26 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



present provincial form of ivrogne, which means a drunken man. 

 Better have some meaning than none at all. 



Now comes the important step by which the name reached 

 Scotland. If it is a reasonable assumption that the plant was 

 introduced from France in the time of Queen Mary, it is also 

 fair to assume that French people brought it and called it by 

 their own name, ivrogne. We have all our troubles in pro- 

 nouncing French to the satisfaction of a native, and is it any 

 wonder that this name, after being used or attempted for a while 

 in North-Eastern Scotland, should have become " iveringie " and 

 " overingie " ? These names are both common in Aberdeenshire 

 still, and, in fact, they are both the same, for on the East Coast, 

 north of the Tay, " over " as a prefix is usually pronounced 

 " iver ; " for example, " Overtown " is " Ivertown," and " Over- 

 gate " is " Ivergate." The provincial French and the Aberdeen 

 names are so much alike that this step across the channel 

 scarcely needs confirmation, but a parallel may be instanced in 

 the everyday Aberdeen word " rooser," which is clearly from the 

 French arrosoir : either name is more convenient than " watering- 

 pan." 



When Central and Southern Scotland got hold of the name, 

 they began to move backwards another step towards the original 

 " ab," and, with the same laudable intention of giving the term 

 a meaning, gradually converted overingie into Appleringie. 

 It will be observed, on examining the words in their historical 

 succession, that after aurone was reached the tendency has been 

 to go back by the same course from the " u " through the " v ' : 

 to the " ab " or " ap." To see the changes properly, it is neces- 

 sary to look at the whole together, arranged in historical order : — 



'A/?/3otovov, - - Greek. 



Abrotonum, - - Latin. 



Abroigne 



} 



Old French. 



Avroigne 



Aurone, - - - Modern French. 



Ivrogne, - Provincial French. 



Iveringie, ^ 



Overingie, J 



Apleringie, 



Appleringie 



,} 



Aberdeenshire. 

 Common Scotch. 



