Language. 917 



Gotra meant the herd and afterwards a family, tribe or race, &c. Now 

 it is to be observed here that the* word for bellow is the same as that for 

 cow. It is not described as the bellowing animal, but simply as the 

 "bellow. " May not this word be an original one and founded upon 

 onomatopoeia? 



We see how in the coinage of new terms the tendency has been to 

 saddle upon nouns the function of* verbs and other parts of speech. 

 Lately the nouns telegraph, telephone, &c., were introduced, and im- 

 mediately were followed by the verbs to telegraph, to telephone, to wire, 

 &c. To telescope a train is a late performance, both in mechanics and 

 language. Hundreds of words do duty both as nouns and verbs, &c. 

 In England a coachman is often called a whip, so that ' ' see the whip 

 whip the horse with a whip" would be correct English. We "stand the 

 stand in the hall, " chant a chant, bolt with a bolt, bribe with a bribe, 

 answer with an answer, plow with a plow, &c. There are hundreds of 

 words that perform these double duties. We distinguish in such cases 

 between the verb and noun by the help of other words; but in the begin- 

 ning of language this was not done, the distinction being left to in- 

 ference, as when we say "rats " to a rat terrier, leaving the dog to fill 

 up the sentence. When the ancient herdsman of few words addressed 

 his cow-boy with the syllable gu, it would mean a whole sentence accord- 

 ing to circumstances ; as "I see the cows ; " "the cows bawl ; " " the 

 cows have come ; " "go milk the cows ; 2 ' " the cows are in the turnip 

 patch;" " drive the cows to pasture. " From the single word the boy 

 could figure out the rest. 



Max Miiller observes that the Chinese ta may be rendered great, great- 

 ness or greatly ; li is a plow, to plow, or an ox, the plower. The Egyp- 

 tian an h is life, living, or lively. 



Thus, no doubt, after names had been obtained for a few sensible ob- 

 jects, the same names would become adjectives and verbs, expressive of 

 the most obvious qualities or actions characteristic of the objects. 



As to the origin of these first or root words, as before remarked, a 

 large number are imitations of sound occurring in connection with the 

 object. But the words thus adopted are to a great extent the result of 

 intelligent purpose; that is, the sound arouses conscious sensibility 

 and suggests imitation, although no doubt the greatest number of 

 original words, those which became roots, were involuntary, and so far 

 the result of whim, freak or caprice as to be in effect accidental. I 

 once knew a little boy who was born deaf without any other defect phy- 

 sical or mental. As soon as he became old enough to run about, he be- 

 gan Lo articulate. No doubt he meant something by his words, but so 

 far as I know no one took pains to find out what. At the age of four 

 or five he had adopted the word pug-ge-dy which he repeated with great 



