_Rivals_ were
formerly dwellers--that is, neighboring dwellers--on the bank of a stream;
disputes over water-rights gave the word its present meaning. A
_person_ or _parson_, for the two were the same, was a mask
(literally, that through which the sound came); then an actor representing
a character in a play; then a representative of any sort; then the
representative of the church in a parish. A _sandwich_ was a
stratification of bread and meat by the Earl of Sandwich, who was so loath
to leave the gaming table that he saved time by having food brought him in
this form. A _kerchief_ was originally a cover for the head, and
indeed sundry amiable, old-fashioned grandmothers still use it for this
purpose. Afterward people carried it in their hands and called it a
_handkerchief_; and when they transferred it to the pocket, they
called it a _pocket handkerchief_ or pocket hand head-cover. A
scrutiny of such words should convince you that the reading of the
dictionary, instead of being the dull occupation it is almost proverbially
reputed to be, may become an occupation truly fascinating. For clustered
about the words recorded in the dictionary are inexhaustible riches of
knowledge and of interest for those who have eyes to see.
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