Line Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘fish’ and now look at ‘line’.

Line has been used to mean the same as ‘plumb line’ used in building since the 12th century.

Line in the sense of ‘boundary’ is first found in writing in 1590.

Line has been used instead of ‘crease’ (in the palm or on the face) since 1530.

Line, a reference to anything one-dimensional, has been seen since the 1550s.

Line as in ‘queue’ is first recorded in the same decade, the 1550s.

Line, as in ‘occupation’ appears from the 1630s.

Line in the business sense of ‘goods sold’ appears as recently as 1930.

Line in referring to insurance underwriting is seen from 1899.

Line of credit is first seen in 1958 – not suggesting nobody had credit prior to then, of course.

Line referring to public transport, ‘ships of the line’ for example, is seen from 1786.

Line as in ‘railway’ appears for the first time in 1825.

Line used to refer to a telegraph wire appears in 1847.

Line, as used by fishermen, is only described as such from the early 14th century.

Line as in ‘set of policies’ appears in 1892.

Nobody spoke of the political party line before the 1890s.

The line in the British Army, sometimes as ‘battle line’. Is seen from 1802.

To get a line on, ie to acquire information, appears in 1903.

Nobody was told to lay it on the line (in a monetary sense) until 1929.

Line of work first appears in 1957.

End of the line is not seen until 1948.

Line drawings are not described as such until 1891.

Line-ups are not seen until 1902.

Bee lines appear in 1830.

Lines, as in writing a letter, appears in the 1640s.

Lines as in dialogue for an actor appears from 1882.

Lines of communication is established from 1690, but then lost until re-emerging during the First World War.

No train ran on the main line until 1841.

A-line, describing the flared shape of a dress or skirt, is first seen in 1955.

Maginot Line, a defensive fortification appearing in 1936.

Off line, as in not connected to a computer, appears as early as 1950.

Clothes lines have been used since 1830 – and used to refer to a high tackle in rugby and American football since 1970.

Life lines have been cast to those needing rescuing since the early 18th century, and used to describe the line on ones palm since 1890.

Timelines have been described since 1876.

Nobody look the hardline until 1958.

Frontlines were used in the military sense from 1842.

Plumblines have been used since the middle of the 15th century.

The Mason-Dixon Line (if you don’t know, look it up) is coined in 1834.

And the bottom line, which can only come last, crops up from 1832.

Poland 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 Polish cities.

Warsaw is thought to mean 'belonging to Warsz', this the pet form of the Slavic name Warcislaw, although there is no record of this individual.

Krakow is a reminder this is Krak's town. The legendary founder of the city, Krakus, is thought to derive his name from krakula a Slavic word meaning 'staff of the judge' or krak meaning 'oak'.

Lodz is simply the Polish word for 'boat'. During the German occupation of the Second World War, it was renamed Litzmannstadt after the German general Karl Litzmann who was victorious near here during World War I.

Wroclaw is said to be named after Wrocislaw or Vratislav, depending upon which tradition you read, the first Duke of Bohemia of that name. A member of the Premyslid Dynasty, he held office from 915 until his death in 919 or 921 in a battle against the Hungarians.

Poznan is almost certainly a personal name, possibly derived from the Polish for 'one who is known or recognised'. Knowing how stories of how place names came about, I predict the future will speak of the name being derived from some unknown ritual where attendees turn their backs on the action, wrap arms around neighbours shoulders in a long line, and jump up and down in unison. Just what explanations would be given for the origins of Doing the Poznan will doubtless beggar belief but, as many will be aware, was a celebration of football fans from the city first witnessed in the UK during a European competition when Lech Poznan played Manchester City and quickly 'pinched' by other British teams. It originated in Poland in 1961 where it has always been known as the Grecque.

Gdansk, famously where the Solidarity movement first came to the attention of the world, probably takes its name from the Gdania River. You will not find the river on maps for it is an old name for the Motlawa River.

Szczecin, also given as Stettin in German, are both of Slavic origin but speculation as to the true origin continues, with currently no less than eleven suggested explanations including 'hill', the personal name Szczota or szczyt which refers to the delightfully named plant fuller's teasel, cultivated and used (as the name suggests) for combing, cleaning and raising the nap on fabrics, particularly wool.

Bydgoszcz contains two elements which, when combined, probably refer to a specially constructed settlement. Unfortunately this does not explain the purpose for which it was constructed.

Bialystok translates as 'white slope' and has had several variations on the current name from different languages, a consequence of repeated border changes.

Czestochowa is simply 'Czestoch's place'.

Radom is from a personal name, Radomir, itself referring to a Slavic fortified wooden settlement.

Sosnowiec is thought to come from the Polish sosna, a reference to the pine forests once found here.

Kielce is derived directly from the tribe of Celts who stopped here on their migration across Europe.

Gliwice is thought to share the root in Slavic glive meaning 'mushrooms' and probably indictating wetlands.

Bielsko-Biala is a city created by the merging of two former settlements. Both names share an origin, for both are derived from the name of the Biala River, itself from biel or biala, both of which mean 'white' and, as explained in my English River Names, shows it was originally named where the river was young and vibrant and seen as 'white water'.

Zielona Gora translates as 'green mountain', an accurate description of the landscape around here.

Rybnik comes from its early beginnings as a fishery, for Proto-Slavic ryba meaning 'fish' is the root of a place name meaning 'fishponds'.

Tychy comes from the Polish cichy meaning 'quiet, still'.

Dabrowa Gornicza comes from the Polish root dab and refers to 'oak trees' and adds the adjective Gornicza to refer to mining.

Elblag comes from the city and the local river, known as such by Teutonic Knights who settled here but the etymology from here is uncertain.

Opole is a Slavic term referring to a group of settlements.

Walbrzych is from a German variation of the Polish for 'forest castle'.

Wloclawek is probably from an early ruler, Wladyslaw II the Exile, who reigned from 1105 to 1139.

Tarnow is ultimately from an early Slavic word meaning 'thorns', another reference to the local flora.

Chorzow is probably from the personal name Charz, short for Zachary and thus 'Zachary's place'.

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

Niger 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 of Niger's cities.

Niamey refers to where the local tribe drew water 'to the left of the tree' from the river which gave Niger its name, the river Niger coming from the Tamashek language where gher n-gheren means 'river among rivers'.

Birni-N'Konni is derived from the Hausa language and refers to 'the walled town of Konni'.

Dogondoutchi, usually reffered to as simply Doutchi, is derived from a local phrase meaning 'high hill'.

Doro is a Beri-Beri name simply meaning 'fishing port'.

Tchintabaraden translates as 'the valley of the young girls', named because young women and girls were once forced to head to a large well on a daily basis for water. Since running water has been installed, this is no longer necessary.

Mayahi or Mayaki, is from the Hausa people's name for their ruler.

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

Hong Kong 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 of Hong Kong places.

Victoria City is predictably a reminder of British rule and named after Queen Victoria, indeed it had originally been known as Queenstown.

Kowloon means 'nine dragons', named for the eight mountains and the emperor.

Tseung Kwan O means 'general's bay' but who that general was and why he had a bay named in his honour is a mystery.

Aberdeen is named to honour the memory of George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen and former British prime minister.

Cheung Chau means 'the long state' and aptly known as such owing to its shape, also the reason it is nicknamed 'dumbbell island'.

Kennedy Town is named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, 7th Governor of Hong Kong (1872-77).

Jardine's Lookout is named after William Jardine, founder of Jardine Matheson, one of the original Hong Kong trading houses. It was here the company would keep an eye out for the white sails and rush out in a fast whaleboat to collect the mail and get the first news of stocks and shares on the world market.

Kwun Tong means 'Mandarin Pond' and a reference to the salt yards.

Sai Kung was where ships came to bring gifts to the Ming Dynasty, hence its name meaning 'tributes from the west'.

Shek O translates as 'rocky bay'.

Stanley was where the British and Canadian troops made a last stand during the Battle of Hong Kong, at Stanley's Fort. The local name is Chek Chue or 'bandit's post', from the legend this was the hideout of the notorious pirate Cheung Po Tsa.

Tai O means 'large inlet', a reference to the access to the river for this traditional fishing village.

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