A driving question

Recently, Richard and I have done some traveling.  We had the pleasure of watching the waning color of New York wave us into the vivid colors of New Jersey and parts south, foreshadowing, perhaps the holiday lights soon to come.  As I watched the color pageant parade past, I read the roadside signs and thought about--words!  With some words, the meaning is obvious, as in “thruway” or “highway.”  The New York State Thruway spans through the state to make travel more direct, as does a highway or expressway.

Turnpikes serve the same purpose, but what does the word “turnpike” mean?  Does it involve fish or pointed iron tools or weapons?  On the way south, we drove past the Mass Pike and drove on the New Jersey Turnpike.  On the way home, we drove past the Oregon Pike and on the Allentown Pike in Pennsylvania.  I figured that perhaps “turnpike” came from a different language, since various nationalities influenced the settling of the northeast, generally.  For example, in these parts “kill,” as in “Catskill,” comes from the Dutch influence and means “creek.”  Therefore, the word “catskill” does not reflect some vicious plot to eliminate cats from the area but simply means “cat creek.”

As it turns out, my hypothesis regarding a possible foreign origin of “turnpike” was wrong.  “Turnpike” comes from Middle English.  However, my associations of “pike” with a weapon or tool relate to the meaning of “turnpike” as a roadway.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “turnpike” as “a spiked barrier fixed across a road or passage, as a defence against sudden attack, esp. of men on horseback,” with examples going back to the 15^th century.  In today’s world, similar turnpikes prevent theft of rental cars.  Technically, the turnpike that we drive on is a “turnpike road,” which the OED defines as “a road on which turnpikes are or were erected for the collection of tolls; hence, a main road or highway, formerly maintained by a toll levied on cattle and wheeled vehicles.”  (Can you imagine an E-Z Pass for cattle on cattle drives?)  The American Heritage Dictionary, 5^th edition supplies a more modern definition for “turnpike”:  “a toll road, especially an expressway with tollgates.”

Back in the day, the medieval Department of Transportation would erect iron bars, sometimes curved, across roadways for purposes of defense or to collect a road use fee.  (Perhaps strewing pike fish across the road would have been almost as effective although somewhat less practical.)  In today’s world, toll booths as opposed to turnpikes for the collection of fees are more practical, but they don’t make paying the fees any more palatable!  (Smells like fish!)

LAGNIAPPE 1:  The word “high” originally meant “main,” as in “main” road or way.

LAGNIAPPE 2:  Richard reminded me of George Carlin’s philosophical question, why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?  (Sounds “fishy” to me!)