ther back
than Latin, to the language known as the Aryan, from which nearly all
the languages of Europe and the chief language of India come.
_Hostile_ comes from the Latin _hostis_, "an enemy;" but _hostis_
itself comes from the same Aryan word as that from which _guest_
comes, and so these two words are doublets in English. They express
very different ideas: we are not generally "hostile" or "full of
enmity" against a "guest," one who partakes of our hospitality.

Another pair of doublets not from the Latin are _shirt_ and _skirt_,
which are both old Germanic words. _Skirt_ came later into the
language, being from the Scandinavian, while _shirt_ is an Old English
word.

The word _cross_ and the many words in English beginning with
_cruci_--such as _crucial_, _crucifix_, and _cruciform_--the adverb
_across_, as well as the less common word _crux_, all come from the
Latin word _crux_, "a cross." The word _cross_ first came into the
English language with Christianity itself, for the death of our Lord
on the cross was, of course, the first story which converts to
Christianity were told. It came through the Irish from the Norwegian
word _cros_, which came direct from the Latin. All the words beginning
with _cruci_ come straight from the Latin. _Cruciform_ and _crucifix_
refer to the form of a cross, and so sometimes does the word
_crucial_. But, as a rule, _crucial_ is used as the adjective of the
word _crux_, which means the "test," or "difficult point," in deciding
or doing something. The Romans did not use _crux_ in this sense; but
it is interesting to notice that they did use it in the figurative
sense of "trouble" just as we do. This came from the fact that the
common form of execution for all subjects of the Roman Empire except
Roman citizens was crucifixion.

Two such different words as _tavern_ and _tabernacle_, the one meaning
an inn and the other the most sacred part of the sanctuary in a
church, are doublets from the Latin word _tabernaculum_, "tent." The
first comes from the French _taverne_, and the second directly from
the Latin.

The words _mint_ and _money_ both come from the Latin word _moneta_,
which was an adjective attached by the Romans to the name of the
goddess Juno. The place where the Romans coined their money was
attached to the temple of Juno Moneta, or Juno the Adviser. From this
fact the Romans themselves came to use _moneta_ as the name for
coins, or what we call money. The word passed i