- in loco parentis
- legal Latin, 1640s in English, literally "in the place of a parent," from loco, ablative of locus "a place" (see locus (n.)) + parentis, genitive of parens "parent" (see parent (n.)).
- innards (n.)
- "entrails of an animal," 1825, innerds, dialectal variant of inwards "the bowels" (c. 1300); see inward. Compare inmeat "edible entrails of animals" (c. 1400); Old English innoð "entrails, stomach."
- flicker (n.2)
- type of North American woodpecker, 1808, American English, said to be echoic of bird's note, or from black spots on plumage of the underparts that seem to flicker as it flits from tree to tree.
- goshawk (n.)
- large type of hawk flown at geese, Old English goshafoc, literally "goose-hawk," from gos "goose" (see goose (n.)) + hafoc "hawk" (see hawk (n.)). Compare Old Norse gashaukr.
- hematite (n.)
- 1540s, haematites, from Middle French hematite (16c.), from Latin haematites, from Greek haimatites lithos "bloodlike stone," from haima (genitive haimatos) "blood" (see -emia). Earlier in English as emachite (late 14c.).
- Henley
- town on the Thames in Oxfordshire, site of annual regatta since 1839. The name is Old English hean-leage "(settlement) at or by the high wood."
- flu (n.)
- 1839, flue, shortening of influenza. Spelling flu attested from 1893. The abstraction of the middle syllable is an uncommon method of shortening words in English; Weekley compares tec for detective, scrip for subscription.
- hernia (n.)
- late 14c., hirnia, from Latin hernia "a rupture," related to hira "intestine," from PIE *ghere- "gut, entrail" (see yarn). The re-Latinized spelling of the English word is from 17c. Related: Herniated (1819).
- inter-
- word-forming element used freely in English, "between, among, during," from Latin inter (prep., adv.) "among, between, betwixt, in the midst of" (also used extensively as a prefix), from PIE *enter "between, among" (source also of Sanskrit antar, Old Persian antar "among, between," Greek entera (plural) "intestines," Old Irish eter, Old Welsh ithr "among, between," Gothic undar, Old English under "under"), a comparative of *en "in" (see in (adv.)).
A living prefix in English from 15c. and used with Germanic as well as Latinate words. Spelled entre- in French; most words borrowed into English in that form were re-spelled 16c. to conform with Latin except entertain, enterprise. In Latin, spelling shifted to intel- before -l-, hence intelligence, etc.
- entrance (n.)
- 1520s, "act of entering," from Middle French entrance, from entrer (see enter). Sense of "door, gate" first recorded in English 1530s. Meaning "a coming of an actor upon the stage" is from c. 1600.
- marina (n.)
- 1805, "a promenade by the sea," from Spanish or Italian marina "shore, coast," from Latin marinus (see marine (adj.)). Meaning "dock or basin with moorings for yachts and small craft" is 1935, American English.
- Thames
- river through London, Old English Temese, from Latin Tamesis (51 B.C.E.), from British Tamesa, an ancient Celtic river name perhaps meaning "the dark one." The -h- is unetymological (see th).
- Norway
- Old English Norweg, Norþweg from Old Norse Norvegr "north way, a way leading to the north" (see north + way (n.)); contrasted with suthrvegar "south way," i.e. Germany, and austrvegr "east way," the Baltic lands.
- nothing (n.)
- Old English naþing, naðinc, from nan "not one" (see none) + þing "thing" (see thing). Meaning "insignificant thing" is from c. 1600. As an adverb from c. 1200. As an adjective from 1961.
- nought (n.)
- Old English nowiht "nothing," variant of nawiht (see naught). Meaning "zero, cipher" is from early 15c. Expression for nought "in vain" is late 13c. To come to nought is from 1590s.
- nowhere (adv.)
- Old English nahwær "nowhere, not at all;" see no + where. Similar constructions were attempted with nowhat (1520s) and nowhen (1764), but they failed to take hold and remain nonce words.
- ornery (adj.)
- 1816, American English dialectal contraction of ordinary (adj.). "Commonplace," hence "of poor quality, coarse, ugly." By c. 1860 the sense had evolved to "mean, cantankerous." Related: Orneriness.
- ort (n.)
- "remains of food left from a meal," mid-15c., probably cognate with early Dutch ooraete, Low German ort, from or-, privative prefix, + etan "to eat" (see eat (v.)). Perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word.
- noggin (n.)
- 1620s, "small cup, mug," later "small drink" (1690s), of unknown origin, possibly related to Norfolk dialectal nog "strong ale." Informal meaning "head" first attested 1866 in American English.
- non-partisan (adj.)
- also nonpartisan, 1872, American English, from non- + partisan.
FIRST POLITICIAN: Who's backing this non-partisan candidate?
SECOND POLITICIAN: The non-partisan party.
["Life," Sept. 29, 1927]
As a noun from 1888.
- nook (n.)
- c. 1300, noke, of unknown origin. Possibly connected with Norwegian dialectal nokke "hook, bent figure," or Old English hnecca "neck," but the sense evolution would be difficult.
- pea jacket (n.)
- 1721, loan-translation of North Frisian pijekkat, from Dutch pijjekker, from pij "coarse woolen cloth" + jekker "jacket." Middle English had pee "coat of coarse, thick wool" (late 15c.). Related: Pea-coat.
- pebble (n.)
- small, smooth stone, late 13c., from Old English papolstan "pebblestone," of unknown origin. Perhaps imitative. Some sources compare Latin papula "pustule, pimple, swelling."
- peep (v.1)
- "glance" (especially through a small opening), mid-15c., perhaps alteration of Middle English piken (see peek (v.)). Peeping Tom "a curious prying fellow" [Grose] is from 1796 (see Godiva).
- outstrip (v.)
- 1570s, "to pass in running," from out + Middle English strip "move quickly," of unknown origin. Figurative sense of "to excel or surpass in anything" is from 1590s. Related: Outstripped; outstripping.
- overstep (v.)
- Old English ofersteppan "to step over or beyond, cross, exceed;" see over- + step (v.). From the beginning used in figurative senses. Related: Overstepped; overstepping.
- overweening (adj.)
- mid-14c., from present participle of verb overwenen "be conceited, presume, be presumptuous, be over-confident," from Old English oferwenian "to be proud, become insolent or presumptuous;" see over- + ween.
- overwork (v.)
- "to cause to work too hard," 1520s, from over- + work (v.). Old English oferwyrcan meant "to work all over," i.e. "to decorate the whole surface of." Related: Overworked; overworking.
- ovum (n.)
- (plural ova), 1706, from Latin ovum "egg," cognate with Greek oon, Old Norse egg, Old English æg, all perhaps from PIE root *awi- (see egg (n.)).
- them (pron.)
- third person plural pronoun, c. 1200, from Old Norse þeim, dative of plural personal and demonstrative pronoun þeir (see they). Replaced Old English cognate him, heom.
- this (pron.)
- Old English þis, neuter demonstrative pronoun and adjective (masc. þes, fem. þeos), probably from a North Sea Germanic pronoun *tha-si-, formed by combining the base *þa- (see that) with -s, which is probably identical with Old English se "the" (representing here "a specific thing"), or with Old English seo, imperative of see (v.) "to behold." Compare Old Saxon these, Old Frisian this, Old Norse þessi, Middle Dutch dese, Dutch deze, Old High German deser, German dieser.
Once fully inflected, with 10 distinct forms (see table below); the oblique cases and other genders gradually fell away by 15c. The Old English plural was þæs (nominative and accusative), which in Northern Middle English became thas, and in Midlands and Southern England became thos. The Southern form began to be used late 13c. as the plural of that (replacing Middle English tho, from Old English þa) and acquired an -e (apparently from the influence of Middle English adjective plurals in -e; compare alle from all, summe from sum "some"), emerging early 14c. as modern those.
About 1175 thes (probably a variant of Old English þæs) began to be used as the plural of this, and by 1200 it had taken the form these, the final -e acquired via the same mechanism that gave one to those.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural |
| Nom. | þes | þeos | þis | þas |
| Acc. | þisne | þas | þis | þas |
| Gen. | þisses | þisse | þisses | þissa |
| Dat. | þissum | þisse | þissum | þissum |
| Inst. | þys | þisse | þys | þissum |
- winch (n.)
- late 13c., from Old English wince "winch, pulley," from Proto-Germanic *winkja-, from PIE *weng- "to bend, curve" (see wink (v.)). Perhaps so called in reference to the bent handle.
- witty (adj.)
- Old English wittig "clever, wise, sagacious; in one's right mind;" see wit (n.) "intellect" + -y (2). Meaning "possessing sparkling wit" is recorded from 1580s. Related: Wittily; wittiness.
- wive (v.)
- "to marry (a woman)," Old English wifian, from wif "woman" (see wife). Compare Middle Dutch wiven. Transitive sense "provide with a wife" is from 1510s. Related: Wived; wiving.
- woe (n.)
- late 12c., from the interjection, Old English wa!, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (compare Latin væ, Greek oa, German weh, Lettish wai, Old Irish fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay).
- woo (v.)
- Old English wogian "to woo, court, marry," of uncertain origin and with no known cognates; perhaps related to woh, wog- "bent, inclined," as with affection. Related: Wooed; wooing; wooer.
- woodbine (n.)
- Old English wudubinde, a climbing plant, from wudu "wood" (see wood (n.)) + binde "wreath," related to bind (v.). Used of various climbing plants on three continents.
- would
- Old English wolde, past tense and past subjunctive of willan "to will" (see will (v.)). Would-be (adj.) "wishing to be, vainly pretending" is first recorded c. 1300.
- wren (n.)
- small, migratory singing bird, Old English wrenna, metathesis variation of earlier werna, a Germanic word of uncertain origin. Compare Icelandic rindill, Old High German wrendo, wrendilo "wren."
- wrestle (v.)
- Old English *wræstlian, frequentative of wræstan "to wrest" (see wrest) with -el (3). Compare North Frisian wrassele, Middle Low German worstelen. Figurative sense is recorded from early 13c. Related: Wrestled; wrestling.
- wriggle (v.)
- late 15c., from Middle Low German wrigglen "to wriggle," from Proto-Germanic *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Related to Old English wrigian "to turn, incline, go forward."
- writ (n.)
- Old English writ "something written, piece of writing," from the past participle stem of writan (see write). Used of legal documents or instruments since at least 1121.
- wrought (adj.)
- mid-13c., from past participle of Middle English werken (see work (v.)). Wrought iron (1703) is that which is malleable and has been brought into some form.
- alpaca (n.)
- 1792, from Spanish alpaca, probably from Aymara allpaca, related to Quechua p'ake "yellowish-red." The al- is perhaps from influence of Arabic definite article (see almond). Attested in English from 1753 in the form pacos.
- billy (n.)
- "club," 1848, American English, originally burglars' slang for "crowbar;" meaning "policeman's club" first recorded 1856, probably from nickname of William, applied to various objects (compare jack, jimmy, jenny).
- bisque (n.1)
- soup, 1640s, bisk, from French bisque "crayfish soup" (17c.), said to be an altered form of Biscaye "Biscay." Gamillscheg says: "Volkstümliche Entlehnung aus norm. bisque 'schlechtes Getränk.'" Modern form in English from 1731.
- alum (n.)
- late 14c., "whitish mineral salt used as an astringent, dye, etc.," from Old French alum, from Latin alumen "alum," literally "bitter salt," cognate with Greek aludoimos "bitter" and perhaps with English ale.
- amigo (n.)
- "friend, comrade," often a form of address, 1837, American English (first attested in the phrase adios, Amigo), from Spanish amigo, literally "friend," from Latin amicus "friend," related to amare "to love" (see Amy).
- Amish (adj.)
- 1844, American English, from the name of Jacob Amman, 17c. Swiss Mennonite preacher who founded the sect. Originally spelled Omish, which reflects the pronunciation in Pennsylvania German dialect. As a noun, by 1884.
- benefactor (n.)
- mid-15c., from Late Latin benefactor, from Latin phrase bene facere, from bene "well" (see bene-) + facere "to do" (see factitious). Translated in Old English as wel-doend.
