18/0.] Contributions toivards Vernacular Lexicography. 149 



In the following the original meaning has been lost. Thus 

 ^C^*t literally means ' information,' and its present meaning is 

 a kind of sweetmeat, a confection of chhdna, which is always 

 carried by persons sent to enquire after the health of friends and 

 relations residing at a distance. Similarly, the word '^o? meant to 

 enquire, but it now means ' presents of sweetmeats, fruits, clothes, 

 &c, made to friends or relatives.' 



Amongst five brothers, the first is designated W, meaning eldest, 

 the second CST® literally intermediate, the third c&W (is it a derivation 

 from the Persian siyum=thivd. ?). The fourth is ^, evidently derived 

 from 5T^=new, and the last c§>Tl?. It is interesting to notice how 

 the word ^ came to be applied to the fourth of a group consisting 

 of more than four members. 



The Sanscrit word "STl? as well as its two derivatives 'STifT,, ~%\5] 

 are in use in Bengali, but they indicate three distinct objects. The 

 ■511? , the original Sanscrit word, is applied to the old form of the water- 

 pot now in use, only for religious purposes. IT iff is a metal water-pot 

 smaller than the ^1, and £Wf, C^fT^I, ^T<ra^1. ^I^t%, C^pG^I, and 

 ^t^C^II are differently formed water-pots. £"5R^ is derived from 

 E^ to Mss, to drink with the lips or rather to sip, £^>\ft a pe- 

 culiar sound used for quieting horses by drawing air through tightly 

 closed lips. The infinitive %SH5fa is evidently a contraction of 

 T>ST<^3t, though some by a slight modification in spelling make it 

 |^T?1, and have tried to derive it from ^fsrf, and the proverb c^G\5G^ 

 ^STC^^I being misunderstood has caused the idea. ^TT^G^I comes 

 from ^c? spherical, the shape of the pot. ^5rsjf% appears to be the 

 oldest among these, and this form of a pot is out of fashion. It 

 means sweetened, and the brim of the vessel being turned into a 

 lip, it sweetens as it were the liquid drawn from it. f*f 5? and CTT^1 

 (CeTl3$?) both literally mean pieces of stone, their present application, 

 however, is to a set of grinding apparatus, the slab of stone is pH^T 

 and the grinding roller Wt"3l. ~HVS\ again, a derivation of T[% a ma- 

 chine, is a pair of circular grinding stones. 



Tfsfyt and $\> are from ^^-f\ and ^f^ijj respectively, meaning 

 made by one's own hands, and the offals of one's dish. Boiled rice 

 is therefore 3T5f#t, and a remnant of a piece of bread after a part of it 

 has been eaten is 4T> (i[fr] in Hindi), 



