QDoes “lock, stock and barrel,” meaning “completely,” come from the parts of a gun or from the lock on a store’s door and the store’s goods? – D.R., Des Moines, Iowa

A: Some suspect that the expression “lock, stock and barrel” might be rooted in the lock on a store’s door, the stock of the store and the barrel on which business was often transacted, but etymologists have found otherwise. The expression actually refers to the three principal parts of a firearm. The lock is the firing mechanism by which the charge is exploded, the stock is the wooden part that is braced against the shoulder and the barrel of course is the tube through which the bullet travels when the gun is shot.

Originally, the lock was the flintlock invented in France in the 17th century and remaining in use until the mid-19th century. Apparently “lock” was so often spoken in the same breath as “stock” and “barrel” to refer to a whole gun that by the early 19th century the expression “lock, stock and barrel” came to mean “wholly” or “completely.”

Q I am very curious about the word “plagiarism.” Why do we use that word for copying another’s work? – P.N., Nashville, Tenn.

A: “Plagiarism” traces back to the Latin noun “plaga,” which denoted a hunting net or snare used for capturing game. The act of netting such animals was termed “plagium.” By extension, this word was also used for the crime of kidnapping children or freemen and selling them as slaves. The kidnapper was called by the derivative noun “plariarius.” When Latin “plagiarius” was borrowed into English as “plagiary” in the 17th century, both the original and literary senses were carried over. Only the literary sense of “plagiary” appears in the English derivatives.



This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.