twin brother of Castor (q.v.), hence also the name of the beta star of Gemini (though slightly brighter than Castor), 1520s, from Latin, from Greek Polydeukēs, literally "very sweet," or "much sweet wine," from polys "much" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill") + deukēs "sweet" (prom PIE *dleuk-; see glucose). The contraction of the name in Latin is perhaps via Etruscan [Klein].
c. 1300, extente, "tax levied on value; value of property for taxation," from Anglo-French extente, estente "extent, extension;" in law, "valuation of land, stretch of land," from fem. past participle of Old French extendre "extend," from Latin extendere "to spread out, spread" (see extend). Meaning "degree to which something extends" is from 1590s.
"one of the external openings of the nose, a nasal orifice," late 14c., nostrille, from Old English nosþyrl, nosðirl, literally "the hole of the nose," from nosu "nose" (from PIE root *nas- "nose") + þyrel "hole" (from PIE root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome"). For metathesis of -r- and vowel, see wright. After the second element became obsolete as an independent, its form was corrupted in the compound.
late 14c., diafragma, in anatomy, "muscular membrane which separates the thorax from the abdominal cavity in mammals," from Late Latin diaphragma, from Greek diaphragma "partition, barrier, muscle which divides the thorax from the abdomen," from diaphrassein "to barricade," from dia "across" (see dia-) + phrassein "to fence or hedge in," which is of uncertain etymology. Beekes suggests it is a substrate word and finds "no convincing correspondence outside Greek."
The native word in the anatomical sense is midriff. From 1650s as "a partition" of any kind, "something which divides or separates;" 1660s in the special sense "thin piece of metal" serving some purpose (as a sound resonator, etc.). Meaning "contraceptive cap" is from 1933. Related: Diaphragmal; diaphragmatic.
1881, leotards, named for Jules Léotard (1830-1870), popular French trapeze artist, who performed in such a garment.
late Old English Sion, from Greek Seon, from Hebrew Tsiyon, name of a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible "City of David." It became the center of Jewish life and worship. Related: Zionward (1705), usually figurative, "Heaven-ward."
by 1944, American English, reflecting a white Southern U.S. pronunciation of Negro, but it was held to be a compromise made by those whites who had learned to not say nigger but could not bring themselves to say Negro, and it was thus deemed (in the words of a 1960 slang dictionary) "even more derog[atory] than 'nigger.' "
of the color of gold, butter, egg yolks, etc., a primary color, Middle English yelwe, from Old English geolu, geolwe, "yellow," from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr, Swedish gul "yellow"), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow" (such as Greek khlōros "greenish-yellow," Latin helvus "yellowish, bay").
In Middle English it also was used of a color closer to blue-gray or gray, in reference to frogs or hazel eyes, and as a translation of Latin caeruleus or glauco. Also of light brown animal hair and persons having yellowish skin or complexion, naturally or by age or disease, and in reference to Ethiopians and Saracens.
The meaning "light-skinned" (in reference to Black persons) is recorded by 1808. It was applied to Asians by 1787, in reference to Turkish words for inhabitants of India. Yellow peril, fear that Asiatic peoples will overrun the West or the world, translates German die gelbe gefahr.
The sense of "cowardly" is attested by 1856, of unknown origin; the color earlier was associated rather with jealousy and envy (17c.). Yellow-bellied "cowardly" is from 1924, probably a semi-rhyming reduplication of yellow; earlier yellow-belly was a sailor's name for a half-caste (1867) and a Texas term for Mexican soldiers (1842, based on the color of their uniforms).
Yellow dog "mongrel" is attested from c. 1770; the slang sense of "contemptible person" is recorded by 1881. Yellow fever is attested from 1748, American English (jaundice is a symptom). Yellow alert is by 1968; yellow light as a traffic signal is by 1925. yellow pages by 1908.
Old English geoluwian "become yellow," from the source of yellow (adj.). Transitive sense of "render yellow" is from 1590s. Related: Yellowed; yellowing.
the color yellow or one of its hues, Middle English yelwe, from the adjective and from Old English geolo, geolu, "yellow" (n.), from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz, reconstructed in Watkins to be from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow" (such as Greek khlōros "greenish-yellow," Latin helvus "yellowish, bay").
Germanic cognates include Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr, Swedish gul "yellow."
1733, stock buffoonish character in pantomime, also a popular character in masked balls, from French Pierrot, diminutive form of Pierre. The character originates in Italian commedia dell'arte, usually said to be the character Pedrolino (diminutive of Pedro or Pietro, the Italian equivalent to Pierre) but an older stock character, Pirro, might be the source, in which case it derives from the name Pyrrhus (see pyrrhic). He has a whitened face, a costume white or with white stripes, large and loose, occasionally with overly-long sleeves. The fem. form is Pierrette. Related: Pierrotic.
"pliant, flexible," 1560s, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb (n.1) on notion of supple boughs of a tree [Barnhart], or from limp (adj.) "flaccid" [Skeat], or somehow from Middle English lymer "shaft of a cart" (see limber (n.)), but the late appearance of the -b- in that word argues against it. Related: Limberness. Dryden used limber-ham (see ham (n.1) in the "joint" sense) as a name for a character "perswaded by what is last said to him, and changing next word."
"detachable forepart of a field-gun carriage," 1620s, alteration of Middle English lymer (early 15c.), earlier lymon (c. 1400), probably from Old French limon "shaft," a word perhaps of Celtic origin, or possibly from Germanic and related to limb (n.1). Compare related Spanish limon "shaft," leman "helmsman."
The nautical limber "hole cut in floor timbers to allow water to drain" (1620s), however, appears to be unrelated; perhaps from French lumière "hole, perforation," literally "light."
c. 1600, "room or building set apart for scientific experiments and with suitable equipment," from Medieval Latin laboratorium "a place for labor or work," from Latin laboratus, past participle of laborare "to work" (see labor (v.)). Figurative use by 1660s.
1510s, "of the color of blood, of a deep red color;" 1640s, "of or pertaining to blood," from Latin sanguineus "of blood, bloody," from sanguin-, stem of sanguis (see sanguinary).
fem. proper name, from Italian, literally "lady," from Latin domina "lady, mistress of the house," from Latin domus "house" (from PIE root *dem- "house, household"). A top 20 name for girls born in the U.S. from 1941 to 1967 (top 10 from 1955 to 1965).
"a lady," 1660s, from the common title of respect for Italian and Portuguese ladies, equivalent to Spanish doña, prefixed to the Christian name. The fem. equivalent of don (n.).
1982, acronym from young urban professional, ; it established itself against competition from yumpie, from "young upward-mobile professional," and yap, from "young aspiring professional," both 1984. The word was felt as an insult by 1985. Related: Yuppiedom; yuppification.
c. 1400, disjunccioun, "fracture" (of a bone), from Old French disjunction (13c.) and directly from Latin disiunctionem (nominative disiunctio) "separation," noun of action from past-participle stem of disiungere, from dis- (see dis-) + iungere "to join together," from nasalized form of PIE root *yeug- "to join."
late 14c., "sick, infirm," present-participle adjective from languish (v.). In recent use "expressing tender, sentimental emotion." Also in Middle English as a verbal noun, "a disease, sickness." Middle English also used languishous "careworn." Related: Languishingly.
Middle English shadwe, from Old English sceadwe, sceaduwe "shade, the effect of interception of sunlight; dark image cast by someone or something when interposed between an object and a source of light," oblique cases ("to the," "from the," "of the," "in the") of sceadu (see shade (n.)). Shadow is to shade (n.) as meadow is to mead (n.2). Similar formation in Old Saxon skado, Middle Dutch schaeduwe, Dutch schaduw, Old High German scato, German schatten, Gothic skadus "shadow, shade."
From mid-13c. as "darkened area created by shadows, shade." From early 13c. in sense "anything unreal;" mid-14c. as "a ghost." Many senses are from the notion of "that which follows or attends a person." From late 14c. as "a foreshadowing, prefiguration." Meaning "imitation, copy" is from 1690s. Sense of "the faintest trace" is from 1580s; that of "a spy who follows" is from 1859. Many of the modern English senses also were in Latin umbra, Greek skia, along with that of "uninvited guest who an invited one brings with him."
As a designation of members of an opposition party chosen as counterparts of the government in power, it is recorded from 1906. Shadow of Death (c. 1200) translates Vulgate umbra mortis (Psalm xxiii.4, etc.), which translates Greek skia thanatou, itself perhaps a mistranslation of a Hebrew word for "intense darkness." In "Beowulf," Grendel is a sceadugenga, a shadow-goer, and another word for "darkness" is sceaduhelm. To be afraid of one's (own) shadow "be very timorous" is from 1580s.
Middle English schadowen, schadwen, Kentish ssedwi, "provide, cover, or overspread with shade, protect from the sun or other light" (mid-14c.), from late Old English sceadwian "to protect as with covering wings" (also see overshadow), from the root of shadow (n.). Similar formation in Old Saxon skadoian, Dutch schaduwen, Old High German scatewen, German (über)schatten.
From late 14c. as "cast a shadow over" (literal and figurative), from early 15c. as "mark (in illustration, etc.) with slight gradations of color or light." The meaning "to follow like a shadow" is attested once c. 1600 and not again until 1872. Related: Shadowed; shadowing.
"pertaining to philosophy," mid-15c., philosophik, from Old French filosofique (Modern French philosophique) and directly from Late Latin philosophicus, from Greek philosophikos, from philosophia "philosophy" (see philosophy).
"tending toward a yellow color," 1817, in chemistry, of compounds producing yellowish substances, from French xanthique, from Greek xanthos "yellow" (see xantho-).
"act of denying one's own wishes; refusal to satisfy one's own desires," 1640s, from self- + denial.
Self-denial is to be presumed wise, necessary, or benevolent, unless indication is given to the contrary ; it may be the denial of selfishness; it may be not only the refusal to take what one might have, but the voluntary surrender of what one has ; it may be an act, a habit, or a principle. [Century Dictionary]
Related: Self-denier; self-denying (adj.) is by 1630s as "involving self-denial," also "characterized by or involving denial of one's self."
mid-15c., kyse, coysy, of food, "unsettling to the stomach, apt to cause nausea;" by 1540s of persons or the stomach, "affected with nausea, inclined to vomit;" a word of uncertain origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse kveisa "a boil" (Middle English Compendium compares Old Norse iðra-kveisa "bowel pains"). Or perhaps from or influenced by Anglo-French queisier, from Old French coisier "to wound, hurt, make uneasy," which seems to be from the same Germanic root as kveisa. But the history is obscure and evidences of development are wanting. Related: Queasily; queasiness.
Middle English glouen, "radiate heat or light without flame, shine as if red-hot," from Old English glowan, from Proto-Germanic *glo- (source also of Old Saxon gloian, Old Frisian gled "glow, blaze," Old Norse gloa, Old High German gluoen, German glühen "to glow, glitter, shine"), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold.
It was used figuratively from late 14c., of the effect of strong feeling, etc. Related: Glowed; glowing. Swedish dialectal and Danish glo also have the extended sense "stare, gaze upon," which is found also in Middle English.
mid-15c., "glowing heat," from glow (v.). The meaning "a flush of radiant feeling" is attested by 1793.
kelə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "warm." It might form all or part of: caldera; calid; Calor; caloric; calorie; calorimeter; cauldron; caudle; chafe; chauffeur; chowder; coddle; lee; lukewarm; nonchalant; scald (v.) "afflict painfully with hot liquid or steam."
It might also be the source of: Sanskrit carad- "harvest," literally "hot time;" Latin calor "heat," calidus "warm," calere "be hot;" Lithuanian šilti "become warm," šilus "August;" Old Norse hlær, Old English hleow "warm."
*kelə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to shout." Perhaps imitative.
It might form all or part of: acclaim; acclamation; Aufklarung; calendar; chiaroscuro; claim; Claire; clairvoyance; clairvoyant; clamor; Clara; claret; clarify; clarinet; clarion; clarity; class; clear; cledonism; conciliate; conciliation; council; declaim; declare; disclaim; ecclesiastic; eclair; exclaim; glair; hale (v.); halyard; intercalate; haul; keelhaul; low (v.); nomenclature; paraclete; proclaim; reclaim; reconcile.
It might also be the source of: Sanskrit usakala "cock," literally "dawn-calling;" Latin calare "to announce solemnly, call out," clamare "to cry out, shout, proclaim;" Middle Irish cailech "cock;" Greek kalein "to call," kelados "noise," kledon "report, fame;" Old High German halan "to call;" Old English hlowan "to low, make a noise like a cow;" Lithuanian kalba "language."
1590s, "firmness of matter," from Medieval Latin consistentia literally "a standing together," or directly from Latin consistentem (nominative consistens), present participle of consistere "to stand firm, take a standing position, stop, halt," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sistere "to place," causative of stare "to stand, be standing," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm."
Meaning "state of being in agreement or harmony" (with something) is from 1650s; meaning "steady adherence to principles, patterns of action, etc." is from 1716. Meaning "harmonious connection, as of the parts of a system" is from 1787.
legendary hero-king of Athens; the name is of uncertain origin. Related: Thesean. His temple in Athens was the Theseion or Theseum.
word-forming element of Greek origin meaning "against, opposed to, opposite of, instead," shortened to ant- before vowels and -h-, from Old French anti- and directly from Latin anti-, from Greek anti (prep.) "over, against, opposite; instead, in the place of; as good as; at the price of; for the sake of; compared with; in opposition to; in return; counter-," from PIE *anti "against," also "in front of, before" (from root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before"), which became anti- in Italian (hence antipasto) and French.
It is cognate with Sanskrit anti "over, against," and Old English and- (the first element in answer). A common compounding element in Greek, in some combinations it became anth- for euphonic reasons. It appears in some words in Middle English but was not commonly used in English word formations until modern times. In a few English words (anticipate, antique) it represents Latin ante.
In noun compounds where it has the sense of "opposed to, opposite" (Antichrist, anti-communist) the accent remains on the anti-; in adjectives where it retains its old prepositional sense "against, opposed to," the accent remains on the other element (anti-Christian, anti-slavery).
also hippogryph, 1650s, from French hippogriffe (16c.), from Italian ippogrifo, from Greek hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + Italian grifo, from Late Latin gryphus "griffin" (see griffin). A creature part griffin, but with body and hind parts in the form of a horse. "[A]pparently invented, in imitation of Pegasus, by the romancers of the middle ages, and furnished to their heroes as a means of transportation through the air" [Century Dictionary].
"order, good condition," in out of kilter (1620s), apparently a variant of English dialectal kelter (c. 1600) "good condition, order," a word of unknown origin.
"one who justifies, maintains, or defends," 1560s, from Late Latin vindicator "an avenger," from Latin vindicare (see vindication). Englished fem. form vindicatress is attested by 1854.
"male Latin-American inhabitant of the United States" (fem. Latina), 1946, American English, from American Spanish, a shortening of Latinoamericano "Latin-American" (see Latin America). As an adjective, attested from 1974.
1815, "one who dines," agent noun from dine. Meaning "railway car for eating" is 1890, American English; of restaurants built to resemble dining cars (or in some cases actual converted dining cars) from 1935. The Diner's Club credit card system dates from 1952.
mid-15c., of weapons, "strike obliquely without giving full impact," a nasalized form of glacen "to graze, strike a glancing blow" (c. 1300), from Old French glacier "to slip, make slippery" (compare Old French glaciere "part of a knight's armor meant to deflect blows"), from glace "ice" (see glacial). Sense of "look quickly" (first recorded 1580s) probably was by influence of Middle English glenten "look askance" (see glint (v.)), which also could account for the -n-. Related: Glanced; glancing.
c. 1500, "a sudden movement producing a flash," from glance (v.). Meaning "brief or hurried look" is from 1590s.
1825 as one word, from waste (adj.) + land (n.). Compare French terrain vague "waste ground" (used in English by 1920). Figurative sense is attested from 1868. Eliot's poem is from 1922.
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Old English fleot "a ship, a raft, a floating vessel," also, collectively, "means of sea travel; boats generally," from fleotan "to float, swim," from Proto-Germanic *fleutanan (source also of Old Saxon fliotan, Old Frisian fliata, Old Norse fljta, Old High German fliozzan, Middle Dutch vlieten "to flow"), from PIE *pleud-, extended form of root *pleu- "to flow."
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The sense of "naval force, group of ships under one command" is in late Old English. The more usual Old English word was flota "a ship," also "a fleet; a sailor." The fleet for "the navy" is attested by 1712. The Old English word also meant "estuary, inlet, flow of water," especially the one into the Thames near Ludgate Hill, which lent its name to Fleet Street (home of newspaper and magazine houses, hence its use metonymically for "the English press" since at least 1882) and Fleet prison (long used for debtors).
"swift," 1520s, but probably older than the record; apparently from or cognate with Old Norse fliotr "swift," from Proto-Germanic *fleutaz, from PIE *pleud-, extended form of root *pleu- "to flow." Related: Fleetness.
Old English fleotan "to float; drift; flow, run (as water); swim; sail (of a ship)," from Proto-Germanic *fleutan (source also of Old Frisian fliata, Old Saxon fliotan "to flow," Old High German fliozzan "to float, flow," German fliessen "to flow, run, trickle" (as water), Old Norse fliota "to float, flow"), from PIE root *pleu- "to flow."
Meaning "to glide away like a stream, vanish imperceptibly" is from c. 1200; hence "to fade, to vanish" (1570s). Related: Fleeted; fleeting.
Old English lust "desire, appetite; inclination, pleasure; sensuous appetite," from Proto-Germanic *lustuz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch lust, German Lust, Old Norse lyst, Gothic lustus "pleasure, desire, lust"), abstract noun from PIE *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (source also of Latin lascivus "wanton, playful, lustful;" see lascivious).
In Middle English, "any source of pleasure or delight," also "an appetite," also "a liking for a person," also "fertility" (of soil). Specific and pejorative sense of "sinful sexual desire, degrading animal passion" (now the main meaning) developed in late Old English from the word's use in Bible translations (such as lusts of the flesh to render Latin concupiscentia carnis in I John ii:16); the cognate words in other Germanic languages tend to mean simply "pleasure." Masculine in Old English, feminine in modern German.
c. 1200, "to wish, to desire eagerly," from lust (n.), absorbing or replacing the older verb, Old English lystan (see list (v.4)). In Middle English also "to please, delight." Sense of "to have an intense, especially sexual, desire (for or after)" is first attested 1520s in biblical use. Related: Lusted; lusting.
"fact of being to one's taste," Old English licung, verbal noun from like (v.).
c. 1840, in logic, "make explicit the use of a term in a proposition by attaching all, some, etc.," from Modern Latin quantificare, from Latin quantus "as much," correlative pronominal adjective (see quantity) + combining form of facere "to make" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Literal sense of "determine or mark the quantity of, measure" is by 1878. Related: Quantified; quantifying.
"jasmine," Middle English, from French jassemin (see jasmine). Also jessamy (1630s).
c. 1300, utaves (plural, via Anglo-French from popular Old French form oitieve, otaves), reformed in early 15c., from Medieval Latin octava, from Latin octava dies "eighth day," fem. of octavus "eighth," from octo (see eight).
Originally "period of eight days after a festival," also "eighth day after a festival" (counting both days, by inclusive reckoning; thus if the festival was on a Sunday, the octaves would be the following Sunday).
Verse sense of "stanza of eight lines" is from 1580s; musical sense of "note eight diatonic degrees above (or below) a given note" is by 1650s, from Latin octava (pars) "eighth part." Formerly English eighth was used in this sense (mid-15c.)
early 15c. (earlier vacabond, c. 1400), "without a fixed abode," from Old French vagabond, vacabond "wandering, unsteady" (14c.), from Late Latin vagabundus "wandering, strolling about," from Latin vagari "wander" (from vagus "wandering, undecided;" see vague) + gerundive suffix -bundus. By mid-15c. as "given to idleness, dissolute."
c. 1400, earlier wagabund, "one who wanders from place to place;" see vagabond (adj.). Despite earliest appearance in a criminal indictment from 1311, in Middle English often merely "one who is without a settled home, a vagrant" but not necessarily in a bad sense. The notion of "idle, disreputable person without proper means of livelihood and no fixed habitation" predominated from 17c. Related: Vagabondage "state, conditions, or habits of a vagabond" (1813).
also jackknife, "pocket knife larger than a pen-knife," 1711, probably American English, apparently from some sense of jack (n.). Perhaps it originally was associated with sailors. Jackleg, jacklegged was a U.S. colloquial term of contempt from 1839. Scottish dialect had jockteleg (1670s) "large clasp-knife," of unknown origin, also jackylegs, jack-o-legs. As a kind of swimming dive from 1922; as a type of tractor-trailer accident, 1966; both from the notion of folding, as the knife does.
1776, "to stab," from jack-knife (n.). Intransitive meaning "to fold or bend" the body is said to date from the time of the American Civil War. The truck accident verbal sense is from 1949. Related: Jackknifed; jackknifing.
Middle English whanne, Old English hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Proto-Germanic *hwan- (source also of Old Saxon hwan, Old Frisian hwenne, Middle Dutch wan, Old High German hwanne, German wann "when," wenn "if, whenever"), from pronominal stem *hwa-, from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns.
Equivalent to Latin quom, cum. As a conjunction in late Old English, "at the time that; at the same time that." Interrogatory use, "at what time?" is by early 13c. Non-temporal use, "in which case," is by early 15c. Say when "tell me when to stop pouring this drink" is from 1889.
"quality or state of being nothing," 1670s, from Medieval Latin nihilitas, from nihil "nothing at all" (see nil).
"instrument for studying motion by periodic light," 1896, with -scope + Greek strobos "a whorl, a twisting, act of whirling" (see strobo-). Earlier the word was used as the name of a similar device used as a "scientific toy" [OED]. Related: Stroboscopic (1846).
The phenakistoscope and zoëtrope represent one form of stroboscope. [Century Dictionary]
Middle English nose, from Old English nosu "the nose of the human head, the special organ of breathing and smelling," from Proto-Germanic *nuso- (source also of Old Norse nös, Old Frisian nose, Dutch neus, Old High German nasa, German Nase), from PIE root *nas- "nose."
Used of beaks or snouts of animals from mid-13c.; of any prominent or projecting part supposed to resemble a nose from late 14c. (nose cone in the space rocket sense is from 1949). Meaning "sense of smell" is from mid-14c. Meaning "odor, scent" is from 1894. In Middle English, to have one's spirit in one's nose was to "be impetuous or easily angered" (c. 1400).
Kiv, It could bee no other then his owne manne, that had thrust his nose so farre out of ioynte. ["Barnabe Riche His Farewell to Military Profession," 1581]
To pay through the nose "pay excessively" (1670s) seems to suggest bleeding. Many extended meanings are from the horse-racing sense of "length of a horse's nose," as a measure of distance between two finishers (1908). To turn up one's nose "show disdain, express scorn or contempt" is from 1818 (earlier hold up one's nose, 1570s); a similar notion is expressed in look down one's nose (1907). To say something is under (one's) nose "in plain view, directly in front of one" is from mid-15c. To be as plain as the nose on one's face "very easy to be seen or understood" is from 1590s.
1570s, "perceive the smell of;" 1640s; "pry, search in a meddlesome way;" from nose (n.). Related: Nosed; nosing.
"formal public speaking; the art of eloquence," 1580s, from Latin (ars) oratoria "oratorical (art)," fem. of oratorius "of speaking or pleading, pertaining to an orator," from ōrare "to speak, pray, plead" (see orator).
Oratory is the art or the act of speaking, or the speech. Rhetoric is the theory of the art of composing discourse in either the spoken or the written form. Elocution is the manner of speaking or the theory of the art of speaking ...: the word is equally applicable to the presentation of one's own or of another's thoughts. [Century Dictionary]
"small chapel for prayer or worship," early 14c., oratorie, from Old French oratorie and directly from Late Latin oratorium "place of prayer" (especially the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome, where musical services were presented; see oratorio), noun use of an adjective, as in oratorium templum, from neuter of Latin oratorius "of or for praying," from ōrare "to pray, plead, speak" (see orator).
Spanish for "beer," from Latin cervisia "beer" (related to Latin cerea "a Spanish beer"), which is perhaps related to Latin cremor "thick broth," or from Celtic *kerb- (compare Gaulish curmi, Old Irish cuirm, Middle Irish coirm, Welsh cwrwf, Old Cornish coref "beer"), from Proto-Celtic *kormi-, probably from the same source as Latin cremare "to burn" (see cremation). "Connection with ceres (as a drink from grain) is very dubious" [Tucker].
"one thing in place of another," 1560s, from Latin, literally "something for something, one thing for another," from nominative (quid) and ablative (quo) neuter singulars of relative pronoun qui "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns) + pro "for" (see pro-).
Quid pro quo, A terme among Apothecaries, when instead of one thing they use another of the same nature. [Cockeram, English Dictionarie, 1623]
late 14c., "observation as the source of knowledge; actual observation; an event which has affected one," from Old French esperience "experiment, proof, experience" (13c.), from Latin experientia "a trial, proof, experiment; knowledge gained by repeated trials," from experientem (nominative experiens) "experienced, enterprising, active, industrious," present participle of experiri "to try, test," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + peritus "experienced, tested," from PIE *per-yo-, suffixed form of root *per- (3) "to try, risk." Meaning "state of having done something and gotten handy at it" is from late 15c.
1530s, "to test, try, learn by practical trial or proof;" see experience (n.). Sense of "feel, undergo" first recorded 1580s. Related: Experienced; experiences; experiencing.
early 15c., "to include," from Old French compris, past participle of comprendre "to contain, comprise" (12c.), from Latin comprehendere "to take together, to unite; include; seize; to comprehend, perceive" (to seize or take in the mind), from com "with, together," here probably "completely" (see com-) + prehendere "to catch hold of, seize," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take." Related: Comprised; comprising. From late 15c. as "to contain," as parts making up a whole; from 1794 as "to constitute, make up, compose."
"pail or open vessel for drawing and carrying water and other liquids," mid-13c., from Anglo-French buquet "bucket, pail," from Old French buquet "bucket," which is from Frankish or some other Germanic source, or a diminutive of cognate Old English buc "pitcher, bulging vessel," originally "belly" (buckets were formerly of leather as well as wood), both from West Germanic *buh- (source also of Dutch buik, Old High German buh, German Bauch "belly"), possibly from a variant of PIE root *beu-, *bheu- "to grow, swell" (see bull (n.2)).
To kick the bucket "die" (1785) perhaps is from an unrelated bucket "beam on which something may be hung or carried" (1570s), from French buquet "balance," a beam from which slaughtered animals were hung (by the heels or hooves). This was perhaps reinforced by the notion of suicide by hanging after standing on an upturned bucket; but Farmer calls attention to bucket "a Norfolk term for a pulley." Bucket list "list of experiences or achievements one hopes to have or accomplish during one's remaining life," is by 2007, probably based on kicking the bucket as "dying," but the phrase was used earlier in algorithm sorting.
early 13c., "to defile or pollute with sin," from Old French soillier "to splatter with mud, to foul or make dirty," originally "to wallow" (12c., Modern French souillier), from souil "tub, wild boar's wallow, pigsty," which is from Latin solium "tub for bathing; seat" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit") or else from Latin suculus "little pig," from sus "pig." The literal meaning "to make dirty on the surface, begrime" is attested from c. 1300 in English. Related: Soiled; soiling.
c. 1300, "land, area, place," from Anglo-French soil "piece of ground, place" (13c.). It is attested from late 14c. as "the earth, the ground," and mid-15c. as "mould, earth, dirt," especially that in which plants grow. The meaning "one's land, place of one's nativity" is from c. 1400.
The word seems to be a merger or confusion of three words in Old French: 1. sol "bottom, ground, soil" (12c., from Latin solum "soil, ground;" see sole (n.1)); 2. soeul, sueil "threshold, area, place" (from Latin solium "seat," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit"); 3. soil, soille "a miry place," from soillier "splatter with mud" (see soil (v.)).
"filth, dirt, refuse matter, sewage, liquid likely to contain excrement," c. 1600, a sense extended from Middle English soile "miry or muddy place, bog," especially as a wallow for a hog or a refuge for a hunted deer (early 15c.), from Old French soille "miry place," from soillier (v.) "to make dirty," and in part a native formation from soil (v.). In form and senses also much influenced by soil (n.1). This is the word in the plumber's soil pipe (by 1833) and archaic night-soil.
Old English læt "occurring after the customary or expected time," originally "slow, sluggish, slack, lax, negligent," from Proto-Germanic *lata- (source also of Old Norse latr "sluggish, lazy," Middle Dutch, Old Saxon lat, Dutch laat, German laß "idle, weary," Gothic lats "weary, sluggish, lazy," latjan "to hinder"), from PIE *led- "slow, weary," from root *lē- "to let go, slacken."
From mid-13c. as "occurring in the latter part of a period of time." From c. 1400 as "being or occurring in the near, or not too distant, past; recent" (of late). From this comes the early 15c. sense "recently dead, not many years dead" (as in the late Mrs. Smith). Of menstruation, attested colloquially from 1962. Expression better late than never is attested from late 15c. As an adverb, from Old English late "slowly."
"to take, take up in the hands in order to move, carry, or use; take unlawfully, steal" (archaic), Old English niman "to take, accept, receive, grasp, catch," from Proto-Germanic *nemanan (source also of Old Saxon niman, Old Frisian nima, Middle Dutch nemen, German nehmen, Gothic niman), perhaps from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take." The native word, replaced by Scandinavian-derived take (v.) and out of use from c. 1500 except in slang sense of "to steal," which endured into 19c. The derivatives numb and nimble remain in use.
Middle English yelden, "relinquish involuntarily; submit to another's direction or rule; surrender to a foe;" from Old English gieldan (West Saxon), geldan (Anglian) "to pay, pay for; reward, render; worship, serve, sacrifice to" (class III strong verb; past tense geald, past participle golden), from Proto-Germanic *geldan "pay."
This is reconstructed to be from PIE *gheldh- "to pay," a root found only in Balto-Slavic and Germanic (and Old Church Slavonic žledo, Lithuanian geliuoti might be Germanic loan-words).
Germanic cognates include Old Saxon geldan "to be worth," Old Norse gjaldo "to repay, return," Middle Dutch ghelden, Dutch gelden "to cost, be worth, concern," Old High German geltan, German gelten "to be worth," Gothic fra-gildan "to repay, requite."
"[T]he only generally surviving senses on the Continent are 'to be worth; to be valid, to concern, apply to,' which are not represented at all in the English word" [OED, 1989].
The sense development in English comes via use of this word to translate Latin reddere, French rendre.
The sense of "produce, bear, bring forth," also "give in return for labor" is from c. 1300, later also in reference to capital invested. The intransitive sense of "give oneself up, submit, surrender (to a foe)" is from c. 1300, as is the physical sense of "give way to superior force."
Related to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch gelt, Dutch geld, German Geld "money." Related: Yielded; yielding. The old past-participle yolden, "having surrendered, submissive," produced Middle English yolden-man "prisoner of war."
"that which is yielded," Middle English yeld, "tax, exaction, customary rent or payment," from Old English gield "payment, sum of money; service, offering, worship;" from the source of yield (v.).
The extended sense of "production, something obtained as a result of work or action" (as of crops) is attested by mid-15c. The earliest English sense survives in financial yield from investments.
"slight or delicate degree of difference in expression, feeling, opinion, etc.," 1781, from French nuance "slight difference, shade of color" (17c.), from nuer "to shade," from nue "cloud," from Gallo-Roman *nuba, from Latin nubes "a cloud, mist, vapor," from PIE *sneudh- "fog" (source also of Avestan snaoda "clouds," Latin obnubere "to veil," Welsh nudd "fog," Greek nython, in Hesychius "dark, dusky").
According to Klein, the French secondary sense is a reference to "the different colors of the clouds." In reference to color or tone, "a slight variation in shade," by 1852; of music, by 1841 as a French term in English.
"to give nuances to," 1886, from nuance (n.). Related: Nuanced.
mid-14c., from Medieval Latin flasco "container, bottle," from Late Latin flasconem (nominative flasco) "bottle," which is of uncertain origin. A word common to Germanic and Romanic, but it is unclear whether the Latin or Germanic word is the original (or whether both might have got it from the Celts). Those who support a Germanic origin compare Old English flasce "flask, bottle" (which would have become modern English *flash), Old High German flaska, Middle Dutch flasce, German Flasche "bottle." If it is Germanic, the original sense might be "bottle plaited round, case bottle" (compare Old High German flechtan "to weave," Old English fleohtan "to braid, plait"), from Proto-Germanic base *fleh- (see flax).
Another theory traces the Late Latin word to a metathesis of Latin vasculum. "The assumption that the word is of Teut[onic] origin is chronologically legitimate, and presents no difficulty exc[ept] the absence of any satisfactory etymology" [OED]. The similar words in Finnish and Slavic are held to be from Germanic.
1086, Loncastre, literally "Roman Fort on the River Lune," a Celtic river name probably meaning "healthy, pure." In English history, the Lancastrians or House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses (late 15c.) were the branch of the Plantagenets descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
Lancastrian (1650s) is the usual adjective with places of that name; Lancasterian (1807) was used of the teaching methods, principally the system of teaching younger pupils by the more advanced, popularized early 19c. by educator Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838).
type of skull-cap worn by male Jews, 1903, from Yiddish yarmulke, from Polish jarmułka, originally "a skullcap worn by priests," perhaps ultimately from Medieval Latin almutia "cowl, hood."
1610s, originally in astrology and said to have been introduced by Kepler, "aspect of planets when they are 72 degrees from each other" (a fifth of the zodiac), from Latin quintus "the fifth" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five") + ending from quartile. Its use in statistics in reference to a division data points into five parts of more or less equal size dates to 1951.
before vowels myx-, word-forming element meaning "slime, mucus," from Greek myxa "mucus; lamp wick" (see mucus).