Cad, Bounder & Rotter

Cad (pronounced kad)

(1) A local town boy or youth, as contrasted with a university or public school student.

(2) A man who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way, especially towards women (now rare but not yet archaic). 

(3) A servant at a university or public school.

(4) In architecture and engineering, as CAD, the acronym for Computer Aided (or Assisted) Design.

(5) In medicine, as CAD, the acronym for Coronary Artery Disease.

(6) In computing, an abbreviation for the Ctrl+Alt+Del keyboard combination.

(7) In currency trading (ForEx), as CAD$, the code of the Canadian dollar

(8) In EU financial regulation as CAD1 & CAD2, the acronyms for Capital Adequacy Directives.

(9) A person who stood at the door of an omnibus to open and shut it, and to receive fares; bus conductor (UK archaic).

1730: A shortening of cadet, used originally of servants, later (1831) of town boys by students at Oxford and English public schools (though curiously, at Cambridge alone it meant "snob"), then "townsman" generally.  Between 1780-1790, it came to be adopted as a shortening of “caddie” (used to describe “a person who runs errands and does odd jobs”, a use thought of Scottish origin from the boys who carried clubs for golfers).  The Scots picked up caddie from the French cadet, from the dialectal capdet (chief, captain), from the Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput (head).  Cad seems, in the mid nineteen century (documented 1838-1868) also to have meant a "person lacking in finer feelings" but this use faded, replaced by other words as cad came to be applied mostly to upper class men behaving badly.  The related forms are caddish, caddishly & caddishness.

A CAD rendering (right) of Herbie, published on the GrabCAD Community site.  CAD (Computer Aided (or Assisted) Design) systems used to be the (very expensive preserve of architects and engineers, the most sophisticated systems usually maintained by corporations.  Now, thanks in part to open source software, professional quality CAD systems are available to hobbyists, used obten in conjunctions with 3D printers.

Bounder (pronounced boun-der)

(1) A person who is thought to have attempted, to have bounded to a higher social strata, often based on newly acquired wealth; social climber.

(2) A person, beast or thing that bounds.

(3) A dishonourable, morally reprehensible man (archaic, replaced by cad).

(4) That which limits; a boundary (technical use only).

1535–1545: Originally an English slang term applied to a “person of objectionable social behaviour”, it came by the late nineteenth century (attested 1882) to describe a “would-be stylish person”, a sense later extended to bounding (uninvited as it were) from a lower to higher social class to another), the implication being such social mobility is possible but depended on the bounder being accepted by the higher class.

The construct is bound + -er.  Bound is from the Middle English bound & bund (preterite) and bounden, bunden, ibunden & ȝebunden (past participle) from the Old English bund-& bunden (ġebunden) respectively.  The –er suffix is from the Middle English –er & -ere, from the Old English -ere, from the Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, thought likely a borrowing from the Latin ārius.  Use was reinforced by the synonymous but unrelated Old French –or & -eor (the Anglo-Norman variant was -our) from the Latin -(ā)tor, from the primitive Indo-European -tōr.

Rotter (pronounced rot-ah)

A person thoroughly bad, worthless, objectionable, unpleasant, or despicable.

1889: The construct is rot(t) + er.  Rot is from the Middle English rotten & roten from the Old English rotian (to rot, become corrupted, ulcerate, putrefy), from the Proto-Germanic rutāną (to rot).  The –er suffix is from the Middle English –er & -ere, from the Old English -ere, from the Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, thought likely a borrowing from the Latin ārius.  Use was reinforced by the synonymous but unrelated Old French –or & -eor (the Anglo-Norman variant was -our) from the Latin -(ā)tor, from the primitive Indo-European -tōr.  Since use was first documented in the late nineteenth century, meaning has never shifted from "person deemed objectionable on moral grounds".

In the hierarchy of linguistic moral disapprobation, rotter is handy because it condemns someone as unambiguously bad.  There are synonyms such as scamp, rascal or rogue which can be applied humorously or affectionately (though usually with a sympatric adjective) but a rotter is just bad.  This probably applies too to disparagements like blackguard, creep, villain & scoundrel but they do rely on some specific conduct to justify the appellation whereas a rotter can be thought a rotter for no particular reason; they’re just a rotter.

Cad, bounder or rotter?

Lindsay Lohan with notorious rotter Harvey Weinstein (b 1952).

Former US film producer, co-founder in 1979 of film & television production & distribution company Miramax and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein is probably regarded by most as having ticked all the cad, bounder & rotter boxes.  Opinions may vary on whether one label should be lent more emphasis than another but it doubtful many would think none are applicable.  

The word cad evolved in the British class system and once was a general cultural put-down, based on it being an earlier descriptor of the servant-class and thus carrying the implication of a lack of finer tastes or manners but other words proved more attractive for this and, by early in the twentieth century, cad had come to refer to a man who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way, especially toward women.  The British class system’s put-downs however are in themselves nuanced, class-based things and the point about cad was it applied only to the well-bred, chaps aware of the gentlemanly codes, but who failed to live up to them.

Barnaby Joyce with his (now estranged) wife and four daughters.

There were thus no cads in the working class or the middle classes because, knowing no better, they couldn’t be blamed; they knew not what they did.  Those from the lower classes (and especially the aspirational middle-class) certainly could be bounders and anyone could be a rotter but to be a cad, one had to come from the upper strata.  The shift in meaning from earlier times was noted by Anthony West in his biography (Aspects of Life (1984)) of his father, HG Wells (1866–1946), a man of modest origins.  In the nineteenth century of Wells’ youth, a cad was “…a jumped-up member of the lower classes who was guilty of behaving as if he didn't know that his lowly origin made him unfit for having sexual relationships with well-bred women.”  Now, Wells would be called a bounder but not a cad.

The Honorable Barnaby Joyce (b 1967; variously thrice Deputy Prime-Minister of Australia (between local difficulties), 2016-2022), House of Representatives, Canberra ACT, Australia, 2018.  Definitely a cad but not a bounder and opinions will be divided on whether or not he's a rotter.  Some will be forever convinced while the more thoughtful might concede he was one of those chaps who "could be a bit of a rotter"

Spectrum condition: The redness in the face of the honourable Barnaby Joyce (b 1967; thrice (between local difficulties) deputy prime minister of Australia 2016-2022) is used by his colleagues to gauge where his state of mind lies in the adjectival progression of the plethoric (left), the more plethoric (comparative; centre) and the most plethoric (superlative; right).In mid 2024 Mr Joyce announced he'd given up alcohol, the abstinence inspired by an earlier "incident" in which he was filmed lying drunk on the footpath (sidewalk) next to a Canberra planter box, conducting a mumbled, expletive-laden conversation with his wife.  He said he'd since lost 15 kg (33 lb) and given up smoking (it not known if politicians lie about such claims).  Interestingly, political scientists seem generally to expect the well-publicized event (one of a number featuring Mr Joyce) would probably result in him increasing his margin at the next election (sprawled drunk in a city street making him "authentic" and "relatable").  When interviewed, the once "notorious drunkard" said: "Maybe at some stage I’ll have a beer again, but at the moment, nah".

Rubber

Rubber (pronounced ruhb-er)

(1) Also called India rubber, natural rubber, gum, gum elastic, caoutchouc, a highly elastic solid substance, light cream or dark amber in color, polymerized by the drying and coagulation of the latex or milky juice of rubber trees and plants, especially Hevea brasiliensis and Ficus species.  In pure form, it is white and consists of repeating units of C5H8.

(2) A material made by chemically treating and toughening this substance, valued for its elasticity, non-conduction of electricity, shock absorption, and resistance to moisture, used in the manufacture of erasers, electrical insulation, elastic bands, crepe soles, toys, water hoses, tires, and many other products.

(3) Any of a large variety of elastomers produced by improving the properties of natural rubber or by synthetic means

(4) Of various similar substances and materials made synthetically.

(5) A casual term for an eraser of this (or other) material, for erasing pencil marks, ink marks, etc.

(6) Slang term for a rubber tire or set of rubber tires (usually in motorsport).

(7) A term for water-resistant shoe covers, galoshes, gumboots, wellington boots or overshoes (US & Canada).

(8) An instrument or tool used for rubbing, polishing, scraping; also applied to the person using this device.

(9) Slang term for a person who gives massages; masseur or masseuse.

(10) In baseball, an oblong piece of white rubber or other material embedded in the mound at the point from which the pitcher delivers the ball.

(11) Slang term for a male contraceptive; condom.

(12) In certain card games such as bridge and whist, a series or round played until one side reaches a specific score or wins a specific number of hands.

(13) In competitive sport, a series consisting of a number of games won by the side winning the majority; the deciding game in such a series.  Also called rubber match, especially a deciding contest between two opponents who have previously won the same number of contests from each other.

(14) One employed to rub (usually rub-down) horses.

(15) In mechanical engineering, the cushion of an electric machine (obsolete).

(16) In slang, a hardship or misfortune (archaic).

1530-1540: From the Middle English rubben, possibly from the Low German rubben & rubbeling or the Saterland Frisian rubben.  The alternative etymology suggests it’s of North Germanic origin, a form such as the Swedish rubba (to move, scrub), all from the Proto-Germanic reufaną (to tear).  It was cognate with the Saterland Frisian rubje (to rub, scrape), the Low German rubben (to rub), the Low German rubblig (rough, uneven), the Dutch robben and rubben (to rub smooth; scrape; scrub), the Danish rubbe (to rub, scrub) and the Icelandic & Norwegian rubba (to scrape).  An agent-noun from the verb rub, the construct is rub + -er.  The –er suffix is from the Middle English –er & -ere, from the Old English -ere, from the Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, thought usually to have been borrowed from the Latin -ārius.  It was reinforced by the synonymous but unrelated Old French –or & -eor (the Anglo-Norman variant -our), from the Latin -(ā)tor, from the primitive Indo-European -tōr.

Burning rubber.  1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird, a replica of the race cars used in NASCAR’s Grand National series that year.  One of these won the 1970 Daytona 500 but the sanctioning body changed the rules for 1971, limiting the engine capacity for cars with the wild aerodynamic modifications to 305 cubic inches (5.0 litres) while allowing others to continue to use the full 430 cubic inches (7.0 litres).

The meaning "elastic substance from tropical plants" (short for India rubber) was first recorded in 1788, having been introduced into Europe 1744 by French scientist Charles Marie de La Condamine (1701–1774) and so called because it originally was used as an eraser, having proven its utility for erasing the strokes of black lead pencils; for a time it was known also as the “lead-eater”.  Use to describe the waterproof overshoe is US English from 1842, the slang sense of "condom" unknown before the 1930s.  The sense of a "deciding match" (later any match) in a game or contest is from the 1590s and and may have a wholly different etymology.  The rubber stamp in the literal (noun) sense is from 1881, the figurative use to describe and “individual or institution with formal authority but no power" was noted from 1919; the verb in this sense used first in 1934.  Rubber cement is attested from 1856 (having existed since 1823 as India-rubber cement).  The rubber check (to describe one which bounces) is from 1927.

Lindsay Lohan in wetsuits, the one in pastel blue with pops of yellow, pink & royal blue by Cynthia Rowley was worn in the short film First Point (2012); it used the motif of a stained glass window.  It was made from a 2 mm fiber-lite neoprene, a synthetic rubber of the family polychloroprene, dating from 1930 and produced by polymerization of chloroprene.  Wetsuits maintain body-heat by trapping a thin layer of water between the neoprene and the skin, the thing gaining its name from the wearer being always wet, the body's heat warming the trapped water which is why a wetsuit must be tight, otherwise the gap will be too wide and heat will dissipate.

The Dead Rubber

A dead rubber in a sports series is a game, the result of which cannot affect the outcome of a series.  Thus, if one side is 3-0 up in a five match series, the remaining two games are dead-rubbers.  The origin of rubber as descriptor of a game is unknown but consensus is it’s probably the notion from bridge that when one pair is 1-0 up, if the opposing pair win the next deal, that “rubs out” the earlier advantage and the vernacular form to emerge describing this was likely “a rubber”.  To this day, the most popular form of bridge is known as rubber bridge.

The word in its original form certainly had nothing to do with the rubber extracted from trees.  Both Dr Johnson's Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) dictionary (1755-1756) and John Kersey's earlier (1702-1708) works express no doubt the term comes from the word rub and includes the meaning “to play rubbers, or a double game at any sport”.  The sports recorded as being counted in rubbers are those where there are a number of rounds, deals or games within the one match or series such as bowls and bridge.  Both make it clear rubber in the context of sport is derived from “to rub out”.

A more speculative explanation for the etymology is from the sixteenth century English game of lawn bowling.  Somewhat similar to bocce ball, the object of lawn bowling is to roll wooden balls across a flat field toward a smaller white ball so they stop as close as possible to the smaller ball without hitting it.  Theory is that the term refers to two balls rubbing together, a game-losing mistake although it’s just as likely that, as in bridge, it references the final game's potential to "rub out" or the opposing team’s earlier score.

Efflux & Afflux

Efflux (pronounced ef-luhks)

(1) Outward flow, as of water.

(2) Something that flows out; effluence.

(3) A passing or lapse of time.

(4) A passing away; expiration; ending.

(5) Death (obsolete).

1635–1645: From the Medieval Latin effluxus, noun use of past participle of effluere (to flow out), from effluō (flow out or away), the construct being ef- (an alternative form of ex- (out of; from) used when combined with f-initial words)) + fluc- (a variant stem of fluere (to flow) from fluō (flow) + -sus, (for -tus;suffix of action).  The synonyms (in the sense of “the process of flowing out”) include outflow, effluxion & effluence; the antonyms is influx (in the sense of “the process of flowing in”).  The present participle is effluxing, the simple past and past participle is effluxed and the plural is effluxes.

Afflux (pronounced af-luhks)

(1) Something that flows to or toward a point.

(2) The act of flowing to or toward; flow.

(3) In medicine, a flowing towards an area, especially of blood or other fluid toward a body part such as the brain or lung.

(4) In hydrology, the rise in water level (above normal) on the upstream side of a bridge or obstruction caused when the effective flow area at the obstruction is less than the natural width of the stream immediately upstream of the obstruction.

1605–1615: From the Medieval Latin affluxus (the flow of blood from the heart to part of the body), from afflūxum (supine of affluō (to flow towards)), noun use of past participle of affluere (present active infinitive of affluō), from fluxus (flux), from fluō (flow) +‎ -tus (the action noun-forming suffix).  The most common related forms in Latin were affluĕre & affluxum.  The plural is affluxes.

The phrase “effluxion of time” is used often as a fancy way to say “the passing of time” but it has a specific technical meaning in law, most often seen in contracts such as leases.  When used in conveyances, leases and similar deeds, it indicates the conclusion or expiration of an agreed length of time specified in the deed or writing, such conclusion or expiration arising in the natural course of events, as opposed to the sundering of the term by the acts of (at least one of the) the parties or by some unexpected event.  This phrase can be used also to indicate the conclusion or expiration of an agreement in simple writing when the conclusion or expiration occurs through a natural course of events.

As nouns the difference between affluxion and effluxion is that affluxion is the act of flowing towards and effluxion the process of flowing out.  The distinction is an important one in the technical language of disciplines such as pathology, hydrology, medicine and others who deal with specifics of fluid dynamics but in the matter of time they should be interchangeable (and therefore one should be unnecessary).  Despite the suggestions of cosmologists, theoretical physicists and other specialists that other possibilities exist, lawyers insist time is lineal, flows in one direction and is, for all legal purposes, constant.  The phrase “effluxion of time” would therefore appear to cover all circumstances but “affluxion of time” does exist in the legal record.  It appears to be a North American variant, noted in at least three examples, two from a lease and a option plan, both apparently drafted in the US, the third appearing in a consulting agreement, executed in Canada. 

Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Landlord shall be under no obligation to repair or maintain the Tenant’s installations, alterations, additions, partitions and fixtures or anything in the nature of a leasehold improvement made or installed whether by the Tenant or by the Landlord on behalf of the Tenant; and further, notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Landlord shall have the right upon the termination of this Lease by affluxion of time or otherwise to require the Tenant to remove its installations, alterations, additions, partitions and fixtures or anything in the nature of a leasehold improvement made or installed by the Tenant or by the Landlord on behalf of the Tenant and to make good any damage caused to the Leased Premises by such installation or removal.

“Vested” shall mean, in relation to all or any part of the option, as appropriate, when any relevant condition (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the affluxion of time) has been satisfied, as confirmed by the Board of Directors (or, where relevant, waived) and “Vesting” and “Vest” shall be construed accordingly. For the avoidance of doubt, unless stated otherwise, any part of the option which Vests does not automatically become exercisable.

In the event this Agreement is terminated for any reason whatsoever, whether by affluxion of time or otherwise, the Consultant shall forthwith upon such termination return to the Corporation each and every copy of any Confidential Information (including all notes, records and documents pertaining thereto) in the possession or under the control of the Consultant at that time.

An analysis of the text does suggest it may have been a mistake, perhaps a transcription from dictation or a quirky spell-checker because substituting effluxion for affluxion seems not to affect meaning.  Those who found those three paragraphs a bit turgid can be assured things used to be worse and that as written, this text is a reasonable example of legal writing in “plain English”.

Lindsay Lohan's hair styles: Landmarks in the effluxion of time, 2002-2009.

Martyr

Martyr (pronounced mahr-ter)

(1) A person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce their religious faith, most notably those saints canonized after martyrdom.

(2) A person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause.

(3) A person who undergoes severe or constant suffering (often applied informally to those subject to chronic conditions such as rheumatism or migraine headaches).

(4) A person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating pain, deprivation (fake martyrdom) or who willingly assumes some sort of easily avoidable (self-imposed martyrdom), both usually applied in a facetious or derogatory manner.

(5) To make a martyr of someone (especially by putting to death); to persecute, to torment or torture.

Pre 900: From the Middle English noun marter, from the Old English martir & martyr, from the Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from the Doric Greek μάρτυρ (mártur (martus & mártyr)) (witness), a later form of the Ancient Greek μάρτυς (mártus (mártys & mártyros)) (witness).  The verb was from the Middle English martiren, from the Old English martyrian, from the noun.  The noun martyr referred to one who bears testimony to faith, especially one who willingly suffers death rather than deny their religious faith and specifically one of the Christians who put to death because they would not renounce their beliefs.  The verb developed in the sense of "put to death as punishment for adherence to some religious belief (especially Christianity) and was from the Middle English martiren, from Old French martiriier (and influenced by the Old English gemartyrian, from the noun martyr) and Middle English also had the mid-fifteenth century verb martyrize.  The general sense of "constant sufferer, a victim of misfortune, calamity, disease, etc" was in common use by the late sixteenth century while the Martyr complex (an exaggerated desire for self-sacrifice or assuming burdens) dates from 1916.  The noun martyrdom ("torture and execution for the sake of one's faith) emulated the use in the Old English and in the more abstract sense of "a state of suffering for the maintaining of any obnoxious cause", came to be used in the late fourteenth century.  The word has proved productive in its proliferation.  Martyr is a noun, martyrization, martyrdom, martyrology, martyry, martyrer, martyrship, martyrion, martyrium, martyrologe, martyrologue, protomartyr are nouns, martyring, martyrize & martyrizate are verbs, martyrish & martyresque are adjectives, martyred is a verb & adjective and martyrly is an adverb & adjective; the noun plural is martyrs.

Self-help for one's self.

The word was adopted directly into most Germanic languages (Old Saxon, Old Frisian Old High German et al), but fourteenth century Norse used the native formation pislarvattr (literally "torture-witness" meaning "one who suffers death or grievous loss in defense or on behalf of any belief or cause" (which could be personal, devotional or political).  Danish, French, Norwegian & Swedish all used the modern English spelling (some language groups in the old British Empire modified the spelling (notably under the Raj) while others picked it up unaltered).  Among other languages there was the Proto-Brythonic merθɨr, the Dutch martelaar, the Estonian märter, the Finnish marttyyri, the Old French martire, the Scots mairtyr, the Maori matira, the German Märtyrer, the Hungarian mártír, the Old Irish martar, the Old Italian martore, the Italian martire, the Lombard màrtul, the Neapolitan marture, the Catalan màrtir, the Occitan martir, the Galician, Spanish & Portuguese mártir, the Romanian martor, the Sardinian màrturu, the Sicilian màrtiri, the Scottish Gaelic martai and the Tagalog martir.  The origin of the Greek word is uncertain but may have been connected to mermera (care, trouble), from mermairein (be anxious or thoughtful), from the primitive Indo-European smrtu & mrtu-, source also of the Sanskrit smarati (remember) and the Latin memor (mindful).  Not all etymologists support the theory, usually because the phonetic relationships are dubious, suggesting a more likely origin lies in Archaic or Pre-Greek, perhaps even as a loan-word.  The Arabic شهيد (shaheed or shahid) (witness) in Islam refers to a martyr and appears often in the Quran (in the sense of "witness") but in only one instance can it be understood as  "martyr", the sense it acquired in the Ḥadīth, the vast body of work produced by authors which documented the words and thoughts attributed to the prophet.  The variations in the translations of these texts are legion and there has been cynical exploitation of this by the recruiters to jihadist causes who tend to seek out and merge the most punitive of the translations and the rewards to martyrs of 72 (the number varies) dark-eyed virgins appears with frequency.

Self-help for those with a difficult mother.

Martyrdom was of great interest to the Church, illustrated by the frequency with which martyrs to their faith were canonized (made into saints).  As a branch of theological academia, martyrology (history of the lives, sufferings, and deaths of Christian martyrs) became a district thing in the 1590s, either as a native formation from the noun martyr + -ology, or from the Ecclesiastical Latin martyrologium, from Ecclesiastical Greek martyrologicon.  The suffix -ology was formed from -o- (as an interconsonantal vowel) +‎ -logy.  The origin in English of the -logy suffix lies with loanwords from the Ancient Greek, usually via Latin and French, where the suffix (-λογία) is an integral part of the word loaned (eg astrology from astrologia) since the sixteenth century.  French picked up -logie from the Latin -logia, from the Ancient Greek -λογία (-logía).  Within Greek, the suffix is an -ία (-ía) abstract from λόγος (lógos) (account, explanation, narrative), and that a verbal noun from λέγω (légō) (I say, speak, converse, tell a story).  In English the suffix became extraordinarily productive, used notably to form names of sciences or disciplines of study, analogous to the names traditionally borrowed from the Latin (eg astrology from astrologia; geology from geologia) and by the late eighteenth century, the practice (despite the disapproval of the pedants) extended to terms with no connection to Greek or Latin such as those building on French or German bases (eg insectology (1766) after the French insectologie; terminology (1801) after the German Terminologie).  Within a few decades of the intrusion of modern languages, combinations emerged using English terms (eg undergroundology (1820); hatology (1837)).  In this evolution, the development may be though similar to the latter-day proliferation of “-isms” (fascism; feminism et al).  In the Roman Catholic Church (an institution long given to making lists of stuff), an important part of martyrology was the index (or calendar) of martyrs, arranged according to their anniversaries (ie of their martyrdom).  In Middle English there was the late fourteenth century martiloge (the register of martyred saints), from the Medieval Latin martilogium; the related coining was martyrological.

Self-help for those with a difficult boyfriend.

Except where it’s unavoidable, the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) which publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), tends not to use popular forms like “martyr complex”, bundling the condition in the category of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a cluster B personality disorder considered to be one of the least identified of the class, noting NPD frequently coexists with other psychiatric disorders.  A relatively recent diagnostic category, its development reflected not a distinct set of diagnostic criteria but rather the recognition by clinicians (psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists) that to classify certain difficult (though typically not neurotic) patients as psychotic was counter-productive.  The most often noted characteristics of NPD include grandiosity, the excessive quest admiration and a lack of empathy, coupled with underlying feelings of low self esteem issues and inadequacy.  In the DSM-5-TR (2022), the symptoms of NPD are listed as:

(1) A grandiose logic of self-importance.

(2) A fixation with fantasies of infinite success, control, brilliance, beauty, or idyllic love.

(3) A credence that he or she is extraordinary and exceptional and can only be understood by, or should connect with, other extraordinary or important people or institutions.

(4) A desire for unwarranted admiration.

(5) A sense of entitlement.

(6) Interpersonally oppressive behavior.

(7) No form of empathy.

(8) Resentment of others or a conviction that others are resentful of him or her.

(9) A display of egotistical and conceited behaviors or attitudes.

The early Church celebrated particularly the example of Justin Martyr (circa 100-circa 165, who appears in some texts as Justin the Philosopher).  His name wasn’t actually Martyr but it was adopted because his conduct in the face of suffering was thought exemplary.  He was in all probability a pagan and had sought education from schools in the Peripatetic, Pythagorean and Platonic traditions but was still unsatisfied unit falling into conversation with an elderly man he met on a beach who “…convinced him of the truth as it is in Jesus”.  His conversion to Christianity led to a lifetime of teaching, writing his apologia which culminated with his martyrdom, beheaded with six others under the reign of Marcus Aurelius (121–180; Roman emperor 161-180) although there’s nothing to suggest the emperor was involved in the sentencing.  For his faith he was of course rewarded with eternal life in Heaven but Justin too achieved a kind of earthly immortality, venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern & Oriental Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican community.  Later, the legend arose that Marcus Aurelius became disposed to relax the persecution of Christians after a group of them prayed for rain and the subsequent storm was of such intensity it enabled him to avoid military defeat although, off and on, persecution continued and it wasn’t until the reign of Constantine the Great (circa 272-337; Roman emperor 306–337) began to emerge as the dominant religion of the empire.

The persecution of Christians will seem familiar to minorities living under many authoritarian regimes including the Falun Gong in China and the Baháʼí in Iran and many historians have concluded the reasons tend to be political rather than theological, structuralists summarizing things thus:

(1) Emperors in Rome were much opposed to gods their regime did not recognize, the Bible noting (1 Corinthians 8:5) “there be gods many, and lords many” but the imperial authorities did not own the God of the Christians.

(2) The Christian faith preached One who was God over all the earth, who knew no political frontiers and that pagan gods were mere idols.

(3) Christians could not join in pagan worship or the idolatrous acts which were part of the social or civic occasions of which the state approved. 

(4) Christians met as a secret society and were unsociable in their behavior, the assumption being they might be plotting against the state.

(5) Christians were seen to be threatening the financial and political interests of various powerful classes, priests, the makers & sellers of idols and those who bred and sole sacrificial animals.

(6) Christians and their ways were accused to be arousing the anger of Roman gods who proved vengeful in visiting upon the empire famines, earthquakes, military defeats and other punishments.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1653, the full title Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church) by John Foxe (1517-1587) was a review of the history of martyrdom in European Christianity with a particular focus on the suffering of the early English Protestants.

The persecution continued until the year 311 when the Emperor Galerius (circa 258–311; Roman emperor 305-311) expired, meeting his death in a manner similar to that recorded in Acts (12:3) as that suffered by Herod Agrippa: “He was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost”.  Baffled yet convinced by grace with which Christians accepted their martyrdom, on his deathbed Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration and entreated Christians to pray on his behalf.

Banner

Banner (pronounced ban-er)

(1) The flag of a country, army, troop etc.

(2) An ensign or the like bearing some device, motto, or slogan, as carried in religious processions, political demonstrations etc.

(3) A flag used as the standard of a nation, sovereign, lord, knight, military formation or other institution (and by extension (1) the military unit under such a flag or standard & (2) a military or administrative subdivision).

(4) A sign painted on fabric or some other material and hung over a street, entrance etc.

(5) Anything regarded or displayed as a symbol of principles.

(6) In heraldry, a square flag bearing heraldic devices.

(7) In journalism, a headline extending across the width of a newspaper or web page (in print usually across the top of the front page); also known as banner line, banner headline, screamer or streamer.

(8) As a verb, in journalism, (of a headline), prominently to display (used in other contexts by analogy).

(9) In advertising, an advertisement appearing across the top or bottom or along one side of a newspaper or web page; also known as a banner ad .

(10) An open streamer with lettering, towed behind an airplane in flight, for advertising purposes.

(11) A placard or sign carried in a procession or demonstration.

(12) As an adjective, leading or foremost.

(13) Historically, a type of administrative division in Inner Mongolia and Tuva, made during the Qing dynasty; at that time, Outer Mongolia and part of Xinjiang were also divided into banners.

1200–1220: From the Middle English banere (piece of cloth attached to the upper end of a pole or staff), from the Old French baniere (flag, banner, standard) (from which modern French in the twelfth century gained bannière), from the Late Latin bann & bannum (variants of bandum (standard)), from a Frankish or West Germanic source, from the Proto-Germanic bandwa (identifying sign, banner, standard (and also “military formation under a banner”), source also of the Gothic bandwa (a sign), from suffixed form of the primitive Indo-European root bha- (to shine).

A non-official Royal Standard of Croatia, one of several designs used by those affiliated with the movement seeking to restore the Royal House of Croatia.

A banner was the standard (a type of flag) of a king, lord, or knight, behind which his followers marched to war and to which they rallied in battle.  From the early fourteenth century, there was also the related noun banneret, an order of knighthood, originally in reference to one who could lead his men into battle under his own banner, for centuries a common European practice when armies were organized ad-hoc for invasions and formations were deployed under their banners rather than being mixed.  It later came to mean “one who received rank for valiant deeds done in the king's presence in battle”.  As is still the practice, such honors had grades and there was also the bannerette (a small banner), awarded to those who provided service meritorious rather than valorous.  The reason a banner was attached to a tall pole and carried by “a standard bearer” was that in the swirl of battle, such was the clatter that communication by voice could soon become impossible over even short distances and the only way a commander could effectively re-assemble his troops into formation was to have them return to the banner.  This was the origin of the phrase “rally around the flag”, in the twentieth century re-purposed metaphorically although the figurative sense of "anything displayed as a profession of principles" was used as early as the fourteenth century.  The first use of banner to describe newspaper headlines which in large, bold type stream across the top of the page dates from 1913.  The term “banner blindness” was created in 1998 to describe the tendency of users to ignore banner advertising on websites.  Synonyms (depending on context) can include emblem, headline, bunting, pennant, streamer, advertisement, leading, colors, ensign, heading, pennon, standard, exceptional, foremost, outstanding, banderole, burgee & gonfalon.  Banner is a noun, verb and adjective, bannered is an verb & adjective and bannering is an adjective; the noun plural is banners.

Flag of the Commander of the Croatian Navy.

Technically, the term banner can be used to describe any flag, ensign, pennant or standard although it’s now less used for the more precise terms have come to be well-understood and are thus more popular.  Pennant was from the Middle English penon, penoun & pynoun, from the Old French penon, from the Latin penna (feather).  Although it wasn’t always the case, a pennant is distinguished by its elongated shape which tapers to a point.  It’s now especially associated with naval use, the advantage of the shape being that it tends to remain legible even in conditions where material of square or rectangular shape can become distorted.  Pennants are also used by sports teams and university societies.  In sporting competition, a championship is sometimes referred to as “the pennant” or “the flag” even though such thing are not always awarded as physical trophies.

Flag of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (1947–1990) under comrade Marshall Tito.

Ensign was from the Middle English ensigne, from the Old French enseigne, from the Latin īnsignia, the nominative plural of īnsigne.  By convention of use, ensign is now used almost exclusively by the military, especially by naval forces (the use to describe the lowest grade of commissioned officer in the US Navy (equivalent to a sub-lieutenant, and once used also in the infantry (the coronet fulfilling the role in the cavalry) dates from the role evolving from the assigned role of being responsible for the care, raising and lowering of flags and pennants, including the unit’s ensign).  In navies, the principal flag or banner flown by a ship (usually at the stern) to indicate nationality is called the ensign (often modified as red ensign, royal ensign etc).

Lindsay Lohan with ensigns, flags and pennants.

Standard was from the Middle English standard, from the Old French estandart (gathering place, battle flag), from the Frankish standahard (literally “stand firm, stand hard”), the construct being stand +‎ -ard.  There is an alternative etymology which suggest the second element was from the Frankish oʀd (point, spot, place (and linked with the Old French ordé (pointed), the Old English ord (point, source, vanguard), the German Standort (location, place, site, position, base, literally “standing-point”))).  The notion is this merged with the Middle English standar, stander or standere (flag, banner (literally “stander)).  Standard is now the usual form when describing symbol of an individual, family, clan or military formation when presented in the shape used by national flags.

1957 Standard Ensign.  It typified the dreary products offered by much of the British industry in the post-war years.  The flag is the Red Ensign (Red Duster in nautical slang), the civil ensign of the UK, flown by British merchant or passenger craft since 1707.

The Standard Motor Company operated in the UK between 1903-1970 although in 1963 it ceased to use the Standard name on products sold in most markets, switching them to Triumph which would be used until 1984, the company having been integrated into the doomed British Leyland (BL) conglomerate in 1968.  In India, where the operations had become independent of BL, the Standard name lingered until 1988.  In 1957, Standard, having obtained from the Royal Navy the right to use the name Vanguard (the name of many ships and submarines including the last dreadnought (big battleship) ever launched) for their family car (the Standard Vanguard, 1948-1963), decided to continue the nautical theme by naming their new model the Ensign (1957-1963).  In the manner of the Citroën ID (1957-1969) and Mercedes-Benz 219 (W105, 1956-1959), the Ensign offered a large-bodied vehicle at a lower price, achieved by fitting a less powerful engine and substantially reduced equipment levels.  Until 1962 the Ensign was available only with a 1670 cm³ (102 cubic inch) for-cylinder engine which even in the pre-motorway era was thought marginal in a relative heavy car but, although slow, it offered a lot of metal for the money and sold well to fleets and the government, the military especially fond of them.  If the 1.6 litre gas (petrol) version was slow, also available was a version with a 1622 cm³ (99 cubic inch) Perkins P4C diesel engine, the low survival rate of which is sometimes attributed to so many being sold to the Coal Board or Wales and, having descended into Welsh valleys, they lacked to power to climb out.  The last of the Ensigns (1962-1963) were fitted with a 2163 cm³ (132 cubic inch) four-cylinder gas engine which proved more satisfactory but by then the Vanguard-Ensign line was outdated and the names were retired when the replacement range was marketed under the Triumph rather than the Standard marque.

Once the "Standard of the World": 1938 Cadillac Series 90 V16 Convertible Coupé (left), 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham (centre) & 1967 Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible.

Elsewhere in the automotive world “standard” was used in different ways.  Cadillac long used the slogan “The Standard of the World” and that was certainly true in the 1930s when the Cadillac V16s were at least the equal in engineering and craftsmanship to anything made in Europe an even in the late 1960s, although the “hand-made” years were over, the company still offered the finest engine-transmission combinations in the world and managed to master sub-systems like air-conditioning in a way it took the Europeans a few decades to match.  After about 1970, it was usually downhill for the old “standard of the world” although there have been some hopeful signs in the twenty-first century.  General Motors’ now defunct southern outpost, Holden, in first two decades (1948-1966), used standard to mean “basic”, the better-equipped versions being the “Business” and the “Special”.  In England, Jaguar’s pre-war use of SS as a brand was apparently derived from the company’s origin as the Swallow Sidecar Company but, after the association with the Standard Motor Company as an engine supplier, the factory began to prefer Standard Swallow, the cars sold under the badge Jaguar SS.  After the war, the SS label was dropped, the association with the Nazi Party’s SS (Schutzstaffel (security section or squad)) too unsavory in those times although the moment would soon pass, Jaguar in 1957 reviving the name for the XK-SS, the road-going version of the D-Type race car.

Pennant of the commander of a flotilla of naval vessels in the Croatian Navy.

Flag is from the Middle English flag & flagge (flag), of uncertain origin.  It may have been related to the early Middle English flage (name for a baby's garment) and the Old English flagg & flacg (cataplasm, poultice, plaster) or could have been merely imitative or otherwise drawn from the Proto-Germanic flaką (something flat), from the primitive Indo-European pleh- (flat, broad, plain), referencing the shape.  The modern flag is a piece of cloth, decorated with a combination of colors, shapes or emblems which can be used as a visual signal or symbol.  In Admiralty use, a “flag” can refer to (1) a specific flag flown by a ship to show the presence on board of the admiral; the admiral himself, or their flagship or (2) a signal flag or the act of signaling with a flag.  The now familiar use as national symbol is surprisingly modern.  Although flags and standards were of course common even before the current conception of the nation-state coalesced, it wasn’t until the eighteen century that the association of a flag with a country became close to universal.  One interesting quirk of national flags is that since Libya’s was redesigned, the flag of Jamaica is the only one on Earth not to include either red, white or blue.

A banner used in Croatia between 925-1102 (left), the current Croatian flag adopted after independence in 1990 (centre) and the Croatian naval ensign (1990).

One of the most ancient symbols to endure in modern nation flags is the red & white checkered pattern used to this day on the flag of Croatia.  The oldest known example dates from 925 and the pattern was used (with the odd interruption) for centuries, even when the country was a non-sovereign component of supranational states such as the Habsburg Empire.  A red star was used instead when Croatia was a part of comrade Marshall Tito’s (1892-1980) Jugoslavija (Yugoslavia) between 1945-1990 but the red & white checks were restored when independence was regained in 1990.

Ivana Knoll at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Noted Instagram influencer Ivana Knoll (b 1992) was a finalist in the Miss Croatia beauty contest in 2016 and for her appearances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, chose a number of outfits using the national symbol of the red and white checkerboard, matching the home strip worn by the team.  By the standards of Instragram, the design of the hoodie she donned for Croatia's game against Morocco at the Al-Bayat stadium wasn't particularly revealing but it certainly caught the eye.  As if Gianni Infantino (b 1970; president of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football) since 2016) doesn't have enough to ponder, the former Miss Croatia finalist tagged FIFA in her posts, fearing perhaps the president may not be among her 600,000 Instagram followers and her strategy seems to have had the desired effect although whether the design which, does cover her hair, shoulders and legs, will prove sufficiently demur to satisfy the local rules, isn't clear.   The guidance provided by FIFA indicated non-Qatari women don’t need to wear the abaya (the long, black robe), tops must cover their midriff and shoulders, and skirts, dresses or trousers must cover the knees and clothing should not be tight or reveal any cleavage.  In accordance with the rules or not, Ms Knoll proved a popular accessory for Qatari men seeking selfies.

Croatian FIFA World Cup 2022 strips, home (left) & away (right). 

On the basis of her Instagram posts, the German-born beauty wouldn't seem to be in compliance with the rules but thus far there's been no report of reaction from the authorities but if she has any problems, Sepp Blatter's (b 1936; FIFA president 1998-2015) lawyers may be available.  They seem pretty good.  Paradoxically, although the impressively pneumatic Ms Knoll generated much interest in her hoodie, had she worn an all-enveloping burka in the red & white checkerboard, it might have gained even more clicks.