- furthermore (adv.)
- c. 1200, from further (adv.) + more. There also was a farthermore in Middle English. Related: Furthermost.
- furthest (adj., adv.)
- late 14c., formed as superlatives to further (adj. and adv.).
- furtive (adj.)
- 16c., from Middle French furtif (16c.), from Latin furtivus "stolen," hence also "hidden, secret," from furtum "theft, robbery; a stolen thing," from fur (genitive furis) "a thief, extortioner," also a general term of abuse, "rascal, rogue," probably from PIE *bhor-, from root *bher- (1) "to carry" (see infer). Related: Furtiveness.
- furtively (adv.)
- late 15c.; from furtive + -ly (2).
- furuncle (n.)
- "a boil, circumscribed inflammation on the skin," 1670s, from Latin furunculus, "a boil, burning sore," also "petty thief, pilferer," diminutive of fur "thief" (see furtive). Related: Furuncular; furunculous.
- fury (n.)
- late 14c., "fierce passion," from Old French furie, fuire "rage, frenzy" (14c.), from Latin furia "violent passion, rage, madness," from or related to furere "to rage, be mad," which is of uncertain origin. "Many etymologies have been proposed, but none is clearly the best" [de Vaan]. Romans used Furiæ to translate Greek Erinyes, the collective name for the avenging deities sent from Tartarus to punish criminals (in later accounts three in number and female). Hence, in English, figuratively, "an angry woman" (late 14c.).
- furze (n.)
- type of evergreen shrub abundant in English heaths, Old English fyrs "furze, gorse, bramble," a word of unknown origin. Related: Furzy.
- fuscous (adj.)
- "dark-colored, of brown tinged with gray," 1660s, from Latin fuscus "dark, swarthy, dark-skinned" (see dusk). Earlier as fusc, fusk (1560s).
- fuse (v.)
- 1680s, "to melt, make liquid by heat" (transitive), back-formation from fusion. Intransitive sense, "to become liquid," attested from 1800. Figurative sense of "blend different things, blend or unite as if by melting together" is recorded by 1817. Intransitive figurative sense "become intermingled or blended" is by 1873. Related: Fused; fusing.
- fuse (n.)
- "combustible cord or tube for lighting an explosive device," also fuze, 1640s, from Italian fuso, literally "spindle" (the ignition device so called for its shape, because the originals were long, thin tubes filled with gunpowder), from Latin fusus "a spindle," which is of uncertain origin. Influenced by French cognate fusée "spindleful of hemp fiber," and obsolete English fusee "musket fired by a fuse," which is from French. Meaning "device that breaks an electrical circuit" is first recorded 1884, so named for its shape, but erroneously attributed to fuse (v.) because it melts.
- fusee (n.)
- also fuzee, type of light musket, 1660s, from pronunciation of French fusil (see fusilier). As the name of a type of match used in lighting cigars and pipes by 1832, from fusee as a variant of fuse (n.).
- fuselage (n.)
- 1909, from French fuselage, from fuselé "spindle-shaped," from Old French *fus "a spindle," from Latin fusus "a spindle" (see fuse (n.)). So called from its shape.
- fusible (adj.)
- late 14c., from Medieval Latin fusibilis, from Latin fus-, stem of fundere "to pour, melt" (see found (v.2)). Related: Fusibility.
- fusiform (adj.)
- "spindle-shaped," 1746, from Latin fusus "a spindle" (see fuse (n.)) + -form.
- fusil (n.)
- flintlock musket, 1670s, from French fusil "musket" (see fusilier). Originally in English as distinguished from the matchlock variety.
- fusilier (n.)
- also fusileer, 1670s, "soldier armed with a musket," from French fusilier "musket" (17c.), literally "piece of steel against which a flint strikes flame," from Old French fuisil, foisil "steel for striking fire; flint; whetstone; grindstone" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *focilis (petra) "(stone) producing fire," from Latin focus "hearth," in Vulgar Latin "fire" (see focus (n.)). Retained by certain regiments of the British army that were formerly armed with fusils.
- fusillade (n.)
- "simultaneous discharge of firearms," 1801, from French fusillade, from fusiller "to shoot" (18c.), from fusil "musket" (see fusilier). As a verb from 1816.
- fusion (n.)
- 1550s, "act of melting by heat," from Middle French fusion or directly from Latin fusionem (nominative fusio) "an outpouring, effusion," noun of action from fusus, past participle of fundere "to pour, melt" (see found (v.2)). Meaning "union or blending of different things; state of being united or blended" is by 1776; used especially in 19c, of politics, in early 20c. of psychology, atoms, and jazz (in nuclear physics sense, first recorded 1947; in musical sense, by 1972).
- fuss (n.)
- "trifling bustle," 1701, originally colloquial, perhaps an alteration of force (n.), or "echoic of the sound of something sputtering or bubbling" [OED], or from Danish fjas "foolery, nonsense." First attested in Anglo-Irish writers, but there are no obvious connections to words in Irish. To make a fuss was earlier to keep a fuss (1726). Fuss and feathers "bustle and display" is from 1848, American English, suggestive of a game cock or a peacock, originally of U.S. Army Gen. Winfield Scott (1786-1866) in the Mexican war.
Gen. Scott is said to be as particular in matters of etiquette and dress as Gen. Taylor is careless. The soldiers call one "Old Rough and Ready," and the other "Old Fuss and Feathers." ["The Mammoth," Nov. 15, 1848].
- fuss (v.)
- 1792, from fuss (n.). Related: Fussed; fussing. Extended form fussify is by 1832.
- fussbudget (n.)
- "nervous, figety person," 1884, from fuss (n.) + budget (n.). One of several similar formulations around this time: Compare fussbox (1901); fusspot (1906). From 1960s associated with the character Lucy in the newspaper comic strip "Peanuts."
- fussy (adj.)
- 1831, from fuss (n.) + -y (2). Related: Fussily; fussiness.
- fustian (n.)
- "thick cotton cloth," c. 1200, from Old French fustaigne, fustagne (12c., Modern French futaine), from Medieval Latin fustaneum, perhaps from Latin fustis "staff, stick of wood; cudgel, club" (see fustigate) as a loan-translation of Greek xylina lina "linens of wood" (i.e. "cotton"). But the Medieval Latin word also is sometimes said to be from Fostat, town near Cairo where this cloth was manufactured. [Klein finds this derivation untenable.] Figurative sense of "pompous, inflated language" recorded by 1590s.
- fustigate (v.)
- "to cudgel, to beat," 1650s, back-formation from Fustication (1560s) or from Latin fusticatus, past participle of fusticare "to cudgel" (to death), from fustis "cudgel, club, staff, stick of wood," of unknown origin. De Vaan writes that "The most obvious connection would be with Latin -futare" "to beat," but there are evolutionary difficulties.
- fusty (adj.)
- "stale-smelling," late 14c., from French fusté "fusty, tasting of the cask," from Old French fuste, fuist "wine cask," originally "stick, stave, wood" (Modern French fût), from Latin fustis "staff, stick of wood" (see fustigate). Related: Fustiness. Fustilugs was 17c. slang for "a woman of gross or corpulent habit" [OED], later generally in dialect for a big-boned person.
- futhorc (n.)
- 1851, historians' name for the Germanic runic alphabet; so called from its first six letters (th being a single rune), on the model of alphabet.
- futile (adj.)
- "incapable of producing result," 1550s, from Middle French futile or directly from Latin futilis, futtilis "vain, worthless, futile," a figurative use, literally "pouring out easily, easily emptied" (the Latin adjective used as a noun meant "a water vessel broad above and pointed below"), hence "leaky, unreliable," from fundere "to pour, melt," from PIE root *gheu- "to pour" (see found (v.2)). Related: Futilely.
- futility (n.)
- 1620s, from French futilité or directly from Latin futilitatem (nominative futilitas) "worthlessness, emptiness, vanity," from futilis "vain, worthless" (see futile). Hence, jocular futilitarian (1827, n. and adj.); futilitarianism.
- futon (n.)
- 1876, from Japanese, said to mean "bedroll" or "place to rest."
- future (adj.)
- late 14c., "that is yet to be; pertaining to a time after the present," from Old French futur "future, to come" (13c.), from Latin futurus "going to be, yet to be," as a noun, "the future," irregular suppletive future participle of esse "to be," from PIE *bheue- (see be). In grammar, of tense, from 1520s.
- future (n.)
- "future events; time to come," late 14c., modeled on Latin futura, neuter plural of futurus (see future (adj.)).
- futures (n.)
- "goods sold on agreement for future delivery," 1880, from future (n.) in a financial sense "speculative purchase or sale of stock or other commodities for future delivery."
- futurism (n.)
- 1909 as the name of a movement in arts and literature, from Italian futurismo, coined 1909 by Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944); see future + -ism. Futurist is from 1911 in the arts movement sense; attested from 1842 in a Protestant theological sense ("one who holds that nearly the whole of the Book of Revelations refers principally to events yet to come" - Century Dictionary). As "one who has (positive) feelings about the future" it is attested from 1846 but marked in dictionaries as "rare."
- futuristic (adj.)
- by 1856 in theology, with reference to prophecy; 1915 as "avant garde, ultra-modern," from futurist (see futurism) + -ic. Meaning "pertaining to the future, predicted to be in the future" is from 1921, from future (n.) + -istic.
- futurity (n.)
- c. 1600, from future + -ity.
- futurology (n.)
- 1946 (A. Huxley), from future (n.) + -ology.
- futz (v.)
- "loaf, waste time," 1932, American English, perhaps from Yiddish. Related: Futzed; futzing.
- fuze (n.)
- see fuse (n.).
- fuzz (n.)
- 1590s, fusse, first attested in fusball "puff ball of tiny spores," of uncertain origin; perhaps a back-formation from fuzzy, if that word is older than the record of it. Meaning "the police" is American English, 1929, underworld slang; origin, signification, and connection to the older word unknown. Perhaps a variant of fuss, with a notion of "hard to please."
- fuzz (v.)
- 1702, "make fuzzy," from fuzz (n.). Related: Fuzzed; fuzzing. Fuzzword (based on buzzword) "deliberately confusing or imprecise bit of jargon" is a coinage in political writing from 1983.
- fuzzy (adj.)
- 1610s, "soft, spongy;" a dialectal word of uncertain origin, apparently from fuzz (n.) + -y (2), but perhaps an import from continental Germanic. Compare Low German fussig "weak, loose, spongy," Dutch voos "spongy." From 1713 as "covered with fuzz;" 1778 as "blurred;" and 1937 as "imprecise," with reference to thought, etc. Related: Fuzzily; fuzziness.
- fylfot (n.)
- supposedly a native name for the swastika (used as a decorative device), but only attested in a single, damaged c. 1500 manuscript, and in that it might rather refer to any sort of device used to fill the bottom (foot) of a design. "[I]t is even possible that it may have been a mere nonce-word" [OED].