The history and evolution of words is not a subject most would probably ponder over. There are a few exceptions however; one such person is retired English teacher and lecturer, Ann Irwin, who explored the subject with an interactive University of the Third Age audience at Don Powiss Hall on Thursday August 22.
“Do any of you consult a dictionary at least once a week … and … how many of you have dictionaries around the home?” Irwin asked to her audience’s bemusement. Not many hands went up in the room. “Ah well … please know dictionaries are still very useful, despite Google,” she answered from the podium.
To get U3A members warmed up she began: “What is the only word in English language that has three consecutive sets of double letters?” To which one member promptly answered: “BOOKKEEPER”. “Well done,” Irwin applauded animatedly from the podium.
“Most commonly we consult dictionaries to look up the meaning, spelling, usage or synonyms of a word – and even to settle an argument when playing scrabble,” she said.
Once the ice-breaker was over Irwin shared another fascination of hers that she needed to bring to the foreground – the “history or ‘backstory’ of words”, otherwise known as etymology.
Irwin highlighted one word as an example of her personal interests, “Solferino”, which often is used in the context of colours. “Looking at tubes of paint in an art shop I came across names such as Quinacridone Red, Green Earthy, Dianthus Pink and Ancient Gold.”
Though she realised that the names of these paints were derived from the pigment that made up each colour, she discovered that they were steeped in historical significance. Before engaging her audience on the historical footprint of the word, Irwin said: “the Merriam Webster describes the colour of Solferino as: a moderate purplish red that is redder, darker, and slightly stronger than average rose, redder and duller than violin pink [“here your guess is as good as mine” – Irwin], redder and paler that magenta rose, and redder and less strong than average fuchsia rose.”
Irwin then proceeded to highlight her interest in the historical backstory of words with special reference to solferino.
“During my etymological journey I discovered that this particular dye, solferino, was created in 1859 using the chemical rosaniline – making it among the first dyes that did not rely solely on natural materials. The names of famous battles were often used in Victorian England for both dyes and street names.”
She said British dye manufacturers named one of their new purple dyes solferino after the “Battle of Solferino” that took place on June 24 1859 which was fought between the French and Sardinians under Napoleon III and the Austrians under the leadership of Franz Joseph I.
“Over 234,000 soldiers fought for roughly 12-14 hours during this battle. The choice for the name of this particular colour, solferino, is said to have been inspired by the blood-soaked appearance of the battlefield, which had been the scene of some 40,000 casualties in that single day,” said Irwin.
The battlefront according to Irwin stretched across 15km and was between the Austrians on one side and the French and Piedmont forces on the other. The latter opposed the Austrian advance while they were retreating eastwards after their defeat at the Battle of Magenta on June 4 1859.
Another purple-reddish colour dye was named by Victorian dye-makers after Magenta, (one of the four colors of ink used in colour printing), added Irwin.
“The outcome of the Battle of Magenta was a narrow French victory that took place at Magenta 18km west of Milan.”
The red sections of their uniforms was a reminder that the early adoption and continued use of red by most British soldiers was influenced by the relative cheapness of red dyes for the woollen material used for their uniforms.
Irwin said research showed that the bright red colour also made it easier for the soldiers to see each other in clouds of gunpowder smoke during heavy fighting.
Irwin then embarked on a culinary diversion by introducing Italian general Guiseppe Garibaldi who had taken part in a revolutionary uprising in Piedmont in 1834, into the fray.
“Upon being sentenced to death in absentia he fled to South America, where he took part in revolutionary movements in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. He later became a key military figure leading a rebellion against the Austrian control of the Italian Peninsula.”
Garibaldi became a folk hero after he, together with his guerilla Red Shirts conquered Sicily and Naples thereby contributing to the eventual unification of Italy under the Royal House of Savoy in 1860.
A celebrated London biscuit-maker, John Carr, had decided to honour this heroic figure by creating and naming a biscuit after him.
“’Squashed fly biscuits’, which were freely available in South Africa in my youth, consisted of two thin soft layers of rectangular slabs of biscuit dough, sandwiching a bed of currants,” Irwin recalled.
They were initially manufactured by the British cake-makers, Peek Frean and were no longer available in South Africa.
Irwin said it was particularly significant that Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant found himself in the vicinity of the Battle of Solferino. “Having witnessed the immense suffering of the wounded soldiers left on the battlefield he was determined to do what he could to assist them.
“I was not surprised that help was needed, for I have read that the French had more veterinarians than medical doctors on hand.”
Dunant persuaded local villagers to provide aid without discrimination, an initiative that inspired him to start a process that would later lead to the drawing up of the Geneva Convention and the establishment of the International Red Cross.
“Today the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through 192-member societies. World Red Cross Day is celebrated annually on May 8 – the anniversary of the birth of Dunant,” said Irwin.
Dunant was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1901.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town,August 29, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
