The probability is that the English word, like the Dutch, German, Spanish, &c., came from the Latin TINCTUM, but it may be left “an open question;” for if we had not these instances to direct the formation of our opinions, we should have no hesitation in acknowledging the Italian _Inchiostro_ as the true ETYMON; just as, if we had neither of these in view, we might suspect the origin of our word to be in the Oriental ANGHAS or NIKSON.
The Ethiopic KALAMA at first sight appears to be related to the Hindustani KALI; but the latter is merely the word in all the languages of Hindustan for black,—while the former is but a modification of the Greek and Latin CALAMUS, a _reed_ or pen,—the instrument (naturally enough) giving its name to the liquid which was essential to its use.
The word ENCAUSTUM connects, in a very interesting and instructive manner, both with the history and the chemistry or manufacture of our modern inks, and is a satisfactory demonstration of the utility of such etymological researches as those in which we have been here indulging.
The one great distinction between the ancient and the modern inks is this: The old inks were PAINTS; the writing inks now in use by all nations (excepting those of Southern Asia) are DYES. That is the whole difference.
It would be well to give a definition or limitation of the words “Ancient” and “Modern.” No one has done it hitherto. We will not attempt to fix the point precisely, but may reasonably say that the period intervening between September, A.D. 410, (when Rome was taken by ALARIC and his Visigoths) and December 25, A.D. 800, (when Karl the Great, otherwise called Charlemagne, was crowned in Rome by Pope Leo with the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) contains the interval between antiquity and modern times.
The introduction of Paper as the common material upon which significant characters were to be marked must have had a great agency in producing a change in the composition of the liquid employed in making the marks.
PARCHMENT was the substance in use, among all the European nations, as the substratum of manuscript, from the time when the Egyptian _papyrus_ went out of fashion. Both the parchment and the papyrus were written upon, by Romans, Greeks and Hebrews, with pens made of small reeds, dipped in a fluid composed of _carbon_, (not dissolved, but) held in a state of suspension by an oil or a solution of gum.