of our language, by having read our beft authors, both of antient and modern times? it is hardly poffible to fuppofe, that a yet greater fund can be opened to the minds of fuch readers, who feem to be already fraught, with all the knowledge that the English language is capable of beftowing; and yet there is another branch of science in the study of our own tongue, that may afford even them, if not a farther infight into it, at least may afford them fome amufement in the perfuit of it; and particularly if novelty has any effect: and it is etymology will furnish us with this new discovery; for there are numberless words, that are familiar to our eyes, familiar to our ears, familiar to our tongues; but, notwithstanding all this eafy familiarity, we may not perhaps know from whence they are derived; and why they carry that particular meaning, preferably to any other; or why perhaps they fometimes, tho' but feldom, carry a different meaning, and wear a different appearance from the original language: we all know that things are called fo and fo; but do we know why they are called fo?-it is etymology will inform us, by giving us the original.

This knowledge will furely afford us the greater pleasure, because it will afford us as it were a double infight into the powers of each word; viz. the common acceptation, and the derivative fenfe; that is, the sense it borrows from the original language; and from this comparison will fometimes arife a new idea of that word; which, if we had not acquired before, muft give a new pleasure to the imagination many inftances of which might be here produced, were it not for fear of lengthening this Introduction too far: one however fhall just be mentioned; viz. the word Coroner, or, as it is commonly called crowner, which has been fuppofed by fome to fignify an officer belonging to the crown, or appointed by the crown; and undoubtedly derived from the Latin word corona; a crown, or coronet : but (to fhew the powers of etymology) let me obferve, that the words crowner. and coroner, have no more connexion with a crown, or a coronet, than with a nightingale, or a blackbird; as will be most evidently fhewn in the derivation of the word Coroner in the Work itself.

As to the former of these two branches, which concerns the definition of words,. our best English dictionary-writers are certainly the best guides: but when they attempt any thing beyond the meaning of a word, and pretend to give the deri vation of it, they attempt a province they have but too often failed in; they can readily inform us what it is, but they feldom inform us truly whence it is; for their derivations are generally either very erroneous, or very defective; they either give us a falfe derivation, or derive it from a language, which was itself but a derivative; they feem to have aimed at only pointing out the neareft language, from which they fuppofed we took it; not confidering that that very language itself took it from fome other, which took it from a third; and confequently was not the original, but only the derivative of a derivative: and therefore certainly they ought not to have stopt, in so indolent a manner, at the first language they could conveniently catch hold on; but to have traced it fomething farther, and have given us, if poffible, the original.

Let the channel or channels then (for there undoubtedly are many) thro' which the words of our modern English have been derived to us, be whatever they may, Roman, Gothic, Celtic, Saxon, Teutonic, or Icelandic, ftill it is the Greek alone that is the true bafis of the English tongue; for it matters not, as we obferved above, from whom we borrow any word; if thofe, from whom we

borrowed

borrowed it, borrowed it from those, who borrowed from the Romans, who borrowed it from the Greeks; then confequently the Greek is the only radix of that word; notwithstanding the various dialects it may have paffed thro', before it came to be adopted by ourselves *.

Every Englishman undoubtedly thinks he understands the English language, because he speaks it, and is able to make use of it for all the purposes of common life; and this may, and does anfwer all his exigences; and that is enough for him: be it fo. Many then may content themselves with the bare knowledge of a word, and think it a fufficient acquifition if they know the general meaning of it; and indeed fuch a knowledge is fully fufficient for their contracted sphere: --but an etymologift is not fatisfied with the bare, fimple fignification of a word, he would wish to know the radical formation of it; he will not content himself with the mere knowledge, that any word fignifies fuch or fuch a thing; he would be glad to know something farther; he would willingly be informed, whether it. bears any connexion with the original idea: nay, it may be confidently afferted, that no person can thoroughly understand the power and energy of the English tongue, who does not trace it up to the Greek:-thus, for inftance, every one knows. the meaning of the following words, being part of a lady's drefs, viz. her cap, handkerchief, apron, ruffles, lace, gown, and facque; or the following, being part: of the furniture of her work-basket, rapper, filk, thread, fciffars, needles, pins :thus every one knows the meaning of thefe expreffions, the duce take it; fuch a thing is fpick and span new:-every one knows the meaning of these words, bridle, faddle, firrops, whip, boots, Spurs, and journey; but does every one know the derivation of those words; and that all, and each of them are Greek; as will be found on confulting every one of them under their proper articles, among many hundreds more in the compilation of the following work.

But there are many words in our language that continue to wear fo ftrange, and uncouth an appearance, as would require more than an Oedipus to develope: and difentangle them from their present intricate and enigmatical disguises:-thus the expreffions bot-cockles, fcratch-cradle, link-boy, boggle-boe, haut-goût, bon-môt, kick-fhaws, crutched-friers, and innumerable others, can only be explained by their etymology every one of which is Greek.

Another great ufe of etymology is, that it will serve to fix the orthography, or true: method of writing each word; by keeping as near as poffible to the original,. without deviating too far from the general method that has prevailed thro' cuftom. Whoever is engaged in a work of this nature, will presently find, that there are many words, the orthography of which is ftill very far from being established: this is a fubject, which has defervedly employed the thoughts and pens of feveral,

*Indeed no wonder that our language fhould be conftructed fo much on the bafis of the Greek tongue; for, notwithstanding we feem to have had a clofer connexion, and a more intimate acquaintance with the Northern, than with either the Southern or the Eastern nations; yet this difficulty will prefently be removed, when we confider that thofe very Northern nations themselves, I mean the Goths, Vandals, Saxons, and Germans, had a much more early connexion with the Greeks, than what is generally imagined: for Shering. p. 270, fays, magna tamen Gothis amicitia, et neceffitudo cum Trojanis intervenerit, qui et Myfiam, Phrygiæ partem Troadi conterminam, in fuam poteftatem. tempore belli Trojani redegiffent: Telephus enim, Gothorum in Myfiâ rex, Aftyocham, Priami fororem, uxorem duxit; Eurypylufque filius ejus, in bello illo cecidit:"-and again, in p. 288, he obferves," artes et fuperftitiones iftas magicas, Wodenus, ut verifimile eft, à Græcis, aliifque in Afia, Africâ, et Europâ circumjacentibus populis, comparavit."

of:

of our best writers, particularly Steele, Addison, and Swift, who have endeavoured to give a permanency to our language, by endeavouring to fix the orthography of it; and yet in how fluctuating a ftate does it remain even to this day; and how much room is there ftill left for reformation for while we have so many words in our language derived to us from the antient FrancoGallic, and the modern French; and fo long as we will fervilely continue to copy their manner of writing those words, we must be wrong; for there are no people in Europe who have deviated more from the Greek and Roman writers in their manner of orthography, than the Gallic nations: innumerable examples of which will be met with, in confulting the following Work :-not that I would be thought to mean, that France has never produced any men of genius, whofe writings have not displayed both great learning, and depth of reasoning *; but that their language and orthography is moft faulty and erroneous; because it contradicts etymology, in departing the fartheft from the great originals; which makes their writings appear in many inftances as diftorted, as an oration of Tully would be, if translated into French by any illiterate perfon, and dictated to him by another equally as learned, with his nofe full of fnuff, or properly toned in the true Gallic twang: in such distortions therefore let us not follow them; but it is impoffible to fix on any certain method of writing, that may be admitted by all, till fome fociety of gentlemen, of fufficient authority and abilities, whofe example might be prevalent enough to recommend their method to practice, would undertake this arduous tafk; for it is not the labors of one pen alone can be adequate to fo great an undertaking.

While there ftill then continue, even in our beft dictionaries, fo many words which are either falfely derived, badly explained, or whofe orthography contradicts derivation, the fureft method of reforming them, and against which even prejudice itfelf could not raife an objection, would be, to convince our own countrymen, that etymology alone would be the fafeft guide, by attending diligently to the original word; and in what shape foever that appears, to let the derivative wear the fame appearance, and be clothed as near as poffible in the fame letters :-this. would ftamp a fanction on our orthography; would become the standard method of writing; and be appealed to, as the dernier refort in all cafes of doubt and difficulty:-thus, for example, many feem to doubt whether they ought to write allum with two ls, or with one; whether they ought to write linnen with three nnns, or with two; and whether they ought to write ebony, or ebeny; Aratagem, or ftrategem;-then etymology would eafily fix the propriety :-again; we often fee the word Catherine in the works of men of learning; but this method is doubly wrong; for it is a Greek word, and the Greeks had no C; neither did they write the second fyllable with an e; as the etymology of it plainly fhews.

If any of our etymologists do but meet with a word that wears the least uncommon appearance, they have immediate recourse to the Saxon, or some other barbarous Northern dialect, for the original; thus the word Arelumes has by fome of them been mistaken for a Saxon expreffion, tho' they have explained it by fuppellex gravior, quæ difficile movetur; or, omne utenfile robuftius, quod ab ædibus non facile revellitur; eoque ad Hæredem tranfit tanquam membrum Hæreditatis; and confequently ought to have been written beir-looms, or rather

"Ego non adimo fcriptoribus Gallis eloquentiam, non adimo fermonis nitorem, non adimo acumen ingenii; fed habemus nos quoque fcriptores Anglos, quos cum Gallis, aut quâvis aliâ gente conferri poffe jure, et fine fastu existimem :" Shering. Pref.

beir-limbs; and then they might have seen that it was evidently Greek, and not Saxon; as will be found in the Work itself.

Only one inftance more fhall be produced from A Lift of English words, derived from the Greek tongue, and published by Dr. Nugent at the end of his Port Royal Greek Primitives; in which he has given us this word Eufrafia, with an ƒ, and then immediately after has produced the Greek word E--paria, which be tells us originates from the primitive root pv, mens; the mind:-then let me obferve, that fince the original is written with a 4, the derivative ought to have affumed a ph: but what makes it ftill more abfurd is, that in the very next page the Dr. tells us, that "Euphrafia (now he writes it with a pb) is the name of an herb, which is faid to be good for purifying the brain, and clearing the fight:"-then it were to be wifhed, fome fkilful hand had but administered a small dofe of this fame fight-clearing herb to the Dr. as an etymologift, that he might have seen the abfurdity of writing the felf-fame word, in the felf-fame article, two different ways, and giving at the fame time the original word, and its derivative, both which bear fuch palpable evidence against him: and yet it is poffible that his first orthography may be right, tho' not according to his own Greek primitive fee this word in the Work itself:-it is true indeed the Greek O, and the Latin ph, do both of them found with us like an f; but furely it would be phinical, phoolish, and phantaftic, to write the proper name Filip with an F; and then immediately tell us, it was derived from Philippus in Latin, with a ph; as that again is derived from -TTCs in Greek, with a :-this puts me in mind of a circumftance that happened to an honeft Norfolk fhepherd, who once found a ftray sheep in his flock, and on obferving that it was marked with an F P, began to recollect the names of all the farmers round him; but could not find any one, whofe name began with those two letters; unless it belonged to Fil. Parlett; accordingly he went to Mr. Parlett; but never was more aftonished in all his life, than to find, that he would not acknowledge the ftray, tho' he faw it was marked with his own name :-I tell you no, fays Parlett, F P does not ftand for my name Philip Parlett, for then it it would have been marked P P :how can that be? fays Tom; is not your name Fil?-well then, fays Parlett, not to puzzle yourself any longer, carry your ftray to Mr. Francis Pigge, and he will fet all to rights again :-Tom went, and was fatisfied.

Another use resulting from the ftudy of etymology, and which deferves at least to be mentioned, tho' an article of no very great moment, but merits fome attention; and that is the proper divifion of words, both in printing and writing; the neglect of which betrays either great careleffness, or grofs inattention: who, for instance, can endure to fee the words dip, or diph-thong, and prog-noftic, cut in pieces, and hacked in fo cruel and unworkmanlike a manner?-dip-thong is doubly falfe; falfe in orthography, and false in divifion; for it certainly is neither dip, nor diph-thong, there being no fuch words; but di-phthong: neither ought the other word to have been divided thus, prog-noftic; but thus, prognoftic; as their etymologies moft evidently flew :-let others then dip and prog in the dirt as much as they please; they ought only to be fent, for a fuller conviction, to an equally learned infcription to be met with on a country grave-stone, which curiously informs us that it was erected In memory of John and Joan such-a-one, and alfo two of their children.

Etymology is certainly one of the fairest fountains of polite literature; it not

only

only leads us to the meaning of every word, but gives us at the fame time the pleasure of tracing that word, thro' feveral other languages, which had adopted it before us, till we arrive at the great original, from which all took it; and thus by exploring and fearching the derivation of each word, we are brought at laft to the true fountain head; and in this fearch, it is etymology will lead us fure, by fhewing us the connexion, and (if it may be fo called) the confanguinity, that fubfifts between the original, and its derivative; between the mother, and her daughter; between the parent, and her offspring.

Then let not this be looked on as a vain and trifling study, or only a harmless and innocent amusement; it is more *: it is a study, in which the wisest men, in all ages, and nations, have taken a pleasure to investigate; fuch as Aristotle, Plato, Julius Pollux, Suidas, Hefychius, Philoxenus, Euftathius, and many others in Greek: Marcus Terentius Varro, Sextus Pompeius Feftus, Cato, Cicero, Quintilian, Jof. and J. Caf. Scaliger, Ifidorus, Johannes Fungerus, Ger. and If. Voffius, Fabian, Gefner, Henry and Robert Stephens, Meric Cafaubon, the learned Francifcus Junius, and among our own countrymen, Sir Hen. Spelman, Ray, Somner, Sheringham, Hickes, Skinner, Thwaites, and Lye, in Latin: Cafaubon and Junius indeed were foreigners, and therefore excufable for writing on the English language in Latin; but for Spelman, Ray, Somner, Sheringham, Hickes, Skinner, Thwaites, and Lye, who were all Englishmen, to write on the English language in Latin, is really fomething unaccountable, and unnatural; for they have by that means in a great measure defeated the very intention of their works, by confining them in a manner to the reading and inftruction of only a few learned men, who scarce stood in need of their affiftance, inftead of diffusing their writings into the hands of every Englishman; and thereby rendering their labors of public utility.

Now, tho' it be impoffible in a work of this nature, to avoid giving the words of the feveral authors, who have been, and must be confulted in fuch an undertaking, in the different languages they themselves wrote; yet care has been taken throughout this work, to give the meaning and interpretation of almost every article in English.

From hence will naturally arise another utility in confulting the following Work; and that is, the great variety of fynonymous expreffions that have been made ufe of, in order to explain any article under confideration: but let it always be remembered, that fynonymous terms and definitions are very far from amounting to derivations.

Works of this nature are certainly never intended for perufal; for no man would willingly fet himself down to read, much less to write, a dictionary; but only to confult it, whenever a word may occur in reading, writing, or in conversation: it is the duty therefore of every dictionary compiler, and particularly of an Etymological Dictionary, to give the reader all the information and fatisfaction in his power.

The office of a mere dictionary writer is often but a very irksome task; and it may well be wondered, how fuch men of genius, as fome of those gentlemen, and scholars, who have been already mentioned above, could poffibly employ themselves and their talents in fuch undertakings; unless the defire of improving their own

"Nec nova hæc quæftio eft," fays Cafaub. 146, "fed jam multis retro fæculis, non inter grammaticos tantùm, fed et philofophos, agitata; an verborum fit etymologia verè fcilicet et in rebus ipfis; an vero res fit avutoralos, et imaginaria, quæ folo conftat nomine :-nullam puto effe tam certam artem, vel fcientiam; cujus vel vanitas, vel incertitudo, fi quis id agat, multis non poffit verbis exagitari.”

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