58
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. VIL JAN. 19, 1907.
"HOMELAND" (10 S. vi. 389, 432).
" Roomy " is in common use on Tyneside,
and probably elsewhere, for " spacious,"
said of a room. It is said of garments also ;
when trousers, say, are too large, they are
described as " roomy." R. B B.
South Shields.
MACNAMABA : ITS PBONTJNCIATION (10
S. vi. 485). I have always thought that the meaning of this name was perfectly clear, and that, given that meaning, the pronuncia- tion with the stress on the syllable " ma " was quite obvious. The meaning is " Son of the sea." The syllable " na " is the feminine genitive singular of the definite article, and the word " mara " is the genitive singular of the feminine noun " muir," the sea. Compare the Welsh name Morgan = sea-begotten. H. T. W.
WELSH A (10 S. vi. 429). Prof. Anwyl in his ' Welsh Grammar ' (Sonnenschein's " Parallel Grammar Series," 1898) says : " a represents the nom. and ace. of the Old Brythonic relative." For example, we have in normal order can y dyn, the man sings ; but in inverted order, where dyn (man) is to be emphasized, y dyn a gan, (it is) the man who sings. FBED. G. ACKEBLEY.
Grindleton, Clitheroe.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.
A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Vol. VI. LN (Mesne Misbirth). By Henry Bradley, Hon. M.A. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) UNDER, the enlightened charge of Dr. Henry Bradley a double section of the great dictionary arrives as a new year's gift to philology. In this the customary superiority over rival undertakings is manifested, 3,800 words against 2,459 being the disparity in the case of the most formidable com- petition ; while the number of illustrative quota- tions is 13,931, against no more in any other case than 1,414. In hmine we are fronted with proof of the encyclopaedic nature of the information now conveyed, the first word being meme, an altered spelling of Anglo-French meen, mean. In feudalism "mesne lord," a lord who holds an estate of a superior lord, is first employed by Selden, ' Titles of Honour,' in 1614. Thirty-nine years earlier is "mesne land," mesnalty; while "mesne process" is encountered in 1625. Adverbially=at a time intermediate between two other times, mesne occurs so early as 1439. Second comes an erudite article on meso-, the combining form of Greek fiiooq, middle, largely employed in scientific phraseology, chiefly anatomical, but sometimes, as in mesode, a term in Greek prosody, used in literature, or, as Mesopotamia, in geography. Mesquita, mesqnit, are curious forms for mosque, once common, but
obsolete since the seventeenth century. New
information is supplied under mess, a "dirty mess"
being not an etymologically distinct word, but a
natural, though very recent developement of the
older senses. Messan, dog=a lapdog, is from the
Irish. Under messer might perhaps have appeared,
even with some form or protest, the modern use,
occasional and affected, of the word in a phrase
such as "Messer Ludovico" (for Messire). A
curious and instructive article deals with the
introduction into the New Testament of the word
Messiah. Messuage is said to be "probably" a
graphic corruption of "mesnage," though some
difficulty is felt to stand in the way of this-
etymology. Mesteque, the finest order of cochineal,,
is considered of obscure origin. Our remarks on
meso- apply also to meta-, though a misapprehension
of the meaning of metaphysics is the subject of
comment, and the senses in which meta- is used
are more numerous than those of meso-. Camden
speaks of metagrammatism in connexion with
anagrammatism. The various forms of meta-
morphose supply much curious information. Under
metaphysical we find the original sense of the word,,
its application, with a certain amount of reproach,,
to ideas considered too subtle, too abstract, that
which is more than physical, as when Macbeth
speaks of " Fate and metaphysicall ayde," and
Johnson's classification of Donne, Cowley, &c., as
metaphysical poets. Sense 6 of mete, to apportion
by measure, to allot praise, reward, &c., is un-
common till the nineteenth century, but is now,,
though only in literary use, the chief current sense..
Many excellent illustrations are furnished of the
use of meteor. Under meter are given many
nonce-words like Sydney Smith's "foolometre."
Methinks is said to be now archaeological and
poetical. This is doubtless true, though we
seem to recall vaguely some instance of
familiar use. The form -'history of the word is
probably supplied for the first time. A capital
account of method is provided, especially in regard
to medicine ; while the application of the word to
the followers of Wesley is finely shown. Under
Methuselah the corruption " Methusalem," which
survives, is said to be after Jerusalem. The change
in meticulous from "timid" to "over-careful" is
noteworthy. Of metre an account full and exact is
given. Aii allusion in Milton and others to the
" metropolitan toe" is justly said to be obscure.
D'Avenant seems to have been the first to miscall
London a " Metropolis." Mettle was originally the
same word as metal. Of men' in various senses a
full history is given, including the fact, not generally
known, that the mews, stables, were built on the
spot at Charing Cross where the royal hawks were
formerly mewed. Evelyn whose ' Sculptura,'
published in 1662, ascribed to Prince Rupert the
invention of "Mezzo Tinto" is not the first to
mention the term, which is encountered under 1660.
MicUe has an interesting history. Microcosm, a
little world, is of very early occurrence. Microscope
is met with in 1656, and is used by Milton in 1671.
Midden, a manure heap, is regarded as dialectal.
Keats's use of mid-may in the ' Ode to a Nightingale '
might have been quoted. Mind, with its many
meanings, is the subject of much learned comment.
In mine, an excavation, the origin of the French
word mine is doubtful. Concerning mine as a,
possessive pronoun much valuable information is
afforded. Mineral water is found so early as 1562.
Miniature is first found, as might be expected, in
