Scavenger. In the middle centuries of this millenium many English towns levied a tax called a scavage on goods sold in the community by non-resident tradesmen. It was designed to put these tradesmen at a disadvantage with the goods sold by the local merchants. The officers in charge of collecting the scavage were called "scavagers" which later became "scavengers". They were also assigned the additional task of keeping the streets clean. When the tax-collecting was no longer in effect, they remained simple street cleaners, sweeping and carting debris away. Now, anyone who collects junk is a scavenger.

Salary. In the Roman army soldiers were allowed a sum of money to buy salt. Salt was relatively rare in those days and it was important to flavor their foods. It was also important for the preservation of those foods because refrigeration was not known then. This money became known as a salarium deriving from the Latin word for salt, sal. Thus we get our word salary. So, when earning your salary, you are presumably "worth your salt".

Tawdry. In seventh century England, Etheldreda, queen of Northumbria, renounced her throne to become a nun. Because of her former position she was appointed the abbess of a monastery in the Isle of Ely where she was renowned for her saintliness. She died of a swelling in her throat which she took as a judgment from God for her fondness for wearing necklaces in her youth.
Her burial place became a shrine and was one of the principal sites of pilgrimages. An annual fair was held in her honor and she became known as St. Audrey. At these fairs various kinds of cheap trinkets and jewelry were sold. Very popular was a necklace called "St. Audrey's lace" which later was altered to "tawdry lace". Eventually this word became associated with all the cheap articles sold at these fairs. Today we use tawdry to mean cheap and gaudy in appearance and quality.

As this series of A Few Choice Words continues for the Journal the editors suggested it would be enlightening for some of the younger readers for a thumbnali history of the English language. The history of the derivation of words lends itself to a fascinating study of our language. The library has many books on the subject.

It is well known, especially to foreigners, that English is a most difficult language to learn. We begin with the ancient Celts who were the original inhabitants of England. Except for a very few words they contributed very little to the English language.

In the sixth century, the invading Anglo-Saxons brought over the basic structure of our speech. For 500 years "English" was almost wholly a Germanic language. Then Willaim the Conqueror sailed across the channel from Normandy in France with his army of adventurers, and after his victory in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the French language of the Normans was superimposed on the West Germanic dialects. For many generations these two languages existed side by side, the one spoken by the Norman lords and the other by the Saxon serfs.

By the 14th century, the two languages were becoming merged, and many imported Latin words were also becoming assimilated. By the 16th century, Latin had become the mark of culture. Queen Elizabeth conversed in Latin with the foreign envoys at her court. For these reasons more that half of our English words can be traced to Latin as a source, but Greek also found its way into our language via Latin.

With the establishment of the colonies in America the English language entered a new era. The Revolutionary War, the pioneering of the West, the building of industrial empires, the inventions, and the sciences all poured their wealth of words into the pot. A new language was born - the American language.

It is now the world-wide, universally accepted language of business and the arts. No matter where one goes in his travels in this world, he will usually find someone in the community who has at least a smattering of the English language, so a basic communication can be established.