Punch. The well-known beverage called punch is said to be derived from the Hindostani panch—five. It means a mixture of five ingredients: 1. spirit, 2. water, 3. sugar, 4. acid, and 5. essential oil of lemon.
Puny. This is an English form of the French puis-né, or (de)puis-né (Latin, post natus), born since. It is in contradistinction to the French aîné (ante-natus) elder or born before; and now signifies weak, ill-conditioned in growth. A junior judge is still, in legal phrase, a puisne judge.
Quack. The whole word is in German ‘qualksalber,’ of which ‘quack’ is a contraction. ‘To quack’ is to talk boastfully—to make a great fuss; and ‘salber’ is from salve, something to heal; so that quacksalber may be explained, one who talks noisily and fussily about his healing medicines.
Quandary. This is a corruption of the French ‘qu’en dirai-(je)?’ ‘what shall I say of it?’ It expresses that condition of doubt or uncertainty in which such a question would be naturally asked.
Ragoût. This French noun, which may be now considered as naturalised in English, is a contraction of the Italian ‘miro gusto,’ ‘wonderful taste.’
Raiment is derived from ‘to array,’ and is a contraction for ‘arrayment.’
Ransack. This word is founded in Swedish, ‘ransacka,’ where it means to search a house for stolen goods. It is compounded of the O.N. ‘rann,’ a house, and Sw. ‘soka,’ to seek.
Religion is from the Latin ‘re’ (back), and ‘ligare,’ ‘to bind;’ literally, that which binds back, or restrains us from the commission of sin.
Right and Wrong. The first of these words, in a secondary sense, has a meaning analogous to proceeding in a straight line, the Latin ‘rectus,’ from which it is derived, having that meaning. The French ‘droit’ is from ‘directus.’ Our word ‘wrong’ is only another form of ‘wrung,’ i. e. ‘twisted’ (out of the right line). It may be observed, by the way, that the French ‘tort’ (wrong) is from the Latin ‘tortus,’ twisted; so that the same principle operates in both cases.
Romance. A name given to certain European languages (especially the Provençal), which grew out of the old Roman or Latin, The Troubadours, or poets, who wrote in the Provençal language being notorious for their exaggerated sentiment, the word has come to mean a wildly imaginative fiction; and it is even sometimes used as a softened expression for a falsehood.