- calcium (n.)
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- coined 1808 by English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829), who first succeeded in isolating it, from Latin calx (genitive calcis) "limestone" (see chalk (n.)) + metallic element ending -ium.
- callous (adj.)
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- c. 1400, "hardened," in the physical sense, from Latin callosus "thick-skinned," from callus, callum "hard skin" (see callus). The figurative sense of "unfeeling" appeared in English by 1670s. Related: Callously; callousness.
- cambric (n.)
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- late 14c., from Kamerijk, Flemish form of Cambrai, city in northern France where the cloth was originally made, from Latin Camaracum. The modern form of the English word has elements from both versions of the name.
- crimp (v.)
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- 1630s; Old English had gecrympan "to crimp, curl," but the modern word probably is from Middle Dutch or Low German crimpen/krimpen "to shrink, crimp." Related: Crimped; crimping.
- criterion (n.)
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- 1660s, from Latinized form of Greek kriterion "means for judging, standard," from krites "judge," from PIE root *krei- (see crisis). Used in English as a Greek word from 1610s.
- croak (v.)
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- early 14c., crouken, imitative or related to Old English cracian (see crack (v.)). Slang meaning "to die" is first recorded 1812, from sound of death rattle. Related: Croaked; croaking.
- crowd (v.)
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- Old English crudan "to press, crush." Cognate with Middle Dutch cruden "to press, push," Middle High German kroten "to press, oppress," Norwegian kryda "to crowd." Related: Crowded; crowding.
- cud (n.)
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- Old English cudu "cud," earlier cwudu, common Germanic (compare Old Norse kvaða "resin," Old High German quiti "glue," German Kitt "putty"); perhaps from PIE root *gwet- "resin, gum."
- defile (v.)
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- c. 1400, "to desecrate, profane;" mid-15c., "to make foul or dirty," alteration of earlier defoulen, from Old French defouler "trample down, violate," also "ill-treat, dishonor," from de- "down" (see de-) + foler "to tread," from Latin fullo "person who cleans and thickens cloth by stamping on it" (see foil (v.)).
The alteration (or re-formation) in English is from influence of Middle English filen (v.) "to render foul; make unclean or impure," literal and figurative, from Old English fylen (trans.), related to Old English fulian (intrans.) "to become foul, rot," from the source of foul (adj.). Compare befoul, which also had a parallel form befilen. Related: Defiled; defiling.
- falchion (n.)
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- "a broad sword, somewhat curved," c. 1300, fauchoun, from Old French fauchon "curved sword," from Vulgar Latin *falcionem, from diminutive of Latin falx "sickle" (see falcate). Partially re-Latinized in early Modern English.
- Gaelic (adj.)
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- 1774, "of or pertaining to the Gaels" (meaning originally in English the Scottish Highlanders); 1775 as a noun, "language of the Celts of the Scottish Highlands;" earlier Gathelik (1590s), from Gael (Scottish Gaidheal; see Gael) + -ic.
- gallows (n.)
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- c. 1300, plural of Middle English galwe "gallows" (mid-13c.), from Old Norse galgi "gallows," or from Old English galga (Mercian), gealga (West Saxon) "gallows;" all from Proto-Germanic *galgon "pole" (source also of Old Frisian galga, Old Saxon galgo, Middle High German galge "gallows, cross," German Galgen "gallows," Gothic galga "cross"), from PIE *ghalgh- "branch, rod" (source also of Lithuanian zalga "pole, perch," Armenian dzalk "pole"). In Old English, also used of the cross of the crucifixion. Plural because made of two poles. Gallows-tree is Old English galg-treow. Gallows humor (1881) translates German Galgenhumor.
- gape (v.)
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- early 13c., from an unrecorded Old English word or else from Old Norse gapa "to open the mouth wide, gape" (see gap (n.)). Related: Gaped; gaping. As a noun, "act of opening the mouth," from 1530s.
- ha (interj.)
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- natural expression of surprise, distress, etc.; early 14c., found in most European languages (including Latin and Old French) but not in Old English (which did, however, have ha-ha).
- Hampshire
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- reduced from Old English Hamtunscir; named for the city of Southampton, which originally was simply Hamtun. Norman scribes mangled the county name to Hauntunescire, later Hantescire, hence the abbrev. Hants.
- kelp (n.)
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- 1660s, "large seaweed," from Middle English culpe (late 14c.), a word of unknown origin. Specifically of a type of Pacific seaweed of the Americas from 1834. Kelper "native or inhabitant of the Falkland Islands" is attested from 1896.
- kerb (n.)
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- 1660s, a spelling variant of curb (n.); in early use also kirb. It is the preferred British English spelling in certain specialized senses, especially "edging of stone on a pavement" (1805). Related: Kerbing; kerbstone.
- kewpie (n.)
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- 1909, American English, coined by their inventor and illustrator, Rose C. O'Neill (1874-1944), as an altered form of a diminutive of Cupid. Kewpie doll is from 1916.
- klutz (n.)
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- 1967, American English, from Yiddish klots "clumsy person, blockhead," literally "block, lump," from Middle High German klotz "lump, ball." Compare German klotz "boor, clod," literally "wooden block" (see clot (n.)).
- knoll (n.)
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- Old English cnoll "hilltop, small hill, clod, ball," related to Old Norse knollr "hilltop;" German knolle "clod, lump;" Dutch knol "turnip," nol "a hill."
- Eames
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- type of modern office chair, 1946, named for U.S. architect and designer Charles Eames (1907-1978). The surname is from Old English eam "uncle," cognate with German Ohm.
- Edith
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- fem. proper name, Old English Eadgyð, from ead "riches, prosperity, good fortune, happiness" + guð "war." A fairly common name; it survived through the Middle Ages, probably on the popularity of St. Eadgyð of Wilton (962-84, abbess, daughter of King Edgar of England), fell from favor 16c., was revived in fashion late 19c. Old English ead (also in eadig "wealthy, prosperous, fortunate, happy, blessed; perfect;" eadnes "inner peace, ease, joy, prosperity") became Middle English edy, eadi "rich, wealthy; costly, expensive; happy, blessed," but was ousted by happy. Late Old English, in its grab-bag of alliterative pairings, had edye men and arme "rich men and poor."
- Edmund
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- masc. proper name, Old English Eadmund, literally "prosperity-protector," from ead "wealth, prosperity, happiness" (see Edith). The second element is mund "hand, protection, guardian," from PIE *man- (2) "hand" (see manual (adj.)).
- effendi (n.)
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- Turkish title of respect, equivalent to English sir, 1610s, from Turkish efendi, title of respect applied to professionals and officials, corruption of Greek authentes "lord, master" (in Modern Greek aphentes; see authentic).
- handmaid (n.)
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- "female servant," c. 1300, from hand (n.) in the sense in close at hand + maid. Compare Old English handþegn "personal attendant" and the original sense of handsome.
- i.e.
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- abbreviation of Latin id est, literally "that is;" used in English in the sense of "that is to say." Latin id "it" is from PIE pronominal stem *i- (see yon). For est, see is.
- igloo (n.)
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- "dome-shaped Eskimo hut, usually made of blocks of hard snow," 1824, Canadian English, from an Eskimo word for "house, dwelling" (compare Greenlandic igdlo "house"). Of any dome-shaped construction, by 1956.
- jab (v.)
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- 1813, "to thrust or strike with a point," a Scottish variant of job "to strike, pierce, thrust," from Middle English jobben "to jab, thrust, peck" (c. 1500), a word of unknown origin, perhaps imitative. Related: Jabbed; jabbing.
- Jah (n.)
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- 1530s, a form of Hebrew Yah, short for Yahweh "Jehovah" (see Yahweh; also see J). Used in some English bibles. Cognate with the second element in hallelujah and in Elijah.
- Jasper
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- masc. proper name, English form of Caspar or of Gaspar, the traditional name of one of the Three Kings. Said by Klein to be of Persian origin and meaning literally "treasure-holder." Used from 1896 for "a rustic simpleton."
- Latino
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- "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.
- macho
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- 1928 (n.) "tough guy," from Spanish macho "male animal," noun use of adjective meaning "masculine, virile," from Latin masculus (see masculine). As an adjective, first attested in English 1959.
- maculate (adj.)
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- "spotted," late 15c., from Latin maculatus, past participle of maculare "to make spotted, to speckle," from macula "spot, stain" (see macula). Middle English also had maculation "sexual defilement, sinning" (late 15c.).
- Magna Carta
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- also Magna Charta, 1560s, Medieval Latin, literally "great charter" (of English personal and political liberty), attested in Anglo-Latin from 1279; obtained from King John, June 15, 1215. See magnate, card (n.).
- Kraut (n.)
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- "a German" (especially a German soldier), 1841, but popularized during World War I, from German kraut "cabbage," considered a characteristic national dish. The "cabbage" sense is attested in English from 1855.
- labonza (n.)
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- "belly," 1943, American English slang, probably from dialectal pronunciation of Italian la pancia "the belly," with the definite article absorbed, from Latin pantex (genitive panticis) "belly" (see paunch).
- lager (n.)
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- 1858, American English, short for lager beer (1845), from German Lagerbier "beer brewed for keeping" some months before being drunk, from Lager "storehouse" (see lair) + Bier "beer."
- laidly (adj.)
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- also laithly, c. 1300, Scottish and northern English variant of loathly "hideous, repulsive" (see loath). A word preserved in old ballads; in modern use consciously archaic.
- laird (n.)
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- "landed proprietor or hereditary estate-holder in Scotland," mid-15c. (mid-13c. as a surname), Scottish and northern England dialectal variant of lord, from Middle English laverd (see lord (n.)). Related: Lairdship.
- Lancelot
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- masc. proper name, Old French, a double-diminutive of Frankish Lanzo, itself a shortened pet-name (hypocoristic) of one of the many Germanic names in Land- (compare Old English Landbeorht "land-bright;" see Lambert).
- nap (v.1)
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- Old English hnappian "to doze, sleep lightly," of unknown origin, apparently related to Old High German hnaffezan, German dialectal nafzen, Norwegian napp. Related: Napped; napping.
- natty (adj.)
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- 1785, "neat, smart," originally slang, perhaps an altered form of 16c. nettie "neat, natty," from Middle English net "pure, fine, elegant" (see neat). Related: Nattily.
- pry (v.1)
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- "look inquisitively," c. 1300, from prien "to peer in," of unknown origin, perhaps related to late Old English bepriwan "to wink." Related: Pried; prying. As a noun, "act of prying," from 1750; meaning "inquisitive person" is from 1845.
- pudding (n.)
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- c. 1300, "a kind of sausage: the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, etc., stuffed with minced meat, suet, seasoning, boiled and kept till needed," perhaps from a West Germanic stem *pud- "to swell" (source also of Old English puduc "a wen," Westphalian dialect puddek "lump, pudding," Low German pudde-wurst "black pudding," English dialectal pod "belly;" also see pudgy).
Other possibility is the traditional one that it is from Old French boudin "sausage," from Vulgar Latin *botellinus, from Latin botellus "sausage" (change of French b- to English p- presents difficulties, but compare purse (n.)). The modern sense had emerged by 1670, from extension to other foods boiled or steamed in a bag or sack (16c.). German pudding, French pouding, Swedish pudding, Irish putog are from English. Pudding-pie attested from 1590s.
- puddle (n.)
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- early 14c., "small pool of dirty water," frequentative or diminutive of Old English pudd "ditch," related to German pudeln "to splash in water" (compare poodle). Originally used of pools and ponds as well.
- Nebuchadnezzar
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- king of Babylon (604-562 B.C.E.), from Hebrew Nebhukhadhnetztzar, from Babylonian Nabu-kudurri-usur, probably literally "Nebo, protect the boundary." A late 14c. Middle English text renders it as Nabugodenozar.
- needs (adv.)
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- "of necessity, necessarily," in archaic constructions involving must (late 14c.) is from Old English nede, instrumental and genitive singular of nied (see need), used as an adverb reinforcing must, hence the genitive ending.
- neigh (v.)
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- Old English hnægan "to neigh," probably of imitative origin (compare Old Norse gneggja "to neigh," Middle High German negen, French hennir, Japanese inanaki). Related: Neighed; neighing. As a noun from 1510s.
- oar (n.)
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- Old English ar "oar," from Proto-Germanic *airo (source also of Old Norse ar, Danish aare, Swedish åra), of unknown origin; perhaps related to Latin remus "oar," Greek eretes "rower," eretmos "oar."
- often (adv.)
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- c. 1300, extended form of oft, originally before vowels and h-, probably by influence of Middle English selden "seldom." In common use from 16c., replacing oft.