāśmīra_, alleged by Burnouf to be a contraction of _Kaśyapamīra_. [The name is more probably connected with the _Khasa_ tribe.] Whether or not it be the _Kaspatyrus_ or _Kaspapyrus_ of Herodotus, we believe it undoubtedly to be the _Kaspeiria_ (kingdom) of Ptolemy. Several of the old Arabian geographers write the name with the guttural _ḳ_, but this is not so used in modern times.

c. 630.—"The Kingdom of KIA-SHI-MI-LO (_Kaśmīra_) has about 7000 _li_ of
circuit. On all sides its frontiers are surrounded by mountains; these
are of prodigious height; and although there are paths affording access
to it, these are extremely narrow."—_Hwen T'sang_ (_Pèl. Bouddh._) ii.
167.

c. 940.—"ḲASHMĪR ... is a mountainous country, forming a large kingdom,
containing not less than 60,000 or 70,000 towns or villages. It is
inaccessible except on one side, and can only be entered by one
gate."—_Mas'ūdi_, i. 373.

1275.—"ḲASHMĪR, a province of India, adjoining the Turks; and its people
of mixt Turk and Indian blood excel all others in beauty."—_Zakarīya
Kazvīni_, in _Gildemeister_, 210.

1298.—"KESHIMUR also is a province inhabited by a people who are
idolaters and have a language of their own ... this country is the very
source from which idolatry has spread abroad."—_Marco Polo_, i. 175.

1552.—"The Mogols hold especially towards the N.E. the region Sogdiana,
which they now call QUEXIMIR, and also Mount Caucasus which divides India
from the other Provinces."—_Barros_, IV. vi. 1.

1615.—"CHISHMEERE, the chiefe Citie is called _Sirinakar_."—_Terry_, in
_Purchas_, ii. 1467; [so in _Roe's_ Map, vol. ii. Hak. Soc. ed.; CHISMER
in _Foster, Letters_, iii. 283].

1664.—"From all that hath been said, one may easily conjecture, that I am
somewhat charmed with KACHEMIRE, and that I pretend there is nothing in
the world like it for so small a kingdom."—_Bernier_, E. T. 128; [ed.
_Constable_, 400].

1676.—

"A trial of your kindness I must make;
Though not for mine, so much as virtue's sake,
The Queen of CASSIMERE...."
_Dryden's Aurungzebe_, iii. 1.

1814.—"The shawls of CASSIMER and the silks of Iran."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._
iii. 177; [2nd ed. ii. 232]. (See KERSEYMERE.)

CASIS, CAXIS, CACIZ, &c., s. This Spanish and Portuguese word, though Dozy gives it only as _prêtre chrétien_, is frequently employed by old travellers, and writers on Eastern subjects, to denote Mahommedan divines (_mullas_ and the like). It may be suspected to have arisen from a confusion of two Arabic terms—_kāḍi_ (see CAZEE) and _ḳashīsh_ or _ḳasīs_, 'a Christian Presbyter' (from a Syriac root signifying _senuit_). Indeed we sometimes find the precise word _ḳashīsh_ (_Caxix_) used by Christian writers as if it were the special title of a Mahommedan theologian, instead of being, as it really is, the special and technical title of a Christian priest (a fact which gives Mount Athos its common Turkish name of _Ḳashīsh Dāgh_). In the first of the following quotations the word appears to be applied by the Mussulman historian to _pagan_ priests, and the word for churches to pagan temples. In the others, except that from Major Millingen, it is applied by Christian writers to Mahommedan divines, which is indeed its recognised signification in Spanish and Portuguese. In Jarric's _Thesaurus_ (Jesuit Missions, 1606) the word _Cacizius_ is constantly used in this sense.

c. 1310.—"There are 700 churches (_kalīsīa_) resembling fortresses, and
every one of them overflowing with presbyters (ḲASHĪSHĀN) without faith,
and monks without religion."—_Description of the Chinese City of Khanzai_
(Hangchau) in _Wasāf's History_ (see also _Marco Polo_, ii. 196).

1404.—"The town was inhabited by Moorish hermits called CAXIXES; and many
people came to them on pilgrimage, and they healed many
diseases."—_Markham's Clavijo_, 79.

1514.—"And so, from one to another, the message passed through four or
five hands, till it came to a GAZIZI, whom we should call a bishop or
prelate, who stood at the King's feet...."—Letter of _Giov. de Empoli_,
in _Archiv. Stor. Ital._ Append. p. 56.

1538.—"Just as the Cryer was offering to deliver me unto whomsoever would
buy me, in comes that very CACIS Moulana, whom they held for a Saint,
with 10 or 11 other CACIS his Inferiors, all Priests like himself of
their wicked sect."—_F. M. Pinto_ (tr. by H. C.), p. 8.

1552.—CACIZ in the same sense used by _Barros_, II. ii. 1.

[1553.—See quotation from _Barros_ under LAR.

[1554.—"Who was a CACIZ of the Moors, which means in Portuguese an
ecclesiastic."—_Castañeda_, Bk. I. ch. 7.]

1561.—"The King sent off the Moor, and with him his CASIS, an old man of
much authority, who was the principal priest of his Mosque."—_Correa_, by
_Ld. Stanley_, 113.

1567.—"... The Holy Synod declares it necessary to remove from the
territories of His Highness all the infidels whose office it is to
maintain their false religion, such as are the CĀCIZES of the Moors, and
the preachers of the Gentoos, _jogues_, sorcerers, (_feiticeiros_),
_jousis_, _grous_ (_i.e._ _joshis_ or astrologers, and _gurūs_), and
whatsoever others make a business of religion among the infidels, and so
also the bramans and _paibus_ (? _prabhūs_, see PURVOE)."—_Decree 6 of
the Sacred Council of Goa_, in _Arch. Port. Or._ fasc. 4.

1580.—"... e foi sepultado no campo per CACISES."—_Primor e Honra_, &c.,
f. 13_v_.

1582.—"And for pledge of the same, he would give him his sonne, and one
of his chief chaplaines, the which they call CACIS."—_Castañeda_, by N.
L.

1603.—"And now those initiated priests of theirs called _Cashishes_
(CASCISCIS) were endeavouring to lay violent hands upon his
property."—_Benedict Goës_, in _Cathay_, &c., ii. 568.

1648.—"Here is to be seen an admirably wrought tomb in which a certain
CASIS lies buried, who was the _Pedagogue_ or Tutor of a King of
_Guzuratte_."—_Van Twist_, 15.

1672.—"They call the common priests CASIS, or by another name _Schierifi_
(see SHEREEF), who like their bishops are in no way distinguished in
dress from simple laymen, except by a bigger turban ... and a longer
mantle...."—_P. Vincenzo Maria_, 55.

1688.—"While they were thus disputing, a CACIZ, or doctor of the law,
joined company with them."—_Dryden, L. of Xavier, Works_, ed. 1821, xvi.
68.

1870.—"A hierarchical body of priests, known to the people (Nestorians)
under the names of KIESHISHES and _Abunas_, is at the head of the tribes
and villages, entrusted with both spiritual and temporal
powers."—_Millingen, Wild Life among the Koords_, 270.

CASSANAR, CATTANAR, s. A priest of the Syrian Church of Malabar; Malayāl. _kattanār_, meaning originally 'a chief,' and formed eventually from the Skt. _kartṛi_.

1606.—"The Christians of St. Thomas call their priests
CAÇANARES."—_Gouvea_, f. 28_b_. This author gives CATATIARA and CAÇANEIRA
as feminine forms, 'a Cassanar's wife.' The former is Malayāl.
_kàttatti_, the latter a Port. formation.

1612.—"A few years ago there arose a dispute between a Brahman and a
certain CASSANAR on a matter of jurisdiction."—_P. Vincenzo Maria_, 152.

[1887.—"Mgr. Joseph ... consecrated as a bishop ... a CATENAR."—_Logan,
Man. of Malabar_, i. 211.]

CASSAY, n.p. A name often given in former days to the people of MUNNEEPORE (Manipur), on the eastern frontier of Bengal. It is the Burmese name of this people, _Kasé_, or as the Burmese pronounce it, _Kathé_. It must not be confounded with CATHAY (q.v.) with which it has nothing to do. [See SHAN.]

1759.—In _Dalrymple's Orient. Repert._ we find CASSAY (i. 116).

1795.—"All the troopers in the King's service are natives of CASSAY, who
are much better horsemen than the Burmans."—_Symes_, p. 318.

CASSOWARY, s. The name of this great bird, of which the first species known (_Casuarius galeatus_) is found only in Ceram Island (_Moluccas_), is Malay _kasavārī_ or _kasuārī_; [according to Scott, the proper reading is _kasuwārī_, and he remarks that no Malay Dict. records the word before 1863]. Other species have been observed in N. Guinea, N. Britain, and N. Australia.

[1611.—"St. James his Ginny Hens, the CASSAWARWAY moreover."—(_Note by
Coryat._) "An East Indian bird at St. James in the keeping of Mr. Walker,
that will carry no coales, but eat them as whot you will."—_Peacham_, in
_Paneg. verses_ on Coryat's _Crudities_, sig. 1. 3r. (1776); quoted by
Scott.]

1631.—"De Emeu, vulgo CASOARIS. In insula Ceram, aliisque Moluccensibus
vicinis insulis, celebris haec avis reperitur."—_Jac. Bontii_, lib. v. c.
18.

1659.—"This aforesaid bird COSSEBÀRES also will swallow iron and lead, as
we once learned by experience. For when our Connestabel once had been
casting bullets on the Admiral's Bastion, and then went to dinner, there
came one of these COSSEBÀRES on the bastion, and swallowed 50 of the
bullets. And ... next day I found that the bird after keeping them a
while in his maw had regularly cast up again all the 50."—_J. J. Saar_,
86.

1682.—"On the islands Sumatra (?) Banda, and the other adjoining islands
of the Moluccas there is a certain bird, which by the natives is called
_Emeu_ or _Eme_, but otherwise is commonly named by us
KASUARIS."—_Nieuhof_, ii. 281.

1705.—"The CASSAWARIS is about the bigness of a large Virginia Turkey.
His head is the same as a Turkey's; and he has a long stiff hairy Beard
upon his Breast before, like a Turkey...."—_Funnel_, in _Dampier_, iv.
266.

CASTE, s. "The artificial divisions of society in India, first made known to us by the Portuguese, and described by them under their term _caste_, signifying 'breed, race, kind,' which has been retained in English under the supposition that it was the native name" (_Wedgwood_, s.v.). [See the extraordinary derivation of Hamilton below.] Mr. Elphinstone prefers to write "_Cast_."

We do not find that the early Portuguese writer Barbosa (1516) applies the word _casta_ to the divisions of Hindu society. He calls these divisions in Narsinga and Malabar so many _leis de gentios_, _i.e._ 'laws' of the heathen, in the sense of sectarian rules of life. But he uses the word _casta_ in a less technical way, which shows how it should easily have passed into the technical sense. Thus, speaking of the King of Calicut: "This King keeps 1000 women, to whom he gives regular maintenance, and they always go to his court to act as the sweepers of his palaces ... these are ladies, and of good family" (_estas saom fidalgas e de boa_ CASTA.—In _Coll. of Lisbon Academy_, ii. 316). So also Castanheda: "There fled a knight who was called Fernão Lopez, _homem de boa_ CASTA" (iii. 239). In the quotations from Barros, Correa, and Garcia de Orta, we have the word in what we may call the technical sense.

c. 1444.—"Whence I conclude that this race (CASTA) of men is the most
agile and dexterous that there is in the world."—_Cadamosto, Navegação_,
i. 14.

1552.—"The Admiral ... received these Naires with honour and joy, showing
great contentment with the King for sending his message by such persons,
saying that he expected this coming of theirs to prosper, as there did
not enter into the business any man of the CASTE of the Moors."—_Barros_,
I. vi. 5.

1561.—"Some of them asserted that they were of the CASTE (_casta_) of the
Christians."—_Correa, Lendas_, i. 2, 685.

1563.—"One thing is to be noted ... that no one changes from his father's
trade, and all those of the same CASTE (_casta_) of shoemakers are the
same."—_Garcia_, f. 213_b_.

1567.—"In some parts of this Province (of Goa) the Gentoos divide
themselves into distinct races or CASTES (_castas_) of greater or less
dignity, holding the Christians as of lower degree, and keep these so
superstitiously that no one of a higher caste can eat or drink with those
of a lower...."—Decree 2nd of the _Sacred Council of Goa_, in _Archiv.
Port. Orient._, fasc. 4.

1572.—

"Dous modos ha de gente; porque a nobre
Nairos chamados são, e a menos dina
Poleas tem por nome, a quem obriga
A lei não misturar a CASTÀ antiga."—
_Camões_, vii. 37.

By Burton:

"Two modes of men are known; the nobles know
the name of Nayrs, who call the lower CASTE
Poléas, whom their haughty laws contain
from intermingling with the higher strain."

1612.—"As regards the CASTES (_castas_) the great impediment to the
conversion of the Gentoos is the superstition which they maintain in
relation to their CASTES, and which prevents them from touching,
communicating, or mingling with others, whether superior or inferior;
these of one observance with those of another."—_Couto_, Dec. V. vi. 4.
See also as regards the Portuguese use of the word, _Gouvea_, ff. 103,
104, 105, 106_b_, 129_b_; _Synodo_, 18_b_, &c.

1613.—"The Banians kill nothing; there are thirtie and odd severall CASTS
of these that differ something in Religion, and may not eat with each
other."—_N. Withington_, in _Purchas_, i. 485; see also _Pilgrimage_, pp.
997, 1003.

1630.—"The common _Bramane_ hath eighty two CASTS or Tribes, assuming to
themselves the name of that tribe...."—_Lord's Display of the Banians_,
p. 72.

1673.—"The mixture of CASTS or Tribes of all India are distinguished by
the different modes of binding their Turbats."—_Fryer_, 115.

c. 1760.—"The distinction of the Gentoos into their tribes or CASTS,
forms another considerable object of their religion."—_Grose_, i. 201.

1763.—"The CASTS or tribes into which the Indians are divided, are
reckoned by travellers to be eighty-four."—_Orme_ (ed. 1803), i. 4.

[1820.—"The Kayasthas (pronounced Kaists, hence the word CASTE) follow
next."—_W. Hamilton, Descr. of Hindostan_, i. 109.]

1878.—"There are thousands and thousands of these so-called CASTES; no
man knows their number, no man can know it; for the conception is a very
flexible one, and moreover new _castes_ continually spring up and pass
away."—_F. Jagor, Ost-Indische Handwerk und Gewerbe_, 13.

CASTES are, according to Indian social views, either high or low.

1876.—"LOW-CASTE Hindoos in their own land are, to all ordinary
apprehension, slovenly, dirty, ungraceful, generally unacceptable in
person and surroundings.... Yet offensive as is the _low-caste_ Indian,
were I estate-owner, or colonial governor, I had rather see the lowest
Pariahs of the low, than a single trim, smooth-faced, smooth-wayed,
clever HIGH-CASTE Hindoo, on my lands or in my colony."—_W. G. Palgrave_,
in _Fortnightly Rev._, cx. 226.

In the Madras Pres. _castes_ are also '_Right-hand_' and '_Left-hand_.' This distinction represents the agricultural classes on the one hand, and the artizans, &c., on the other, as was pointed out by F. W. Ellis. In the old days of Ft. St. George, faction-fights between the two were very common, and the terms _right-hand_ and _left-hand_ castes occur early in the old records of that settlement, and frequently in Mr. Talboys Wheeler's extracts from them. They are mentioned by Couto. [See _Nelson, Madura_, Pt. ii. p. 4; _Oppert, Orig. Inhab._ p. 57.]

Sir Walter Elliot considers this feud to be "nothing else than the occasional outbreak of the smouldering antagonism between Brahmanism and Buddhism, although in the lapse of ages both parties have lost sight of the fact. The points on which they split now are mere trifles, such as parading on horse-back or in a palankeen in procession, erecting a PANDAL or marriage-shed on a given number of pillars, and claiming to carry certain flags, &c. The right-hand party is headed by the Brahmans, and includes the Parias, who assume the van, beating their tom-toms when they come to blows. The chief of the left-hand are the Panchalars [_i.e._ the Five Classes, workers in metal and stone, &c.], followed by the Pallars and workers in leather, who sound their long trumpets and engage the Parias." (In _Journ. Ethnol. Soc._ N.S. 1869, p. 112.)

1612.—"From these four CASTES are derived 196; and those again are
divided into two parties, which they call _Valanga_ and _Elange_ [Tam.
_valangai_, _idangai_], which is as much as to say 'the right hand' and
'the left hand'...."—_Couto_, u. s.

The word is current in French:

1842.—"Il est clair que les CASTES n'ont jamais pu exister solidement
sans une veritable conservation religieuse."—_Comte, Cours de Phil.
Positive_, vi. 505.

1877.—"Nous avons aboli les CASTES et les privilèges, nous avons inscrit
partout le principe de l'égalité devant la loi, nous avons donné le
suffrage à tous, mais voilà qu'on réclame maintenant l'égalité des
conditions."—_E. de Laveleye, De la Propriété_, p. iv.

CASTE is also applied to breeds of animals, as 'a HIGH-CASTE Arab.' In such cases the usage may possibly have come directly from the Port. _alta casta_, _casta baixa_, in the sense of breed or strain.