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Linguistic Discussions. 



represent it in the world's thought. We have telegram and we still 

 need calogram, meaning a message over a cable, or spartogram, to de- 

 signate a message by cable. 



Demijohn is a word which takes its present orthographic form from a 

 tendency to make it conform to words expressing some idea to an En- 

 glish speaking people. As a matter of fact however, it has no relation 

 to demi, meaning a half, nor to the common or proper word, John. It 

 is an Arabic word in common use in Egypt, to signify a large glass 

 bottle, inclosed in wicker work, and holding usually from one to two 

 gallons. 



Among decided Americanisms we may place the verb nassau. To 

 nassau abook is to take out its plates, title-page or index, that is, as if 

 such would he its inevitable fate if it had passed through one of the 

 second-hand book stores of Nassau street, New York. 



The etymology of the word martinet, meaning a strict disciplinarian 

 is very obscure, unless we accept the derivation given by Webster that 

 this was the name of an officer in the French army in the time of 

 Louis XIV, who burdened his subordinates with a superabundance of 

 discipline. The only objection to this in some minds is, that it is too 

 simple. But every other etymology is altogether too far fetched to be 

 accepted, and here, as often happens, the truth may lie on the sur- 

 face, and the simple be the true. 



There is a word whose use in this country is wide-spread but which 

 cannot be found in any dictionary. The word as pronounced I should 

 write canelle. It signifies the coarser portion left after the finer flour 

 has passed through the sieve after grinding. Another name for 

 this article, quite common, is shorts. It is probably derived from the 

 French word canaille, meaning the lowest rabble of a people. But the 

 remarkable point is that it has so long escaped the keen eyes of the 

 dictionary men. 



MENTAL GRAYITATION. 



There is a curious change in the spelling of some words brought 

 about by what we may call mental gravitation. Thus in the name of 

 our eastern neighbor Connecticut, the middle c not only has no use or 

 sound there, but it has no business there — the original word having 

 no such letter. It came in by gravitation — gravitating towards our 

 English word connect. The spelling of aisle, the aisle of a church, 

 had a similar origin. That portion of the church was the wing 

 of the church, and named from the Grallic aile a wing, as of a 

 bird ; and the superfluous s crept in by gravitation toward the word 

 isle — an island — in which latter word it came through the old 

 French isle, as in its Teutonic form it is without the s in all the various 



