A Collection of College Words and CustomsHall, Benjamin Homer
History
A Collection of College Words and Customs
Hall, Benjamin Homer
College students -- United States -- Language; English language -- United States -- Slang; Slang
With sleepy eyes and countenance heavy,
With much excuse of _non paravi_.
_Trumbull's Progress of Dullness_, 1794, p. 8.
The same excuse is now frequently given in English.
The same individuals were also observed to be "_not prepared_" for
the morning's recitation.--_Harvardiana_, Vol. II. p. 261.
I hear you whispering, with white lips, "_Not prepared_,
sir."--_Burial of Euclid_, 1850, p. 9.
NON PLACET. Latin; literally, _It is not pleasing_. In the
University of Cambridge, Eng., the term in which a _negative_ vote
is given in the Senate-House.
To _non-placet_, with the meaning of the verb _to reject_, is
sometimes used in familiar language.
A classical examiner, having marked two candidates belonging to
his own College much higher than the other three examiners did,
was suspected of partiality to them, and _non-placeted_ (rejected)
next year when he came up for approval.--_Bristed's Five Years in
an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 231.
NON-READING MAN. See READING MAN.
The result of the May decides whether he will go out in honors or
not,--that is, whether he will be a reading or a _non-reading
man_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 85.
NON-REGENT. In the English universities, a term applied to those
Masters of Arts whose regency has ceased.--_Webster_.
See REGENT. SENATE.
NON-TERM. "When any member of the Senate," says the Gradus ad
Cantabrigiam, "dies within the University during term, on
application to the Vice-Chancellor, the University bell rings an
hour; from which period _Non-Term_, as to public lectures and
disputations, commences for three days."
NON VALUI. Latin; literally, _I was sick_. At Harvard College,
when the students were obliged to speak Latin, it was usual for
them to give the excuse _non valui_ for almost every absence or
omission. The President called upon delinquents for their excuses
in the chapel, after morning prayers, and these words were often
pronounced so broadly as to sound like _non volui_, I did not wish
[to go]. The quibble was not perceived for a long time, and was
heartily enjoyed, as may be well supposed, by those who made use
of it.
[Greek: Nous]. Greek; _sense_. A word adopted by, and in use
among, students.
He is a lad of more [Greek: nous], and keeps better
company.--_Pref. to Grad. ad Cantab._
Getting the better of them in anything which required the smallest
exertion of [Greek: nous], was like being first in a donkey-race.
--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 30.
NUMBER FIFTY, NUMBER FORTY-NINE. At Trinity College, Hartford, the
privies are known by these names. Jarvis Hall contains forty-eight
rooms, and the numbers forty-nine and fifty follow in numerical
continuation, but with a different application.
NUMBER TEN. At the Wesleyan University, the names "No. 10, and, as
a sort of derivative, No. 1001, are applied to the privy." The
former title is used also at the University of Vermont, and at
Dartmouth College.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account