Part 13

=Invention of the Cross.= The name of this Church festival, 3rd May, commemorative of the finding of the True Cross by those sent in quest of it by St Helena, sounds peculiar, but the word “invent” is really from the Latin _invenire_, to find, discover, come upon.

=Inverary.= The county town of Argyleshire, “at the mouth of” the River Aray.

=Inverness.= Situate at the mouth of the River Ness.

=Invincibles.= See “Irish Invincibles.”

=Ionia.= The ancient name of Asia Minor, settled by the _Ionians_, so called after Ion, the son of Apollo according to Greek fable.

=Ionic.= The style of architecture so called was peculiar to Ionia in Greece. The earliest of the Greek philosophers so called too were all natives of Ionia.

=Iota.= From the name of the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. “Jot” is a softened form of this word.

=Iowa.= Indian for “the sleepy-ones”; applied by the Sioux to the Pahoja or Graysnow tribe.

=Ireland.= From _Ierne_, Gaelic for “western isle.” The Greeks, who heard of it through the Milesians, called this remote land of the west _Iernis_, and the Romans _Hibernia_.

=Ireland Yard.= This property in Blackfriars was made over by its owner, William Ireland, to Shakespeare, as appears in the deed of conveyance now preserved in the Guildhall Library.

=Irish Invincibles.= A secret society whose members made it their boast that they defied extermination. Carey, the informer, openly declared that their mission was “the making of history by killing tyrants.” The Phœnix Park murders were the work of the “Invincibles.”

=Irishman’s Crossing.= An Americanism for the mode of many people anxious to cut off corners by crossing and recrossing the street, by which process one’s way is actually made longer.

=Irish Stew.= So called because among the Irish peasantry the beef is generally absent, the stew consisting wholly of onions and potatoes.

=Iron Chancellor.= The sobriquet of Prince Bismarck, Chancellor of the German Empire, on account of his iron will.

=Iron City.= Pittsburg, world renowned for its ironworks.

=Iron Devil.= An inn sign corrupted from “The Hirondelle,” or swallow.

=Iron Duke.= The Duke of Wellington, distinguished for his unbending will.

=Ironmonger Lane.= Where the artificers in iron congregated during the reign of Edward I. Later they removed into Thames Street.

=Ironside.= The surname of the Anglo-Saxon king, Edmund II., on account of the iron armour that he wore as a preservative against assassination.

=Ironsides.= The name given to the Cromwellian soldiers on account of their heavy armour and iron resolution.

=Irrawaddy.= Hindoo for “the father of waters.”

=Irving.= The patronymic of the late Sir Henry Irving was Brodribb. When he went on the stage he took the name of Irving, out of his admiration of the writings of the American author, Washington Irving. Half-a-century ago no one ever thought of entering the dramatic profession under his own name. Now that the stage has become fashionable actors need no longer be actuated to select a _nom de theatre_ out of regard to family pride.

=Irvingites.= The followers of the Rev. Edward Irving, who maintained the sinfulness of Christ’s nature in common with that of ordinary mankind. Deposed from his living by the Presbytery of the Church of Scotland in 1830, he founded the “Apostolic Catholic Church.”

=Isabel.= The name given to a yellowish brown colour from the circumstance that at the memorable siege of Ostend in 1601 Isabella, the wife of the Duke of Austria, vowed she would not change her linen until the town was taken. Unhappily for her, it held out nearly three years. Rash vows are always followed by leisurely repentance.

=Isis.= From the Celtic _uisg_, water. The word enters into many English river names, notably the “Thames.” The University of Oxford is called _Isis_ from the river upon which it stands.

=Islam.= From the Arabic _islama_, to bend. This term expressed an entire submission or resignation to the will of God. By the Mohammedans “Islam” is described as the true faith.

=Isle of Bourbon.= A French settlement named in compliment to the House of Bourbon.

=Isle of Desolation.= When discovered by Captain Cook this island was utterly devoid of animal life.

=Isle of Dogs.= A corruption of “Isle of Ducks,” owing to the great numbers of water-fowl settled on the marshes. In our time it might well be described as the “Isle of Docks.”

=Isle of Man.= Properly “Mona Isle,” from the Celtic _mæn_, a stone; hence “Isle of Rocks.”

=Isle of St Helena.= Discovered on the Feast of St Helena, 1502.

=Isleworth.= Expresses a manorial dwelling beside the river. Sion House, in which Lady Jane Grey resided for a time, was built upon the ruins of an ancient nunnery. It is now the property of the Duke of Northumberland, who removed thither the famous lion on the top of the demolished Northumberland House at Charing Cross. The popular belief that when this lion heard the clock of St Martin’s Church strike it would wag its tail and turn round was on a par with that of the washing of the Tower lions on the first of April.

=Islington.= The family settlement of the Islings.

=Is the Ghost walking?= See “Ghost walking.”

=Italics.= Thin sloping types, altogether different from the older Roman, first used in an edition of Virgil by Aldo Manuzio, the celebrated printer of Venice, in 1207.

=Italy.= The modern form of the Roman description of the country, _Latium_, or “broad plain.” This resulted in the designation of all the tribes of the conquered districts as _Latini_, or the _Latins_.

=Ivan the Terrible.= Ivan IV., son of the founder of the Russian Empire, who rose to power from the position of Grand Duke of Moscow. This second Ivan, at the age of fourteen, during the regency of his mother, had the triumvirate put to death; whereupon he assumed the title of Czar. His reputation for cruelty soon began to assert itself. In the space of six weeks he caused to be put to death no less than 25,000 (some authorities say 60,000) persons at Novogorod, from the idea that they were plotting to deliver up that city to the King of Poland. To crown all, in a fit of passion he killed his own son.

=Ivory Black.= A pigment originally obtained from calcined ivory, but now from bone.

=Ivy Lane.= From the ivy-covered houses of the prebendaries attached to St Paul’s Cathedral.

J

=Jackanapes.= Properly “Jack-of-apes,” an impudent fellow who apes the manners of his social superiors.

=Jackass.= The male ass.

=Jack-boots.= When first worn by cavalry these high leather boots were covered with metal plates as a protection for the leg. The term Jack is derived from the Norman-French _jacque_, a leathern jerkin worn over a coat of mail. At a later period the _jacque_ itself was made sword-proof by metal plates on its under side.

=Jacket.= Expressed originally the diminutive of the _jacque_--viz. a short or sleeveless coat of leather. See “Jack-boots.”

=Jack Ketch.= The name formerly given to the common hangman, after Richard Jacquett, who owned the manor of Tyburn, where malefactors were executed previous to 1783.

=Jack-knife.= The name formerly given to a large folding pocket-knife, and now used by sailors, in contradistinction to a “Penknife.” See “Jack Tar.”

=Jackson.= The name of a river and several towns of the United States, after General Andrew Jackson, the seventh President.

=Jack Straw’s Castle.= A noted hostelry at Hampstead, said to have been built on the spot where Jack Straw, one of the leaders in Wat Tyler’s insurrection, made his habitation on the hillside.

=Jack Tar.= A sailor, because he wears tarpaulins in “dirty weather.” Jack is a generic name for a man or servant.

=Jacobins.= The French designation of the Black Friars or Dominicans, from the situation of their earliest convent in the Rue St Jacques, Paris, 1219.

=Jacobites.= The Catholic adherents of James II. and his lineal descendants after the accession to the English throne of William III. _Jacobus_ was the Latinised form of the King’s name.

=Jacobus.= The Scottish sovereign, valued at 25s., which became current in England also at the union of the two crowns in the person of King James I.

=Jacquard Loom.= After its inventor, Marie J. Jacquard of Lyons, who died in 1834.

=Jacquerie.= The name given to an insurrection of French peasants in 1358. _Jacques_ is the generic name for a member of the artisan class in France, owing to the _jacque_, or sleeveless white cotton jacket, worn by them. The leader of this insurrection called himself Jacques Bonhomme, being of the artisan class himself.

=Jag.= An Americanism for drunkenness. The word is employed in a variety of ways: “He’s got a jag on”--“He’s on a drinking bout”; “He’s on his jags”--“He knows how it is to have the jags”; “He has the jags just now,” etc. etc.

=Jail Bird.= So called because the earliest kind of prison in this country was an alfresco iron cage.

=Jailed.= An Americanism for being put in jail, sent to prison.

=Jalap.= From _Jalapa_ in Mexico, whence the root of this plant was first brought to Europe for medicinal purposes in 1610.

=Jamaica.= From the West Indian _Caymaca_, signifying “a country abounding in springs.”

=Jamaica Road.= See “Cherry Gardens Pier.”

=James Bay.= After James I., in whose reign this arm of Hudson’s Bay was completely explored.

=James River.= After James I., in the fourth year of whose reign it was navigated, and the English settlement called Jamestown, thirty-two miles inland, formed.

=James Street.= In Covent Garden, in compliment to the Duke of York, afterwards James II. That on the south side of the Strand received the Christian name of one of the Brothers Adam, builders of the Adelphi.

=Jamestown.= See “James River.”

=Jamie Duff.= The Scottish designation for a mourner or weeper at a funeral. So called after an Edinburgh eccentric of this name; nothing pleased him better than to attend a funeral, perhaps because he enjoyed the ride in the coach.

=Jane Hading.= This famous French actress was christened Jeanne, but, appearing on the stage while she was quite a child, her parents habitually called her Jane, because, as she has herself explained, being shorter, it would admit of the family name appearing in larger letters on the playbill.

=Janissaries.= A militia of Turkish footguards originally composed of the sons of Christian subjects, this being the tribute levied upon the parents for allowing them to live in peace and safety. The native term is _Jeniaskari_, new soldier.

=Janitor.= The American description of a caretaker or doorkeeper. This term has long been obsolete in England; it was derived from the Latin _janua_, door.

=Jansenists.= A religious sect headed by Cornelius Jansen, Bishop of Ypres, France, early in the seventeenth century.

=January.= Called by the Romans _Januarius_, after Janus, the sun god, who presided over the beginnings of things. In the temple of Janus the figure of this god had two faces: one supposed to look on the past, the other on the future.

=Japan.= A Western corruption, through the Portuguese _Gepuen_, of the native name _Niphon_, or “land of the rising sun.” The brilliant black varnish called “Japan” was first made by the people of the Far East.

=Jarvey.= A cabman or car driver, so called after the name of a hackney coach driver who was hanged.

=Jaunting Car.= The characteristic light vehicle in Ireland in which the people enjoy a jaunt or excursion. English folk newly arrived in the Emerald Isle do not always appreciate it. See “Hold hard.”

=Java.= A Malay word meaning “the land of nutmegs.”

=Jayhawker State.= Kansas, from the nickname borne by the soldiers of Colonel Jennison of New York, who, being a jovial fellow, was called a “Gay Yorker,” afterwards corrupted into “Jayhawker.” The people of this state in process of time came to be styled “Jayhawkers.”

=Jedburgh.= A royal burgh situate at the confluence of the Rivers Tefy and Jed. The ancient form of justice meted out here of hanging a man first and trying him afterwards is frequently alluded to as “Jedwood” or “Jeddart” justice.

=Jefferson.= The name of a river, a city, and a mount in the United States, after Thomas Jefferson, the third President.

=Jeffreys Street.= After one of the family names of the Earl of Brecknock, Marquis of Camden, the ground landlord.

=Jehu.= A cabman, in allusion to Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who, we are told in 2 Kings ix. 20, drove furiously.

=Jeremiad.= A tale of woe, a doleful story. So called after the Prophet Jeremiah, who wrote the “Book of Lamentations.”

=Jerked Meat.= Dried meat, more particularly beef dried in the open air. The term is derived from the Chilian _charqui_, applied to dried beef throughout Spanish America.

=Jerkin.= Expresses the diminutive of the Dutch _jurk_, coat, frock; hence a short coat or jacket.

=Jermyn Street.= From the town house of Henry Jermyn, Earl of St Albans.

=Jerry Builder.= A speculative builder who runs up whole streets of houses as cheaply as possible in order to sell them. The word “Jerry,” derived from the French _jour_, day, is a corruption of _joury_, meaning temporary, unsubstantial.

=Jersey.= From Czar’s-ey, or “Cæsar’s Isle,” so called by the Romans in honour of Julius Cæsar. The close-fitting rowing shirt and female bodice received the name of a Jersey because it was first worn by the inhabitants of this isle.

=Jersey Lily.= The punning pet name of Mrs Langtry, when, as a society star, she first adopted the stage as a profession. Her Christian name is Lillie, and she was born in Jersey.

=Jerusalem.= Expresses the Hebrew for “habitation of peace.”

=Jerusalem Artichoke.= A corruption of “Girasole Artichoke,” from the resemblance of the leaf and stem of this flower to the “Girasole,” or sunflower.

=Jerusalem Chamber.= This apartment of Westminster Abbey, in which Henry IV. died, received its name from the pictures of the Holy Land, in connection with the Crusades, that adorned its walls.

=Jesuits.= The members of a powerful missionary order styled “The Society of Jesus” which was founded in 1534 by Ignatius Loyola, on a military basis, having himself been a soldier.

=Jesuits’ Bark.= Another name for the Peruvian or Cinchona Bark, because discovered by the Jesuit missionaries in Peru.

=Jewin Street.= The ancient burying ground of the Jews while they were permitted to reside within the city walls--viz. in the Old Jewry. The suffix _in_ is a corrupt form of the Anglo-Saxon _en_, expressing the plural, as in Clerken or clerks’ well.

=Jewry Street.= All that remains of the old name given collectively to the Jewish quarter of London after this oppressed race had been driven eastward of the city proper. This street was the Jews’ later burial ground. The suffix _ry_ denotes a place or district.

=Jews’ Harp.= A corruption of “Jaws’ Harp,” because it is held between the teeth.

=Jezebel.= A daring, vicious woman, so called after the wife of Ahab, King of Israel.

=Jig.= From the French _gigue_, a lively dance, and the Italian _giga_, a romp.

=Jilt.= From the Scottish _gillet_, a giddy young woman. This word expressed the diminutive of Jill or Julia, a name used in a contemptuous sense after Julia, the daughter of Augustus Cæsar, who disgraced herself by her dissolute conduct.

=Jimmy.= A crowbar used by house burglars. The word is not so much thieves’ slang as a corruption of _Jenny_, expressing the diminutive of gin or engine, the general term formerly for a machine or mechanical appliance.

=Jimpson Weed.= Properly “Jamestown Weed,” from the place in Virginia where it was introduced.

=Jingo.= See “By Jingo.”

=Jingoes.= The British war party during the Russo-Turkish struggle of 1877-8, when there was grave likelihood of this country interfering. The term became popular through the refrain in G. H. Macdermott’s famous song:

“We don’t want to fight, but, by Jingo, if we do, We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the money too.”

For a time the Jingo Party was in the ascendant.

=Joachims-Thaler.= See “Thaler.”

=Jockey.= The diminutive of Jock, which is the Scottish form of Jack or John, expressive of a servant. The first jockeys engaged in horse racing were boys, on account of their light weight; hence the term.

=Joe Miller.= A stale joke, corresponding to the modern “Chestnut.” Joe Miller was a witty comedian whose sayings were compiled by John Mottley in the reign of James II. Until about a hundred years ago this was the only book of jests extant, and everyone who wished to “set the table in a roar” freely drew upon it.

=Joey.= The popular nickname of Mr Joseph Chamberlain, of Fiscal Policy fame.

=Johannis.= From Johannisberg, near Wiesbaden. This name is literally “John’s Rock,” on which stands the famous castle.

=John Audley.= An old showman’s phrase, which still obtains in what is called a portable theatre. As soon as a sufficient crowd for another “house” has collected outside, the money-taker, or the showman himself, calls out at the door “John Audley!” (originally it was the question “Is John Audley here?”) as a hint to the performers to finish quickly and dismiss the audience. This, it is said, was the invention of Shorter, the comedian, while he was playing in booths at country fairs.

=John Bull.= The Representative Englishman, bluff, long-suffering, and open-hearted. This national nickname was derived from a satire of the same title published by Dr John Arbuthnot in 1721.

=John Carpenter Street.= After the founder of the City of London School, which occupies one side of this modern thoroughfare, having been removed hither from Bow Lane in 1882. John Carpenter was town clerk of the city of London in the reigns of Henry V. and VI.

=John Chinaman.= Ever since the outbreak of the gold fever in California a Chinaman in that part of the United States has been addressed as “John,” the Transatlantic generic name for a man-servant, corresponding to the old English Jack.

=John Doe and Richard Roe.= Fictitious names, which prior to 1852, when they were abolished, appeared in every legal process of ejectment in place of the names of the real parties.

=John Dory.= The name of this fish is a corruption of the French _Jaune-dorée_, yellow, golden, relative to the colour.

=Johnnies.= Overdressed, empty-pated scions of good families who spent their surplus cash upon burlesque actresses, and hung about for them at the stage door when the “sacred lamp of burlesque” burned brightly at the Gaiety Theatre. Since “Jack” was the generic name for a man or servant, so one distinguished for the possession of more money than brains was, and is still, dubbed a “Johnnie.”

=John of Gaunt.= Properly of Ghent, his birthplace, in Flanders.

=John o’ Groat’s House.= Formerly the most northern habitation on the mainland of Scotland, said to have been that of Johnny Groat, for the accommodation of travellers who wished to cross the ferry to the Orkney Isles. Its site may now be recognised by a green knoll.

=Johnson’s Court.= Although the great lexocographer, Dr Johnson, spent ten years of his life in this Fleet Street court, it was not named after him, but after another Johnson, whose property it was, and who also resided in it.

=John Street.= In the Adelphi, after the Christian name of one of the brothers Adam. In Piccadilly, after one of the family names of the Berkeleys, the ground landlords.

=Joiner.= The provincial term for one who in London is called a “Carpenter.” Literally a joiner of wooden building materials.

=Joint Ring.= Another name for a “Gimnal Ring.”

=Joint-Stock Company.= So called because the stock is vested jointly in many persons.

=Jonathan’s.= The original name of the Stock Exchange, after a coffee-house keeper whose house was the rendezvous of the earliest dealers in stock.

=Jollies.= The sailors’ nickname for the Marines, because they are about as useful to a ship as the “Jolly Boat” which floats behind it.

=Jolly Boat.= A corruption of “Jawl boat,” from the Danish _jolle_, a small boat.

=Jordan.= Expresses the Hebrew for “the flowing.”

=Journeyman.= An artisan who hires himself out to labour, conformly to the French _jour_, day, a day labourer.

=Juan Fernandez.= After the navigator, who discovered it in 1567. On this isle Alexander Selkirk was the sole inhabitant from September 1704 until February 1707. Daniel Defoe made this adventurer the hero of his celebrated story “Robinson Crusoe.”

=Jubilee Plunger.= The sobriquet of Ernest Benzon, who lost £250,000 on the turf in two years after embarking upon his betting career in 1887, the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria’s reign.

=Judd Street.= The property of Sir Andrew Judd, Lord Mayor of London in 1551. By his will he bequeathed it to the endowment of a school at Tonbridge, his native place.

=Judges’ Walk.= So called because a number of judges and barristers of the King’s Bench made themselves temporary habitations in tents on this breezy height of Hampstead during the Great Plague.

=Jug.= Thieves’ slang for prison. See “In the Jug.”

=Juggins.= A fool, a reckless fellow, so called after a noted character of this name, who about twenty years ago squandered his whole fortune by reckless betting on the turf.

=Juggler.= From the French _jougleur_, a jester or miscellaneous entertainer who was the invariable companion of a troubadour during the Middle Ages.

=Julep.= An American spirituous beverage, also a preparation to make medicines less nauseous. The word is derived from the Arabic _julab_, rose-water.

=July.= In honour of Julius Cæsar, who was born in this month.

=Jump a Claim.= A Far West expression meaning to deprive another of his lawful claim; literally to jump into his diggings and take possession.

=Jump on it with both Feet.= The Transatlantic mode of saying “I’ll denounce it to the utmost of my power.”

=Jump the Game.= An Americanism for running away from one’s creditors.

=June.= The sixth month of the year; that of growth, agreeably to the Latin _juvenis_, young. The Romans dedicated it to the “Juniores,” or young soldiers of the State.

=Jungfrau.= Two reasons are assigned for the name (German, “The Maiden”) given to this, one of the highest peaks of the Bernese Alps. Firstly, because of the unsullied purity and dazzling whiteness of the snow with which it is eternally clad; secondly, owing to the fact that, its summit being inaccessible, no man has ever conquered or ravished this mountain maiden.

=Junk.= A seaman’s term for rope ends and also the salt beef served out on board ship. The word is derived from the Latin _Juncus_, a bulrush, out of which ropes were anciently made. In the second sense of the term the toughness of the meat is sarcastically implied.

=Jury.= From the Latin _jurare_, to swear.

=Jury Mast.= Properly “Joury Mast,” from the French _jour_, day, because it is only a temporary mast put up to replace one carried away by stress of weather.