"missile weapon used by Aborigines," 1827, adapted from an extinct Aboriginal languages of New South Wales, Australia. Another variant, perhaps, was wo-mur-rang (1798).
1880, "throw a boomerang," from boomerang (n.). The figurative sense of "fly back to the starting point" is from 1900.
by 1844 as a nickname for a James; probably felt as an elaboration of Jim, but jimbo is earlier as a word in mistrelsy ("Jimbo Jam," 1839), and in U.S. c. 1840 as a generic name for a (New World) Spaniard. A Squire Jimbo is a character in a farce published 1801 as the work of a sergeant in the Royal Lanerkshire militia.
of medicines, "kept in stock by a druggist," 1660s, from French officinal, from Medieval Latin officinalis, literally "of or belonging in an officina," a storeroom (of a monastery) for medicines and necessaries, in classical Latin "workshop, manufactory, laboratory," contraction of *opificina, from opifex (genitive opificis) "worker, workman, maker, doer" (from opus "work," from PIE root *op- "to work, produce in abundance") + -fex, -ficis "maker, one who does," from facere "to do, make" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Related: Officinally.
c. 1600, "indifference to pain," from French indolence (16c.) or directly from Late Latin indolentia "freedom from pain, insensibility," abstract noun from Latin indolentem (nominative indolens) "insensitive to pain," from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + dolentem (nominative dolens) "grieving," present participle of dolere "suffer pain, grieve" (see doleful). Originally of prisoners under torture, etc. The intermediate sense "state of rest or ease neither pleasant nor painful" (1650s) is now obsolete as well; main modern sense of "laziness, love of ease" (1710) perhaps reflects the notion of avoiding trouble (compare taking pains "working hard, striving (to do)").
The Castle hight of Indolence,
And its false Luxury;
Where for a little Time, alas!
We liv'd right jollity.
[Thomson, "The Castle of Indolence," 1748]
"barren table-land in South Africa," 1789, said to be from a Khoisan (Hottentot) word meaning "hard," or perhaps "desert."
late 14c., "soda ash," from Medieval Latin alkali, from Arabic al-qaliy "the ashes, burnt ashes" (of saltwort, which abounds in soda due to growing in alkaline soils), from qala "to roast in a pan." Later extended to similar substances, natural or manufactured. The modern chemistry sense is from 1813.
"mixture of cement, material used (in building) for binding together stones or bricks," mid-13c., from Old French mortier "builder's mortar, plaster; bowl for mixing" (13c.) and directly from Latin mortarium "mortar, mixture of lime and sand," also "crushed drugs," which probably is the same word as mortarium "bowl for mixing or pounding" (see mortar (n.2)), with the sense transferred from the bowl to the material prepared in it. Dutch mortel, German Mörtel are from Latin or French.
"bowl for pounding, vessel in which substances are beaten to powder by means of a pestle," c. 1200, from Old French mortier "bowl; builder's mortar" and directly from Latin mortarium "bowl for mixing or pounding," also used of the material prepared in it, a word of unknown origin as it is impossible now to determine which sense was original. Watkins says probably from PIE root *mer- "to rub away, harm;" de Vaan finds this plausible. Late Old English had mortere, from the same Latin source, which might also be a source of the modern word. German Mörser also is from Latin.
"short cannon, ordnance piece short in proportion to the size of its bore," fired at a high angle and meant to secure a vertical fall of the projectile, 1620s, originally mortar-piece (1550s), from French mortier "short cannon," in Old French, "bowl for mixing or pounding" (see mortar (n.2)). So called for its shape.
Middle English senden, from Old English sendan "dispatch (as a messenger, on an errand); order or cause to go or pass (from one place to another);" also "send forth, emit; throw, propel, cause to be delivered or conveyed."
This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *sond- "make to go" (source also of Old Saxon sendian, Old Norse senda, Old Frisian senda, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch senden, Dutch zenden, German senden, Gothic sandjan), causative form of *sinþan "to go, journey" (source of Old English sið "way, journey," Old Norse sinn, Gothic sinþs "going, walk, time"). This in turn is from the PIE root *sent- "to head for, go" (source also of Lithuanian siųsti "send"), for which see sense (n.). For the linguistic connection of "go" and "sense," compare German sinnen (past tense sann) "go over in the mind, review, reflect upon."
The meaning cause (someone) to go into some specified state (send to sleep, etc.) is by 1831. The slang sense of "to transport with emotion, delight" is by 1932, in American English jazz slang. To send word "transmit or dispatch a message" (to someone) is from c. 1200. To send for "summon, send a message or messenger for" is by late 14c.
village on the west bank of the Hudson in New York, site of the U.S. Military Academy; hence West Pointer "officer trained at West Point" (by 1863).
"look inquisitively, look closely or with scrutinizing curiosity," c. 1300, prien "to peer in," a word of unknown origin, perhaps related to late Old English bepriwan "to wink." Related: Pried; prying. As a noun, "act of prying, curious or close inspection," from 1750; meaning "inquisitive, intrusive person" is from 1845.
Curious and inquisitive may be used in a good or a bad sense, but inquisitive is more often, and prying is only, found in the latter. Curious expresses only the desire to know; inquisitive, the effort to find out by inquiry; prying, the effort to find out secrets by looking and working in improper ways. [Century Dictionary]
"raise or move by force," 1823, from a noun meaning "large lever used to raise or move heavy things, crowbar;" an alteration of prize (as though it were a plural) in its obsolete sense of "lever" (c. 1300), from Old French prise "a taking hold, grasp" (see prize (n.2)).
Old English fore (prep.) "before, in front of, in presence of; because of, for the sake of; earlier in time; instead of;" as an adverb, "before, previously, formerly, once," from Proto-Germanic *fura "before" (source also of Old Saxon fora, Old Frisian fara, Old High German fora, German vor, Danish for, Old Norse fyrr, Gothic faiura "for"), from PIE *prae-, extended form of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before."
Now displaced by before. In nautical use, "toward the bows of the ship." Merged from 13c. with the abbreviated forms of afore and before and thus formerly often written 'fore. As a noun, "the front," from 1630s. The warning cry in golf is first recorded 1878, probably a contraction of before.
mid-15c., "forward;" late 15c., "former, earlier;" early 16c., "situated at the front;" all senses apparently from fore- compounds, which frequently were written as two words in Middle English.
"finer portion of ground grain," mid-13c., from flower (n.), and maintaining its older spelling, on the notion of flour as the "finest part" of meal, perhaps as the flower is the finest part of the plant or the fairest plant of the field (compare French fleur de farine), as distinguished from the coarser parts (meal (n.2)). Old French flor also meant both "a flower, blossom" and "meal, fine flour." The English word also was spelled flower until flour became the accepted form c. 1830 to end confusion. Flour-knave "miller's helper" is from c. 1300.
"to sprinkle with flour," 1650s, from flour (n.). Meaning "convert (wheat) into flour" is from 1828. Related: Floured; flouring.
"period of manhood," 1580s, from French virilité, from Latin virilitatem (nominative virilitas) "manhood," from virilis "of a man, manly, worthy of a man," from vir "a man, a hero," from PIE root *wi-ro- "man." Meaning "power of procreation, capacity for sexual intercourse" is from 1590s; sense of "manly strength" is recorded from c. 1600.
"craft or vessel which navigates through the air," 1850, air-craft, in the writings of John Wise, originally in reference to balloons, from air (n.1) + craft (n.). An image from boating, as were many early aviation words. Of airplanes from 1907 and since 1930s exclusively of them. Aircraft carrier is attested from 1919, in reference to H.M.S. Hermes, launched September 1919, the first ship built from the hull up as an aircraft carrier.
in Greek mythology, a demigod (son of the Titan Iapetus) who made man from clay and stole fire from heaven and taught mankind its use, for which he was punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock in the Caucasus, where a vulture came every day and preyed on his liver.
The name is Greek, and anciently was interpreted etymologically as "forethinker, foreseer," from promēthēs "thinking before," from pro "before" (see pro-) + *mēthos, related to mathein "to learn" (from an enlargement of PIE root *men- (1) "to think"). In another view this is folk-etymology, and Watkins suggests the second element is possibly from a base meaning "to steal," also found in Sanskrit mathnati "he steals."
"belt of constellations around the ecliptic," within which the planets move, late 14c., zodiak, from Old French zodiaque and directly from Latin zodiacus "zodiac," from Greek zōdiakos (kyklos) "zodiac (circle)," literally "circle of little animals," from zōidion, "sign of the zodiac, sculptured figure of an animal," diminutive of zōion "animal" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live").
Libra is not an animal, but it was not a zodiac constellation to the Greeks, who reckoned 11 but counted Scorpio and its claws (including what is now Libra) as a "double constellation." Libra was figured back in by the Romans.
In Old English the zodiac was twelf tacna "the twelve signs," and in Middle English also Our Ladye's Waye and the Girdle of the Sky.
word-forming element meaning "poison," from combining form of Latin venenum (see venom).
mid-15c., "bat-like implement used in washing clothes," of unknown origin, perhaps from Old Provençal batedor, Spanish batidor "beater, bat," from batir "to beat;" perhaps blended with Middle English betel "hammer, mallet" (see beetle (n.2)). As a type of racket used in a game, from 1590s, so called from similarity of shape.
card game, 1848, from French baccara (19c.), which is of unknown origin. Baccarat is the name of a town in France that was noted for glass-making.
"embracing and caressing a member of the opposite sex," 1825; see neck (v.). In architecture, "moldings near the capital of a column."
mid-15c., nebule "a cloud, mist," from Latin nebula, plural nebulae, "mist, vapor, fog, smoke, exhalation," figuratively "darkness, obscurity," from PIE root *nebh- "cloud."
Re-borrowed from Latin 1660s in sense of "cataracts in the eye;" astronomical meaning "luminous cloud-like patch in the heavens" is from c. 1730. As early as Herschel (1802) astronomers realized that some nebulae were star clusters, but the certain distinction of relatively nearby cosmic gas clouds from distant galaxies (as these are now properly called) was not made until the 1920s, when the latter were resolved into individual stars (and nebulae) using the new 100-inch Mt. Wilson telescope.
round dance performed by couples to music in triple time, extraordinarily popular as a fashionable dance from late 18c. to late 19c. (the dance itself probably of Bohemian origin), 1779, walse, in a translation of "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" from a French translation, which has walse; from German Waltzer, from walzen "to roll, dance," from Old High German walzan "to turn, roll."
This is from Proto-Germanic *walt- (cognate with Old Norse velta), from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve." Related verbs include Middle English walt (v.) "to turn over, be overturned; surge, well up" (c. 1200); provincial walter "waver, totter;" also compare welter.
Described in 1825 as "a riotous and indecent German dance" [Walter Hamilton, "A Hand-Book or Concise Dictionary of Terms Used in the Arts and Sciences"].
The music struck up a beautiful air, and the dancers advanced a few steps, when suddenly, to my no small horror and amazement, the gentlemen seized the ladies round the waist, and all, as if intoxicated by this novel juxtaposition, began to whirl about the room, like a company of Bacchanalians dancing round a statue of the jolly god. "A waltz!" exclaimed I, inexpressibly shocked, "have I lived to see Scotch women waltz?" [The Edinburgh Magazine, April 1820]
[T]he waltz became a craze at the end of the [eighteenth] century, a double-dactylic, joyful experience of liberation, breaking resolutely away from the proscriptions of the minuet and the philosophy inherent in the minuet, which had emphasized a pattern of order and reason overseen by a sovereign, the individual submerged in the pattern. [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry"]
"dance a waltz," 1794, from waltz (n.). Hence extended sense of "move nimbly and trippingly" (as one does in dancing a waltz), by 1853. Related: Waltzed; waltzing.
mid-14c., junke "old cable or rope," cut in bits and used for caulking, etc., a nautical word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French junc "rush, reed," also used figuratively as a type of something of little value, from Latin iuncus "rush, reed" (but OED finds "no evidence of connexion").
It was extended to "old refuse from boats and ships" (1660s), then to "old or discarded articles of any kind" (1884), usually with a suggestion of reusability. Meaning "salt meat used on long voyages" is from 1762. Meaning "narcotic drug" is from 1925. Junk food is from 1971; junk art is from 1961; junk mail first attested 1954; junk bond from 1979.
"large, seagoing Chinese sailing ship," 1610s, from Portuguese junco, from Malay (Austronesian) jong "ship, large boat" (13c.), probably from Javanese djong. In English 16c. as giunche, iunco.
1803, "to cut off in lumps," from junk (n.1). The meaning "to throw away as trash, to scrap" is from 1908. Related: Junked; junking.
New settlers (who should always be here as early in the spring as possible) begin to cut down the wood where they intend to erect their first house. As the trees are cut the branches are to be lopped off, and the trunks cut into lengths of 12 or 14 feet. This operation they call junking them; if they are not junked before fire is applied, they are much worse to junk afterwards. [letter dated Charlotte Town, Nov. 29, 1820, in "A Series of Letters Descriptive of Prince Edward Island," 1822]
"light railery, playful banter," 1650s, from French badinage "playfulness, jesting," from badiner (v.) "to jest, joke," from badin "silly, jesting" (16c.), from Old Provençal badar "to yawn, gape," from Late Latin badare "to gape," from *bat- "to yawn" (see abash). One who indulges in it is a badineur.
adjective and noun suffix, "having to do with, characterized by, tending to, place for," from Middle English -orie, from Old North French -ory, -orie (Old French -oir, -oire), from Latin -orius, -oria, -orium.
Latin adjectives in -orius, according to "An Etymological Dictionary of the French Language," tended to "indicate a quality proper to the action accomplished by the agent; as oratorius from orator; laudatorius from laudator. The neuter of these adjectives was early employed as a substantive, and usually denoted the place of residence of the agent or the instrument that he uses; as praetorium from praetor; dormitorium from dormitor; auditorium, dolatorium.
"These newer words, already frequent under the Empire, became exceedingly numerous at a later time, especially in ecclesiastical and scholastic Latin; as purgatorium, refectorium, laboratorium, observatorium, &c." [transl. G.W. Kitchin, Oxford, 1878]
mid-15c., "preceding, antecedent, going before in time or place," present-participle adjective from forego. As a noun from 1660s.
1712, "pure red dyestuff obtained from cochineal," from French carmin (12c.), from Medieval Latin carminium, from Arabic qirmiz "crimson" (see kermes, also compare crimson (n.)). The form was influenced in Latin by minium "red lead, cinnabar," a word said to be of Iberian origin. As an adjective from 1737; as a color name from 1799. Related: Carminic.
early 15c., "idle one's time, dawdle over work;" perhaps from or akin to Middle Dutch loteren "be loose or erratic, shake, totter" like a loose tooth or a sail in a storm; in modern Dutch, leuteren "to delay, linger, loiter over one's work," according to Watkins, literally "to make smaller," and perhaps from Germanic *lut-, from PIE *leud- "small" (see little (adj.)).
The Dutch word is said to be cognate with Old English lutian "lurk," and related to Old English loddere "beggar;" Old High German lotar "empty, vain," luzen "lurk;" German Lotterbube "vagabond, rascal," lauschen "eavesdrop;" Gothic luton "mislead;" Old English lyðre "base, bad, wicked." Related: Loitered; loitering.
1769, of a vessel, "equipped with rigging" (of a specified sort), from rig (v.).
Middle English, from Old English wundor "strange or marvelous thing, unheard of or supernatural event; object of astonishment," from Proto-Germanic *wundran (source also of Old Saxon wundar, Middle Dutch, Dutch wonder, Old High German wuntar, German wunder, Old Norse undr), a word of unknown origin.
By late Old English as "cause of perplexity, a conundrum." In Middle English it also came to mean the emotion of amazement or reverential awe excited by novelty or something extraordinary and not well understood (late 13c.). By mid-14c. as "a spectacle."
To be no wonder "no surprise" was in late Old English (næs nan wunder, with emphatic negatives). A nine-days wonder (1590s) "subject of astonishment and gossip for a short time," was later "generally a petty scandal" (Century Dictionary); in Chaucer nine-nights wonder (compare nine). The original wonder drug (1939) might have been Sulfanilamide.
Middle English wondren, from Old English wundrian "be astonished, be struck with amazement," also "admire; make wonderful, magnify," from the source of wonder (n.) and like it of unknown origin. Germanic cognates include Dutch wonderen, Old High German wuntaron, German wundern.
The transitive sense of "be puzzled, be curious about, entertain some doubt, speculate expectantly," is attested by late Old English, hence I wonder for "I should like to know." Related: Wondered; wondering.
Reflexive dative use (I wonder me) was common in Middle English and as late as Tyndale (1533), and is said to survive in Yorkshire/Lincolnshire. It wonders me "it affects or strikes me with wonder" is attested by 1550s; its modern use in Pennsylvania German areas it is idiomatic, from German das wundert mich.
c. 1300, rasour, "sharp-edged instrument for shaving or cutting hair," from Old French rasor, raseor "a razor" (12c.), from raser "to scrape, shave," from Medieval Latin rasare, frequentative of Latin radere (past participle rasus) "to scrape, shave" (see raze (v.)). Compare Medieval Latin rasorium.
As a verb, by 1827 as "shave with a razor," 1937 as "assault with a razor." The razor clam (1835, American English) is so called because its shell resembles an old folding straight-razor. Razor edge, figurative of sharpness or a fine surface, is by 1680s. Razor-blade is attested by 1816.
1650s, "natural, simple, unsophisticated, artless," from French naïve, fem. of naïf, from Old French naif "naive, natural, genuine; just born; foolish, innocent; unspoiled, unworked" (13c.), from Latin nativus "not artificial," also "native, rustic," literally "born, innate, natural" (see native (adj.)). In philosophy by 1871 with reference to Schiller, and by 1855 in translations of him, who used naive (with reflective) in German in his theory of poetry. Related: Naively.
Yet just such an error is made by writers who apply indiscriminately the French feminine adjectives naïve and petite to "man" or "men," "woman" or "women." With naïve this error is almost universal though not quite .... [William B. Hodgson, "Errors in the Use of English," 1893]
Dryden, in "Marriage a-la-Mode" (1673) has naive, naiveté among the stock of French words Philotis brings Melantha to enrich her conversation. Also among them are foible, chagrin, gallant, the special sense of figure, etc.
Phil. Figure: As, what a figure of a man is there! Naive and naiveté.
Mel. Naive! as how?
Phil. Speaking of a thing that was naturally said, it was so naive; or such an innocent piece of simplicity, 'twas such a naiveté.
"act or practice of lightly exercising or practicing before an activity," 1915; earlier in literal sense, "a heating" (of something), 1878, from verbal phrase warm up, which is attested by 1868 in the sense of "exercise before an activity."
The verbal phrase is attested from 1848 in reference to heating food; earliest use (c. 1400) is figurative, of persons, "become eager or animated." In reference to appliances, motors, etc., attested from 1947.
mid-15c., "the small flywheel of a spindle," a variant or alteration of whirl (n.).
The meaning "circular arrangement of leaves or flowers round a stem of a plant" is recorded by 1550s. Of seashells or other spiral structures, from 1828. Related: Whorled.
"witty sentence or remark, an observation characterized by wit," 1670s, coined by Dryden (as wittycism) from witty ; the context makes clear it is on the model of criticism but it perhaps also suggests Gallicism, etc.
"That every witticism is an inexact thought: that what is perfectly true is imperfectly witty ...." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]
"one who keeps out of sight," early 14c., agent noun from lurk (v.). In the internet sense by 1990.
"lustful," mid-15c., from Old French libidineus "sinful, lusty" (13c., Modern French libidineux) or directly from Latin libidinosus "full of desire, lustful," from libido "pleasure, desire, sensual passion, lust" (see libido). Related: Libidinously; libidinousness; libidinosity. These are older in English than libido, libidinal, which are from modern psychology.
mid-14c., "loftiness of thought or purpose, greatness of mind or heart, habit of feeling and acting worthily under all circumstances," from Old French magnanimité "high-mindedness, generosity of spirit," from Latin magnanimitatem (nominative magnanimitas) "greatness of soul, high-mindedness," from magnanimus "having a great soul," from magnus "great" (from PIE root *meg- "great") + animus "mind, soul, spirit" (see animus).
Probably a loan-translation of Greek megalopsykhos "high-souled, generous" (Aristotle) or megathymus "great-hearted." The narrower sense of "superiority to petty resentments or jealousies, generous disregard of injuries" (by 1771).
unit of measure, Old English eln, originally "forearm, length of the arm" (as a measure, anywhere from a foot and a half to two feet), from PIE root *el- "elbow, forearm." The exact distance varied, in part depending on whose arm was used as the base and whether it was measured from the shoulder to the fingertip or the wrist: the Scottish ell was 37.2 inches, the Flemish 27 inches. Latin ulna also was a unit of linear measure, and compare cubit. The modern English unit of 45 inches seems to have been set in Tudor times.
Whereas shee tooke an inche of liberty before, tooke an ell afterwardes [Humfrey Gifford, "A Posie of Gilloflowers," 1580].
name of the letter -L- in Latin; in reference to a type of building, 1773, American English; so called for resemblance to the shape of the alphabet letter.
"distinctive clothes worn by one group, a dress of the same kind as others worn by members of the same body," 1748, originally military, from French uniforme, from the adjective (see uniform (adj.)). The meaning "person in uniform" is attested by 1978 (compare suit (n.), used by 1979 as a derisive term for "businessman").
1680s, "make alike, reduce to uniformity," from uniform (adj.). The meaning "dress in a uniform" is from 1861 (U.S. Civil War). Related: Uniformed.
holy city in ancient Judea, from Greek Hierousalem, from Hebrew Yerushalayim, literally "foundation of peace," from base of yarah "he threw, cast" + shalom "peace." Jerusalem "artichoke" (1650s) is folk etymology of Italian girasole "sunflower" (see girasole).
"having knots or joints; bent like a knee," 1660s, from Latin geniculatus "having knots, knotted," from geniculum "little knee, knot on the stalk of a plant," diminutive of genu "knee" (from PIE root *genu- (1) "knee; angle"). Related: Geniculation (1610s).
fatal inherited disorder, 1907, named in German (1901) by German neurologist Henryk Higier (1866-1942) from names of British ophthalmologist Warren Tay (1843-1927) and U.S. physician and neurologist Warren Sachs (1858-1944) who had independently described it in 1881 and 1887 respectively.
1570s, of snow, "carried and gathered in heaps by the wind," past-participle adjective from drive (v.). Meaning "motivated" is by 1972.
"tropical banana-like tree or fruit," 1550s, plantan, from Spanish plátano, plántano, probably from Carib palatana "banana" (Arawak pratane), and altered by association with Spanish plátano "plane tree," from Medieval Latin plantanus "plane tree," itself altered (by association with Latin planta "plant") from Latin platanus (see plane (n.4)). So called from the shape of its leaves. There is no similarity or relation between this plant and plantain (n.2).
"common yard weed of the genus Plantago," with large, spreading leaves close to the ground and slender spikes, c. 1300, planteine, from Anglo-French plaunteyne, Old French plantain, from Latin plantaginem (nominative plantago), the common weed, from planta "sole of the foot" (see plant (n.)); so called from its flat leaves.
"chamois, wild goat of the Alps and Apennines," c. 1600, from Latin ibex, which probably is from a pre-Latin Alpine language. The German Steinbock.
in reference to the presumed ancestral language of ancient Greek, Latin, and most of the modern European ones, 1730, from Biblical Japheth, a son of Noah, from whom the European peoples once were popularly supposed to have descended (as Middle Eastern Semitic from Shem; African Hamitic from Ham). Compare Aryan. Related: Japhetian (1752).
"except for; but for; minus," also "with due respect or consideration for" (one's honor, etc.), late 14c.; see save (prep.).
early 14c., "salvation;" late 14c., "act of protecting (someone) from danger or death," verbal noun from save (v.).
By 1550s as "economy in expenditure or outlay; a reduction or lessening in expenditure." Savings "sums saved over time by the exercise of care and economy" is by 1727. Savings bank , for encouraging thrift "among people of slender means" [Century Dictionary] is by 1817; savings account is attested by 1882. S & L for savings and loan is attested from 1951.
c. 1300, "delivering from sin or death;" 1530s, "delivering or preserving from peril;" present-participle adjective from save (v.). The notion in saving grace is "spiritual gifts necessary to salvation;" the non-Christian sense (by 1903) is moral or mental, indicating something that redeems or exempts from censure.
1590s, "pertaining to the island of Lesbos," from Latin Lesbius, from Greek lesbios "of Lesbos," Greek island in northeastern Aegean Sea (the name originally may have meant "wooded"), home of Sappho, great lyric poet whose erotic and romantic verse embraced women as well as men, hence meaning "relating to homosexual relations between women, characterized by erotic interest in other women" (in continuous use from 1890; the noun lesbianism from this sense is attested from 1870) and the noun, which is first recorded 1925.
Sappho's particular association with erotic love between women (with or without concurrent relations with men) dates to at least 1732 in writing in English, though the continuous use of lesbian and the modern words formed from it are from late 19c. The use of lesbian as a noun and an adjective in this sense seems to follow the same pattern.
In another Place the same commentator conjectures, that Myra is a Corruption of Myrrhina а famous Courtesan of Athens, who first practis'd and taught in that City Sappho's Manner and the Lesbian Gambols. ["Peregrine O Donald" (William King), "The Toast," 1732]
Before this, the principal figurative use of Lesbian was lesbian rule (c. 1600 and especially common in 17c.) a mason's rule of lead, of a type used in ancient times on Lesbos, which could be bent to fit the curves of a molding.
The Lesbians were such perfect work-men, that they made Rules and Squares by their work, and not their work by the rule. [Blount, 1656]
Hence, figuratively, "pliant morality or judgment."
And this is the nature of the equitable, a correction of law where it is defective owing to its universality. ... For when the thing is indefinite the rule also is indefinite, like the leaden rule used in making the Lesbian moulding; the rule adapts itself to the shape of the stone and is not rigid, and so too the decree is adapted to the facts. [Aristotle, "Nicomachean Ethics"]
Lesbian also was used in English from 1775 in reference to wines from Lesbos.
Though the specific meaning "pertaining to female homosexuality" is recent, Lesbian had long before that a suggestion of "amatory, erotic," "From the reputed character of the inhabitants and the tone of their poetry" [Century Dictionary]. The island's erotic reputation was ancient; Greek had a verb lesbiazein "to imitate the Lesbians," which implied "sexual initiative and shamelessness" among women (especially fellatio), but not necessarily female homosexuality, and they did not differentiate such things the way we have.
1925, "female homosexual," from lesbian (adj.).
"Hindu ascetic and mendicant practicing the system of yoga combining meditation and austerity," 1610s, from Hindi yogi, from Sanskrit yoga- (see yoga). Related: Yogism "doctrine and practice of yogis" (1893); from 1887 as yogeeism.
"abhorrence, revulsion; hatred," late 14c., verbal noun from loathe (v.). Old English had laðwendnes, from laðwende "hateful."
type of tubular pasta, plural of zita (1845, Eliza Acton), from Italian, said to be a dialect word for "bridegroom."
"not adjoining or touching, separate," 1650s, from Late Latin incontiguus, from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + contiguus (see contiguous). Related: Incontiguously; incontiguousness.
early 15c., violaten, "to break" (an oath, the Sabbath, a religious laws), "defile" (something); "desecrate" (one's soul); from Latin violatus, past participle of violare "treat with violence, dishonor, outrage" (see violation). The sense of "sexually ravish" also is from early 15c. Related: Violated; violator; violating.
mid-15c., Scottish gouf, usually taken as an alteration of Middle Dutch colf, colve "stick, club, bat," from Proto-Germanic *kulth- (source also of Old Norse kolfr "clapper of a bell," German Kolben "mace, club, butt-end of a gun"). The game is from 14c., the word is first mentioned (along with fut-bol) in a 1457 Scottish statute on forbidden games (a later ordinance decrees, "That in na place of the realme thair be vsit fut-ballis, golf, or vther sic unprofitabill sportis" [Acts James IV, 1491, c.53]). Despite what you read on the internet, golf is not an acronym (this story seems to date to 1997). Golf ball attested from 1540s; the motorized golf-cart from 1951. Golf widow is from 1890.
Oh! who a golfer's bride would be,
Fast mated with a laddie
Who every day goes out to tee
And with him takes the caddie.
["The Golf Widow's Lament," in Golf magazine, Oct. 31, 1890]
c. 1800, from golf (n.). Related: Golfed; golfing.
c. 1600, "malignant nature;" 1650s, "state of extreme malevolence, bitter enmity," from malignant + abstract noun suffix -cy. Of diseases, growths, tumors, etc., "virulence, tendency to get worse," from 1680s. In English history, "adherence to the royal party in the time of Cromwell," 1640s, from malignants, a term applied to the royalists by their enemies.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to gather, pluck, harvest."
It might form all or part of: carpe diem; carpel; carpet; carpo- (1) "fruit;" excerpt; harvest; scarce; scarcity.
It might also be the source of: Sanskrit krpana- "sword," krpani "shears;" Greek karpos "fruit," karpizomai "make harvest of;" Latin carpere "to cut, divide, pluck;" Lithuanian kerpu, kirpti "to cut;" Middle Irish cerbaim "cut;" Old English hærfest "autumn."
Old English toweard, "forthcoming, future, yet to come," from to (see to (prep.)) + -ward. By c. 1300 as "benevolent," also "yielding, pliant," hence "docile, in a state of submission," perhaps on the notion of "aiming, intending to reach," hence "willing to learn from or serve."
Compare froward "away from," hence "turned against, disobedient; adverse, difficult," forward (adj.) "early, in front," hence in a derogatory sense "over-helpful, presumptuous, impertinent." Also compare untoward, which was in Bible translations and continues in use.
Modern toward as "favorable, propitious" is attested by 1850, marked rare in OED, and probably a back-formation from untoward. Related: Towardness; towardly "in an obliging manner" (mid-15c.); "likely to lead to a desired result" (1510s); towardliness.
"sudden pitch to one side," 1784, from earlier lee-larches (1765), a nautical term for "the sudden roll which a ship makes to lee-ward in a high sea, when a large wave strikes her, and bears her weather-side violently up, which depresses the other in proportion" ["Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences," London 1765]. This is perhaps from French lacher "to let go," from Latin laxus (see lax (adj.)).
When a Ship is brought by the Lee, it is commonly occaſsioned by a large Sea, and by the Neglect of the Helm's-man. When the Wind is two or three Points on the Quarter, the Ship taking a Lurch, brings the Wind on the other Side, and lays the Sails all dead to the Maſt; as the Yards are braced up, ſhe then having no Way, and the Helm being of no Service, I would therefore brace about the Head ſails ſharp the other Way .... [John Hamilton Moore, Practical Navigator, 8th ed., 1784]
"predicament," 1580s, from Middle English lurch (v.) "to beat in a game of skill (often by a great many points)," mid-14c. (implied in lurching), probably literally "to make a complete victory in lorche," an old game akin to backgammon, with a name of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is related to Middle English lurken, lorken "to lie hidden, lie in ambush" (Middle English Compendium; see lurk), or it may be from Old French lourche, from Middle High German lurz "left," also "wrong" [OED]. The immediate source of the transferred use in leave in the lurch "leave suddenly and unexpectedly in an embarrassing predicament" (1590s) would be cribbage.
1821, "to roll or sway suddenly to one side," from lurch (n.1). Meaning "walk with an uneven gait" is from 1851. Related: Lurched; lurching.
1706, "hip-joint," from Latin coxa "hip," which, according to de Vaan, is from PIE *koks-h- "limb, joint," and is cognate with Sanskrit kaksa-, Avestan kasa- "armpit," Old Irish coss "foot." As the first joint of the leg of an insect, crustacean or arachnid, by 1826. Cox for "thigh" was used in medical writings from c. 1400. Related: Coxalgia, coxitis.
southeasternmost county of England, Old English Cent, Cent lond, Centrice, from Latin Cantia, Canticum (Caesar), Greek Kantion (Strabo, 51 B.C.E.), from an ancient British Celtic name often explained as "coastal district," or "corner-land, land on the edge," but possibly "land of the hosts or armies." Related: Kentish (Old English Centisc).
word-forming element, from Latin -plex, from PIE root *plek- "to plait." De Vaan writes, "Probably, duplex was the archetype of this category of compounds."
"equality in value, correspondence in signification, force, nature, etc.," 1540s, from French équivalence, from Medieval Latin aequivalentia, from Late Latin aequivalentem "equivalent" (see equivalent). Related: Equivalency (1530s).
1640s, "corresponding in amount, degree, or magnitude," also "of equal size" (on the notion of "having the same boundaries"), from Late Latin commensuratus, from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + Late Latin mensuratus, past participle of mensurare "to measure," from Latin mensura "a measuring, a measurement; thing to measure by," from mensus, past participle of metiri "to measure," from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure." Meaning "reducible to a common measure, commensurable" is from 1680s. Related: Commensurately.
"Lent," c. 1600, from Medieval Latin quadragesima (dies) "the fortieth (day)," altered diminutive of Latin quadrigesimus "fortieth," from quadriginta "forty," related to quattuor "four" (from PIE root *kwetwer- "four"). So called because it lasts forty days. Earlier in English in nativized form Quadragesime (mid-15c.). Related: Quadragesimal. Via the Vulgar Latin form *quaragesima come Old French quaresme, Modern French carême, Spanish cuaresma, Italian quaresima, also ultimately Irish carghas, Gaelic carghus, Welsh garaways.
city in Brandenburg, capital of modern Germany. Folk-etymology derives it from German Bär "bear," but it is likely from a Slavic source (compare Old Polabian berl-, birl- "swamp"), from PIE *ber- "marshy place," in reference to the old city's location on low, marshy ground along the River Spree. A flashpoint city in the Cold War, the Berlin airlift ran from June 28, 1948 to May 12, 1949. The Berlin Wall began to be built Aug. 15, 1961, and was effective until Nov. 9, 1989. Related: Berliner.
type of four-wheeled covered carriage, 1690s, so called because it was introduced in Brandenburg, c. 1670; see Berlin. Hence berline (from the French form) "automobile with a glass partition behind the driver's seat." In reference to a type of wool and the popular patterns made for it, from 1841.
"delusive, deceptive, so as to impose upon by artifice or craft," c. 1400, present-participle adjective from beguile. Related: Beguilingly.
late 14c., nygromanser, nigromauncere, "sorcerer, adept in black magic," from Old French nigromansere, from nigromancie (see necromancy). Properly "one who communicates with the dead" but typically used in a broader sense in English.