An essay on the archaiology of popular English phrases and nursery rhymes
Book Description
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1837. Excerpt: ... rigg, rigge, riggin and used in his day in the same meaning, viz. back. So that a bridge is as a backing or support made over a river water; the bridge of the nose, is the bone which suppor...
MoreThis historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1837. Excerpt: ... rigg, rigge, riggin and used in his day in the same meaning, viz. back. So that a bridge is as a backing or support made over a river water; the bridge of the nose, is the bone which supports the nose; and the bridge of a fiddle, is that which supports the strings of such instrument. But, I suspect, rug, rugghe is as the ellipsis of rugghebeen, back-bone, the upright line of bone which supports the body, termed by Chaucer riggin-been; for rugghe, rug, of itself, as Bilderdijk observes, is as rig, rij-ig, from rij, straightness, uprightness, and thus as the straight direction of the body or the line which holds the body straight. Hence richel, rijchel, rijghel, a rule, and also a bolt, for which last sense of the word the Dutch have the term bout, both in the import of bolt, as a straight fastening bar, and also as the club-headed arrow for the cross-bow, in both which last senses our bolt is the same word. We say, as upright as a bolt, and as straight as an arrow. Propably the Latin regula is no other than the above rijghel, reghel, a ruler or rule; our terms the rigging and to rig, both belong to this stock of words, in the sense of regulated supporting, and to make a regular support for the sails, &c. We say to back a person in the sense of to support him. To back a man in or out at play, is to support your opinion that he will be in or that he will be out at the play, that he will win or that he will lose. "And when he fond be was yhurt, the Pardonere gan to threte And swore by seynt Amyas, that he shuld abigg, With stroks hard and sore even oppon the Bigg ." Chaucer. "Thereto she couthe skip), and make a game, As any kid or calfe foll'wing its dame; Her mouth was swete as brakit or the meth, Or horde of applis layd in hay or heth. Winsing sho was as i...
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