See biographies of List by Goldschmidt (Berlin, 1878) and Jentsch
(Berlin, 1901), also _Fr. List, ein Vorläufer und ein Opfer für das
Vaterland_ (Anon., 2 vols., Stuttgart, 1877); M. E. Hirst's _Life of
Friedrich List_ (London, 1909) contains a bibliography and a reprint
of List's _Outlines of American Political Economy_ (1827).
LIST (O.E. _liste_, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. _lijst_, Ger. _Leiste_,
adapted in Ital. _lista_ and Fr. _liste_), properly a border or edging.
The word was thus formerly used of a geographical boundary or frontier
and of the lobe of the ear. In current usage "list" is the term applied
to the "selvage" of a piece of cloth, the edging, i.e. of a web left in
an unfinished state or of different material from the rest of the
fabric, to be torn or cut off when it is made up, or used for forming a
seam. A similar edging prevents unravelling. The material, cut off and
collected, is known as "list," and is used as a soft cheap material for
making slippers, padding cushions, &c. Until the employment of rubber,
list was used to stuff the cushions of billiard tables. The same word
probably appears, in a plural form "lists," applied to the barriers or
palisades enclosing a space of ground set apart for tilting (see
TOURNAMENT). It is thus used of any place of contest, and the phrase "to
enter the lists" is frequently used in the sense of "to challenge." The
word in this application was taken directly from the O. Fr. _lisse_,
modern _lice_, in Med. Lat. _liciae_. This word is usually taken to be a
Romanic adaptation of the Teutonic word. In medieval fortifications the
_lices_ were the palisades forming an outwork in front of the main walls
of a castle or other fortified place, and the word was also used of the
space enclosed between the palisades and the enceinte; this was used for
exercising troops, &c. From a transference of "list," meaning edge or
border, to a "strip" of paper, parchment, &c., containing a "list" of
names, numbers, &c., comes the use of the word for an enumeration of a
series of names of persons or things arranged in order for some specific
purpose. It is the most general word for such an enumeration, other
words, such as "register," "schedule," "inventory," "catalogue," having
usually some particular connotation. The chief early use of list in this
meaning was of the roll containing the names of soldiers; hence to "list
a soldier" meant to enter a recruit's name for service, in modern usage
"to enlist" him. There are numerous particular applications of "list,"
as in "civil list" (q.v.), "active or retired list" in the navy or army.
The term "free list" is used of an enumeration of such commodities as
may at a particular time be exempt from the revenue laws imposing an
import duty.
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