Page:Stories from Tagore (IA storiesfromtagor00tago).pdf/139

Rh longing to get back into the maze of the same mistakes.

indigo. This word has a very interesting history. It means “ Indian.” The celebrated dark-blue dye came from India. This dye was first known to the Greeks who called it “Indikon,” then to the Latins who called it Indicum, then to the Italians and Spaniards who called Indigo. It was introduced into England from Italy by artists and painters who kept the Italian word “indigo” without change.

genie. There is a Latin word “ genius,” meaning originally a spirit inhabiting a special place. It is from this word that our English common noun “genius” is taken, meaning a specially gifted or inspired person, e.g. “a man of genius.” But in the Arabian Nights a completely different Arabic word is found, viz. "jinn" with its feminine form “ jinni.” This was written in English “ genie ” and was confused with the word “genius.” The plural of genie when used in this sense is genii, which is really the plural of the Latin word genius.

macadamised. This is quite a modern word in English. It comes from the name of the inventor of this kind of road-paving, who was Mr. J. L. Macadam. He discovered that different layers of small stone rolled in, one after the other, can stand the wear and tear of traffic. We have similar words from proper names. Compare, boycott, burke, lynch, etc.

allude. From the Latin “ ludere,” to play. Compare prelude, interlude, delude, collusion, elude, elusive, allusion.

guava. This word came into English from the Spanish. It is of great interest to trace the names of the fruits in