Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 December 1895 — WORD HISTORY. [ARTICLE]

WORD HISTORY.

Jovial once meant tlhe type of character supposed to belong to all persons Who were bom when the planet Jupiter, or Jove, was in the ascendent They were supposed to possess more of the cheerful elements of character than others, and hence to partake of the benign qualities attributed to the 'Father of the Gods. Presently formerly meant Instantly, Immediately, and Is used In this sense In scores of places by Shakupeare and other writers of his time. It is a curious illustration of the dilatoriness of human nature that a word which once meant instantly should come to be universally considered as meaning after a time. The shrew was originally the shrew mouse, which, when her young were helpless, would fight desperately in their defense, and so well known was the courage of this little animal, which would even go out of its way to seek an enemy at times when the nest needed protection, that the word became applied to a woman who was ever ready to seek a quarreL The expression blackguard originally Indicated the scullions, kitchen boys and pot-washers who brought up the rear when a great man’s household was moving f*»m place to place. As these persons were by no means choice in their language or elegant In their deportment, the word was soon applied to these who in speech or action resembled them. Tho word treacle has undergone an odd modification. At first It was applied to such decoctions of roots or other substance* as were deemed beneficial In medical practice; then, as these were frequently sweetened, It came to mean any sweet concoction or confection; and, lastly, as molasses was the sweetest of all, this name was exclusively applied to syrup.