Part 17

=Magdalen Hospital.= The old name of a penitentiary for fallen women, so called after Mary Magdalen. The French form of this name is Madeleine.

=Magdalen Smith.= The famous Dutch portrait painter, Gaspar Smitz, is usually known by this name on account of his many “Magdalens,” in which he excelled.

=Magdeburg.= German for “town on the plain.”

=Magenta.= This colour was so called because first produced after the battle of Magenta in 1859.

=Magic City of the South.= Birmingham in the state of Alabama. Since its foundation by the Elyton Land Company in 1871 it has bidden fair to rival Pittsburg as the Birmingham of America.

=Magnolia.= In honour of the eminent French botanist, Pierre Magnol.

=Mahala.= The Californian term for an Indian squaw, derived from the Spanish _muger_ (pronounced _muher_), a woman.

=Mahatma.= A Hindoo term for a Buddhist gifted with what appear to be supernatural powers, as the result of the very highest intellectual development.

=Mahogany.= A vulgar term very frequently heard in the Midland counties for a man’s wife. This arose from the fact that the wood of the Mahogany-tree (West Indian _Mahogan_, but botanically _Swietenia Mahogani_) was for many years at first used exclusively for the manufacture of domestic dining-tables; hence a man would say: “I’ll discuss it with my wife over the Mahogany.” Eventually the phrase was corrupted into “I’ll talk to the Mahogany about it,” and so the term came to denote the man’s wife.

=Mahrattas.= The Hindoo term for “outcasts.” Although devout worshippers of Buddha, this powerful Hindoo family does not recognise that fine distinction of caste which obtains elsewhere.

=Maida Vale.= After the victory of Maida, 4th July 1806.

=Maiden.= An ancient instrument of capital punishment made in the form of a woman, the front of which opened like a door, and, the victim being imprisoned, sharp steel spikes pierced his body on every side. This name was also given to an early species of guillotine in Scotland. To be executed by its means was to “Kiss the Maiden,” because she clasped him in a death embrace.

=Maidenland.= A Virginian term for the land which comes to a man by marriage on his wife’s side, and which passes from him at her decease.

=Maiden Assize.= So called when there are no charges for the jury, which in the event of conviction merit capital punishment or the death sentence. On such an occasion the sheriffs present a pair of white gloves to the judges as the emblems of innocence.

=Maiden Lane.= Anciently skirting the garden of the Convent. This thoroughfare had at its western corner a statue of “Our Lady” let into the wall.

=Maid Marian.= So far from having any connection with Robin Hood and his merry men in Sherwood Forest, this term is derived from the “Morris Dance,” in which five men and a boy took part. On account of his antics and the ill-fitting _morione_, or helmet, that this boy wore, he came to be styled as the “Mad Morion,” of which Maid Marian was an easy corruption.

=Maid of Orleans.= Joan of Arc, who led her countrymen against the English, and effected the capture of the city of Orleans, 29th April 1429.

=Maid of Saragossa.= Augustina Zaragossa, who distinguished herself in the heroic defence of the city of Saragossa during its eight months’ siege by the French in 1808-9.

=Maidstone.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Medwægeston_, the town on the _Medwæge_, or Medway, which river runs through the middle of the county of Kent.

=Mail.= The American term for “post”--_i.e._ a letter. This word is, of course, derived from the mail bag in which letters are transmitted.

=Mail Stage.= The American form of “Stage-coach.”

=Maine.= The name given to the French settlement in the New World after the city so called in the Mother Country. Maine, from the Celtic _man_, expresses a district or region.

=Majorca.= Expresses the Latin for Greater, relative to the “Balearic Islands.”

=Make Bricks without Straw.= To make something without the needful materials. In the East bricks are made out of straw and mud dried in the sun. The expression comes from the burdens laid upon the Israelites in Egypt as related in Exodus v.: “Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”

=Make Money out of a Shoe-string.= An Americanism for a capacity to make money out of nothing--that is, without working capital.

=Make the Raise.= An Americanism for to “raise the loan.”

=Make the Sneak.= An Americanism for to sneak or run away.

=Make Tracks.= Originally a Far West expression when a squatter deserted his claim and set out to explore an unknown region.

=Make Trade hum.= An Americanism for whipping up business by advertising or extraordinary energy.

=Malaga.= From the Phœnician _malaca_, salt. The wine of the same name is imported from this city of Spain.

=Malmsey.= Wine from Malvasia, an island in the Mediterranean historically famous for its vineyards.

=Malta.= From the Phœnician _Melita_, “a place of refuge.”

=Mamelukes.= From the Arabic _mamluc_, a slave. The original standing army of Egypt, composed of boy slaves purchased by the Sultan from the Tartar Khan in the Caucasus in the thirteenth century.

=Mamma.= Latin for “breast”; hence all animals that are suckled by the mother belong to the class of “Mammals.”

=Mammon.= From the Syriac _mamona_, “riches.”

=Manchester.= Expresses the Anglo-Saxon for a common on the site of a Roman camp. The Friesic _man_ in this sense enters into many place names also on the Continent.

=Manchester Square.= After the Duke of Manchester, the owner of the estate.

=Manchuria.= The territory of the Manchus, the founders of the present ruling dynasty of China.

=Mandarin.= Although this title is borne by officers of every grade in China the word is really Portuguese, _mandar_, to command. It was applied by the early settlers of Macao to the Chinese officials of that colony, and has remained a European designation for a Chinaman of rank ever since.

=Manhattan.= From the Indian _munnohatan_, “the town on the island.”

=Manicure.= The American mode of “Manicurist,” which, from the Latin _manus_, hand, literally means one who undertakes the care of the finger-nails.

=Manitoba.= After _Manitou_, the “Great Spirit” of the Alonquin Indians. This name is pronounced Manito_bar_ not Mani_to_bar.

=Man in the Street.= A metaphorical expression for the average man, with no more than a superficial knowledge of matters in general. Not belonging to a club, he has small means of adding to his own store of knowledge by daily communion with those better informed than himself.

=Manlius Torquatus.= The Roman Consul Manlius received his surname “Torquatus” through having wrested the golden torque or collar from his adversary on the field of war.

=Mannheim.= German for “the home of men.” Until the Elector Palatine Frederick IV. built a castle here, and a town grew up around it in the seventeenth century, this was a village of refugees from religious persecution in the Netherlands.

=Man of Kent.= A native of the county of Kent east of the Medway.

=Man of Ross.= The name given by Pope to John Kyrle of Ross, Herefordshire. See “Kyrle Society.”

=Man of Straw.= One who, having nothing to lose, descends to mean practices for gain, well knowing that his victims rarely go to the expense of entering a prosecution against him, since they cannot obtain damages. This term was derived from the hangers-on at the Westminster Law Courts, who were ready to swear anything at the instruction of counsel for a bribe. They were known by displaying a wisp of straw in their shoes. If another witness was required while a case was being heard, counsel generally sent out to look for “a pair of straw shoes.”

=Man-of-War.= This term is a popular abbreviation of man-of-war ship--_i.e._ the floating home of a man-of-war’s-man. Our national prestige has from time immemorial been dependent on the supremacy of the seas, therefore an English sailor, more than a soldier, was regarded by our ancestors as a fighting man. Since the introduction of ironclads, however, it has become the custom to speak of a floating battery as a war vessel or battleship, and a sailor as a bluejacket.

=Mansard Roof.= After its inventor, François Mansard, the French architect of the seventeenth century.

=Mansfield Street.= From the town mansion of the Earls of Mansfield, which stood here.

=Mansion House.= Expresses the “house of houses,” the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, the representative in the city of the King, whose flag proudly waves in the breeze from the roof.

=Mantua.= A lady’s cloak or mantle, originally introduced from the Italian city of this name.

=Maoris.= The aborigines of New Zealand. In the native tongue this means “indigenous.”

=Maraboo Feathers.= Those plucked from the underside of the wings of the stork of the same name. The stork being held sacred by the Mohammedans, as it was by the ancient Egyptians, its name has the same meaning as that of the “Marabuts.”

=Marabuts.= The priestly order of the Arabs in North Africa; those who attend the mosques and call the people to prayers. Their name is derived from the Arabic _Marabath_, sacred or devoted to God.

=Maraschino.= A liqueur distilled from delicate and finely flavoured cherries, called _Marazques_, cultivated at Zara in Dalmatia.

=March.= In honour of Mars, the Roman god of war.

=Marconigram.= A wireless telegram, so called after Marconi, the inventor of the system.

=Margate.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Mære_, the sea; expresses the road or entrance to the Thames estuary from the sea. See “Gate.”

=Margaret Street.= After Lady Margaret Cavendish, wife of the second Duke of Portland, landlord of the estate.

=Marigold.= This, golden flower, indigenous to Mexico, was dedicated by the Spaniards to the Virgin. What are called “Marigold Windows,” having these flowers represented on them, appear in Lady Chapels.

=Marine Store Dealer.= The legal description of what is now a rag and bone merchant in a small way, because at one time old ships’ iron and cables were not allowed to be disposed of in any other manner save to such a registered dealer.

=Market Street.= The site of an ancient market on which at a later period the annual May Fair was held. This district is now one of the most fashionable in the West End of London.

=Mark Lane.= A corruption of “Mart Lane,” in which an ancient annual fair or mart of Flemish merchants was held.

=Mark Twain.= The literary pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, reminiscent of his early life as a pilot on a Mississippi steamboat. “Mark Twain” in nautical phraseology means “mark two fathoms of water.”

=Marlborough House.= This, the residence of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, was built by Sir Christopher Wren for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in 1709 at a total cost of a million of money.

=Marlborough Road.= This, like the square of the same name off the Fulham Road, was so called after the “Duke of Marlborough” at one end of it. At Peckham, after the one-time residence of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, before he removed to Pall Mall.

=Maroons.= Revolted Negroes in South America and the West Indies. The term was derived from the Morony River, between Dutch and French Guiana, where great numbers of these fugitives found a place of safety.

=Marquee.= Originally the tent of a marchioness.

=Marquis.= From the Italian and French _Marchese_, pursuant to the root _mark_, a boundary. Anciently expressive of an officer who had the guardianship of the marches or boundaries of a duchy. At a later period the owner of a slice of land bestowed upon him out of a duchy. Nowadays the title next below that of duke.

=Marquis of Granby.= A tavern sign in honour of John Manners, the British general during the Seven Years’ War in Germany, a soldier beloved by his men and esteemed by his country.

=Marry.= A perverted form of the oath “By Mary” in days when people were wont to swear by the Virgin.

=Marsala.= A light wine exported from Marsala in Sicily. This name was bestowed upon the town by the Arabs, _Marsa Alla_, “Port of God,” on account of its delightful situation.

=Marseillaise.= This was the composition of Rouget de Lisle, an artillery officer stationed with the French garrison at Strasburg. First sung at a banquet given by the mayor of that city, it became immensely popular; and when in 1792 the Marseilles volunteers were summoned to Paris, they sang it as they approached and entered the capital. The words and music at once struck the popular ear, so that “La Marseillaise” became the national war song.

=Marshal.= From the Teutonic _mare_, horse, and _schalk_, servant. This term, through the French _maréchal_, originally signified the groom of the horse; now it means in a civil sense the master of the horse and head of the ceremonies in devising pageants and processions. The Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal of England, takes precedence over all other noblemen.

=Marshal Forward.= General Blucher, on account of his eagerness to make a dash in the campaign which terminated in the victory of Waterloo.

=Marshalsea.= The old Debtors’ Prison in Southwark, so called because the Court of the Knight Marshal, for the settlement of disputes between members of the Royal Household, was held within its walls. This edifice was demolished in 1842.

=Marsham Street.= From the ground landlord, Charles Marsham, Earl of Romney.

=Martel.= The surname of Charles, the son of Pepin d’Heristal, who signalised himself in battle against the Saracens when, according to the chronicler, “he knocked down the foe and crushed them between his axe, as a martel or hammer crushes what it strikes.” This exploit occurred during the attempted Saracenic invasion of France A.D. 732.

=Martello Tower.= Originally built near the sea as a watch-tower for protection of merchandise against pirates. The term arose from the custom of the sentry striking a bell with a _martel_, or hammer, as often as he discerned a pirate ship out at sea.

=Martin.= The common wall-swallow, corrupted from its Latin name _Murten_, from _murus_, a wall.

=Martinet.= From the name of a strict officer under Louis XIV. of France; hence the phrase “a regular martinet.”

=Martin’s Lane.= From St Martin’s Church in this lane.

=Martlemas.= A corruption of “Martinmas,” or Feast of St Martin, 4th November, the usual time for the hiring of servants in the rural districts of England.

=Maryland.= The name given by Lord Baltimore to the colony founded by him, in honour of Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I.

=Maryland End.= An Americanism for the hock of the ham, as distinguished from the other, the “Virginia End.”

=Marylebone.= A corruption of “St Mary of the Bourn”--_i.e._ the parish church of St Mary beside the bourn or stream which descended from near the hermitage at “Kilburn” to “Tyburn.”

=Masaniello.= The name of the leader of the Neapolitan insurrectionists of the seventeenth century was Tommaso Aniello, of which _Masaniello_ is a corruption.

=Masher.= From the Romany or gipsy _Masha_, “to fascinate the eye.” Whether the overdressed fop, so designated in our day, really possessed this enviable quality is open to question.

=Mason and Dixon’s Line.= An American expression for the old-time boundary between the slave and the free states. This line was defended between Pennsylvania and Maryland and Virginia by two English surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in 1763-7.

=Massage.= A Frenchised Hindoo word for rubbing. A male and female practitioner of this new curative mode of friction treatment are respectively styled a masseur and masseuse.

=Mattan Diamond.= This, the largest in the world, weighing 367 carats, is the property of the Rajah of Mattan in India.

=Maudlin.= A word expressive of sentimentality or an inclination to shed tears, more especially when in a state of intoxication. Old painters always represented Mary Magdalen with swollen eyes, the result of penitential tears; hence a corruption of “Magdalen.”

=Maund.= The Saxon for an alms-basket employed in the distribution of bread to the poor by the Lady of the Manor.

=Maundy Thursday.= So called from _Maundé_, the French form of _Mandatum_, the first word in the New Commandment or mandate given by our Lord to His disciples after washing their feet at the Last Supper. The essence of this mandate was to love one another; hence the washing of feet of poor persons and distribution of doles by the reigning sovereign on this day. See “Maund.”

=Mauritius.= A Dutch colony named in honour of Maurice, Prince of Orange.

=Mausoleum.= After the magnificent sepulchral monument erected by his widow, Artemisia, to Mausolus, King of Caria, at Halicarnassus, 353 B.C.

=May.= The budding or shooting of plants in this month caused the Romans to give it the name of _Magius_, afterwards shortened into _Maius_, from the Sanskrit mah, to grow. Eventually this month was held sacred to _Maia_, the mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were offered on the first day.

=Maydew Cherries.= A corruption of Medoc cherries, from the district in France where they are cultivated.

=Mayfair.= On the site of this fashionable district Edward III. established a six days’ fair in the month of May for the benefit of the leper hospital of St James the Less, where St James’s Palace now stands.

=May Meetings.= The annual meetings of the many religious, missionary, and philanthropic bodies of the United Kingdom are held in London, generally at Exeter Hall, during the month of May.

=Mazarin Bible.= A very rare edition of the Scriptures, being one of the earliest printed by Gutenberg with separate metal types, between 1450 and 1455. It received this name from the fact that a copy was discovered in the library of Cardinal Mazarin.

=Mecklenburg Square.= One of the many names about London which, when new streets were built upon, complimented the Hanoverian Succession.

=Medina.= Expresses the Arabic for “City.” Its full name is _Medinat al Nabi_, “City of the Prophet.”

=Mediterranean Sea.= The sea “in the middle of the earth” is that between the two great continents, Europe and Africa.

=Medway.= See “Maidstone.”

=Meerschaum.= Expresses the German for “sea foam,” the fine white clay out of which pipes are made being at one time thought to be the petrified scum or foam of the sea.

=Meistersingers.= Literal German for “Master Singers”; master craftsmen who in the Middle Ages revived the national minstrelsy, which had been allowed to fall into decay.

=Melbourne.= In honour of Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister in 1837, when this Australian colony was founded.

=Melodrama.= Modern drama, distinguished by incidental music as an accompaniment to the action.

=Memorial Day.= The United States mode of expressing a great commemorative occasion, such as Independence or Decoration Day.

=Memorial Hall.= This building, in Farringdon Road, commemorates the issue of the famous “Act of Uniformity,” whereby 2000 ministers of the Church of England were deprived of their livings on 24th August 1662. The site was formerly occupied by the old Fleet Prison.

=Memory-Corner Thompson.= The name borne by John Thompson of the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields. Seated in a corner of a coffee-house, he was wont for the amusement of regular habitues to display his astounding powers of memory in regard to the topography of London.

=Memory Woodfall.= The sobriquet of William Woodfall, brother to the reputed author of the celebrated “Letters of Junius.” His mnemonical powers differed from that of “Memory-Corner Thompson” in that, after listening to a debate, Parliamentary or otherwise, overnight, he could repeat it word for word the next morning.

=Mentor.= A “guide, philosopher, and friend,” so called after Mentor, the faithful friend and counsellor of Ulysses.

=Mercenaries.= From the Latin _mercer_, wages, reward. These hired soldiers of antiquity figured largely in the Punic Wars.

=Mercer.= The old name for a dealer in silks and woollen fabrics, so called from the Latin _mercis_, wares, merchandise. Nowadays such a one styles himself a “Draper.”

=Merino.= A fabric of wool from the sheep of the same name, which expresses the Spanish for an inspector of sheep walks.

=Merioneth.= After Merion, an early British saint.

=Merrimac.= Indian for “swift water.”

=Merry Andrew.= A buffoon or clown, said to have been so called after Andrew Borde, a noted physician of the time of Henry VIII., whose witticisms were on a par with his medical skill. His sayings were widely repeated, and since it happened that Andrew was then the most common name for a man-servant, facetious fellows came to be dubbed Merry Andrews.

=Merry Monarch.= Charles II., who from the time of coming to the throne never knew care, but made his life one round of pleasure.

=Mesopotamia.= The ancient description of the region situate between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The name is Greek, from _mesos_, middle, and _potamos_, river.

=Messe Rouge.= Expresses the French for “Red Mass.” At the resumption of their duties at the Law Courts after the Long Vacation all the Catholic judges and barristers attend a Mass of the Holy Ghost to invoke the Spirit for the gift of wisdom. Like the masses of the Feast of the Holy Ghost, the vestment worn by the officiating priest is red, in allusion to the tongues of fire that descended upon the Apostles on Whit Sunday.

=Methodists.= This name was first given by a fellow-student of Christ Church, Oxford, to the Brothers Wesley and a few friends who were in the habit of meeting on certain evenings for religious conversation. They also visited the inmates of Oxford Jail at stated times, always faithfully kept their engagements, and acted up to their Christian principles in a strictly methodical manner. The new sect was afterwards styled by John Wesley “The First Methodist Society.”

=Metz.= This city was styled by the Romans _Mettis_, from the _Medio matrici_, the people of the country, whom they conquered.

=Mexico.= Expresses the seat or place of _Mexitli_, the Aztec god of war.

=Michaelmas Day.= The feast of St Michael, prince of the heavenly host, and patron saint of the Catholic Church. This is properly described as “St Michael and all Angels” (29th September).

=Michaelmas Goose.= Stubble geese being at their best about this time, the rural tenantry always brought their landlords a goose with their Michaelmas rent. Since the latter usually received more geese than they could consume themselves, they passed them over to friends, and thus the goose became a standing Michaelmas dish.

=Michigan.= Indian for “a weir for fish.”

=Middlesex.= Expresses the territory of the Middle Saxons, situate between that of the East and West Saxons under the Heptarchy.

=Middling.= North of England, and also American, for medium or passable in the sense of feeling well.