Words and Phrases.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20362, 20 July 1934, Page 6

Words and Phrases.

JLJANY WORDS we use every day of our lives are derived from the names of real' persons, writes the London correspondent of the “ Star.” Clothes, for instance, often form perpetual memorials to their inventors, or to the men who first wore them. Burberries, trilbies, cardigans and chesterfields are common examples. Places, too, sometimes take their names from persons who have been prominent in connection with their histories. Gibraltar is a case in point. The word was originally Jebel-al-Tarik, which means the hill of Tarik, a Moorish general who captured the Rock more than a thousand years ago. The Bowie knife, Mauser rifle and Colt revolver all perpetuate the names of the person who first thought of them. When heavy weights have to be lifted, use is often made of a derrick, but not many of those who are familiar with this device know that it is called after Derrick, a notorious hangman of the sixteenth century. Another man whose name has passed into our language is Jean Nicot, who has given us nicotine. Chippendale chairs, Macadam roads and so on, are more examples of names that have become words. Volts are named after an Italian scientist, Volta, who was born in 1748, while Ampere, a French professor of the nineteenth century, has given his name to another measurement. Watt is derived in the same manner. Even Sealeyham terriers are named after the man who first crossed this breed. TOUCHSTONE.