Water Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'leg' last time and this time it's 'water'.

Salt water is first described as such in Old English and thus around since the 6th or 7th century. Whilst an American term, it is worth noting the term salt water taffy is seen only since 1886 and was only known as such as it was sold at seaside resorts, particularly Atlantic City.

Waterpipe is not recorded until 1400, and then applied to a conduit (thus not necessarily an enclosed pipe).

Water closet, more often abbreviated to simply WC, described a privy with a waste pipe where the privy was emptied by a flush of water. The term is first recorded in 1755.

Water ice, is a reference to the (usually) flavoured water in a frozen state – first recorded in 1818.

Waterlilies have only been described as such since the 1540s,

Waterski first appeared as a noun in 1931, not used as a verb for another 22 years.

Watertable, this used to describe the level of saturated ground, is first seen in 1879.

Water moccasin, a snake indigenous to the Southern United States, is first described as such in a document dated 1821.

Waterwheels have been recorded since the early 15th century, although the technology is much older.

Rosewater, a tincture or perfume, came to English from the Dutch in the late 14th century.

Watermarks, used to identify paper as genuine, first appears in 1708. Not until 1866 was it used as a term to say the paperwork had been spoiled.

Watergate began as a channel to carry water, principally for irrigation. Of course the Wategate scandal of 1972, it the name of the building housing the Democrats during the presidential election, has given the suffix ‘–gate’ to every scandal in the modern era.

Mouth Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'hand' last time and this time it's 'mouth'.

Mouthorgan is not seen until the 1660s.

Mouth-breather is a description first recorded in 1883 (although I have no idea what it was describing).

Mouth-to-mouth was not performed until 1909, or at least not recorded as such. Interesting to note it is by no means certain this referred to artificial respiration.

Word of mouth is a phrase first recorded in the 1550s.

To put words into someone’s mouth is first recorded at the end of the 14th century.

But to take words out of someone’s mouth had to wait another 40/50 years until around the 1520s.

Nobody was down in the mouth before the 1640s, or at least it was not descibed as such – incidentally, it is a reference to the mouth being turned down at the corners.

Blabbermouth is not seen until 1931.

Cottonmouth is a venomous snake of the southern US states, named for the white line along its mouth, is first described as such in 1851.

While nothing was mouth-watering before 1822….

…. surprisingly a mouthwash is recorded in 1801.

Mouthpieces are seen as part of musical instruments as early as 1776, this later used to refer to one who speaks for another in 1805, and in a legal sense from 1857.

An Etymologist's look at Mayan Mythology.

Continuing on after my recent course on ancient languages, I thought it would be interesting to examine a selection of Mayan mythological figures and examine the etymologies for their names.

Acat is the Mayan god associated with tattooing, of all things, and a name which either describes a water reed or, if the pronunciation is 'ah-cat', then it would be 'He of the Storage Jar'. I do so hope it's the latter.

Awilix is the goddess of the moon, or the queen of the night, depending upon the source consulted. Similarly the name has two possible sources and two meanings, depending upon the language of origin: if the Nuahatal language of the Aztecs then this seems to be a place name; but if the Q'eqchi' Mayan language, then it represents the 'swallow' as in the bird.

Bacab is not one god but four. Tha Bacabs being the four associated with the interior of the world, the source of the soil and water deposits. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but what we do know is their names - Hobnil, Cantzicnal, Sacimi, and Hosanek - who held up the four points of the sky after escaping from the deluge which destroyed it. (Amazing how many ancient cultures have a story where the world was reset following a flood.)

Camazotz is a compound name, one formed from the K'iche' words kame meaning 'death' and sotz meaning 'bat', which is really good news as Camazotz is the god of death and bats.

Cizin has a name meaning 'stench', it is derived from the root ciz meaning 'flatulence'. As a Mayan god of death and earthquakes, and on a person's death he is said to burn their souls on his mouth and anus.

Gukumatz is derived from two K'iche' words q'uq the 'replendant quetzal' and kumatz 'snake'. This small Central American bird seems a rather odd choice for the head and wings end of a creature with a ophidian's body/tail.

Itzamna was original defined as 'lizard house, from the Yucatecan words itzam na. But latterly other suggestions have been put forward, including itz which covers several secretions such as sap, dew, and even semen, and also itzam meaning 'asperser, sorcerer'.

Jacawitz, the mountain god, probably gets his name from the Cholan languages where jacawitz means 'first mountain' (as in the first mountain of creation). That does make more sense than the alternative offering of Mam xq'aqwitz 'yellow wasp'.

Tepeu means 'sovereign' in the K'iche' language, and is one of the creation gods.

Yopaat, the Mayan storm god, gets his name from yop and aat which quite literally translates as 'leaf penis'.

Name of the Game

When giving a talk on the origins of pub names recently I invited questions from the audience for specific examples they would like to understand. It is something I do comparatively early as, and the same is true of my talks on place names, there are so many examples it is impossible to know which to specific names to cover - I learned a long time ago it is not good enough to prepare a list of local names, for the audience are more likely to ask about names out of the area.

I was asked for the origin of the pub name Fox & Goose. This has been corrupted for it was originally Fox & Geese, the change undoubtedly because signpainters insist on depicting this as the predator and its prey, when it is nothing of the kind. It is an advertisement, one telling potential customers there is a board game played within. Fox and geese is a variation on the classic and truly ancient game of strategy better known as Nine Men's Morris. An image of the game can be seen below, method of play I may well cover at a different time.

This made me think about other board games and the origins of these names. As a kid, assuming you are above a certain age, we all had the Compendium of Games for Christmas. This included the ubiquitous Ludo which, as any trivia buff will know, is named for the Latin for 'I play'. But what of the others, presumably these have some story to tell of their origins.

Nine Men's Morris seems the logical place to start, although the name is somewhat uncertain. The number is easy enough to see when we reveal there are also varieties known as Six Men's Morris and Twelve Men's Morris, with the 'men' also clearly why we often refer to pieces as such on a game board irrespective of the game. As already noted the game is ancient indeed, with evidence showing this was certainly played at least 3,500 years ago, and probably originated in the Middle East and thus the English name for the game is likely a corruption of 'Moorish'. Aside from the Fox and Geese name, it has also been called Mills, Merels, The Mill Game, Merrills, Merelles, Marelles, Morelles, Ninepenny Marl, Cowboy Checkers, and others.

Backgammon is known from at least the 13th century, and is thought to be 'back' because the oppoents are (hopefull) forced into turning back, while gamen is simply the Middle English origin of 'game'.

Chess came to English from Old French esches and was simply the name of the game, although the Modern French echec is used in the sense of 'check, blow, rebuff, defeat'. Originally the name is from Sanskrit, where chaturanga referred to 'four members of an army', these being elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers.

Checkers returns us to pub names again, where (in Britain) the name of the Chequers pointed out a board game similar to the modern version was played within. The name became popular as a pub name as it was soon used for a moneylender, something inn-keepers would often take up as a second string to their financial bow. Hence the name refers to the board. In Britain it is most often referred to as 'draughts', this thought to refer to the way pieces are 'dragged' across the board when making a move.

Mahjong was originally known in the Far East as maque meaning 'sparrow', although most often this is known as majiang among Mandarin-speaking Chinese today.

Parcheesi is a fairly recent introduction to English, which explains why it has changed so very little since adopted from the Hindi pachis meaning 'twenty-five' and the highest throw possible with the dice used. It seems likely the original name would still be in use were it not for the game being mass produced in 1892 and sold under the Parcheesi trademark.

Snakes and Ladders is also known as Chutes and Ladders in the USA, the American version down to the marketing of Milton Bradley who advertised it as "an improved version of England's famous indoor sport" - clearly Mr Bradley had no notion of British indoor sports! This came to Britain from India as a game intended to teach the benefits of virtue, being adapted for the British market but retaining the original snakes and ladders motifs. In India it was known as Moksha Patam, with moksha being the central concept of Hinduism and derived from the Sanskrit munc meaning 'free, release, let go, liberate' with patam meaning 'ladders'.

Hampshire Place Names

An excerpt from the book which came out in 2010 and a look at the entry for Brockenhurst which includes one of the most informative pub names I have ever found.

With just two records of note, as Broceste in 1086 and Brocheherst in 1158, the first element here is uncertain and there are two possible meanings. The more likely is a personal name followed by hyrst and thus ‘Broca’s wooded hill’. However the first element may be brocen which can still be seen as ‘broken’ and understood to be ‘undulating wooded hill’.

Locally we find Connigers Copse, a name which speaks of the time at the end of the twelfth century when rabbits were introduced to this country by the Normans. This reference to ‘the rabbit warren coppice’ reminds us that the animals which many see as pests were introduced for food and, within a few short years, they had escaped into the wild and had quite literally bred like rabbits resulting in the population we see today. Rhinefield is a regional name which began life as a field name, for the early forms from the fourteenth century of Ryefeld and Riefelde point to ‘the rye open land’.

Seen as Reidon in 1284, Reydone in 1333, and Roydon in 1573, the name of Roydon is derived from raege-dun or ‘the hill of the female roe deer’. Setley is first seen as Setle in 1331 and, although enclosing any plantation against wild animals was considered illegal until the law was changed in 1483, this can only refer to ‘the set out or planted woodland’. The name of Hincheslea tells us it was where ‘hind calves frequented a woodland clearing’ and possibly shows these immature females were being kept for meat and their hides.

Brockenhurst has some of the most informative pub names in the county, perhaps even the country. While the Filly is clearly a reference to the female New Forest ponies under the age of four, it is a very unusual name. The Morant Arms remembers Edward Morant who, in 1770, came to Brockenhurst House which he purchased for over six thousand pounds. However this was not the end of his spending for he completely rebuilt the home, a resplendent Georgian mansion with beautifully laid-out grounds and over 3,000 acres of land in total. His fortune came from the family estates in Jamaica. He is also remembered as being an amateur cricketer of considerable ability who organised many matches here at the end of the eighteenth century. The Turfcutters Arms is not what it may seem, for the ‘turf’ is a reference to a slab of peat which was dug hereabouts as a fuel.

However there can be none more unique a pub name than the Snakecatcher. Brusher Mills was born Henry (known as Harry) Mills in March 1840, one of eight children. He lived in the hut of a former charcoal burner, a simple affair with a bed of dry bracken, a chair, firewood kept in an old biscuit tin, a single spoon he had fashioned himself, and his tin of tobacco. He was not ashamed of his simple home, would often invite visitors inside for a cup of tea (plenty of sugar but no milk). A cleft palate made his speech difficult to comprehend, although tradtion has it that this was the result of a gypsy curse.

Harry ‘Brusher’ Mills was the snakecatcher, he caught adders to earn a living. Leaving his home in the early morning he would walk miles around the New Forest every day, a tin with holes in one hand, a sack over his shoulder, and a second sack carrying the tools of his trade - scissors, knives, tweezers and a forked stick. The adders would be caught, killed and stripped of the fat which would be melted down to produce an embrocation used for a multitude of ailments and troubles, including sprains, bruises, rheumatism, and, of course, adder bites. Such cures were trusted, which was not surprising, as other commonly held beliefs were that touching the body of a hanged man was the only way to rid a person of St Vitus Dance, while fits would be banished by eating the livers of no less than forty green frogs.

The majority of his catches were grass snakes, which he could sell the skins of as souvenirs. During his lifetime it is estimated Brusher, a name thought to be derived from the way he brushed the bracken aside to find his quarry, caught almost 30,000 snakes of which only one in every eight was an adder.

Harry died at the age of 65, the result of heart condition. His last meal of meat, bread and pickles was unfinished, the drink still alongside on the table, and he was found in an outhouse of his favourite pub, then called the Railway Tavern but today renamed the Snakecatcher in his honour.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.