=Homestead=, the _stead_ or place of a home; a farm inclosure. _Stead_, A.S. _stede_, occurs in in_stead_, _stead_fast, and _stead_y. Cf. also _roadstead_, a place where ships ride at anchor. =Husband=, the master of a _house_. Short for _house-band_. The _band_ is present participle of a word meaning ‘to dwell.’ =Hussy=, short for _housewife_. Compare _bos’n_ for _boatswain_. =Icicle= = _ice-gicel_. The termination is not to be confounded with the diminutive ending _-icle_, which is of Latin origin. _Gicel_ = a small piece of ice, and is therefore redundant. =Intoxicate=, to _drug_ or poison. From a Low Latin verb to poison, from Greek _toxon_, an arrow, because arrows were frequently dipped in poison. =Island=, _water-land_ (O. E. _ea_, water, and _land_). The _s_ is intrusive, and due to a confusion with _isle_, which is from Lat. _insula_, an island. Milton always spells it _iland_. =Jaw= (old spelling, _chaw_), from _chew_, therefore = that which _chews_. =Jerusalem artichoke=, It. _girasole_; Lat. _gyrus_ (Gr. _gyros_), a circle, and _sol_, the sun. The artichoke is a kind of sunflower. _Jerusalem_ is a corruption; like _sparrow-grass_ for _asparagus_. =Kickshaws=, a corruption of French _quelques choses_. =Kindness=, the feeling that is natural to those of the same _kin_ or family. =Lanthorn=, Lat. _lanterna_. No connection with _horn_. =Ledge=, a place on which things may be _laid_. From the verb _lay_. =Likewise=, in _like wise_ or manner. =Line=, to cover with _linen_ on the inside. =Linen=, cloth made from _lint_ or flax. =Liquorice=, Gr. _glukurrhiza_ = sweet root; from _glukus_, sweet, and _rhiza_, a root. =Meadow=, place where grass is _mown_ or cut down. Compare _math_ and _aftermath_. =Morris-dance= = Moorish dance. =Naught=, _no-whit_, nothing. =Ness=, a promontory or headland. A doublet of _naze_, and probably connected with _nose_. It occurs frequently in place-names along the shores of the North Sea, as in Sheer_ness_, Caith_ness_, the _Naze_. =Nonce=, in ‘for the nonce’ = for the once, for the one occasion; M. E. _for then ones_. The _n_ belongs to the article, and represents the _m_ of the dative of the article, namely _tham_. Compare a newt, for an ewt; nuncle for mine uncle; a nickname for an eke-name; a nugget or ningot for an ingot. =Nostrils=, corrupted form of _nose-thirles_, nose-holes. (Thirl is connected with _thrill_, _drill_, etc.) =Notwithstanding=, _not withstanding_--that is, not standing against. The _with_ has in this word the old sense of _against_. =Nurse=, one who _nourishes_ (Fr. _nourrice_). =Nutmeg= = musk-nut. M. E. _note-muge_, O. Fr. _muge_, musk. Lat. _muscus_.