Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 120, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1909 — Queer Derivation of Words. [ARTICLE]

Queer Derivation of Words.

Concerning tho term "catchword” the London Chronicle say* that ttn old technical sense “is familiar to tboee who affect old books. The catchword was the first word of a page, wnlch waa printed also by anticipation in the bottom right-band corner below the last line of the preceding page, so as to Insure that the pages should follow on properlyi In Latin these catchwords were known aa ‘oustodes,’ guardians. The device w«s Invented In Venice about 1469 and was In favor for centuries. This Is the oldest sense of ‘catchword’ In the English language; came to mean a prominent word heading a column of dictionary, the rhyming word of a line or verse and an actor’s cue. “A derrick is an Innocent mechanical apparatus for lifting heavy weights, but It gets its name from an English hangman called Derrick, who flourished many years ago. The people of that time thought that the device used only in the hangman’s trade resembled the more common mechanism which now bears his surname. Somewhat similarly, the term ruffian Is believed by many to have come from Morocco, where the Inhabitants of the Riff country were and are pirates and altogether persona of evil character. “ ‘Opera,’ again, is a case of verbal specialization. Yet the Latin word meant originally nothing more definite than ‘work.’ The specialization, however was thorough even In .‘a poetical tale of fiction, represented by verbal and Instrumental musick, adorned with scer.es, machines and dancing.’ But the specialization Is scarcely more remarkable than that of ‘drama,’ which means just ‘dead,’ ‘action,’ or of “poet,’ which is simply ‘maker.’ ** a