Subject: words that are their own opposites

st isidore of seville may well be the source of " lucus a non lucendo , " as paul werth suggests . however , it 's no accident that benji wald attributed this ' etymology ' to varro ( 116-27 b . c . e . ) , as the latter is responsible for such etymological gems as vallum . . . quod ea varicare nemo posset " _ vallum _ ' camp wall ' because no one could _ varicare _ 's traddle over it ' " ( _ de lingua latina _ : v , 117 ) and qua vix agi potest , hinc angiportum ; qua nil potest agi , hinc angulus " where it is hardly possible for anything _ agi _ ' to be driven , ' from this it is called an _ angiportum _ ' alley ' ; where nothing can _ agi _ ' be driven , ' from this it is an _ angulus _ ' corner ' " ( ibid . : vi , 41 ) . a footnote in the loeb edition of _ de lingua latina _ refers to this as " derivation by the contrary meaning , " and cites another example : ludus , in quo minime luditur " school , in which there is very little playing " ( festus , 122 . 16m ) . karen baumer yale university
