t-1 I NEWFOUNDLA1VD NAlvJES August 5th, 1583, Sir Humphrey sociable and it started me puzzling say 'Yankees; the Indians' attempt Gilbert set up Queen Elizabeth's about our Newfoundland :Names. to say 'English.' Hurrah means standard on the Beach, St. John's, It is a more difficult game than 'Thor save U5' (Kipling). Nevdoundland. the hardest Cro5s-Word ever in­ Boss is a Dutch word which From an address Today is May- vented. The clues all seem to be in crossed the Atlantic twice. Dumb ~ day, l\luy 1st, 1938, to Cochrane Old Norman-French; Beothic; Por­ is from German for 'stupid', dumm. Street Women·, Bible Class; and tuguese and Greek. Nit is 'nicht not. The Beothic 'No' partly from Newfoundland Names, You catch a word here and is newin. The German nein. Beothic, an address to the Summer School, there in conversation with your 'I thank you' 1s beothoatc. The Ger­ Bowring Park, July 28th. friends. One of mine mentioned she man bitte. Our word 'smug' is Ger­ Published in the Daily News in had climbed Sug<~r Loaf, poa de As­ man schmuck, elegant. 'Guts' is the eleven parts rluring August and sucar, at Rio de Janeiro. There are same word as 'plucl<': the heart, two Sugar Loafs near Dublin. SeptemLer, 1938. hver and lungs of an animal.. You come acros5 clues in the Silruce is Prussia, from Russia. The writer ouotes from Arch­ Daily News. Once you begin it, it Our spruce-beer and the verb 'to his:~ JP Howley c Ecclcsiasl.ical His­ gets such a hold, you'll play it till spruce up.' · tory and Newfoundland Name-Lore you die. (Newfoundland Quartcl'ly). James Brazil, a dye wood common in Most words have interesting his­ the 12th century, gave its name to P. Howley, F.R.S.: The Beothics, tories. Some which sound modern Aboriginal Inhabitants of New­ a South American country, Terra are quite ancient. 'Pal' is a very des perroquets. When the Portu-· foundland, 1915, "After forty years old Gipsy word for brother. 'Gang' research." Elaine Sanceau: Albe­ gue5c found it in America they and 'Set' are mentioned in the named Brazil after the dye wood. qucrque; Rodney Gallop: Portugal, Edda. a Boolc of F.ofk Ways; George Bor­ Madeira means 'wooded.' At St. John's, Gilbert met the Raimondo di Soncino, Ambassa­ row: The Bible in Spain, and other captains who took it in turn to be \vorks; Chambers' Encyclopaedia; dor of Ludovic le More, in England, Admiral. The word is from the describes for his master, 18th De­ Marindin's Classical Dictionary; Saracen Amir, Emir. Gilbert came , r cember., 1497, the voyage of John I Johnston'.> Worlcl-wi<le A t 1 a s; to the Funks 'the trade way to Cabot: ''The country 1S perfect and Johnston's The Scottish Clans and Newfoundland.' He says 'according their Tartans, Edinburgh; W. A. temperate, and he believes pro­ / I to an old established custom of the vides Brazil wood (de teinture Munn: Harbour Grace History country.' (Newf.nundland Quarterly): Henry rouge) and of silk (el brazilio et le / I Frenchmen, Canadiennes and In­ sete)." • l Klrke, H;gh Sheriff of Demerara: dians came silently, before dawn, The First Conquest of Canada (Life on racquets 'round the tea-trays' This was before Cabral, Portu­ of Sir David Kirke); Eliot Warbur­ and '.SUrprised St. John's. St. Ovide guese navigator, had discovered ton: Conquest of Canada; Henri and his 'racqueteers' entered the Brazil. Pepys mentions "The Brill" Harrisse: · Decouverte et Evohilion subway between the forts and seiz­ -(Den Briel, a Dutch seaport). Cartogra.i)hique de Tcrre-Neuve; ed a drawbridge. Could Cape E1·oyle, spelt in so many Dr. Biggar, archivi5t of Canada, I have come across the expla­ different ways, and in a district ir Europe; Vo;~-·ages of Jacques Car­ nation of 'buccaneer' three times where all the names are Portu­ tier; Judge Prowse: History of lately. Once in \Veeldey, once in guese, be Cabral? Newfoundland; W. Gilbert Gosling: the National Geographic Magazine The currant is from Corinth. Life of Sir Humphrey Gilbert; Dr. and once in the B.E.C. magazine. Damson and Damask rose, from Da­ Ernest Weekley: Surnames; Ro­ The 'boucans' ot 'buccans' were mascus. Bungal.nw from Bengali. mance of Yvords; and other works grid-irons on the shores where Spaniel, old French 'espagneul,' by the same author. meat was roasted. Sydney, Cape Breton, was C des (•Murray's Pond Oct. 1938.) In the Philippines the water buf­ Espagnols until a hundred years falo is the carabao. 'Maccarib' and ago. 'quatre boeuf' have been suggest­ Our word 'pew.' fish-fork, from PART I ed for caribou. Perhaps it was 'cu­ old French 'pu,v.' a stage, pulpit. ree boeux,' the game or quarry Our word 'barbour,' snow-storm, ox, which comes from the same is through Portuguese. Barban is I.-PARLOUR GAME root as 'quarry,' and is related to Gypsy for 'wind' or 'air.' Prowse 'cuirass.' Perhaps from 'Cariib'. Have you e\ er tried to guess a 5hows the 'barbels.' sheep-skin ap­ competition which brought in the Our 'brewis' is the same word rons, worn by fishermen. Today in amusing names: Heart's Delight; as Scotch 'brose' or 'brewis' from Portugal, farmers wear sheep-skin Joe Batt's Ann; Kit Hughes's; For­ Old French 'brouez,' plural of coats, wear sou-westers, and use tune; Bread-and-Cheese; S t e p 'brouet'; cognate with broth. (See kelp for fertilizer. Aside; Mosquito (Bight); Push Weekley.) Trade names were Tobacco; Bon­ Through; Come-by-Chance; and so Yankees, according to some writ­ avist (beans)); Bueno ventura was on? I wrote one once for a Kirk ers, from Dutch 'Jan Kees'; others 'good luck' or fortune telling. 2 NE\VFOUNDLAND NAMES The silly spelling Bacalieu is Buddha's fast; the Golden Rule; By in Trinity Bay, and Robin Hood's from Basque bacailaba, the name Jove; the mistletoe, cut down with· Bay, 1620. (WilJiam Douglass, M.D., for dried codfish long before the golden knives by the Druids; the in his History, 1745, 'Robinhood a discovery of America. It seems to Christmas tree; Arthur's twelve Sagamoor.'). 'Sagamoor,' an inter­ be connected with Bcnbecula, North knight's; Madoe's twelve harpers; esting word. Uist Scotland. St. Columlba's twelve disciples? Robin Hood Bay, Yorkshire. Rdbin Howley quotes Dr. Kohl (History At Jerash (Gerasa) a head of Hood, the famous outlaw who lived of 1\lai.ne): "These fish were called Zeus bearing a striking resemb­ i:: Henry Il's reign, when William in German Cubliawe or Kabbeljou­ lcmce to ti1e traditional head of and Jordan Morris or Mauriscos, we or by a corruption Backljau. Jesus suffering, was dug up about famous pirates, held wild Lundy Is­ The Portuguese changed it to Bac­ twelve years ago. (The Listener.) lc::nd at the mcuth of Bristol Chan­ calhau. The root of the word is Ger­ Zeus, father of the gods; Latin nel, twenty miles from Barnstaple man bolch, a fish." deos; Portuguese deus; Chinese Bar (Barnstaple so much connect­ "The small is:lands of Baccalhao joss; Beothic kuis 'the sun'; Ogus ed with Newfoundland in early in Notre Dame Bay near Twillin­ Khan's son Kuin 'the sun'; "Jizo, days), in defiance of the king. gate and the more widely known the Buddhist deity of children.'' (.Tourdain, the sick keeper of Ed­ one of Baccaliao near the Grate's (Life). dystone lighthouse Dec. 1938). Point at the northern entrance to II.-BOOKS The 'Morris dance of England, Conception B..i,v." We have a ,·ery interesting New­ and 'Maurice' the surname, also One of Dr. Vaughan's place foundland literature. Rev. Charles 'Morris,' from Mauritania, the old names was Br~con, from Breck- Johnson's Songs and Sagas, in the name for MoroC\'!o. The Portuguese nockshire, Wales. Brecon lies Book of Newf.Qundland, should be 'maurisca.' between the River Usk and i11 the schools; also Archbishop On Lundy Island the Mauriscos' the River Hondu. The In. Howley's Name-Lore, now going Castle still stat.ds. Caer Sidi, its dians to 1 d Jacques Cartier through the Quarterly for the sec­ earlier Celtic nnme, the mysterious that Gaspe was Honguedo. In ond time. abode of Welsh Mabinogian. (Rev. the West Incies is Bahia Honda Gosling's great !books Gilbert and S. Baring Gould.) Welsh 'Ap' ear­ 'deep', and Ilondu ras, the 'ras', Labrador. J. B. Jukes, Excursions, lier 'Map'-son of. Powell is 'Ap' headland, is the same as our Cape in and about !'ewfoundland, a hun­ Howell. Pritchard is 'Ap' Richard. Race, and the surname Ross. Raso dred years ago. We. can read about On old maps of Newfoundland on is Arafbic for 'chieftain' or 'head.' Ju'kes in the Encyclopaedia. the east coast in Jor~an. Perhaps Whiskey from the same root as Rev. Lewis Amadeus Anspach, it is Londey and Bristol, not Lon­ River Usk, is ui.sge-beatha, 'water rector of the old Harbour Grace don and Bristow on Bacolaos Is­ of life.' Beothic was our Indians' church (he bas three interesting lanld. name for themnelves; it stood for 'I names), was succeeded by Rev. Lundie Mill in Scotland. The am going home.' Frederick Hamilton Carrington, Scandinavian name of a sea-bird. The Beothic word for caplin is whose descendants are in St. John's In Conception Bay Gilbert's men shamoth. Caplin is found in today. Anspacu's History, 1819. It met the Swallow, all the men were Greenland and Iceland. 'Sir William would be interesting to have a new dressed in new clothes.