integer (n.) Look up integer at Dictionary.com
"a whole number" (as opposed to a fraction), 1570s, from Latin integer (adj.) "intact, whole, complete," figuratively, "untainted, upright," literally "untouched," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + root of tangere "to touch," from PIE root *tag- "to touch, handle" (see tangent (adj.)). The word was used earlier in English as an adjective in the Latin sense, "whole, entire" (c. 1500).
flax (n.) Look up flax at Dictionary.com
Old English fleax "flax plant; cloth made with flax, linen," from Proto-Germanic *flakhsan (source also of Old Frisian flax, Middle Dutch and Dutch vlas, Old Saxon flas, Old High German flahs, German Flachs), probably from Proto-Germanic base *fleh- "to plait," corresponding to PIE *plek- "to weave, to plait" (see ply (v.1)). But some connect it with PIE *pleik- (see flay) from the notion of "stripping" fiber to prepare it.
flight (n.2) Look up flight at Dictionary.com
"act of fleeing," c. 1200, flihht, not found in Old English, but presumed to have existed and cognate with Old Saxon fluht, Old Frisian flecht "act of fleeing," Dutch vlucht, Old High German fluht, German Flucht, Old Norse flotti, Gothic þlauhs, from Proto-Germanic *flug-ti- (see flight (n.1)). To put (someone or something) to flight "rout, defeat" is from late 14c., the earlier verb form do o' flight (early 13c.).
hide (v.1) Look up hide at Dictionary.com
Old English hydan (transitive and intransitive) "to hide, conceal; preserve; hide oneself; bury a corpse," from West Germanic *hudjan (source also of Middle Dutch, Middle Low German huden), from suffixed form of PIE *keudh- (source also of Greek keuthein "to hide, conceal"), from root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)).
enrage (v.) Look up enrage at Dictionary.com
late 14c., "make furious or mad" (implied in enraged), from Old French enragier "go wild, go mad, lose one's senses," from en- "make, put in" (see en- (1)) + rage "rabies, rage" (see rage (n.)). Related: Enraging. Intransitive only in Old French; but the transitive sense is oldest and predominant in English.
entourage (n.) Look up entourage at Dictionary.com
1832, "surroundings, environment," picked up by De Quincey from French entourage, from Middle French entourer "to surround" (16c.), from Old French entour "that which surrounds" (10c.), from en- "in" (see en- (1)) + tour "a circuit" (see tour). Specific sense of "attendant persons, persons among whom as followers or companions one is accustomed to move" recorded in English by 1860.
mark (n.2) Look up mark at Dictionary.com
"unit of money or weight," late Old English marc, a unit of weight (chiefly for gold or silver) equal to about eight ounces, probably from Old Norse mörk "unit of weight," cognate with German Mark, probably ultimately a derivative of mark (n.1), perhaps in sense of "imprinted weight or coin." Used from 18c. in reference to various continental coinages, especially. the silver coin of Germany first issued 1875.
matricide (n.) Look up matricide at Dictionary.com
1590s, "action of killing one's mother," from French matricide, from Latin matricida "mother-killer," and matricidium "mother-killing," from comb. form of mater "mother" (see mother (n.1)) + -cida "killer," and -cidium "a killing," from caedere "to slay" (see -cide). Meaning "one who kills his mother" is 1630s. Related: Matricidal (adj.). Old English had moðorslaga "matricide, mother-slayer."
wish (v.) Look up wish at Dictionary.com
Old English wyscan "to wish, cherish a desire," from Proto-Germanic *wunsk- (source also of Old Norse œskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wen- (1) "to strive after, wish, desire" (see Venus). Related: Wished; wishing. Wishing well as an enchanted water hole attested by 1819.
withy (n.) Look up withy at Dictionary.com
Old English wiðig "willow, willow twig," from Proto-Germanic *with- "willow" (source also of Old Norse viðir, Danish vidje, Swedish vide, Old High German wida, German Weide "willow"), from PIE root *wei- (1) "to bend, twist" (source also of Avestan vaeiti- "osier," Greek itea "willow," Latin vitis "vine," Lithuanian vytis "willow twig," Polish witwa, Welsh gwden "willow," Russian vitvina "branch, bough").
aloof (adj.) Look up aloof at Dictionary.com
1530s, from a- (1) + Middle English loof "weather gage," also "windward direction," probably from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof) "the weather side of a ship." Originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter; hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart" (1580s). Related: Aloofly; aloofness.
amethyst (n.) Look up amethyst at Dictionary.com
violet quartz, late 13c., ametist, from Old French ametiste (Modern French améthyste) and directly from Medieval Latin amatistus, from Latin amethystus, from Greek amethystos "amethyst," literally "not intoxicating," from a- "not" + methyskein "make drunk," from methys "wine" (see mead (n.1)); based on the stone's ancient reputation for preventing drunkenness, which was perhaps sympathetic magic suggested by its wine-like color. People wore rings made of it before drinking. Spelling restored from Middle English ametist.
estrus (n.) Look up estrus at Dictionary.com
1850, "frenzied passion," from Latin oestrus "frenzy, gadfly," from Greek oistros "gadfly; breeze; sting; anything which makes one mad, mad impulse," perhaps from a PIE *eis- (1), forming words denoting passion (see ire). First attested 1890 with specific meaning "rut in animals, sexual heat." Earliest use in English (1690s) was for "a gadfly." Related: Estrous (1900).
Hilda Look up Hilda at Dictionary.com
fem. proper name, German, literally "battle-maid," from fem. of Old High German hild "war, battle," from Proto-Germanic *hildiz "battle" (source also of Old English (poetic) hild "war, battle," Old Saxon hild, Old High German hilt, Old Norse hildr), from PIE *keldh-, from root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut" (see holt). Hild-/-hild was a common Germanic name-forming element; compare Hildebrand, Brunhild, Matilda.
hilt (n.) Look up hilt at Dictionary.com
Old English hilt "hilt, handle of a sword or dagger," from Proto-Germanic *helt (source also of Old Norse hjalt, Old High German helza "hilt," Old Saxon helta "oar handle"), of uncertain origin, possibly from PIE root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut" (see holt). Formerly also used in plural in same sense as singular. Up to the hilts "completely" is from 1670s.
hind (n.) Look up hind at Dictionary.com
"female deer," Old English hind, from Proto-Germanic *hinthjo (source also of Old Norse hind, Dutch hinde, Old High German hinta, German Hindin (with added fem. suffix) "hind"). This is perhaps from PIE *kemti-, from root *kem- (1) "hornless" (source also of Greek kemas, Lithuanian smulas "young deer, gazelle," Old Norse skammr "short, brief").
hoard (n.) Look up hoard at Dictionary.com
Old English hord "a treasure, valuable stock or store," from Proto-Germanic *huzdam (source also of Old Saxon hord "treasure, hidden or inmost place," Old Norse hodd, German Hort, Gothic huzd "treasure," literally "hidden treasure"), from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)).
forestall (v.) Look up forestall at Dictionary.com
late 14c. (implied in forestalling), "to lie in wait for;" also "to intercept goods before they reach public markets and buy them privately," which formerly was a crime (mid-14c. in this sense in Anglo-French), from Old English noun foresteall "intervention, hindrance (of justice); an ambush, a waylaying," literally "a standing before (someone)," from fore- "before" + steall "standing position" (see stall (n.1)). Modern sense of "to anticipate and delay" is from 1580s. Related: Forestalled; forestalling.
foal (n.) Look up foal at Dictionary.com
Old English fola "foal, colt," from Proto-Germanic *fulon (source also of Old Saxon folo, Middle Dutch volen, Dutch veulen, Old Norse foli, Old Frisian fola, Old High German folo, German Fohlen, Gothic fula), from PIE *pulo- "young of an animal" (source also of Greek polos "foal," Latin pullus "a young animal," Albanian pele "mare"), suffixed form of root *pau- (1) "few, little" (see few).
foolhardy (adj.) Look up foolhardy at Dictionary.com
also fool-hardy, mid-13c., folhardi, from fol "fool" (see fool (n.1) + hardi "bold" (see hardy) hence "foolishly brave, bold without judgement or moderation." Compare Old French fol hardi. Related: foolhardiness (mid-13c.); Middle English also had as a noun foolhardiment (mid-15c.).
intrinsic (adj.) Look up intrinsic at Dictionary.com
late 15c., "interior, inward, internal," from Middle French intrinsèque "inner" (14c.), from Medieval Latin intrinsecus "interior, internal," from Latin intrinsecus (adv.) "inwardly, on the inside," from intra "within" (see intra-) + secus "along, alongside," from PIE *sekw-os- "following," suffixed form of root *sekw- (1) "to follow" (see sequel).

The form in English was conformed to words in -ic by 18c. Meaning "belonging to the nature of a thing" is from 1640s. Related: Intrinsical; intrinsically.
irrational (adj.) Look up irrational at Dictionary.com
late 15c., "not endowed with reason" (of beasts, etc.), from Latin irrationalis/inrationalis "without reason, not rational," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + rationalis "of or belonging to reason, reasonable" (see rational (adj.)).

Meaning "illogical, absurd" is attested from 1640s. Related: Irrationally. The mathematical sense "inexpressible in ordinary numbers" is from late 14c. in English, from use of the Latin word as a translation of Greek alogon in Euclid.
irreparable (adj.) Look up irreparable at Dictionary.com
early 15c., from Old French irréparable (12c.), from Latin irreparabilis "not to be repaired or recovered," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + reparabilis "that can be repaired" (see repair (v.)). Irrepairable, from the English verb, was used 16c.-17c. but seldom was seen after.
holt (n.) Look up holt at Dictionary.com
Old English holt "woods, forest, grove, thicket," common in place names, from Proto-Germanic *hultam- (source also of Old Frisian, Old Norse, Middle Dutch holt, Dutch hout, German Holz "a wood, wood as timber"), from PIE *kldo- (source also of Old Church Slavonic klada "beam, timber;" Russian koloda, Lithuanian kalada "block of wood, log;" Greek klados "twig;" Old Irish caill "wood"), from root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut."
meal (n.2) Look up meal at Dictionary.com
"edible ground grain," Old English melu "meal, flour," from Proto-Germanic *melwan "grind" (source also of Old Frisian mele "meal," Old Saxon melo, Middle Dutch mele, Dutch meel, Old High German melo, German Mehl, Old Norse mjöl "meal;" Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic malan "to grind," German mahlen), from PIE root *mel- (1) "soft" (see mallet).
lore (n.) Look up lore at Dictionary.com
Old English lar "learning, what is taught, knowledge, science, doctrine, art of teaching," from Proto-Germanic *laizo (Old Saxon lera, Old Frisian lare, Middle Dutch lere, Dutch leer, Old High German lera, German Lehre "teaching, precept, doctrine"), from PIE *leis- (1) "track, furrow" (see learn).
anecdote (n.) Look up anecdote at Dictionary.com
1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an-) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)).

Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing stories" (1761).
blaze (n.1) Look up blaze at Dictionary.com
"bright flame, fire," Old English blæse "a torch, flame, firebrand, lamp," from Proto-Germanic *blas- "shining, white" (source also of Old Saxon blas "white, whitish," Middle High German blas "bald," originally "white, shining," Old High German blas-ros "horse with a white spot," Middle Dutch and Dutch bles, German Blesse "white spot," blass "pale, whitish"), from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)).
blazon (n.) Look up blazon at Dictionary.com
"coat of arms," late 13c., from Old French blason (12c.) "a shield, blazon," also "collar bone;" common Romanic (compare Spanish blason, Italian blasone, Portuguese brasao, Provençal blezo, the first two said to be French loan-words); of uncertain origin. OED doubts, on grounds of sense, the connection proposed by 19c. French etymologists to Germanic words related to English blaze (n.1).
bleak (adj.) Look up bleak at Dictionary.com
c. 1300, "pale," from Old Norse bleikr "pale, whitish, blond," from Proto-Germanic *blaika- "shining, white," from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)). Later "bare, windswept" (1530s). Sense of "cheerless" is c. 1719 figurative extension. The same Germanic root produced Old English blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blæc "black;" however bleak persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale."
blossom (n.) Look up blossom at Dictionary.com
c. 1200, from Old English blostm, blostma "blossom, flower, fruit," from Proto-Germanic *blo-s- (source also of Middle Low German blosom, Dutch bloesem, German Blust), from PIE *bhlow-, extended form of *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom" (see folio). This is the native word, now largely superseded by bloom (n.1) and flower (n.).
perestroika (n.) Look up perestroika at Dictionary.com
1981, from Russian perestroika, literally "rebuilding, reconstruction, reform" (of Soviet society, etc.), from pere- "re-" (from Old Russian pere- "around, again," from Proto-Slavic *per-, from PIE *per- (1) "forward, through;" see per) + stroika "building, construction," from Old Russian stroji "order," from PIE *stroi-, from root *stere- "to spread" (see structure (n.)). First proposed at the 26th Party Congress (1981); popularized in English 1985 during Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership of the U.S.S.R.
frontispiece (n.) Look up frontispiece at Dictionary.com
1590s, "decorated entrance of a building," from Middle French frontispice (16c.), which is probably from Italian frontespizio and Medieval Latin frontispicium "facade," originally "a view of the forehead, judgment of character through facial features," from Latin frons (genitive frontis) "forehead" (see front (n.)) + specere "to look at" (see scope (n.1)). Sense of "illustration facing a book's title page" first recorded 1680s. The English spelling alteration apparently is from confusion with unrelated piece (n.).
fulminate (v.) Look up fulminate at Dictionary.com
early 15c., "publish a 'thundering' denunciation; hurl condemnation (at an offender)," a figurative use, from Latin fulminatus, past participle of fulminare "hurl lightning, lighten," figuratively "to thunder," from fulmen (genitive fulminis) "lightning flash," related to fulgor "lightning," fulgere "to shine, flash," from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash," from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)). Metaphoric sense (the oldest in English) in reference to formal condemnation is from Medieval Latin fulminare, used of formal ecclesiastical censures. Related: Fulminated; fulminating.
clove (n.2) Look up clove at Dictionary.com
"slice of garlic," Old English clufu "clove (of garlic), bulb, tuber," from Proto-Germanic *klubo "cleft, thing cloven," from PIE *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave" (see cleave (v.1)). Its Germanic cognates mostly lurk in compounds that translate as "clove-leek," such as Old Saxon clufloc, Old High German chlobilouh. Dissimilation produced Dutch knoflook, German knoblauch.
boggle (v.) Look up boggle at Dictionary.com
1590s, "to start with fright (as a startled horse does), shy, take alarm," from Middle English bugge "specter" (among other things, supposed to scare horses at night); see bug (n.); also compare bogey (n.1). The meaning "to raise scruples, hesitate" is from 1630s. As a noun from 1650s. Related: Boggled; boggling; boggler (from c. 1600 as "one who hesitates").
hospitable (adj.) Look up hospitable at Dictionary.com
"kind and cordial to strangers or guests," 1560s, from Middle French hospitable, which is formed as if from a Medieval Latin hospitabilis, from the stem of Latin hospitari "be a guest," from hospes (genitive hospitis) "guest" (see host (n.1)). The Latin adjective was hospitalis, but this became a noun in Old French and entered English as hospital. Related: Hospitably.
huckster (n.) Look up huckster at Dictionary.com
c. 1200, "petty merchant, peddler" (often contemptuous), from Middle Dutch hokester "peddler," from hoken "to peddle" (see hawk (v.1)) + agent suffix -ster (which was typically feminine in English, but not in Low German). Specific sense of "advertising salesman" is from 1946 novel by Frederick Wakeman. As a verb from 1590s. Related: Huckstered; huckstering.
reply (v.) Look up reply at Dictionary.com
late 14c., "to make an answer," from Old French replier "to reply, turn back," from Late Latin replicare "to reply, repeat," in classical Latin "fold back, fold over, bend back," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)). Latin literal sense of "to fold back" is attested from mid-15c. in English but is not now used. Modern French répliquer (Middle French replier) is directly from Late Latin. Related: Replied; replying.
export (v.) Look up export at Dictionary.com
by 1610s, "carrying out of a place;" perhaps from late 15c., from Latin exportare "to carry out, bring out; send away, export," from ex- "away" (see ex-) + portare "carry" (see port (n.1)). The sense of "send out (commodities) from one country to another" is first recorded in English 1660s. Related: Exported; exporting; exporter.
freshet (n.) Look up freshet at Dictionary.com
1590s, "stream of fresh water; stream flowing into the sea," from obsolete fresh (n.) "a stream in flood" (1530s), also "mingling of fresh and salt water," from fresh (adj.1). Old English had fersceta in the same sense. Meaning "small flood or increased flow of an ebb tide caused by rain or melting snow" is from 1650s.
frisk (v.) Look up frisk at Dictionary.com
1510s, "to dance, frolic," from Middle English adjective frisk "lively" (mid-15c.), from Middle French frisque "lively, brisk," in Old French "fresh, new; merry, animated" (13c.), which is possibly from a Germanic source (compare Middle Dutch vrisch "fresh," Old High German frisc "lively;" see fresh (adj.1)). Sense of "pat down in a search" first recorded 1781. Related: Frisked; frisking. As a noun, "a frolic, gambol," from 1520s.
torpor (n.) Look up torpor at Dictionary.com
"lethargy, listlessness," c. 1600, from Latin torpor "numbness, sluggishness," from torpere "be numb, be inactive, be dull," from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff, rigid, firm, strong" (source also of Old Church Slavonic trupeti, Lithuanian tirpstu "to become rigid;" Greek stereos "solid;" Old English steorfan "to die;" see stereo-).
Midgard Look up Midgard at Dictionary.com
in Germanic cosmology, "world inhabited by men (opposed to Asgard, the abode of the gods), 1882, from Old Norse miðgarðr, from mið "mid" (see mid) + Proto-Germanic *gardoz "enclosure, tract" (see yard (n.1)). The Old English cognate was middangeard, which later was folk-etymologized as middle earth (late 13c.).
might (n.) Look up might at Dictionary.com
Old English miht, earlier mæht "might, bodily strength, power, authority, ability," from Proto-Germanic *makhti- (source also of Old Norse mattr, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch macht, Old High German maht, German Macht, Gothic mahts), Germanic suffixed form of PIE root *magh- (1) "be able, have power" (see may (v.)).
piker (n.) Look up piker at Dictionary.com
"miserly person," 1872, formerly "poor migrant to California" (1860), earlier pike (1854), perhaps originally "vagrant who wanders the pike (n.1)" (which is the notion in Sussex dialectal piker "vagrant, tramp, gypsy," 1838), but Barnhart, OED and others suggest the American English word ultimately is a reference to people from Pike County, Missouri.
miasma (n.) Look up miasma at Dictionary.com
1660s, from Modern Latin miasma "noxious vapors," from Greek miasma (genitive miasmatos) "stain, pollution, defilement, taint of guilt," from stem of miainein "to pollute," from possible PIE root *mai- "to stain, soil, defile" (source of Old English mal "stain, mark," see mole (n.1)). Earlier form was miasm (1640s), from French miasme. Related: Miasmatic; miasmal.
hydrophobia (n.) Look up hydrophobia at Dictionary.com
late 14c., idroforbia, "dread of water, aversion to swallowing water," a symptom of rabies in man (sometimes used for the disease itself), from Late Latin hydrophobia, from Greek hydrophobos "dreading water," from hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + phobos "dread, fear" (see phobia). So called because human sufferers show aversion to water and have difficulty swallowing it. In Old English as wæterfyrhtness. Related: Hydrophobe.
dross (n.) Look up dross at Dictionary.com
"dirt, dregs," Old English dros "the scum thrown off from metals in smelting," from Proto-Germanic *drohs- (source also of Middle Dutch droes, Dutch droesem, Middle Low German dros, Old High German truosana, German Drusen "dregs, husks"), from PIE dher- (1) "to make muddy." Meaning "refuse, rubbish" is mid-15c.
bordello (n.) Look up bordello at Dictionary.com
c. 1300, bordel "house of prostitution," from Old French bordel "small hut, cabin; brothel" (12c.), diminutive of borde "hut made of planks," from Frankish *bord "wooden board" or some other Germanic source related to board (n.1). The modern form is a result of the French word being borrowed by Italian then passed back to French with a suffix and re-borrowed into English in its current form by 1590s.