Word Origins

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:33 am

taciturn
"habitually silent," 1771, back-formation from taciturnity (1450), from M.Fr. taciturnitÃ©, from L. taciturnitatem (nom. taciturnitas) "a being or keeping silent," from taciturnus "disposed to be silent," from tacitus "silent" (see tacit).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:37 am

unction
1387, "act of anointing as a religious rite," from L. unctionem (nom. unctio) "anointing," from unctus, pp. of ungere "to anoint" (see unguent).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:35 pm

vandal
1663, "willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable," from Vandals, name of Gmc. tribe that sacked Rome, 455, under Genseric, from L. Vandalus (pl. Vandali), from the tribe's name for itself (O.E. Wendlas), from P.Gmc. *Wandal- "Wanderer."

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:34 am

Walach
Romanian people, 1786, from Ger. Wallache, from O.C.S. Vlachu, from O.H.G. wahl "foreigner, one speaking a foreign language" (see Vlach).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:30 pm

xyster
"surgical instrument for scraping bones," 1684, from Gk. xyster, from xyein "to scrape," from PIE base *kes- "to scrape."

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:45 am

yarrow
plant, also known as milfoil, O.E. gearwe, from P.Gmc. *garwo (cf. M.Du. garwe, O.H.G. garawa, Ger. Garbe), perhaps from a source akin to the root of yellow.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:10 pm

Zend
1715, "Parsee sacred book" (in full, Zend-Avesta, 1630), from O.Pers. zend, from Pahlavi zand "commentary." First used in ref. to the language of the Zend-Avesta in 1771 by Anquetiel-Duperron (1731-1805).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 6:53 am

ablaut
vowel gradation, 1849, from Ger. Ablaut, lit. "off-sound," coined by J.P. Zweigel in 1568 from ab "off" + Laut "sound, tone," from O.H.G. hlut (see listen). Popularized by Jacob Grimm.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:22 am

banal
"trite, commonplace," 1840, from Fr. banal, adj. form of ban "decree, legal control" (see ban (v.)). Originally designating things like ovens or mills that belonged to feudal serfs, or else compulsory military service; in either case generalized through "open to everyone" to "commonplace, ordinary," to "trite, petty

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:24 am

cagey
"evasive, reticent," 1909, U.S. colloquial, of unknown origin.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:11 pm

danger
c.1225, "power of a lord or master, jurisdiction," from Anglo-Fr. daunger, from O.Fr. dangier "power to harm, mastery," alteration (due to assoc. with damnum) of dongier, from V.L. *dominarium "power of a lord," from L. dominus "lord, master" (see domain). Modern sense of "risk, peril" (from being in the control of someone or something else) evolved first in Fr., and in Eng. 1375. Replaced O.E. pleoh.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:47 am

Ebionite
1650, sect (1c.-2c.) that held Jesus was a mere man and Christians were still bound by Mosaic Law, from L. ebonita, from Heb. ebyon "poor."

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:49 am

fantasia
"musical composition that sounds extemporaneous," 1724, from It. fantasia, from L. phantasia (see fantasy).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:09 am

G-string
1878, geestring, "loincloth worn by American Indian," originally the string that holds it up, etymology unknown. The spelling with G (1891) is perhaps from influence of violin string tuned to a G (in this sense G string is first recorded 1831). First used of women's attire 1936, with reference to strip-teasers.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:38 am

hamster
1607, from Ger. Hamster, from M.H.G. hamastra "hamster," probably from O.C.S. chomestoru "hamster" (the animal is native to S.E. Europe), perhaps a blend of Rus. chomiak and Lith. staras, both meaning "hamster." The older Eng. name for it was German rat.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:47 pm

imbecility
1533, "weakness, feebleness, impotence," from L. imbecillitatem (nom. imbecillitas) "weakness, feebleness," from imbecillus "weak, feeble," traditionally said to mean "unsupported" (quasi sine baculo), from in- "not" + baculum "a stick." "Weakness in mind" (as opposed to body) was a secondary sense in L. but was not attested in Eng. until 1624. Imbecile is first recorded 1549 as imbecille (adj.) "weak, feeble" (especially in reference to body), from M.Fr. imbecile, from L. imbecillus. As a noun, it is attested from 1802. Traditionally one with a mental age of roughly 6 to 9 (ahead of an idiot but beneath a moron).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:55 pm

jerk (v.)
1550, "to lash, strike as with a whip," of uncertain origin, perhaps echoic. Noun sense of "sudden sharp pull or twist" first recorded 1575. Meaning "involuntary spasmodic movement of limbs or features" first recorded 1805. As the name of a popular dance, it is attested from 1966. Sense in soda jerk attested from 1883, from the pulling motion required to work the taps.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:23 am

kapok
1735, from Malay kapoq, name of the large tropical tree which produces the fibers

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:36 am

landlubber
sailor's term of contempt for a landsman, c.1700, from land (n.) + lubber (q.v

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:58 am

Maginot Line
fortifications built along the north and east borders of France before World War II, in which the French placed unreasonable confidence, named for AndrÃ© Maginot (1877-1932), Fr. Minister of Defense.