Taking up Bailey's _Dictionary_ by accident a day or two ago, I turned
to the word, which I there find as derived from Newes, _Teut_.; Bailey
using the term _Teutonic_ for German.

I think I shall express the feelings of the majority of your readers in
saying that nothing could be more acceptable or valuable to the
consideration of any etymological question than the remarks of Mr.
Singer.

Samuel Hickson.


I have read with much interest the respective theories of the derivation
of _news_, and it seems to me that Mr. Hickson's opinion must give way
to an excellent authority in questions of this kind, Dr. Latham, who
says,

Some say, _this news_ IS good in which case the word is
singular. More rarely we find the expression, _these news_ ARE
good; in which case the word "news" is plural. In the word
"news", the -_s_ (unlike the -_s_ in _alms_ and _riches_) is no
part of the original singular, but the sign of the plural, like
the -_s_ in "trees." Notwithstanding this, we cannot subtract
the _s_, and say "new," in the same way that we _can_ form
"tree" from "trees." Hence the word "news" is, in respect to its
original form, plural; in respect to its meaning, either
singular or plural, most frequently the former.--_Eng.
Grammar_, p. 62.