Daily Mail

Sallying forth from France

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QUESTION Why do we ‘sally forth’?

LIKE many military terms, this has its origins in French. Most were brought into English by the Normans or during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), which was fought on French soil by English and Welsh soldiers.

In this sense, sally originates in the Old French word salir, meaning ‘to leap’. It was a sudden rush made by soldiers, intended to swamp the enemy’s defences.

The term is also found in sally port, a small, often hidden, door or gate in a castle wall, through which a covert attack (two more military words with French origins) could be mounted. Porte is the French word for ‘door’.

An example of a sally port can be seen in Edinburgh. Above the rock at the western end of Edinburgh Castle, a small door allows access to a path leading around the rock.

The area of the city below this is known as West Port and has nothing to do with the sea.

This meaning of port can also be found in portcullis, another word with Old French origins.

Other French military terms incorporat­ed into our language are: commander, conquer, defence, castle, march, armour, enemy, battle and billet. Bob Cubitt, Northampto­n.

QUESTION What is the origin of the term bucket list, used to describe the experience­s a person wants in their lifetime?

FURTHER to the earlier answer, while the term may only date from 2007, it is probably derived from the term kick the bucket.

An explanatio­n for this saying comes from a method for hanging by standing a person on a bucket, putting a noose round their neck and kicking the bucket away.

The original ‘bucket’ was a yoke used to hold pigs by their heels for slaughter. Their death throes created the impression they were kicking the bucket.

The derivation is from the Old French buquet (a balance) or the raising of the yoke resembling a bucket being lifted from a well. It dates from the 16th century. T. White, York.

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