Chapter XVII

DIFFERENT WORDS WITH THE SAME MEANING, AND THE SAME WORDS WITH DIFFERENT MEANINGS.

We have seen that there are great numbers of words in English which come from the Latin language. Sometimes they have come to us through Old French words borrowed from the Latin, and sometimes from the Latin words directly, or modern French words taken from the Latin. The fact that we have borrowed from the Latin in these two ways has led sometimes to our borrowing twice over from the same word. Different forms going back in this way to the same origin are known as "doublets." The English language is full of them, and they, too, can tell us some interesting stories.

Many of these pairs of words seem to have no relation at all with each other, so much has one or the other, or both, changed in meaning from that of the original word from which they come. A familiar pair of doublets is _dainty_ and _dignity_, both of which come from the Latin word _dignitas_. _Dignity_, which came into the English language either directly from the Latin or through the modern French word _dignité_, has not wandered at all from the meaning of the Latin word, which had first the idea of "merit" or "value," and then that of honourable position or character which the word _dignity_ has in English. _Dainty_ has a quite different meaning; though it, too, came from _dignitas_, but through the less dignified way of the Old French word _daintie_.

The English words _dish_, _dais_, _desk_, and _disc_ all come from the Latin word _discus_, by which the Romans meant first a round flat plate thrown in certain games (a "quoit"), and secondly a plate or dish. In Old English this word became _dish_. In Old French it became _deis_, and from this we have the English _dais_--the raised platform of a throne. In Italian it became _desco_, from which we got _desk_; and the scientific men of modern times, in their need of a word to describe exactly a round, flat object, have gone back as near as possible to the Latin and given us _disc_. It is to be noticed that the original idea of the Latin word--"having a flat surface"--is kept in these four descendants of a remote ancestor.

The words _chieftain_ and _captain_ are doublets coming from the Late Latin word _capitaneus_, "chief;" the former through the Old French word _chevetaine_, and the latter more directly from the Latin. _Frail_ and _fragile_ are another pair, coming from the Latin word _fragilis_, "easily broken;" the one through Old French, and the other through Modern French.

Both these pairs of words have kept fairly close to the original meaning; but _caitiff_ and _captive_, another pair of doublets, have quite different meanings from each other. Both come from the Latin word _captivus_, "captive," the one indirectly and the other directly. _Caitiff_, which is not a word used now except occasionally in poetry, means a "base, cowardly person;" but _captive_ has, of course, the original meaning of the Latin word.

Another pair of doublets, which are quite different in form and almost opposite to each other in meaning, are _guest_ and _hostile_. These two words come from the same root word; but this goes further back than Latin, to the language known as the Aryan, from which nearly all the languages of Europe and the chief language of India come. _Hostile_ comes from the Latin _hostis_, "an enemy;" but _hostis_ itself comes from the same Aryan word as that from which _guest_ comes, and so these two words are doublets in English. They express very different ideas: we are not generally "hostile" or "full of enmity" against a "guest," one who partakes of our hospitality.

Another pair of doublets not from the Latin are _shirt_ and _skirt_, which are both old Germanic words. _Skirt_ came later into the language, being from the Scandinavian, while _shirt_ is an Old English word.

The word _cross_ and the many words in English beginning with _cruci_--such as _crucial_, _crucifix_, and _cruciform_--the adverb _across_, as well as the less common word _crux_, all come from the Latin word _crux_, "a cross." The word _cross_ first came into the English language with Christianity itself, for the death of our Lord on the cross was, of course, the first story which converts to Christianity were told. It came through the Irish from the Norwegian word _cros_, which came direct from the Latin. All the words beginning with _cruci_ come straight from the Latin. _Cruciform_ and _crucifix_ refer to the form of a cross, and so sometimes does the word _crucial_. But, as a rule, _crucial_ is used as the adjective of the word _crux_, which means the "test," or "difficult point," in deciding or doing something. The Romans did not use _crux_ in this sense; but it is interesting to notice that they did use it in the figurative sense of "trouble" just as we do. This came from the fact that the common form of execution for all subjects of the Roman Empire except Roman citizens was crucifixion.

Two such different words as _tavern_ and _tabernacle_, the one meaning an inn and the other the most sacred part of the sanctuary in a church, are doublets from the Latin word _tabernaculum_, "tent." The first comes from the French _taverne_, and the second directly from the Latin.

The words _mint_ and _money_ both come from the Latin word _moneta_, which was an adjective attached by the Romans to the name of the goddess Juno. The place where the Romans coined their money was attached to the temple of Juno Moneta, or Juno the Adviser. From this fact the Romans themselves came to use _moneta_ as the name for coins, or what we call money. The word passed into French as _monnaie_, which is still the French word both for _money_ and _mint_, the place where we coin our money. In German it became _munze_, which has the same meanings. In English it became _mint_. But the English language, as we have seen, has a fine gift for borrowing. In time it acquired the French word _monnaie_, which became _money_ as the name for coins, while it kept the word _mint_ to describe the place where coins are made.

The words _bower_, formerly the name of a sleeping-place for ladies and now generally meaning a summer-house, and _byre_, the place where cows sleep, both come from the Old English word _bur_, "a bower." The word _flour_ (which so late as the eighteenth century Dr. Johnson did not include in his great dictionary) is the same word as _flower_. Flour is merely the flower of wheat. Again, _poesy_ and _posy_ are really the same word, _posy_ being derived from _poesy_. _Posy_ used to mean a copy of verses presented to some one with a bouquet. Now it stands either for verses, as when we speak of the "posy of a ring," or more commonly a bunch of flowers without any verses.

The words _bench_ and _bank_ both come from the same Teutonic word which became _benc_ in Old English and _banc_ in French. _Bench_ comes from _benc_, but _bank_ has a more complicated history. From the French _banc_ we borrowed the word to use in the old expression a "bank of oars." From the Scandinavians, who also had the word, we got _bank_, used for the "bank of a river." Meanwhile the Italians had also borrowed the old Germanic word which became with them _banca_ or _banco_, the bench or table of a money-changer. From this the French got _banque_, and this became in English _bank_ as we use it in connection with money.

The Latin word _ratio_, "reckoning," has given three words to the English language. It passed into Old French as _resoun_, and from this we got the word _reason_. Later on the French made a new word direct from the Latin--_ration_; which, again, passed into English as a convenient name for the allowance of food to a soldier. It has now a more general sense, as when in the Great War people talk of the whole nation being put "on rations." Then again, as every child who is old enough to study mathematics knows, we use the Latin word itself, _ratio_, as a mathematical term.

Another Latin word which has given three different words to the English language is _gentilis_. From it we have _gentile_, _gentle_, and _genteel_. Yet the Latin word had not the same meaning as any of these words. _Gentilis_ meant "belonging to the same _gens_ or 'clan.'" It became later a distinguishing term from _Jew_. All who were not Jews were _Gentiles_, and this is still the meaning of the word _gentile_ in English. It came directly from the Latin. But _gentilis_ became _gentil_ in French; and we have borrowed twice from this word, getting _gentle_, which expresses one idea contained in the French word, though the French word means more than our word _gentle_. It has the sense of "very amiable and attractive." The last word of the three, _genteel_, is rather a vulgar word. It means "like gentlemen and ladies have to do," and only rather ignorant people use the word seriously.

Doublets from Latin words for the most part resemble each other in meaning and form, though, as we have seen, this is not always the case. We could give a long list of examples where both sense and form are similar, but there is only space to mention a few. _Poor_ and _pauper_ (a miserably poor person) both come from the Latin _pauper_, "poor." _Story_ and _history_ both come from _historia_, a word which had both meanings in Latin. _Human_ and _humane_ are both from the Latin _humanus_, "belonging to mankind." _Sure_ and _secure_ are both from the Latin _securus_, "safe." _Nourishment_ and _nutriment_ are both from the Latin _nutrimentum_. _Amiable_ and _amicable_ are both from the Latin _amicabilis_, "friendly."

Examples of doublets which are similar in form but not in sense are _chant_ and _cant_, which both come from the Latin _cantare_, "to sing." _Chant_ has the original idea, being a form of singing, especially in church; but _cant_ has wandered far from the original sense, meaning insincere words, especially such as are used by people pretending to be religious or pious. The word _cant_ was first used in describing the chanting or whining of beggars, who were supposed often to be telling lies; and from this it got its present use, which has nothing to do with singing.

_Blame_ and _blaspheme_, both coming from the Latin _blasphemare_, itself taken from a Hebrew word, are not, perhaps, quite so different in sense; but _blame_ means merely to find fault with a person, while _blaspheme_ means to speak against God.

_Chance_ and _cadence_ both come from the Latin _cadere_, "to fall," but have very little resemblance in meaning. _Chance_ is what happens or befalls, and _cadence_ is movement measured by the fall of the voice in speaking or singing.

But the most interesting doublets of all are those which have neither form nor sense in common. No one would guess that the words _hyena_ and _sow_, the names of two such different animals, are doublets. Both come from the Greek word _sus_ or _hus_, "sow." The Saxons, when they first settled in England, had the words _su_, "pig," and _sugu_, "sow;" and later the word _hyena_ was taken from the Latin word _hyaena_, itself derived from the Greek _huaina_, "sow."

The words _furnish_ and _veneer_, again, are doublets which do not resemble each other very closely either in sound or in sense. Both come from the Old French word _furnir_, which has become _fournir_ in Modern French, and means "to furnish." The English word _furnish_ was taken direct from the French, while the word _veneer_, which used to be spelt _fineer_, came into English from a German word also borrowed from the French _furnir_.

No one would easily guess that the name _nutmeg_ had anything to do with _musk_; but the word comes from the name which Latin writers in the Middle Ages gave to this useful seed--_nux muscata_, "musky nut."

It seems strange, when we come to think of it, that great English sailors like Admiral Jellicoe and Admiral Beatty are called by a title which is really the same as the name of an Arabian chieftain--_Emir_. _Admiral_ comes from the Arab phrase _amir al bahr_, "emir on the sea."

Just the opposite to doublets which do not resemble each other are many pairs of words which are pronounced alike and sometimes spelled alike. Very often these words come from two different languages, and there are many of them in English through the habit the language has always had of borrowing freely whenever the need of a new word has been felt.

The word _weed_, "a wild plant," comes from an Old English word, _weod_; while "widows' weeds" take their name from the Old English word _woede_, "garment." The word _vice_, meaning the opposite of _virtue_, comes through the French from the Latin _vitium_, "a fault;" while a "_vice_," the instrument for taking a perfectly tight hold on anything, comes from the Latin _vitis_, "a vine," through the French _vis_, "a screw." Yet another _vice_, as in _viceroy_, _vice-president_, etc., comes from the Latin _vice_, "in the place of." _Angle_, meaning the sport of fishermen, comes from an Old English word, _angel_, "fish-hook;" while _angle_, "a corner," comes from the Latin word _angulus_, which had the same meaning.

We might imagine that the word _temple_, as the name of a part of the head, was a metaphor describing the head as the temple of the mind, but it has no such romantic meaning. _Temple_, the name of a place of worship, comes from the Latin _templum_, "a temple;" but _temple_, the name of a part of the head, is from the Latin word _tempus_, which had the same meaning in Latin, and also the earlier meaning of "the fitting time." It has been suggested that in Latin _tempus_ came to mean "the temple," because it is "the fitting place" for a fatal blow, the temple being the most delicate part of the head.

_Tattoo_, meaning a "drum beat," comes from the Dutch _tap-toe_, "tap-to," an order for drinking-houses to shut. But _tattoo_, describing the cutting away of the skin and dyeing of the flesh so common among sailors, is a word borrowed from the South Sea Islanders.

_Sound_ meaning "a noise," and _sound_ meaning "to find out the depth of," as in _sounding-rod_, are two quite different words. The one comes from the word _son_, found both in Old English and French, and the other from the Old English words _sundgyrd_, _sund line_, "a sounding line;" while _sound_ meaning "healthy" or "uninjured," as in the expression "safe and sound," comes from the Old English word _sund_, and perhaps from the Latin _sanus_, "healthy."

The existence of so many pairs of words of this sort, which have the same sound and which yet come from such different origins--origins as far apart as the speech of the people of Holland and that of the South Sea Islanders, as we saw in the word _tattoo_--illustrates in a very interesting way the wonderful history of the English language.