Part 28

=Transylvania.= From the Latin _trans_, beyond, and _sylva_, wood; this name was given by the Hungarians to the country beyond their wooded frontier.

=Trappists.= A strict Order of Cistercian Monks, so called from their original home at La Trappe in Normandy, established during the twelfth century.

=Treacle Bible.= A rare version of the Scriptures, so called on account of the rendering of the passage (Jeremiah viii. 22): “Is there no balm in Gilead?” as “There is no more traicle at Gilead.”

=Trent.= Celtic for “winding river.”

=Tried in the Balance and Found Wanting.= An expression founded on the belief of the ancient Egyptians that the souls of men were weighed after death.

=Trilbies.= Colloquial for feet, because Trilby in the novel and the play named after the heroine appears in bare feet.

=Trilby.= A soft felt hat of the kind popularised by the heroine of the famous Haymarket Theatre play, _Trilby_, founded upon the late George du Maurier’s equally famous novel of the same title.

=Trinidad Island.= The name given to it by Columbus as an emblem of the Trinity, relative to its three mountain peaks which, when seen from afar, he at first imagined rose from three different islands.

=Trinitarians.= Those who accept the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as opposed to the Unitarians; also the original designation of the “Crutched Friars,” or Friars of the Holy Trinity.

=Trinity House.= This had its origin in an ancient guild incorporated in 1529 under the title of “The Master-Wardens and Assistants of the Guild, or Fraternity, or Brotherhood, of the Most Glorious and Undivisible Trinity, and St Clement, in the parish of Deptford, Stroud, in the County of Kent.” The present building dates from 1795.

=Trinity Sunday.= That which follows Whitsunday, pursuant to the good old Catholic custom of allowing religious exercises, specifically the partaking of the Holy Communion, to be performed within the octave, or eight days, of a great feast.

=Tristan d’Acunha.= After the Portuguese navigator who discovered this island in 1651.

=Trithing.= See “Riding.”

=Trump Street.= After the makers of trumpets, who, in the days of public pageants and processions, here had their workshops.

=Trust.= Another word for a “Combine” or “Corner,” with this difference that its members are pledged to stand by one another, and faithfully maintain the high prices their action has brought about.

=Tudors.= This royal house received its name from Owen Tudor, a Welsh soldier, who while stationed at Windsor, contracted a secret marriage with Catherine, the widowed queen of Henry V.

=Tuesday.= In the Scandinavian mythology the day set apart for the worship of _Tiw_, the God of War.

=Tuft.= See “Toff.”

=Tulle.= From the French town of the same name, where this fabric was first made.

=Tumble to it.= This phrase is a vulgar perversion of “stumble upon it”--_i.e._ the meaning or comprehension of a thing.

=Tunis.= Anciently _Tunentum_, after the _Tunes_, who peopled the country.

=Turin.= Called by the Romans _Augusta Taurisonum_, the capital of the _Taurini_.

=Turkestan.= Conformably to the Persian _stan_, the country of the Turks.

=Turkey.= From “Turkia,” the Celtic suffix expressing the country of the Turks. The bird of this name was long thought to be a native of Turkey; it was, however, introduced to Europe from North America early in the sixteenth century.

=Turnagain Lane.= So called because it ends at a high brick wall, and the pedestrian has no alternative but to retrace his steps.

=Turnmill Street.= A name which recalls the days when an old mill, whose sails turned with the wind, stood in the pleasant meadow.

=Turpentine State.= North Carolina, from the turpentine found in its great pine forests.

=Turquoise.= From Turkey, the country where this precious stone was first found.

=Tuscany.= The territory of the Etruscans.

=Tweed.= It is perfectly true that this cloth is fabricated in the vicinity of the River Tweed, but the name is really a corruption of “Twill,” which word, in an invoice sent to James Locke in London, being blotted, looked like “tweed,” and the customer thought the cloth might as well be called by that name as by its original.

=Twelfth Night.= That which brought the Christmas holidays and festivities to a close in former days. In the morning the people went to church to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, afterwards they gave themselves up right merrily to indoor amusements.

=Twickenham.= When Pope resided in this pretty up-river village its name was “Twitnam” for short, but it meant the same as of yore, a hamlet located between two rivulets of the Thames. The word is Anglo-Saxon, cognate with the modern German _zwischen_, between, and _heim_, a home.

=Twill.= From the German _zwillich_, “trellis work,” so called from the diagonal ribs distinguished on the surface of this cloth.

=Two Fours.= The 44th Regiment of Foot.

=Two Sevens.= The 77th Regiment of Foot.

=Two Twos.= The 22nd Regiment of Foot.

=Tyburn.= A corruption of _Twa-burne_, “two streams,” the one from Bayswater, the other from Kilburn, which met on the spot where the public executions formerly took place and the Marble Arch now stands.

=Tyne.= Another variant of the Celtic _tain_, river.

U

=Uisquebaugh.= From _uisge_, water, and _beatha_, life, the national drink of the Irish people. Out of this we have derived the English term “Whisky.”

=Ukase.= From the Russian _ukasat_, to speak.

=Ukraine.= Expresses the Slavonic for a “frontier country.”

=Ultramarine.= Another name for “Saunders Blue,” introduced to England from beyond the sea.

=Umber.= From Umbria in Italy, where this pigment was first obtained.

=Umbrella.= From the Latin _umbra_, a shade. The original function of such an article was to act as a shelter against the scorching rays of the sun, similar to those monster white or coloured umbrellas one sees in a Continental market-place. It was Jonas Hanway who first diverted it from its proper use. See “Hanway Street.”

=Uncle.= How this name came to be applied to a pawnbroker was as follows:--Before the “spout” was introduced all those pledges which consisted of clothing were attached to a very large book, or _uncus_ as it was called, conformably to the Latin description of the article, since the Lombards were the earliest pawnbrokers of history. When this _uncus_ could accommodate nothing more, the rope from which it depended was unslung from the ceiling, and laid across the shoulders of an assistant, who then carried the whole collection to the store-rooms overhead. Hence an article which had been pledged was said to have “Gone to the Uncus,” or, as the modern phrase has it, “Gone to my Uncle’s.”

=Uncle Sam.= The national nickname of the United States. This arose out of the initials “U.S.,” which the Government caused to be painted or branded on all its stores just as the Government property in this country is marked with a broad arrow. Since it happened that the official whose duty it was to see this marking properly carried out was known among his numerous acquaintance as “Uncle Sam,” the general impression obtained that the letters really applied to him, as evidence that the goods had passed through his hands. In this way “Uncle Sam” bequeathed his name to a great nation.

=Uncle Sam’s Ice-box.= Alaska, so called on account of its northern situation. Prior to the year 1867 this territory belonged to Russia.

=Undertaker.= Specifically one who in former days undertook to be responsible for the custody of a corpse until the moment that it was lowered into the grave. This was the _raison d’être_ of the two “mutes” stationed by him at the door of the house by day and by night as guards.

=Underwriter.= One who accepts the responsibility of insuring a vessel or its merchandise by signing his name at the foot of the policy.

=Unionists.= Those who are opposed to Home Rule for Ireland; now identified with the Conservative Party.

=Union Jack.= The first part of this name has, of course, reference to the Union of England and Scotland in the person of James I., but the application of the word “Jack” to our national flag is not so easily disposed of. Nevertheless, reference to our note on “Jack-boots” will afford the reader a key to the question. Twenty-six of such “Jacques,” emblazoned with the arms of St George, were ordered by Edward III. for one of his warships. Designed primarily for the defence of his soldiers when in fighting array, they were placed in a row along the low bulwarks while the vessel was sailing, just as the Romans and the hardy Norsemen disposed of their shields at sea. After this statement it should not be difficult to see how the Cross of St George displayed on a _jacque_ lent its name at first to the staff from which the English flag was flown, and later to the flag itself.

=Unitarians.= Those who are opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity, denying, as they do, the Godhead or divinity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. This tenet was promulgated by Lælius Socinus, an Italian theologian, in 1546.

=United Brethren.= Another name for the religious sect styled the “Moravians.”

=University.= From the Latin _universitatis_, the whole. This word expresses the various distinct colleges and halls at Oxford, Cambridge, and elsewhere, incorporated by a royal charter as one great educational centre.

=Unlearned Parliament.= See “Parliament of Dunces.”

=Unready.= See “Ethelred the Unready.”

=Up a Tree.= Completely cornered, yet defiant; the allusion is to the refuge of a tree-branch against the attack of a bull stationed beneath it.

=Upper Berkeley Street.= See “Berkeley Street.”

=Upper Crust.= A modern term for the aristocracy, because it was formerly considered a mark of high honour to allow the most distinguished guest to cut off the top of the loaf at table.

=Upper Seymour Street.= After the Seymours, from whom the Portmans, owners of the estate, are descended.

=Upper Ten.= Short for “The Upper Ten Thousand,” which, at the time when N. P. Willis first made use of the term, was the approximate number of fashionables or really well-to-do in the city of New York.

=Uppertendom.= An Americanism for the aristocracy.

=Upper Thames Street.= The western portion of Thames Street between London and Blackfriars Bridges.

=Up the Spout.= This expression requires no elucidating. Nevertheless, there was a time when a pawnbroking establishment had not the convenience of a “spout,” and because this was so, the matter-of-fact tradesman earned for himself the endearing title of “My Uncle.” See “Uncle.”

=Up to Snuff.= Said of one who has a keen scent for reckoning up his neighbours.

=Uruguay.= Expresses the Brazilian for “the golden water.”

=Ural.= A Tartar word for “belt.”

=Usher.= From the old French _huisher_, door, signifies a doorkeeper.

=Usk.= A variant of the Celtic _uisg_, water.

=Ursulines.= An Order of nuns named after St Ursula, who suffered martyrdom at Cologne in the tenth century.

=Utah.= After an Indian tribe, the Yuta or Utes, encountered in the region so named.

=Utilitarianism.= A word implying “the happiness of the greatest number.” In this sense it was first popularised by John Stuart Mill, after Jeremy Bentham had promulgated a similar ethical religion under the style of “Utility.”

=Utopia.= From the Greek _ou_, not, and _topos_, place, this compound term signifies “nowhere,” “no such place.” Ideas and Systems are said to be “Utopian” when they cannot be accepted by the average reasoning mind.

V

=Valance.= From Valencia in Spain, where bed drapery was at one time made for the supply of the world’s markets.

=Valencias.= Raisins grown in the Spanish province of Valencia, which name, relative to the capital city, means “powerful, strong.”

=Valenciennes.= Lace made at the French town of the same name.

=Valentines.= See “St Valentine’s Day.”

=Valparaiso.= Expresses the Spanish for “Vale of Paradise.”

=Vamoose.= An Americanism for “decamp,” “run along,” “be off.” This had its origin in the Spanish _vamos_, “let us go.”

=Vanbrugh Castle.= This castellated mansion at Blackheath was built by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1717.

=Vancouver Island.= Discovered by Captain Vancouver while searching for an inlet on the west coast of North America in 1792.

=Van Diemen’s Land.= The name first given by Tasman, its discoverer, in 1642, to what is now “Tasmania,” in compliment to the daughter of the Dutch Governor of Batavia.

=Vandyke.= A pointed lace collar, always distinguished in the portraits painted by Sir Anthony Vandyck. Also a peculiar shade of brown colour used by him for his backgrounds.

=Vassar College.= Founded in the state of New York by Matthew Vassar in 1861 for the higher education of women. This might be said to constitute the Girton College of the New World.

=Vaudeville.= The name given to a short, bright dramatic piece interspersed with songs set to familiar airs, after Vaudevire, a village in Normandy, where Olivier Basselin, the first to compose such pieces, was born. The Vaudeville Theatre in the Strand was built for entertainments of this class.

=Vauxhall.= After Jane Vaux, the occupant of the manor house in 1615. This name, however, would seem to have been corrupted in modern times, since the manor was originally held soon after the Norman Conquest by Fulka de Breante. The manor house might consequently have been in those far-off days described as “Fulkes Hall.”

=Venerable Bede.= The Saxon historian merited the surname of “Venerable” because he was an aged man and also an ecclesiastic.

=Venezuela.= Finding that the Indian villages in this country were uniformly built upon piles in the water, the Spaniards gave it their native term for “Little Venice.”

=Venice.= After the _Veneti_, the early inhabitants of the district.

=Vernier.= After Pierre Vernier, the inventor of the instrument.

=Vere Street.= After the De Veres, owners of the estate before it passed to the Harleys.

=Verger.= From the French _verge_, a rod, the name borne by the custodian of a cathedral or minster, because in common with official attendants, he formerly carried a rod or staff of office.

=Vermicelli.= Italian for “little worms.”

=Vermont.= A corruption of “Verd Mont,” in allusion to its green mountains.

=Vermuth.= The white wine tinctured with bitter herbs appropriately bears this name derived from the Anglo-Saxon _wermod_, wormwood.

=Verulam Buildings.= This portion of Gray’s Inn was named in honour of Lord Bacon, created Baron Verulam and Viscount St Albans.

=Veto.= This word is Latin for “I forbid.”

=Vicar.= From the Latin _vicarius_, in place of another. See “Rector.”

=Vichy Water.= So called because drawn from the celebrated springs at Vichy in France.

=Victoria.= The carriage of this name was introduced in 1838, the coronation year of the late Queen Victoria. Much about the same time the Australian colony so designated in her honour was first colonised.

=Victoria Regia.= So called because it was brought to England from Guiana soon after the accession of Queen Victoria.

=Victoria Street.= After Queen Victoria, in the early years of whose reign it was cut through and built upon.

=Vienna.= From a small stream, the Wien, from which the city received its German name.

=Vignette.= Expressing the French for a “little vine,” this name was given to an early style of photograph, and also to a book engraving that faced the title-page, on account of the vine leaves and tendrils that surrounded it.

=Vigo Street.= In honour of the capture of Vigo by Lord Cobham in 1719, shortly before this street was built upon.

=Viking.= From the Icelandic _vik_, a creek, the usual lurking-place of the northern pirates.

=Villain.= Although signifying originally a mean, low fellow, but by no means one of reprehensive morals as now, this term was applied to a labourer on a farm or a country seat. To argue this point with the humble day-labourer who trims the shrubs at a suburban villa in our own time, would serve no useful purpose.

=Villiers Street.= One of the group of streets the names of which perpetuate the memory of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, whose town mansion hereabouts was approached from the river by the old water gate, still in existence.

=Vinegar.= From the French _vinaigre_, “sour wine.”

=Vinegar Bible.= So called from the substitution of the word “vinegar” for “vineyard” in the headline to Luke xx., printed at the Clarendon Press in 1717.

=Vinegar Yard.= Wherever this corrupted term is met with in London it points to a “vineyard” originally belonging to a religious order. That in Clerkenwell was attached to the Priory of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, that adjoining Drury Lane Theatre to St Paul’s Convent in what is now Covent Garden.

=Vine Street.= Recalls the existence of a vineyard at Westminster and off Piccadilly, anciently held by the abbots of the venerable pile of St Peter’s at Westminster.

=Vintry.= This ward of the city of London was anciently the “place of” the vintners, or wine merchants who came from Bordeaux.

=Virginals.= An early example of keyed musical instrument resembling the pianoforte. Also this was played upon with some degree of skill by Queen Elizabeth, the so-called “Virgin Queen,” and is said to have given her name to the instrument. It was, however, well known long before her time, having been used by nuns in convents to accompany hymns to the Virgin.

=Virginia.= Named by Sir Walter Raleigh in honour of Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen.”

=Virginia Bible.= A translation of the Scriptures into the native tongue of the Indians of the state of Virginia, first printed in 1661. Copies are said to be worth at least £200.

=Virgin Mary’s Body Guard.= The 7th Dragoon Guards, because this regiment once served under Maria Theresa of Austria.

=Voltaire.= The anagrammatic literary pseudonym of François Marie Arouet, formed as follows:--“Arouet l. j.” (le jeune).

=Volume.= From the Latin _volvo_, I roll. The earliest documents or writings consisted of long rolls of the Egyptian papyrus, and when these were rolled up each one corresponded to what the moderns called a volume. See “Roll Call.”

W

=Wadham College.= Founded at Oxford by Nicholas Wadham in 1613.

=Walbrook.= From a pleasant stream of clear water which, after skirting the wall of St Stephen’s Church, behind where the Mansion House now stands, ran southward, to empty itself into the Thames at Dowgate.

=Waldenses.= The followers of Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who towards the end of the twelfth century had the four Gospels translated for the benefit of the people, and was unsparing in his denunciation of the clergy. With the Albigenses of Languedoc these people, who entered with their leader into the valleys of Dauphine and Piedmont, may be regarded as the earliest of the Reformers.

=Wales.= This Celtic territory, which was never even penetrated by the Anglo-Saxons, received the name of “Wallia,” signifying the country of the _Wahlen_ or _Wahls_, foreigners.

=Walham Green.= The original spelling of this name “Wahlheim,” expressed from the Anglo-Saxon point of view a home or settlement of the _Wahls_ or foreigners.

=Walk a Virginia Fence.= An American phrase applied to a drunken man. In Virginia the rail fences are constructed in a zig-zag manner, whence they are also called “worm fences.”

=Walking Gentlemen.= In theatrical parlance, one who plays the part of a gentleman or noble on the stage; he may not have much to say, but his bearing must be above reproach. The plays of Shakespeare abound in parts of this kind.

=Walk the Chalk.= An Americanism for to act straight or keep in the right path.

=Wallop.= In the year 1514 the French fleet ravaged the coast of Sussex, and burned Brighthelmstone, now Brighton, whereupon Sir John Wallop, one of the best naval commanders of his time, was sent by Henry VIII. to make reprisals. In this he succeeded only too well; he burned twenty-one French coasting villages, demolished several harbours, and thrashed the enemy to his heart’s content. His men, however, proud of the achievement, declared that they had Walloped the French; and thus it was that a new synonym for “thrash” came to be incorporated into the English language.

=Waltham.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Waldheim_, the home or settlement in the wood.

=Waltz.= From the German “Waltzer,” the name of the dance, and _waltzen_, to roll, relative to the revolutions made by the pairs of dancers.

=Walworth.= Originally a settlement of the _Wahls_, or foreigners, descendants of the Danes (see “Southwark”). This district became in Anglo-Saxon days a _worth_, or manor, from which Sir William Walworth, the Lord Mayor who slew Wat Tyler, derived his family name.

=Wandsworth.= Anciently described as “Wandlesworth,” the manor watered by the River Wandle.

=Wapentake.= Expresses the Saxon for “a touching of arms.” This territorial division, which obtained in Yorkshire in the time of the Anglo-Saxons, and corresponded to the “Hundred” elsewhere, received its name from the periodical meeting of the champions of each hundred to touch spears and swear to defend the common cause.

=Wardour Street.= After Wardour Castle, the seat of the ground landlord, Lord Arundel of Wardour.

=Wardrobe Terrace.= Marks the site of the ancient “Wardrobe,” when our sovereigns resided in what was styled “Tower Royal” hard by.

=Warwick.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Wærwic_, “war town,” so called on account of its permanent garrison of soldiers.

=Warwick Lane.= From the town mansion of the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick.

=Warwick Road.= After the Earls of Warwick, owners of the Earl’s Court estate before it passed to the Holland family.

=Washington.= Laid out under the superintendence of George Washington, the first President of the United States. This seat of the Government was honoured with his name.

=Water Lane.= Prior to the construction of Victoria Street this winding lane led down to the Thames.

=Waterloo Bridge.= So called because it was declared open 18th June 1817, the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.

=Waterloo Park.= After Sir Sidney Waterloo, who presented it to the public.

=Waterloo Place.= So called as a military set-off to Trafalgar Square when the Duke of York’s column was erected by public subscription in 1833. The statues of famous British generals around this open space are quite in keeping with the design.

=Water Poet.= The literary sobriquet of John Taylor, who was a Thames waterman.

=Watling Street.= A corruption of _Vitellina Strata_, “the road of Vitellius,” so called because this great Roman highway from Dover to Cardigan in Wales was projected by the Emperor Vitellius, and those portions of it in London and elsewhere were constructed during his reign.

=Watteau.= See “Á la Watteau.”

=Way Down.= An Americanism for “down the way to” _e.g._--“Way down the lone churchyard.”