Names and Their Meaning a Book for the Curious
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NAMES AND THEIR MEANING A BOOK FOR THE CURIOUS LEOPOLD WAGNER dancing lights press join our community at dancinglightspress.com The bearer of this document has the express written permission of the publisher to make copies for personal use. Copyright 2020 Berin Kinsman. All Rights Reserved. Names and Their Meaning and respective Sampletrade dress are © and ™ 2020 Berin Kinsman. This is a work of fiction. Any similarityfile with people or events, past or present, is purely coincidental and unintentional except for any people and events presented in historical context. Sample file Contents Introduction................................................................................................................1 People........................................................................................................................... 2 Class Names and Nicknames.............................................................................................2 Creeds, Sects, and Denominations..................................................................................7 Literary Pseudonyms.........................................................................................................15 Literary Sobriquets............................................................................................................16 Naval and Military Sobriquets........................................................................................18 Political Nicknames............................................................................................................20 Religious Orders..................................................................................................................25 Royal Surnames...................................................................................................................27 Sobriquets and Nicknames..............................................................................................29 Places.......................................................................................................................... 37 Counties of England and Wales.....................................................................................37 Countries of the World......................................................................................................39 Inns of Court......................................................................................................................... 50 London Churches and Buildings...................................................................................51 London Districts and Suburbs.......................................................................................59 London Inns and Gardens................................................................................................65 London Streets and Squares...........................................................................................68 Tavern Signs.......................................................................................................................... 89 Things.........................................................................................................................95 Birds......................................................................................................................................... 95 Carriages................................................................................................................................ 97 Counterfeit Presentments................................................................................................98 Diamonds and Precious Stones.....................................................................................99 Flowers................................................................................................................................. 100 Malt Liquors.......................................................................................................................102 Money................................................................................................................................... 103 Paper and Printing...........................................................................................................105 Pigments and Dyes...........................................................................................................107 Spirits.................................................................................................................................... 109 Textiles, Embroideries, and Lace................................................................................109 Wines.................................................................................................................................... 112 Events........................................................................................................................ 114 Battles................................................................................................................................... 114 Dances................................................................................................................................... 115 Months and Days of the Week.....................................................................................116 Notable Days and Festivals...........................................................................................117 SampleRaces..................................................................................................................................... file122 Sample file Introduction Tabletop roleplaying has instilled in me three things: a love of history, a love of words, and a love of lists. While other people gravitated toward Appendix N, what I loved most about the 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide were the tables and appendices filled with all manner of vocabulary that was new to me. Forms of government! Royal and noble titles! A person’s interests, collections, and approach to materialism! That stuff sparked me imagination, and sent me off in search of context for those words. That in turn led to the creation of some interesting player characters and oddly specific bits of worldbuilding. When I came across Names and Their Meaning: A Book for the Curious by Leopold Wagner, I had that same thrill again. It is not, despite the title, a “baby name” sort of book good for naming characters. Not even close. It is, instead, about how all manner of things got their names. I’ve had no luck learning anything about Wagner himself, but his original book was a chaotic thrill ride. There was no organization or order to things. He moved with reckless abandon from writing about malt liquor to diamonds to naval nicknames. His list of London districts was followed not by other entries on that esteemed city, but his thoughts on battles, then festivals, then textiles. Still, the book was popular enough that there were at least three editions. What you see before you is drawn from the 3rd edition, published in 1893. I’ve taken the liberty of imposing some semblance of order upon it, creating individual chapters for People, Places, Things, and Events. From there, the sections are presented in alphabetical order. The lists themselves, however, retain Wagner’s original haphazard, almost stream- of-consciousness flow. One section has notably been removed in its entirety. Wagner’s list of Nations and Their Nicknames, while mildly informative in terms of detailing the origins of the terms, came down to a litany of ethnic racial slurs. If any other content that is offensive to modern sensibilities is found here, know that it was left in for historical perspective and does not reflect the values of myself or Dancing Lights Press. Please enjoy this book for what it is. Use the names of things as a source of inspiration for your own worldbuilding efforts. If you’re even a little bit like me, you’ll find little details in the lists that will make you want to add more fiddly bits to your own setting. Berin Kinsman SampleDancing file Lights Press 1 People Class Names and Nicknames Spinster, Widow, Grass Widow, Chaperon, Duenna, Dowager; Blue Stocking, Abigail, Grisette, Colleen; Milliner, Haberdasher, Grocer, Greengrocer, Boniface, Ostler; Cordwainer, Tailor, Tallyman, Uncle, Barber, Barber-Surgeon; Arcadian, Mentor, Usher, Bachelor; Beefeaters, Police, Bobbies, Peelers, Bow Street Runners; Mohawks, Scourers; Garrotters, Sandbaggers; Fop, Dandy, Macaroni, Masher; Gipsies, Bohemians; Teetotalers, Rechabites, Good Templars; Jack Tar, Longshoreman, Navvy, Jehu, Jerrybuilder, Journeyman; Dun, Man of Straw, Costermonger, Pedlar, Hawker, Cheap Jack, Quack, Merry Andrew, Juggler, Stump Orator; Blackguard, Scullion, Scullery Maid; Blackleg; Plunger, Bookmaker, Welsher; Burglar, Jack Ketch; Cockney; Greenhorn, Nincompoop, Lunatic, Dutchman, Humbug An unmarried female originally received the designation of Spinster from her employment at the distaff or spindle. According to the practical notions of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, a female was not considered fit to enter the married state until she had made for herself a complete set of body, bed, and table-linen. Hence the significance of the term Wife, derived from the Anglo- Saxon wif, by virtue of the verb wyfan, to weave. The designation Widow is an Indo-European importation, derived from the Sanskrit vid-hava, without husband. Grass Widow, denoting a woman temporarily separated from her husband, is a corruption of “Grace