Nap. A game of cards, originally named after Napoleon I.
Naples. Called by the Greeks Neapolis, “New City.” The ancient name is better expressed when speaking of the inhabitants as “Neapolitans.”
Napoleon. A gold coin of France issued during the Consulate of Napoleon Bonaparte. This superseded the “Louis d’Or.”
Narcissus. This flower is fabled to have sprung up on the spot where the beautiful Grecian youth so called died of love-sickness.
Naso. The nickname given to Ovid on account of the length of his nose; hence “Ovidius Naso.”
Nassau Street. After the royal House of Nassau, to which William III., as Prince of Orange, belonged.
Natal. So called because the Portuguese navigator Vasco di Gama landed upon its shores on Christmas Day, or the Feast of the Nativity, 1498.
Nation. An Americanism for “damnation.”
National Democrats. Those in the United States whose principles are national as opposed to sect or party.
Navvy. Originally the name of a labourer employed in the construction of canals for inland navigation. An alehouse set up beside one of the earliest canals bore the sign of the “Navigation Inn,” and those who frequented it were called Navigators. This term soon became shortened into Navvies.