That was not what I meant. (K)

It is difficult to see the word 'kill' having any other meaning, but it did.

Kill is to end a life today, but in the fourteenth century it simply meant 'strike, beat'.

Keen or 'eager', was used in Old English to mean 'wise' or 'brave' depending on the context.

Kind is benevolent today, but Old English cynd was used in the sense of 'natural' or perhaps 'native'.

Knight is a title today, but the Old English version came from the Germanic and meant 'servant, farmhand'.

Rwanda Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Rwandan cities.

Kigali takes its name from two languages, where Bantu ki and Rwanda gali meaning 'broad' comes from the name of Mount Kigali which rises to 1,850 metres above sea level.

Rubavu district takes its name from a mountain, its name means 'a rib' and apparently named because the rib is an indispensable part and the mountain similarly described.

Ruhango district takes its name from uruhango or 'a herd of cows' and originally mu Ruhango 'within a herd of cows'.

Nyagatare district is thought to come from the Runyankole dialect word agarte or 'market'.

Musanze district is possibly from nimusanze or 'the land cultivates evenly' and a reference to to the flat farming land heareabouts.

Rutsiro district takes its name from the Rutsiro River, said to be named from urutsiro and a reference to the mineral deposits left by the retreating waters after flooding.

Gisagara district refers to this place as where important meetings took place.

Kicukiro district cames from icukiro, a reference to a place where cows were kept and the collection of the dung into heaps.

Ngoma district is said to refer to an area where drums were sounded to call leaders to a meeting.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Eli Meakin

Back almost 150 years to the day, waggoner's boy Eli Meakin was working on Mr Meakin's farm at Whitgreave. It was normal for him, as on this day, to work the threshing machine pulled by two horses. Whilst turning the horses, it was necessary to step over a horizontal shaft. No witnesses saw what happened next is unknown, he either slipped or perhaps his clothes became entangled in the machine, for it was not until someone noticed the horses were stationary did anyone investigate. Young Eli was found trapped between the cog wheels. Others helped to free him quickly but the injuries to his chest were severe and the boy died shortly afterwards.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded at the inquest. However, the coroner issued a notice saying the wheels were unprotected and dangerous for any driver, while the rods were at such an angle as to make them liable to cause injury. He insisted Mr Meakin made the machine safe before anyone would be allowed to operate the thresher again. The farmer agreed and nobody blamed for the incident.

Health and Safety

On Tuesday 23rd November 1858, Eli Meakin had been working on his father's farm at Whitgreave. Employed as a waggoner's boy, whilst driving the horses he is thought to have stepped over the horizontal shaft between them and the threshing machine. His action caused him to slip and he fell between the cog wheels. Subsequently found by a passer-by who, seeing the horses stopped and unsupervised, investigated and found the lad held quite firmly. The man released him but his chest injuries were appalling and he died shortly afterwards. Eli Meakin was just twelve years of age.

At the subsequent inquest the threshing machine was deemed to be dangerous for any driver, for the rods were secured in an improper position and the wheels unprotected. The owner of the farm promised the equipment would not be used again until the improvements had been made. Too late for young Eli whose demise was recorded as Accidental Death.

It seems unlikely the same verdict would be reached today. Further stories like this can be found in my Bloody British Histories: Stafford.