Oct. 1. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



311 



part of learned philologists, the compilers of dic- 

 tionaries, either a strange deficiency in reading, or 

 a want of acquaintance with the older tongues : 

 or perhaps, if we must find an excuse for them, a 

 habit of " nodding." 



The word aivkward is one of these. Skinner's 

 account is as follows : 



" Ineptus, afi^apiffT(p6s, praeposterus, ab A.-S. aeperd, 

 perversus ; hoc ab <e praep. loquelari negativa privativa, 

 et weard, versus." 



Johnson follows Skinner, interpreting awkward 

 in the same way, and with the same derivation ; 

 but unfortunately he had met with the little word 

 awh, and, not caring to inquire into the origin of 

 it, as it seemed so plain, he explains it as " a bar- 

 barous contraction of awhward^'' giving the follow- 

 ing example from L'Estrange : 



" We have heard as arrant jingling in the pulpits as 

 the steeples ; and the professors ringing as awk as the 

 bells to give notice of the conflagration." 



Now the real state of the case is, that just as 

 forward and backward are correlatives, so also are 

 toward and aivkward. We speak of a toward child 

 as one who is quick and ready and apt ; while, by 

 an aivkward one, we mean precisely the contrary. 

 By the former we imply a disposition or readiness 

 to press on to the mark ; by the latter, tliat which 

 is averse to it, and fails of the right way. Parallel 

 instances, though of course not corresponding in 

 meaning, are found in the Latin adversus, re- 

 versus, inversus, aversus. 



The term awkward is compounded of the two 

 A.-S. words aweg or awceg (which is itself made 

 •up of a, from, and w(Bg, a way), meaning away, 

 out : " auferendi vim habet," says Bosworth, of 

 which we have an instance in aweg iveorpan, to 

 throw away ; and weard, toward, as in hamweard, 

 homewards. We thus have the correlatives to- 

 weard and aweg-weard, with the same termination, 

 but with prefixes of exactly opposite meanings. 

 In the latter word, the prefix would naturally 

 come to be pronounced as one syllable, and the g 

 as naturally converted into k. 



The propriety of the use of the word awkward 

 by Shakspeare, in the Second Part of Henry VI., 

 Act III. Sc. 2., is thus rendered apparent : 



" And twice by awkward wind from England's bank, 

 Drove back again," &c., 



i. e. untoward wind, or contrary : an epithet which 

 editors, while they thought it required an apology, 

 have been unable to explain rightly. 



With regard to the word awk, I can only say 

 that it is one of very unfrequent occurrence ; I 

 have met with it but once in the course of my 

 own reading, so that I am unable to confirm my 

 view as fully as I could wish ; still, that one in- 

 stance seems, as far as it goes, satisfactory enough : 



it occurs in Golding's translation of Ovid's Metam^ 

 London, 1567, fol. 177. p. 2. : 



" She sprincled us with bitter jewee of uncouth herbesj 



and strake 

 The awk end of her charmed rod uppon our heads, 



and spake 

 Woordes to the former contrarie," &c. 



The awk end here is, of course, the wrong end, 

 that which was not towards them. 



Perhaps some of the readers of " N. & Q." may 

 have met with other instances of the usage of the 

 word. It does not occur in Chaucer nor (I am 

 pretty sure) in Gower. H. C. K. 



INEDITED POEM. 



'THE DECEITFtTLNESS OF lOTE. 



The following lines, written about 1600, are, I 

 think, well worthy of preservation in your columns. 

 I believe they have never been published ; but if 

 any of your correspondents should have met with 

 them, and can inform me of the author, I shall feel 

 much obliged. Chris. Robbbts.- 



Bradford, Yorkshire. 



Deceitfulness of Love. 

 Go, sit by the summer sea, 



Thou, whom scorn wasteth. 

 And let thy musing be 



Where the flood hasteth. 

 Mark how o'er ocean's breast 

 Rolls the hoar billow's crest ; 

 Such is his heart's unrest 



Who of love tasteth. 



Griev'st thou that hearts should change ?" 



Lo ! where life reigneth. 

 Or the free sight doth range, 



What long remaineth ? 

 Spring with her flow'rs doth die ; 

 Fast fades the gilded sky ; 

 And the full moon on high 



Ceaselessly waneth. 



Smile, then, ye sage and wise ? 



And if love sever 

 Bonds which thy soul doth love^ 



Such does it ever ! 

 Deep as the rolling seas, 

 Soft as the twilight breeze, 

 But of more than these 



Boast could it never ! 



BALE MSS., REFERRED TO IN TANNER's " BIBLIO- 

 THECA BRITANNICO-HIBERNICA." 



Most persons who consult this laborious and 

 useful work will probably have been struck and 

 puzzled by the frequent occurrence of two refer- 

 ences given by the Bishop as his authorities, 

 namely, " MS. Bal. Sloan." and "MS. Bal. Glynn." 



