- windstorm (n.)
- late 14c., from wind (n.1) + storm (n.).
- crossbar (n.)
- mid-15c., from cross- + bar (n.1).
- emplane (v.)
- 1923, from em- (1) + plane (n.2).
- water-lily (n.)
- 1540s, from water (n.1) + lily (n.).
- waterworks (n.)
- mid-15c., from water (n.1) + work (n.).
- water-wheel (n.)
- c. 1400, from water (n.1) + wheel (n.).
- internee (n.)
- "one who is interned," from intern (v.1) + -ee.
- inveracity (n.)
- 1789, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + veracity.
- inapprehensible (adj.)
- 1640s, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + apprehensible.
- indeliberation (n.)
- 1610s; see in- (1) "not, opposite of" + deliberation.
- indemonstrable (adj.)
- 1560s, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + demonstrable.
- indetermination (n.)
- 1640s, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + determination.
- incohesion (n.)
- 1781; see in- (1) "not, opposite of" + cohesion.
- housetop (n.)
- 1520s, from house (n.) + top (n.1).
- ice-bound (adj.)
- 1650s, from ice (n.) + bound (adj.1).
- ice-pick (n.)
- 1858, from ice (n.) + pick (n.1).
- gravitational (adj.)
- 1816, from gravitation + -al (1). Related: Gravitationally.
- hand-rail (n.)
- 1793, from hand (n.) + rail (n.1).
- hat-rack (n.)
- 1833, from hat (n.) + rack (n.1).
- lemon (v.)
- 1767 (implied in lemoned), from lemon (n.1).
- Levantine (adj.)
- "of or pertaining to the Levant," 1640s, from Levant + -ine (1).
- letter-bag (n.)
- 1781, from letter (n.1) + bag (n.).
- need (n.)
- Old English nied (West Saxon), ned (Mercian) "necessity, compulsion, duty; hardship, distress; errand, business," originally "violence, force," from Proto-Germanic *nauthiz/*naudiz (source also of Old Saxon nod, Old Norse nauðr, Old Frisian ned, Middle Dutch, Dutch nood, Old High German not, German Not, Gothic nauþs "need"), probably cognate with Old Prussian nautin "need," and perhaps with Old Church Slavonic nazda, Russian nuzda, Polish nędza "misery, distress," from PIE *nau- (1) "death, to be exhausted" (see narwhal).
The more common Old English word for "need, necessity, want" was ðearf, but they were connected via a notion of "trouble, pain," and the two formed a compound, niedðearf "need, necessity, compulsion, thing needed." Nied also might have been influenced by Old English neod "desire, longing," which often was spelled the same. Common in Old English compounds, such as niedfaru "compulsory journey," a euphemism for "death;" niedhæmed "rape," the second element being an Old English word meaning "sexual intercourse;" niedling "slave." Meaning "extreme poverty, destitution" is from c. 1200.
- Venus
- late Old English, from Latin Venus (plural veneres), in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, especially sensual love, from venus "love, sexual desire; loveliness, beauty, charm; a beloved object," from PIE root *wen- (1) "to strive after, wish, desire."
This root is the source of Sanskrit veti "follows after," vanas- "desire," vanati "desires, loves, wins;" Avestan vanaiti "he wishes, is victorious;" Latin venerari "to worship;" Old English wynn "joy," wunian "to dwell," wenian "to accustom, train, wean," wyscan "to wish."
Applied by the Romans to Greek Aphrodite, Egyptian Hathor, etc. Applied in English to any beautiful, attractive woman by 1570s. As the name of the most brilliant planet from late 13c., from this sense in Latin (Old English called it morgensteorra and æfensteorra). The venus fly-trap (Dionæa muscipula) was discovered 1760 by Gov. Arthur Dobbs in North Carolina and description sent to Collinson in England. The Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian name for the plant, /titipiwitshik/, yielded regional American English tippity wichity.
- cheek (n.)
- Old English ceace, cece "jaw, jawbone," in late Old English also "the fleshy wall of the mouth." Perhaps from the root of Old English ceowan "chew" (see chew (v.)), or from Proto-Germanic *kaukon (source also of Middle Low German kake "jaw, jawbone," Middle Dutch kake "jaw," Dutch kaak), not found outside West Germanic.
Words for "cheek," "jaw," and "chin" tend to run together in IE languages (compare PIE *genw-, source of Greek genus "jaw, cheek," geneion "chin," and English chin); Aristotle considered the chin as the front of the "jaws" and the cheeks as the back of them. The other Old English word for "cheek" was ceafl (see jowl (n.1)).
A thousand men he [Samson] slow eek with his hond,
And had no wepen but an asses cheek.
[Chaucer, "Monk's Tale"]
In reference to the buttocks from c. 1600. Sense of "insolence" is from 1840, perhaps from a notion akin to that which led to jaw "insolent speech," mouth off, etc. To turn the other cheek is an allusion to Matt. v:39 and Luke vi:29.
- chicken (n.)
- Old English cicen (plural cicenu) "young fowl," which by early Middle English had came to mean "young chicken," then later any chicken, from Proto-Germanic *kiukinam (source also of Middle Dutch kiekijen, Dutch kieken, Old Norse kjuklingr, Swedish kyckling, German Küken "chicken"), from root *keuk- (echoic of the bird's sound and possibly also the root of cock (n.1)) + diminutive suffixes.
Applied to the young of other bird species from early 13c. Adjective sense of "cowardly" is at least as old as 14c. (compare hen-herte "a chicken-hearted person," mid-15c.). As the name of a game of danger to test courage, it is first recorded 1953. Chicken feed "paltry sum of money" is by 1897, American English slang; literal use (it is made from the from lowest quality of grain) by 1834. Chicken lobster "young lobster," is from c. 1960s, American English, apparently from chicken in its sense of "young." Generic words for "chicken" in Indo-European tend to be extended uses of "hen" words, as hens are more numerous among domestic fowl, but occasionally they are from words for the young, as in English and in Latin pullus.
- mis- (1)
- prefix meaning "bad, wrong," from Old English mis-, from Proto-Germanic *missa- "divergent, astray" (source also of Old Frisian and Old Saxon mis-, Middle Dutch misse-, Old High German missa-, German miß-, Old Norse mis-, Gothic missa-), perhaps literally "in a changed manner," and with a root sense of "difference, change" (compare Gothic misso "mutually"), and thus from PIE *mit-to-, from root *mei- (1) "to change" (see mutable); see Watkins.
Others [Barnhart] see in Proto-Germanic *missa- the stem of an ancient past participle, related to Old English missan "fail to hit" (see miss (v.)), which is from the same PIE root.
Productive as word-forming element in Old English (as in mislæran "to give bad advice, teach amiss"). In 14c.-16c. in a few verbs its sense began to be felt as "unfavorably" and was used as an intensive prefix with verbs already expressing negative feeling (as in misdoubt). Practically a separate word in Old and early Middle English (and often written as such). Old English also had an adjective (mislic "diverse, unlike, various") and an adverb (mislice "in various directions, wrongly, astray") derived from it, corresponding to German misslich (adj.).
- bury (v.)
- Old English byrgan "to raise a mound, hide, bury, inter," akin to beorgan "to shelter," from Proto-Germanic *burzjan- "protection, shelter" (source also of Old Saxon bergan, Dutch bergen, Old Norse bjarga, Swedish berga, Old High German bergan "protect, shelter, conceal," German bergen, Gothic bairgan "to save, preserve"), from PIE root *bhergh- (1) "to hide, protect" (source also of Old Church Slavonic brego "I preserve, guard"). Related: Buried; burying. Burying-ground "cemetery" attested from 1711.
The Old English -y- was a short "oo" sound, like modern French -u-. Under normal circumstances it transformed into Modern English -i- (in bridge, kiss, listen, sister, etc.), but in bury and a few other words (as in merry, knell) it retained a Kentish change to "e" that took place in the late Old English period. In the West Midlands, meanwhile, the Old English -y- sound persisted, slightly modified over time, giving the standard modern pronunciation of blush, much, church.
- logrolling (n.)
- also log-rolling, in the legislative vote-trading sense, 1823, American English, from the notion of neighbors on the frontier helping one another with the heavy work of clearing land and building cabins (as in phrase you roll my log and I'll roll yours); see log (n.1) + rolling.
LOG-ROLLING. 1. In the lumber regions of Maine it is customary for men of different logging camps to appoint days for helping each other in rolling the logs to the river, after they are felled and trimmed -- this rolling being about the hardest work incident to the business. Thus the men of three or four camps will unite, say on Monday, to roll for camp No. 1, -- on Tuesday for camp No. 2, -- on Wednesday for camp No. 3, -- and so on, through the whole number of camps within convenient distance of each other. [Bartlett]
- clipper (n.)
- late 14c., "sheepshearer;" early 15c., "a barber;" c. 1300 as a surname; agent noun from Middle English clippen "shorten" (see clip (v.1)). The type of fast sailing ship so called from 1823 (in Cooper's "The Pilot"), probably from clip (v.1) in sense of "to move or run rapidly," hence early 19c. sense "person or animal who looks capable of fast running." Perhaps originally simply "fast ship," regardless of type:
Well, you know, the Go-along-Gee was one o' your flash Irish cruisers -- the first o' your fir-built frigates -- and a clipper she was! Give her a foot o' the sheet, and she'd go like a witch--but somehow o'nother, she'd bag on a bowline to leeward. ["Naval Sketch-Book," by "An officer of rank," London, 1826]
The early association of the ships was with Baltimore, Maryland. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper "swift horse," echoic (Clipper appears as the name of an English race horse in 1831). In late 18c., the word principally meant "one who cuts off the edges of coins" for the precious metal.
- scale (n.2)
- weighing instrument, early 15c.; earlier "pan of a balance" (late 14c.); earlier still "drinking cup" (c. 1200), from Old Norse skal "bowl, drinking cup," in plural, "weighing scale" from a noun derivative of Proto-Germanic *skæla "split, divide" (source also of Old Norse skel "shell," Old English scealu, Old Saxon skala "a bowl (to drink from)," Old High German scala, German Schale "a bowl, dish, cup," Middle Dutch scale, Dutch schaal "drinking cup, bowl, shell, scale of a balance"), from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut" (see scale (n.1)).
The connecting sense seems to be of half of a bivalve ("split") shell used as a drinking cup or a pan for weighing. But according to Paulus Diaconus the "drinking cup" sense originated from a supposed custom of making goblets from skulls (see skull). Related: Scales. This, as a name for the zodiac constellation Libra, is attested in English from 1630s.
- shell (n.)
- Old English sciell, scill, Anglian scell "seashell, eggshell," related to Old English scealu "shell, husk," from Proto-Germanic *skaljo "piece cut off; shell; scale" (source also of West Frisian skyl "peel, rind," Middle Low German schelle "pod, rind, egg shell," Gothic skalja "tile"), with the shared notion of "covering that splits off," from PIE root *(s)kel- (1) "to cut, cleave" (source also of Old Church Slavonic skolika "shell," Russian skala "bark, rind;" see scale (n.1)). Italian scaglia "chip" is from Germanic.
Sense of "mere exterior" is from 1650s; that of "hollow framework" is from 1791. Meaning "structure for a band or orchestra" is attested from 1938. Military use (1640s) was first of hand grenades, in reference to the metal case in which the gunpowder and shot were mixed; the notion is of a "hollow object" filled with explosives. Hence shell shock, first recorded 1915. Shell game "a swindle" is from 1890, from a version of three-card monte played with a pea and walnut shells.
- water-pipe (n.)
- c. 1400, "conduit for water," from water (n.1) + pipe (n.1). The smoking sense is first attested 1824.
- windpipe (n.)
- "trachea," 1520s, from wind (n.1) in the "breath" sense + pipe (n.1).
- unfounded (adj.)
- 1640s, "having no foundation or basis," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of found (v.1).
- burdensome (adj.)
- 1570s, from burden (n.1) + -some (1). Earlier was burdenous (1520s). Related: Burdensomeness.
- bullfrog (n.)
- also bull-frog, 1738, from bull (n.1) + frog (n.1). So called for its voice.
- clipboard (n.)
- 1904, from clip (n.1) + board (n.1). Portable board with a hinged clip at the top to hold papers.
- factional (adj.)
- 1640s, from faction (n.1) + -al (1). Shakespeare used factionary (c. 1600).
- tarsal (adj.)
- "of or pertaining to the ankle or instep," 1817, from tarsus (n.1) + -al (1), or from medical Latin tarsalis.
- mill-race (n.)
- late 15c., from mill (n.1) + race (n.1) in the "current" sense.
- bull-ring (n.)
- arena for bull fights, c. 1600, from bull (n.1) + ring (n.1).
- tip-top (n.)
- "extreme top," 1702, from tip (n.1) + top (n.1). Hence, "most excellent."
- flagpole (n.)
- also flag-pole, 1782, from flag (n.1) + pole (n.1). Flagpole-sitting as a craze is attested from 1927.
- fantail (n.)
- 1728, "a tail shaped like a fan," from fan (n.1) + tail (n.1). Specifically of birds from 1848.
- enwind (v.)
- also inwind, 1590s (implied in inwinding), from en- (1) + wind (v.1). Related: Enwound; enwinding.
- unwound (adj.)
- "no longer wound," 1707, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of wind (v.1).
- fedora (n.)
- type of hat, 1887, American English, from "Fédora," a popular play by Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) that opened 1882, in which the heroine, a Russian princess named Fédora Romanoff, originally was performed by Sarah Bernhardt. During the play, Bernhardt, a notorious cross-dresser, wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat. Women's-rights activists adopted the fashion. The proper name is Russian fem. of Fedor, from Greek Theodoros, literally "gift of god," from theos "god" (see theo-) + doron "gift" (see date (n.1)).
- hangar (n.)
- 1852, "shed for carriages," from French hangar "shed," which is of uncertain origin. Probably from Middle French hanghart (14c.), which is perhaps an alteration of Middle Dutch *ham-gaerd "enclosure near a house" [Barnhart, Watkins], from a Proto-Germanic compound *haimgardaz of the elements that make home (n.) and yard (n.1). Or the Middle French word might be from Medieval Latin angarium "shed in which horses are shod" [Gamillscheg, Klein]. Sense of "covered shed for airplanes" first recorded in English 1902, from French use in that sense.
- magic (n.)
- late 14c., "art of influencing events and producing marvels using hidden natural forces," from Old French magique "magic, magical," from Late Latin magice "sorcery, magic," from Greek magike (presumably with tekhne "art"), fem. of magikos "magical," from magos "one of the members of the learned and priestly class," from Old Persian magush, possibly from PIE *magh- (1) "to be able, to have power" (see machine). Transferred sense of "legerdemain, optical illusion, etc." is from 1811. Displaced Old English wiccecræft (see witch); also drycræft, from dry "magician," from Irish drui "priest, magician" (see druid).