Part 9 (1/2)

BARNEY, a reat or many, which soests the Hindustani Bahrna ”to increase, proceed, to gain, to be promoted;” and Bharna, ”to fill, to satisfy, to be filled, &c”--(Brice's ”Hindustani and English Dictionary” London, Trubner & Co, 1864)

BEEBEE, which the author of the Slang Dictionary declaresEnglish Gipsies for aunt

It is also a respectful for friends

CULL or CULLY, lish cant, is certainly of Gipsy origin _Chulai_ signifies entle to Paspati; in Turkish Rommany--a distinction which the word _cully_ often preserves in England, even when used in a derogatory sense, as of a dupe

JOMER, a sweetheart or female favourite, has probably some connection in derivation with choomer, a kiss, in Gipsy

BLOKE, a coin; since, as the author of the Slang Dictionary declares, it may be found in Hindustani, as Loke ”_Lok_, people, a world, region”--(”Brice's Hind

Dictionary”) _Bala' lok_, a gentlelish cant term, expressive of contempt for a man, may be derived from the Gipsy _Adovo_, ”that,” ”that man,” or ”that fellow there” _Adovo_ is frequently pronounced almost like ”a duffer,”

or ”_a duvva_”

NIGGLING, whichslowly, may be derived frolish Gipsy it ,” and in fact it is the salish word That it is pure old Rolavava_ in Turkish Gipsy, o,” which is also found in _Nikliovava_ and _Nikavava_, which are in turn probably derived froo forth or out,”

&c (Brice, Hind Dic) _Niggle_ is one of the English Gipsy words which are used in the East, but which I have not been able to find in the Ger that here, as in other countries, certain old forh they have been lost where the vocabulary is far rammar wood fro or apish lish Gipsy we have not only _ the face, but the _older_ forlish as probably taken, such as Mak'h (Paspati), and finally the Hindustani _Mook_ and the Sanskrit _Mukha_, mouth or face (Shakespeare, Hind Dic, p 745) In all cases where a word is so ”slangy” as , it seems more likely that it should have been derived from Rommany than from Italian, since it is only within a few years that any considerable nue was imparted to the lower classes of London

BAMBOOZLE, BITE, and SLANG are all declared by the author of the Slang Dictionary to be Gipsy, but, with the exception of the last word, I ain Bambhorna does indeed mean in Hindustani (Brice), ”to bite or to worry,” and ba, while _swang_, as signifying uise and sham, whether of words or deeds, very curiously conveys the spirit of the word slang As for _bite_ I alest the possibility of a connection between it and _Bidorna_, to laugh at I offer not only these three suggested derivations, but also most of the others, with every reservation For ists have already suggested far more plausible and more probable derivations, and if I have found a place for Rommany ”roots,” it is simply because what is the most plausible, and apparently the in But as I firlish, especially in English slang and cant, than the world is aware of, I think it advisable to suggest what I can, leaving to abler philologists the task of testing its value

Writers on such subjects err, al on one accurately defined and singly derived source for every word, when perhaps three or four have coht and ists render thee They wish to establish every form as symmetrical and mathematical, where nature has been freakish and bizarre Solish spoken by Gerist, named Haldee which I had put into Hans Breitmann's mouth was inaccurate, because I had not reduced it to an unifor and pronunciation on all occasions, when the most accurate observation had convinced me, as it must any one, that those who have only partially learned a language continually vary theirits words

That some words have come from one source and been aided by another, is continually apparent in English Gipsy, as for instance in the word for reins, ”guiders,” which, until the Roland, was voidas

In this instance the resemblance in sound between the words undoubtedly conduced to an union Gibberish may have coabble_, _jabber_, and the old Norse or Icelandic _gifra_ _Lush_to the earlier English _lush_, or rosy, and so to the Gipsy and Sanskrit It is not at all unlikely that the word _codger_ owes, through _cadger_, a part of its being to _kid_, a basket, as Mr Halliwell suggests (Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, 1852), and yet coio_ ”The cheese” probably has the Gipsy-Hidustani _chiz_ for a father, and the French _chose_ for a o in the great parting of the Aryan nations, to be united after so long a separation in a distant island in the far northern seas

The etyist who hesitates to adopt this principle of joint sources of derivation, will find abundant instances of solish Gipsy words thee in extreme decay, have been for, words, in the parent German or Eastern Rommany Thus, _schukker_, pretty; _bi-shukker_, slow; _tschukko_, dry, and _tschororanes_, secretly, have in England all united in _shukar_, which expresses all of their s

CHAPTER VII PROVERBS AND CHANCE PHRASES

An Old Gipsy Proverb--Cos--Characteristic Rommany Picture-Phrases

Every race has not only its peculiar proverbs, sayings, and catch-words, but also idiomatic phrases which constitute a characteristic chiaroscuro, if not colour The Gipsies in England have of course borrowedof their own appears In illustration of all this, I give the following expressions noted down from Gipsy conversation:--

_Tacho like my dad_ True like my father

_Kushto like my dad_ Good like my father

This is a true Gipsy proverb, used as a strongly marked indication of approbation or belief

_Kushto bak_ Good luck!