Part 21

=Parsees.= The modern designation of the Zoroastrians or Fire Worshippers in Persia and India. The Parsees were the original inhabitants of Persia, a wild Ayrian family called the _Parsa_, meaning “The Tigers.” By the Greeks the territory they overran was styled _Perseus_, on account of their chief stronghold, _Persipolis_, “the city of the Parsa,” the ruins of which may yet be seen. The modern Parsees are therefore descendants of those who refused to embrace Mohammedanism.

=Parsons Green.= Prior to the year 1740 the parsonage of Fulham Parish Church stood facing this green. On its roof was a cross which bore the name of “Parson’s Cross,” afterwards corrupted into “Percy Cross.”

=Partridge Day.= The first of September, when partridge shooting commences.

=Pasha.= A Western corruption of the Turkish “Pashaw,” from the Persian _bâshâ_, a governor or ruler of a province under the _Shah_ or King.

=Passenger Pigeon.= So called on account of its migratory habits. This species is found chiefly in America.

=Passing Bell.= That rung at the parish church to announce publicly that the soul of a parishioner has just passed away.

=Passion Flower.= The traditional reverence for this favourite flower is due to a fancied resemblance of its tints and various parts to the instruments of Christ’s Passion; also because it remains open for three days, corresponding to the period between the Last Supper and the Resurrection.

=Passionists.= A missionary Order founded by St Francis de Paulo, otherwise “St Paul of the Cross,” for the preaching of “Christ’s Passion and Him Crucified.”

=Passion Play.= An alfresco sacred drama based upon the incidents of Christ’s Passion and Death; that performed every tenth year at Oberammergau is world famous.

=Passion Sunday.= Although this should properly be the first day of what is called Passion Week, Palm Sunday is in a sense a feast day, in allusion to the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. The Sunday previous is therefore set apart for a general commemoration of the Passion--all crosses, statues, and paintings in the churches being draped in purple, with a view to concentrating the attention of the worshippers on the sufferings of the Redeemer.

=Passion Week.= The week in which Good Friday occurs, in commemoration of Christ’s Passion.

=Passive Resister.= One who in our own day passively resists the imposition of the Education Rate by allowing his goods to be seized or going to prison instead of resorting to active measures of violence.

=Passover.= The great Jewish festival commemorative of the Destroying Angel having passed over or spared the houses of the Israelites whose doorposts were sprinkled with the blood of the lamb slain overnight by Divine command. The Hebrew term for this festival is _Pesach_, whence “Pasch” has been derived.

=Pastoral Letter.= One addressed by a bishop to his flock. As his title implies, he is an overseer, and his crook is symbolical of a shepherd.

=Pat.= See “Paddy.”

=Patagonia.= This name, from the Spanish _patagon_, a large, clumsy foot, was given by Magellan to the country because, seeing the impressions of the great shoes worn by the natives, he imagined them to be giants.

=Paternoster Row.= Two reasons are assigned for this designation. The Row was the locale of the makers of “Pater Nosters,” or rosary beads, so called from the name of the first large bead, and the sellers of religious texts and prayer-books. Also because on great festival days the monks went in solemn procession to St Paul’s, the recital of the Pater Noster being commenced at the eastern corner of the lane, outside the churchyard, and concluded at the western extremity, where the Ave Maria was then taken up. See “Amen Corner.”

=Pathfinder.= The surname of General John Charles Fremont, the leader of four exploring expeditions across the Rocky Mountains.

=Patricians.= See “Plebeians.”

=Paul’s Chain.= This lane, on the south side of the Paul’s Churchyard, formerly had a chain drawn across it during divine service; hence its name.

=Paul Veronese.= The better-known name of the celebrated Italian painter Paulo Cagliari, who was born at Verona.

=Pawn.= In relation to the game of chess. The ordinary piece or “man” bears this name from the French _peon_, a walker or foot soldier, the superior pieces being kings, queens, knights, castles, and bishops. An article left in the charge of a pawnbroker is called a pawn, from the French _pan_, a pledge.

=Pawnbroker.= See “Pawn” and “Broker.”

=Peabody Buildings.= After George Peabody, the American philanthropist, who left a huge fortune in trust for the building of “model dwellings” for the poorer classes. His statue, at the back of the Royal Exchange, was unveiled 23rd July 1869.

=Peach.= A schoolboy term for to inform against another. In allusion to the fruit of this name, it means to turn soft-hearted, and betray. In American the word is used to denote a pretty woman or anything soft and beautiful.

=Peacock.= An inn sign dating from the Crusades, when, the flesh of the peacock being deemed incorruptible, this bird was adopted by many a knight as a crest, typical of the Resurrection. “By the peacock” was a common oath in those days.

=Pearl Bible.= So called from the name of the printing type employed in its composition.

=Peckham.= A corruption of _Beckham_, a home or settlement among the becks or brooks.

=Peckham Rye.= In its application to common, the word “Rye” comes from the Anglo-Saxon _ree_, a watercourse.

=Peculiar People.= Originally those who believed that disease was the direct consequence of sin, and that by prayer alone could it be removed. See “Faith Healers.”

=Pedlar.= An itinerant trader, so called in conformity with the Latin _pedes_, the feet.

=Pedro the Cruel.= The surname of the King of Castile and Leon, who, midway in the fourteenth century, murdered his two brothers and poisoned his queen. How he meted out punishment to those outside his own family may be guessed.

=Peeler.= The old name for a policeman, after Sir Robert Peel, to whom the introduction of the modern system of Watch and Ward was due.

=Peep O’Day Boys.= Irish insurrectionists who broke into the houses of the people at peep of day in search of arms. They were not averse to carrying off other plunder at the same time.

=Peewit.= This bird is so called from its characteristic notes.

=Peg Away.= Originally a camping phrase. When a tent is being put up it is necessary to secure its ropes to the ground on all sides before the work can be left, lest the whole structure, caught by the wind, should be blown down.

=Pekin.= Chinese for “northern capital.”

=Pelican State.= Louisiana, from the pelican in her arms.

=Pembroke.= Called by the Welsh “Penbroshire,” signifying the _pen_ or head of the _bro_ or country; literally the Land’s End.

=Pembroke College.= Founded at Cambridge in 1348 by the widow of Aylmar de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.

=Peninsula State.= Florida.

=Penitentiary.= The modern name for a “Magdalen Hospital,” designed as a home or refuge for fallen women who are penitent. This term was adopted also by the Quakers of Philadelphia in 1786 for a prison.

=Penknife.= A small pocket-knife intended primarily for cutting quill pens. Though quills are no longer in fashion, save among lawyers and bankers, and the penknife is serviceable only for trimming one’s finger nails, its original name survives.

=Pennsylvania.= From the Latin _sylva_, a wood; expresses the colony in the wood founded by William Penn.

=Penny.= From the Danish _pennig_ and German _pfennig_, a copper coin of full value. This was originally nicked across to admit of being broken into halves and quarters.

=Penny Blood.= The modern substitute for the “Penny Dreadful.” The term “Blood” is short for a blood-curdling relation.

=Penny Gaff.= The term applied to a low-class theatre, in allusion to the first Drury Lane Theatre, built on the site of a famous cockpit. _Gaff_ was but another name for a cockpit, expressing as it did in various languages the iron hook, fork, or spur with which the cocks were goaded when they showed a reluctance to fight.

=Penny Wedding.= One to which all the villagers are invited, each contributing his or her quota to the expenses of the feast amounting to less than a shilling, while children uniformly bring a penny.

=Pennyweight.= Anciently, before standard weights came into use, the weight of a Norman silver penny.

=Penrith.= A corruption of “Perith,” from Perith Hill, at the foot of which the town is situated. The name is Celtic for “red hill,” in allusion to the red stone quarried on the spot.

=Pensioner Parliament.= That of Charles II., which, though it lasted sixteen years and a half, was more remarkable for the bestowal of pensions upon the adherents of the King than for the framing of new laws.

=Pentateuch.= A Greek word compounded out of _penta_, five, and _teuchos_, an implement, tool. This name was given to the first five books collectively of the Old Testament, its second portion being applicable in the sense of an instrument of direct communication between God and His people.

=Pentecost.= From the Greek _pentekoste_, the fiftieth day; relative to the gift of the Law to the Israelites fifty days after their deliverance out of the Land of Bondage. This great festival, corresponding to the Whitsuntide of the Christians, is celebrated by the Jews on the fiftieth day after the “Passover.”

=Penton Street.= See “Pentonville.”

=Pentonville.= Prior to 1773 the whole of this neighbourhood north of the New Road was open fields. It was then acquired for building purposes by Henry Penton, M.P., one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and received its name from “Penton Villa,” his residence, on the site of what is now Penton Street.

=Penzance.= Expresses the Celtic for “Saint’s Headland,” in allusion to St Michael’s Mount.

=People’s Friend.= The surname of Dr William Gordon of Hull, merited by his kindly disposition and unfailing generosity. When he died in 1849 the whole town followed his body to the grave, and the name by which he had always been known was subsequently chiselled on his tombstone.

=Percy Cross.= See “Parsons Green.”

=Pere La Chaise.= This, the principal cemetery of Paris, originally constituted the land attached to a beautiful mansion built by a grocer named Regnault. After his death the property passed into the hands of a lady, who made it over to the Jesuits of the Rue St Antoine. Thenceforth the Maison Regnault became the recognised seat of the Jesuits. In 1705 Pere La Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV., was made Superior to the Order, and by the King’s desire the house received his name. The eventual suppression of the Order caused the property to be sold and the land converted into a cemetery.

=Perfectionists.= An American sect of religionists who, relying on the gift of the Spirit, dispense with civil laws so far as their own community is concerned.

=Peripatetics.= The school of philosophy founded by Aristotle, who taught his disciples in the colonnade or covered walk (styled the _peripatos_, from _peripatem_, to walk) in the garden of Lyceus at Athens.

=Pernambuco.= Expresses the Spanish for “the mouth of hell,” so called on account of the violent surf, which is such an impediment to the safe navigation of the mouth of its chief river, the San Francisco.

=Persia.= The country of the _Parsa_. See “Parsees.”

=Peru.= From its principal waterway, the Rio Paro, on the banks of which the ancient city of Paruru is situated. All these names are modifications of the native _Para_, water or river.

=Perugino.= See “Il Perugino.”

=Peter.= A word employed in America for running up the prices at an auction. It is derived from the Dutch _pethur_, to run, to hurry. The common name for a confederate of the auctioneer at a mock auction is a “Peter Funk,” that of the fictitious person to whom the goods are knocked down.

=Peter Boat.= One built alike at both ends, so that it can be run out quickly. See “Peter.”

=Peterborough.= From the great Benedictine monastery built and dedicated to St Peter by Oswy, King of Northumbria, in the seventh century.

=Peterhouse College.= Founded at Cambridge in connection with a hospital dedicated to St Peter by Hugh de Balsham in 1280.

=Peterloo Massacre.= The name given to the dispersal of Lancashire operatives assembled to discuss Parliamentary reform in St Peter’s Field, Manchester, by an armed force, 10th July 1819. In this melee many were wounded and several killed. The term was a fanciful one, suggested by the battle of Waterloo of five years previous to this event.

=Peter’s Pence.= An annual contribution throughout the Roman Catholic world for the upkeep of the vast establishment of the Vatican and the Papal Court. Since the loss of the Papal States in Italy this constitutes the sole revenue of the Pope. Anciently it was a tax of a silver penny in respect of every member of a household.

=Petrel.= See “Stormy Petrel.”

=Petticoat.= A smaller or shorter coat, which was the ancient description of a woman’s outer garment; derived from the Norman _cotte_.

=Petticoat Lane.= Another name for “Rag Fair,” the old clothes mart of the Jews in the East End. Its modern name is Middlesex Street.

=Petty.= Provincial for an out-house, because its accommodation is restricted to one person; also called a “Privy,” short for private.

=Petty Sessions.= A criminal court for the disposal of petty or lesser felonies, as distinguished from the usual “Quarter Sessions,” where all graver charges, short of those meriting capital punishment, are dealt with.

=Phaeton.= A name derived from the Phaeton of ancient mythology, who, having received permission to drive the sun car of Helios, his father, for a day, had the ill fortune to cause it to be overturned, and thereby almost set the world on fire.

=Pharmacist.= An Americanism for a chemist; derived, of course, from “Pharmaceutist,” one who keeps a _pharmacy_ or drug store.

=Pharisees.= Those of the Jews who affected a greater degree of holiness than their neighbours, and were consequently regarded as a separate people. The word is from the Hebrew _pharash_, “separated.”

=Philadelphia.= Expresses the Greek for “city of brotherly love.” This name was happily chosen by William Penn for the capital of his Quaker colony in the New World.

=Philippe Egalité.= See “Egalité.”

=Philippi.= A ruined city of Macedonia, named after Philip II. of Macedon, who conquered it. It was to the _Philippians_, the people of this city, that St Paul addressed one of his Epistles.

=Philippic.= A powerful invective or denunciation. So called from a famous oration of Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon with a view of arousing the Athenians to repel his ambitious designs.

=Philippine Islands.= Discovered by Magellan in 1521, he named them in honour of Philip II. of Spain.

=Philistines.= The inhabitants of ancient Philistia, or “Palestine.” Because these were continually at war with the Jews, the term has been applied by university students to the citizens generally, and to the preservers of law and order more particularly. “A battle with the Philistines” is but another name for “a town row.” By the people of Norfolk too, policemen and bailiffs, likewise earwigs and such tiny tormentors, are called Philistines.

=Philistinism.= The name given to that cynicism which sneers at religion. This arose out of the scorn with which the Philistines of Palestine regarded the rites and ceremonies of the Israelites.

=Phiz.= Slang for the face; derived from “Physiogomy.”

=Phœnicia.= Called by the Greeks _Phoinike_, from _phoinos_, purple, which colour was discovered by the Tyrians and manufactured by them for the supply of all the then known Eastern nations.

=Photograph.= From the two Greek words _photos_, light, and _graphein_, to write. Accordingly a picture obtained by the action of light and transferred to paper chemically prepared.

=Phyrric Dance.= The famous war dance of the ancient Greeks, so called after Phyrrichos, a flautist of great skill and renown.

=Pianoforte.= A modern development of the old harpsichord and clavichord, so called because it was the first musical instrument which, by means of pedals, admitted the alternations of _piano_, soft, and _forte_, loud.

=Piccadilly.= After “Piccadilla Hall,” a once famous mart for the sale of “piccadilly lace,” having _pica_, or spearlike points. Of this _pica_, the word _piccadilly_ expressed the diminutive. So fashionable was this lace during the time of Elizabeth that when in the succeeding reign of James I. the high ruff came into vogue, it bore the name of a _piccadilly_, though shorn of its lace edging. “Piccadilla Hall” must have stood somewhere about the modern circus of the same name, since there were no houses further afield.

=Pickaninny.= From the Spanish _pegueno nino_, a little child.

=Pick-me-up.= A stimulating beverage or a medicinal tonic as a remedy for languor or lowness of spirits.

=Pick up.= An Americanism for a cold dinner composed of the fragments of the previous day’s joint. Sometimes such a one is called a “Pick-up Dinner.”

=Picts.= The Lowlanders of Scotland, called by the Romans _picti_, or painted men, because, they stained their skins with woad.

=Pie Corner.= It has been considered curious that the Great Fire of London should have broken out in “Pudding Lane” and ended at Pie Corner. Scarcely less curious was it that this Pie Corner was an eating-house. Its sign was “The Pie,” a corruption of “Magpie.”

=Piedmont.= Expresses the French for “mountain foot.”

=Pierrot.= French for “Little Peter.”

=Pig and Whistle.= A tavern sign corrupted from “Piggen Wassail.” Piggen expressed the Anglo-Saxon for a milking pail, of which _pig_ was the diminutive. When a large party frequented the alehouse the liquor was set before them in a _piggen_, each helping himself from it with his _pig_, or mug. “Wassail” was, of course, the Anglo-Saxon _Was hæl_ (“Be in health”). See “Hail.”

=Pigeon English.= That employed by the Chinese in their commercial relations with Europeans. The word _pigeon_ is a native corruption of “business,” which it seems impossible for a Chinaman to pronounce correctly. Their business English is therefore a jargon of many languages heard by him in the “Open Ports.”

=Pig in a Poke.= See “Buy a Pig in a Poke” and “Let the Cat out of the Bag.”

=Piggott Diamond.= One of the smaller diamonds of celebrity, weighing 82¼ carats. This was brought to England from India by Lord Piggott in 1818, when it passed into the hands of Messrs Rundell & Bridge.

=Pigtails.= The European nickname for the Chinese on account of their shaven heads and braided pigtails.

=Pikes.= The name given in California to the poor southern whites, most of whom came from Pike County, Missouri. See “Pukes.”

=Pilgrim.= From the Italian _pellegrino_, “a visitor to foreign lands.” Since the days of Peter the Hermit and the Crusades this term has been confined to one who travels on foot to worship at a holy shrine, whether he be a Christian, Mohammedan, or Buddhist. See “Palmer.”

=Pillow Lace.= So called because produced by twisted threads around rows of pins arranged on a cushion or pillow.

=Pilot Jack.= The name given to the “Union Jack” when flown from the mast-head in the merchant service as a signal for a pilot.

=Pimlico.= This was originally a district of tea gardens for holiday folk, with a _specialité_ for nut-brown ales. It received its name from Ben Pimlico, the owner of a noted resort in Hoxton on the site of what is now the Britannia Theatre. The nut-brown ale was first popularised by this worthy, who could not have regarded the application of his name to ales purveyed elsewhere with much favour. From “Pimlico Ales,” the neighbourhood itself soon came to be known as Pimlico.

=Pimlico Walk.= It is hard to believe that this was once a regular holiday promenade for the citizens of London. On Sundays and on week-day evenings it was thronged, skirting as it did the famous tea gardens of Ben Pimlico, in whose retired arbours courting couples softly murmured “sweet nothings.” This resort was to Londoners of a bygone day what Rosherville is in our own time. From a tea garden it developed into what was styled a “saloon,” and eventually into a regular theatre.

=Pinafore.= Literally an apron pinned on the bosom and at the hips of the wearer. The modern example of a pinafore with armholes is pinned or buttoned behind.

=Pinchbeck.= A mixture of copper, zinc, and tin, out of which metal watch cases and cheap jewellery were formerly made. So called after its inventor, Christopher Pinchbeck of Fleet Street.

=Pindaric Verse.= A style of verse, irregular in regard to metre, imitative of the Odes of Pindar, the Roman poet.

=Pine-tree State.= Maine, from the pine-tree distinguished in her arms, symbolical of her glorious forests.

=Pin Money.= The allowance made by a husband to his wife in order to purchase pins for the current year. Such articles were at one time neither abundant nor cheap.

=Pin your Faith on it.= An expression derived from the days of feudalism, when all the dependents of a baron or feudal lord displayed his badge pinned on the sleeve. Sometimes while on a predatory expedition of their own these vassals exchanged the badge for another to prevent recognition. This gave rise to the saying: “You may wear the badge, but I cannot pin my faith on your sleeve. I require some further evidence whence you came.”

=Pipeclay.= The fine white clay out of which clay pipes are made.

=Pistol.= From _Pistoja_ in Italy, where this kind of small firearm was first introduced in 1545.

=Pit.= The floor of a theatre bears this name because the original Drury Lane Theatre was built by Killigrew on the site of the famous cockpit in Drury Lane.

=Pitcairn Island.= Discovered by Captain Cartaret in 1767, and named by him after one of his officers.

=Pitchfork.= A fork for pitching hay; also one for determining the correct pitch of a musical note.

=Pitt Diamond.= After Thomas Pitt, grandfather of the first Lord Chatham, who, while Governor of Fort St George in India, purchased it for £24,000. On coming to England he sold this gem, weighing 136¾ carats in its cut state, to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, for £130,000, on which account it bears the name also of the “Regent Diamond.” It decorated the sword hilt of Napoleon I., and after the battle of Waterloo passed into the hands of the Prussians.

=Pittsburg.= This city was built on the site of the French Fort Duquesne. When, after a sanguinary engagement, it was taken from the allied French and Indians in 1758 by General Forbes, he gave it the name of Fort Pitt, after the English statesman, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham.