The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language - читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги автора Mark Forsyth (Magazines) #65

Magazines

Once upon a time there was an Arabic word khazana meaning to store up. From that they got makhzan meaning storehouse and its plural makhazin. That word sailed northwards across the Mediterranean (the middle of the earth) and became the Italian magazzino, which then proceeded by foot to France and became magasin, before jumping onto a ferry and getting into Britain as magazine, still retaining its original meaning of storehouse, usually military, hence the magazine in a gun. Then along came Edward Cave.

Edward Cave (1691–1754) wanted to print something periodically that would contain stuff on any subject that might be of interest to the educated of London, whether it be politics or gardening or the price of corn. He cast around for a name for his new idea and decided to call it The Gentleman’s Magazine: or, Trader’s Monthly Intelligencer. So far as anyone can tell (and in the absence of a séance we can only guess at Mr Cave’s thought process), he wanted to imply that the information in his publication would arm the gentleman intellectually, or perhaps he wanted to imply that it was a storehouse of information.

The first edition came out in January 1731. It was largely a digest of stories that appeared in other publications, but it also had its own column of amusing stories from around the world, such as the following:

From Dijon in France, ’tis written that a Person having withdrawn himself, his Relations charg’d one who was his sworn Enemy with his murder, and examin’d him with such exquisite tortures that, to shorten them he confess’d the crime: whereupon he was broke alive, and two others as his accomplices were hanged. The Man supposed to be murder’d, soon after return’d home.

Or this pleasant round-up from the courts:

This day one Tim. Croneen was, for the murder and robbery of Mr St. Leger and his wife at Bally volane, sentenc’d to be hang’d 2 minutes, then his head to be cut off, his bowels to be taken out and thrown in his face; and his body divided in 4 quarters to be placed in 4 cross ways. He was servant to Mr Leger, and committed the murder with the privity of Joan Condon the servant maid, who was sentenced to be burnt.

In fact, most of the first issue was taken up with stories of murders and executions,[10] and as the reading public has always loved a good bit of gore, The Gentleman’s Magazine: or, Trader’s Monthly Intelligencer was a big hit. But it was still a bit of a mouthful. So in December 1733 the Monthly Intelligencer part was dropped from the title and replaced with the slogan: Containing more in Quantity, and greater variety, than any Book of the Kind and Price.

But imagine if Cave had decided to drop the magazine bit instead: we might all now be buying intelligencers. Cave’s caprice altered English. If it weren’t for him, porn mags might now be called carnal intelligencers and that, I’m sure, would make the world a Better Place.

Moreover, Cave’s Magazine gave employment to a young, penniless and unknown writer whose name was Dr Samuel Johnson.