Online Etymology Dictionary

ill (adj.): c. 1200, "morally evil; offensive, objectionable" (other 13c. senses were "malevolent, hurtful, unfortunate, difficult"), from Old Norse illr "evil, bad; hard, difficult; mean, stingy," a word of unknown origin. Not considered to be related to evil. From mid-14c. as "marked by evil intentions; harmful, pernicious." Sense of "sick, unhealthy, diseased, unwell" is first recorded mid-15c., probably from a use similar to that in the Old Norse idiom "it is bad to me." Slang inverted sense of "very good, cool" is 1980s..
impart (v.): early 15c., "to give a part of (one's possessions);" late 15c., "to share, take part in," from Old French empartir, impartir "assign, allot, allocate, share out" (14c.), from Late Latin impartire (also impertire) "to share in, divide with another; communicate," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + partire "to divide, part" (see part (v.)). Meaning "communicate as knowledge or information" is from 1540s; the word was not originally restricted to immaterial things but now usually is only in reference to qualities. Related: Imparted; imparting; impartment.
impeach (v.): formerly also empeach, late 14c., "to impede, hinder, prevent," from Anglo-French empecher, Old French empeechier "to hinder, stop, impede; capture, trap, ensnare" (12c., Modern French empêcher), from Late Latin impedicare "to fetter, catch, entangle," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + Latin pedica "a shackle, fetter," from pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Sense of "accuse a public officer of misconduct" first recorded 1560s, perhaps via Medieval Latin confusion of the word with Latin impetere "attack, accuse" (see impetus). Related: Impeached; impeaching.
jade (n.2): "worn-out horse," late 14c., apparently originally "cart horse," a word of uncertain origin. Barnhart and Century Dictionary suggests a variant of yaid, yald "whore," literally "mare" (c. 1400), from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse jalda "mare," and ultimately from Finno-Ugric (compare Mordvin al'd'a "mare"). But OED finds the assumption of a Scandinavian connection "without reason." As a term of abuse for a woman, it dates from 1550s; in early use also of mean or worthless men, and sometimes simply "a young woman."
jazz (n.): by 1912, American English, first attested in baseball slang; as a type of music, attested from 1913. Probably ultimately from Creole patois jass "strenuous activity," especially "sexual intercourse" but also used of Congo dances, from jasm (1860) "energy, drive," of African origin (compare Mandingo jasi, Temne yas), also the source of slang jism.
If the truth were known about the origin of the word 'Jazz' it would never be mentioned in polite society. ["Étude," Sept. 1924]
Meaning "rubbish, unnecessary talk or ornamentation" is from 1918. Slang all that jazz "et cetera" first recorded 1939.
macadam (n.): 1824, named for inventor, Scottish civil engineer John L. McAdam (1756-1836), who developed a method of leveling roads and paving them with gravel and outlined the process in his pamphlet "Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making" (1822). Originally the word meant road material consisting of a solid mass of stones of nearly uniform size laid down in layers (McAdam did not approve of the use of binding materials or rollers). The idea of mixing tar with the gravel began 1880s.
magazine (n.): 1580s, "place for storing goods, especially military ammunition," from Middle French magasin "warehouse, depot, store" (15c.), from Italian magazzino, from Arabic makhazin, plural of makhzan "storehouse" (source of Spanish almacén "warehouse, magazine"), from khazana "to store up." The original sense is almost obsolete; meaning "periodical journal" dates from the publication of the first one, "Gentleman's Magazine," in 1731, which was so called from earlier use of the word for a printed list of military stores and information, or in a figurative sense, from the publication being a "storehouse" of information.
kriegspiel (n.): war games played on maps with blocks representing bodies of soldiers, 1873 (once, from 1811, as a German word in English), from German Kriegsspiel, literally "war game," from Krieg "war," from Middle High German kriec, "combat," mostly "exertion, effort; opposition, enmity, resistance," from Old High German chreg "stubbornness, defiance, obstinacy," perhaps from PIE *gwere- (2) "heavy" (see grave (adj.)) or cognate with Greek hybris "violence" (see hubris; also see war (n.)). For second element, see spiel (n.). Introduced 1870s as officer training in British army.
lackey (n.): 1520s, "footman, running footman, valet," from Middle French laquais "foot soldier, footman, servant" (15c.), a word of unknown origin; perhaps from Old Provençal lacai, from lecai "glutton, covetous," from lecar "to lick." The alternative etymology is that it comes via Old French laquay, from Catalan alacay, from Arabic al-qadi "the judge." Yet another guess traces it through Spanish lacayo, from Italian lacchè, from Modern Greek oulakes, from Turkish ulak "runner, courier." This suits the original sense better, but OED says Italian lacchè is from French. Sense of "servile follower" appeared 1580s. As a political term of abuse it dates from 1939 in communist jargon.
lacuna (n.): "blank or missing portion in a manuscript," 1660s, from Latin lacuna "hole, pit," figuratively "a gap, void, want," diminutive of lacus "pond, lake; hollow, opening" (see lake (n.1)). The Latin plural is lacunae. The word has also been used in English from c. 1700 in the literal Latin sense in anatomy, zoology, botany. The adjectival forms have somewhat sorted themselves: Mathematics tends to use lacunary (1857), natural history lacunose (1816), and lacunar (n.) is used in architecture of paneled ceilings (1690s), so called for their sunken compartments. Leaving lacunal (1846) for the manuscript sense.
Lamarckian (adj.): "pertaining to the theories or work of French botanist and zoologist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck" (1744-1829). Originally (1825) in reference to his biological classification system. He had the insight, before Darwin, that all plants and animals are descended from a common primitive life-form. But in his view the process of evolution included the inheritance of characteristics acquired by the organism by habit, effort, or environment. The word typically refers to this aspect of his theory, which was long maintained in some quarters but has since been rejected.
main (n.): Old English mægen (n.) "power, bodily strength, force, efficacy," from Proto-Germanic *maginam "power," suffixed form of PIE root *magh- (1) "be able, have power" (see may (v.)). Original sense preserved in phrase with might and main. Meaning "principal channel in a utility system" is first recorded 1727 in main drain. Used since 1540s for "continuous stretch of land or water;" in nautical jargon used loosely for "the ocean," but in Spanish Main the word is short for mainland and refers to the coast between Panama and Orinoco (as contrasted to the islands of the West Indies).
nasty (adj.): c. 1400, "foul, filthy, dirty, unclean," of unknown origin; perhaps [Barnhart] from Old French nastre "miserly, envious, malicious, spiteful," shortened form of villenastre "infamous, bad," from vilein "villain" + -astre, pejorative suffix, from Latin -aster.

Alternative etymology [OED] is from Dutch nestig "dirty," literally "like a bird's nest." Likely reinforced in either case by a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish dialectal naskug "dirty, nasty"), which also might be the source of the Middle English word. Of weather, from 1630s; of things generally, "unpleasant, offensive," from 1705. Of people, "ill-tempered," from 1825. Noun meaning "something nasty" is from 1935. Related: Nastily; nastiness.
propaganda (n.): 1718, "committee of cardinals in charge of Catholic missionary work," short for Congregatio de Propaganda Fide "congregation for propagating the faith," a committee of cardinals established 1622 by Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions. The word is properly the ablative fem. gerundive of Latin propagare (see propagation). Hence, "any movement to propagate some practice or ideology" (1790). Modern political sense dates from World War I, not originally pejorative. Meaning "material or information propagated to advance a cause, etc." is from 1929.
pseudo-: often before vowels pseud-, word-forming element meaning "false; feigned; erroneous; in appearance only; resembling," from Greek pseudo-, comb. form of pseudes "false, lying; falsely; deceived," or pseudos "falsehood, untruth, a lie," both from pseudein "to deceive, cheat by lies."

Productive in compound formation in ancient Greek (such as pseudodidaskalos "false teacher," pseudokyon "a sham cynic," pseudologia "a false speech," pseudoparthenos "pretended virgin"), it began to be used with native words in Middle English.
pseudonym (n.): 1828, in part a back-formation from pseudonymous, in part from German pseudonym and French pseudonyme (adj.), from Greek pseudonymos "having a false name, under a false name," from pseudes "false" (see pseudo-) + onyma, Aeolic dialectal variant of onoma "name" (see name (n.)).

"Possibly a dictionary word" at first [Barnhart]. Fowler calls it "a queer out-of-the-way term for an everyday thing." Properly in reference to made-up names; the name of an actual author or person of reputation affixed to a work he or she did not write is an allonym. An author's actual name affixed to his or her own work is an autonym (1867).
necro-: before vowels, necr-, word-forming element meaning "death, corpse, dead tissue," from Latinized form of Greek nekros "dead body, corpse, dead person," from PIE *nek- (1) "death, natural death" (source also of Sanskrit nasyati "disappears, perishes," Avestan nasyeiti "disappears," nasu- "corpse," Old Persian vi-nathayatiy "he injures;" Latin nex, genitive necis "violent death, murder" (as opposed to mors), nocere "to harm, hurt," noxius "harmful;" Greek nekus "dead" (adj.), nekros "dead body, corpse;" Old Irish ec, Breton ankou, Welsh angeu "death").
oath (n.): Old English að "oath, judicial swearing, solemn appeal to deity in witness of truth or a promise," from Proto-Germanic *aithaz (source also of Old Norse eiðr, Swedish ed, Old Saxon, Old Frisian eth, Middle Dutch eet, Dutch eed, German eid, Gothic aiþs "oath"), from PIE *oi-to- "an oath" (source also of Old Irish oeth "oath"). Common to Celtic and Germanic, possibly a loan-word from one to the other, but the history is obscure. In reference to careless invocations of divinity, from late 12c.
Ojibwa: Algonquian people of North America living along the shores of Lake Superior, 1700, from Ojibwa O'chepe'wag "plaited shoes," in reference to their puckered moccasins, which were unlike those of neighboring tribes. The older form in English is Chippewa, which is usually retained in U.S., but since c. 1850 Canadian English has taken up the more phonetically correct Ojibwa, and as a result the two forms of the word have begun to be used in reference to slightly differing groups in the two countries. Some modern Chippewas prefer anishinaabe, which means "original people."
professor (n.): late 14c., "one who teaches a branch of knowledge," from Old French professeur (14c.) and directly from Latin professor "person who professes to be an expert in some art or science; teacher of highest rank," agent noun from profiteri "lay claim to, declare openly" (see profess). As a title prefixed to a name, it dates from 1706. Short form prof is recorded from 1838.
Professor. One professing religion. This canting use of the word comes down from the Elizabethan period, but is obsolete in England. [Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912]
puss (n.1): "cat," 1520s, but probably much older than the record, perhaps imitative of the hissing sound commonly used to get a cat's attention. A conventional name for a cat in Germanic languages and as far off as Afghanistan; it is the root of the principal word for "cat" in Rumanian (pisica) and secondary words in Lithuanian (puz), Low German (puus), Swedish dialect katte-pus, etc. Applied to a girl or woman from c. 1600, originally in a negative sense, implying unpleasant cat-like qualities; but by mid-19c. in affectionate use.
quince (n.): early 14c., plural of quoyn, from Old French cooin (Modern French coing), from Vulgar Latin codoneum, from Latin cotoneum malum "quince fruit," probably a variant of cydonium malum, from Greek kydonion malon "apple of Kydonia" (modern Khania), ancient seaport city in Crete.

The plant is native to Persia, Anatolia, and Greece; the Greeks imported grafts for their native plants from a superior strain in Crete, hence the name. Kodu- also was the Lydian name for the fruit. Italian cotogno, German Quitte, etc. all are ultimately from the Greek word.
pan-: word-forming element meaning "all, every, whole, all-inclusive," from Greek pan-, combining form of pas (neuter pan, masculine and neuter genitive pantos) "all," from PIE *pant- "all" (with derivatives found only in Greek and Tocharian).

Commonly used as a prefix in Greek, in modern times often with nationality names, the first example of which seems to have been Panslavism (1846). Also panislamic (1881), pan-American (1889), pan-German (1892), pan-African (1900), pan-European (1901), pan-Arabism (1930).
panic (n.1): "mass terror," 1708, from earlier adjective (c. 1600, modifying fear, terror, etc.), from French panique (15c.), from Greek panikon, literally "pertaining to Pan," the god of woods and fields, who was the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots.

In the sense of "panic, fright" the Greek word is short for panikon deima "panic fright," from neuter of Panikos "of Pan." Meaning "widespread apprehension about financial matters" is first recorded 1757. Panic button in figurative sense is first recorded 1955, the literal sense apparently is from parachuting. Panic attack attested by 1970.
quail (n.): migratory game bird, late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname (Quayle), from Old French quaille (Modern French caille), perhaps via Medieval Latin quaccula (source also of Provençal calha, Italian quaglia, Old Spanish coalla), or directly from a Germanic source (compare Dutch kwakkel, Old High German quahtala "quail," German Wachtel, Old English wihtel), imitative of the bird's cry. Or the English word might be directly from Proto-Germanic. Slang meaning "young attractive woman" first recorded 1859.
quaint (adj.): c. 1200, cointe, "cunning, ingenious; proud," from Old French cointe "knowledgeable, well-informed; clever; arrogant, proud; elegant, gracious," from Latin cognitus "known, approved," past participle of cognoscere "get or come to know well" (see cognizance). Modern spelling is from early 14c.

Later in English, "elaborate, skillfully made" (c. 1300); "strange and clever" (mid-14c.). Sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested 1795, and could describe the word itself, which had become rare after c. 1700 (though it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense). Related: Quaintly; quaintness.
rape (v.): late 14c., "seize prey; abduct, take by force," from rape (n.) and from Anglo-French raper (Old French rapir) "to seize, abduct," a legal term, probably from past participle of Latin rapere "seize, carry off by force, abduct" (see rapid).

Latin rapere was used for "sexually violate," but only very rarely; the usual Latin word being stuprare "to defile, ravish, violate," related to stuprum (n.), literally "disgrace." Meaning "to abduct (a woman), ravish;" also "seduce (a man)" is from early 15c. in English. Related: Raped; raping. Uncertain connection to Low German and Dutch rapen in the same sense.
rapt (adj.): late 14c., "carried away in an ecstatic trance," from Latin raptus, past participle of rapere "seize, carry off" (see rape (v.)). A figurative sense, the notion is of "carried up into Heaven (bodily or in a dream)," as in a saint's vision. Latin literal sense of "carried away" was in English from 1550s. In 15c.-17c. the word also sometimes could mean "raped." Sense of "engrossed" first recorded c. 1500. As a past participle adjective, in English it spawned the back-formed verb rap "to affect with rapture," which was common c. 1600-1750.
tabernacle (n.): mid-13c., "portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites in the wilderness," from Old French tabernacle "the Jewish Tabernacle; tent, canopy; tomb, monument" (12c.), from Latin tabernaculum "tent," especially "a tent of an augur" (for taking observations), diminutive of taberna "hut, cabin, booth" (see tavern).

Use of the word in English transferred late 14c. to the Temple in Jerusalem (which continued its function). Sense of "house of worship" first recorded 1690s. Also in Biblical language, "the body as the temporary abode of the soul" (late 14c.). The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (mid-October) was observed as a thanksgiving for harvest. Related: Tabernacular.
ventriloquy (n.): 1580s, from Late Latin ventriloquus, from Latin venter (genitive ventris) "belly" (see ventral) + loqui "speak" (see locution). Related: Ventriloquial; ventriloquize.

Patterned on Greek engastrimythos, literally "speaking in the belly," which was not originally an entertainer's trick but rather a rumbling sort of internal speech, regarded as a sign of spiritual inspiration or (more usually) demonic possession. Reference to the modern activity so called seems to have begun early 18c., and by 1797 it was being noted that this was a curiously inappropriate word to describe throwing the voice.
rack (n.3): "clouds driven before the wind," c. 1300, also "rush of wind, collision, crash," originally a northern word, possibly from Old English racu "cloud" (or an unrecorded Scandinavian cognate of it), reinforced by Old Norse rek "wreckage, jetsam," or by influence of Old English wræc "something driven;" from Proto-Germanic *wrakaz, from PIE root *wreg- "to push, shove, drive" (see urge (v.)). Often confused with wrack (n.), especially in phrase rack and ruin (1590s). The distinction is that rack is "driven clouds;" wrack is "seaweed cast up on shore."
radius (n.): 1590s, "cross-shaft," from Latin radius "staff, stake, rod; spoke of a wheel; ray of light, beam of light; radius of a circle," of unknown origin. Perhaps related to radix "root," but Tucker suggests connection to Sanskrit vardhate "rises, makes grow," via root *neredh- "rise, out, extend forth;" or else Greek ardis "sharp point."

The geometric sense first recorded 1610s. Plural is radii. Meaning "circular area of defined distance around some place" is attested from 1953. Meaning "shorter bone of the forearm" is from 1610s in English (the Latin word had been used thus by the Romans).
raffle (n.): late 14c., "dice game," from Old French rafle "dice game," also "plundering," perhaps from a Germanic source (compare Middle Dutch raffel "dice game," Old Frisian hreppa "to move," Old Norse hreppa "to reach, get," Swedish rafs "rubbish," Old High German raspon "to scrape together, snatch up in haste," German raffen "to snatch away, sweep off"), from Proto-Germanic *khrap- "to pluck out, snatch off." The notion would be "to sweep up (the stakes), to snatch (the winnings)." Dietz connects the French word with the Germanic root, but OED is against this. Meaning "sale of chances" first recorded 1766.
raisin (n.): "dried sweet grape," c. 1300, from Anglo-French raycin (late 13c.), Old French raisin "grape; raisin," from Vulgar Latin *racimus, alteration of Latin racemus "cluster of grapes or berries" (also source of Spanish racimo, Italian racemo), probably from the same ancient lost Mediterranean language that gave Greek rhax (genitive rhagos) "grape, berry." In Middle English the word also could be used of grapes themselves. Dutch razun also is from French; German Rosine is from an Old French variant form.
pyromania (n.): 1840, from pyro- "fire" + mania "madness, frenzy." Used in German in the 1830s.
The propensity which leads an insane person to accomplish his purpose by burning, has been considered to merit particular notice, and to constitute a variety of monomania. Dr. Marc, of France, has published a memoir on the subject; he gives the name of pyromania to it, and considers that, like other insane propensities, it may be the result of instinct, or it may be the result of delusion--reasoning upon erroneous principles. [Alexander Morrison, M.D., "The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases," London, 1840]
An older word for it was incendiarism.
germane (adj.): mid-14c., "having the same parents," same as german (adj.) but directly from Latin germanus instead of via French (compare urbane/urban). Main modern sense of "closely connected, relevant" (c. 1600) derives from use in "Hamlet" Act V, Scene ii: "The phrase would bee more Germaine to the matter: If we could carry Cannon by our sides," which is a figurative use of the word in the now-obsolete loosened sense of "closely related, akin" (late 15c.) in reference to things, not persons.
Gilbert: masc. proper name, from Old French Guillebert (from Old High German Williberht, literally "a bright will") or Old French Gilebert, from Gisilbert, literally "a bright pledge," from Old High German gisil "pledge," a Celtic loan-word (compare Old Irish giall "pledge") + beorht "bright" (see Albert). It was the common name for a male cat (especially in short form Gib) from c. 1400 (see Tom). As a unit of magneto-motive force, it honors English physicist William Gilbert (1544-1603). For the Gilbert Islands, see Kiribati.
gimlet (n.): type of boring tool, mid-14c., gymbelette, from Anglo-French and Old French guimbelet, guibelet (12c., Modern French gibelet), which is probably of Germanic origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch wimmelkijn (with substitute of French diminutive suffix), diminutive of wimmel "auger, drill." Middle English also had wimble in the same sense (mid-13c.), probably from an Old North French form of the same word. As the name of a cocktail made with gin or vodka and lime juice, by 1928, presumably from its "penetrating" effects on the drinker.
fiat (n.): 1630s, "authoritative sanction," from Latin fiat "let it be done" (used in the opening of Medieval Latin proclamations and commands), third person singular present subjunctive of fieri "be done, become, come into existence," used as passive of facere "to make, do" (see factitious). Meaning "a decree, command, order" is from 1750. In English the word also sometimes is a reference to fiat lux "let there be light" in Gen. i:3.
Dixitque Deus: Fiat lux. Et facta est lux. [Vulgate]
fibula (n.): 1670s, "clasp, buckle, brooch," from Latin fibula "clasp, brooch; bolt, peg, pin," related to figere "to drive in, insert, fasten" (see fix (v.)). In reference to brooches, the modern English word mostly is used in archaeology. As "smaller bone in the lower leg" from 1706, from a Latin loan-translation of Greek perone "small bone in the lower leg," originally "clasp, brooch; anything pointed for piercing or pinning;" the bone was so called because it resembles a clasp such as that found in a modern safety pin. Related: Fibular.
firmament (n.): mid-13c., from Old French firmament or directly from Latin firmamentum "firmament," literally "a support, a strengthening," from firmus "strong, steadfast, enduring" (see firm (adj.)). Used in Late Latin in the Vulgate to translate Greek stereoma "firm or solid structure," which translated Hebrew raqia, a word used of both the vault of the sky and the floor of the earth in the Old Testament, probably literally "expanse," from raqa "to spread out," but in Syriac meaning "to make firm or solid," hence the erroneous translation. Related: Firmamental.
joey (n.): "young kangaroo," 1839, sometimes said to be from a native Australian word joè, but more recently often said to be of unknown origin. Perhaps an extended use of Joey, the familiar form of the male proper name Joseph, for which Partridge lists many common or coarse meanings in 20c. Australian slang. Farmer & Henley ("Slang and Its Analogues") quote an 1887 article on "Australian Colloquialisms":
JOEY is a familiar name for anything young or small, and is applied indifferently to a puppy, or a kitten, or a child, while a WOOD-AND-WATER-JOEY is a hanger about hotels and a doer of odd jobs.
jug (n.): "deep vessel for carrying liquids, usually with a handle or ear," late 15c., jugge, variant of jubbe (late 14c.), a word of unknown origin. Perhaps it is from jug "a low woman, a maidservant" (mid-16c.), a familiar alteration of Jug, a common personal name such as Joan or Judith.

Use as a musical instrument is attested from 1886 in jug-band (American English) "musical ensemble in which the bass line is carried or augmented by a player blowing on the open lip of a jug. "As a quantity of ale or beer, a jug is usually a pint" [Century Dictionary, 1902].
just (adj.): late 14c., "morally upright, righteous in the eyes of God; justifiable; equitable, impartial, fair; conforming to rules," also "marked or characterized by precision; exact, having correct dimensions," from Old French juste "just, righteous; sincere" (12c.), from Latin iustus "upright, righteous, equitable; in accordance with law, lawful; true, proper; perfect, complete," from ius "a right," especially "legal right, law" (see jurist). The more mundane Latin law-word lex covered specific laws as opposed to the body of laws. The noun meaning "righteous person or persons" is from late 14c.
lazaretto (n.): "house for reception of lepers and diseased poor persons," 1540s, from Italian lazareto "place set aside for performance of quarantine" (especially that of Venice, which received many ships from plague-infested districts in the East), from the Biblical proper name Lazarus (q.v.). Meaning "building set apart for quarantine" is c. 1600 in English. The word in Italian was perhaps influenced by the name of another hospital in Venice, that associated with the church of Santa Maria di Nazaret. Sometimes Englished as lazaret; also known as lazar house (1520s).
incarnadine: 1590s (adj.) "flesh-colored, carnation-colored, pale red, pink," from French incarnadin (16c.), from dialectal Italian incarnadino "flesh-color," from Late Latin incarnatio (see incarnation). The adjective now is archaic or obsolete. The word survives as a verb taken from the adjective, which properly would mean "to make flesh-colored," but means "make red" instead, the sense and the existence of the verb being entirely traceable to Lady Macbeth ("Macbeth" II ii.) in 1605. Its direct root might be the noun incarnadine "blood-red; flesh-color," though this is not attested until 1620s.
inchoate (adj.): "recently or just begun," 1530s, from Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, alteration of incohare "commence, begin," probably originally "to hitch up," traditionally derived from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + a verb from cohum "strap (fastened to the oxen's yoke)," a word of obscure origin. De Vaan says that as, incohere "is a frequent verb, ... its meaning can easily have derived from 'to yoke a plough to a team of oxen' ..., in other words, 'to start work.' Thus, there might be a core of truth in the ancient connection of cohum with a yoke."
glitter (v.): c. 1300, glideren (late 14c. as gliteren), from an unrecorded Old English word or from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse glitra "to glitter," from Proto-Germanic *glit- "shining, bright" (source also of Old English glitenian "to glitter, shine; be distinguished," Old High German glizzan, German glitzern, Gothic glitmunjan), from PIE *ghleid- (source also of Greek khlidon, khlidos "ornament"), from root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold (see glass (n.)). Related: Glittered; glittering. Other Middle English words for "to glitter" include glasteren and glateren.
harsh (adj.): originally of texture, "hairy," 1530s, probably from Middle English harske "rough, coarse, sour" (c. 1300), a northern word of Scandinavian origin (compare Danish and Norwegian harsk "rancid, rank"), related to Middle Low German harsch "rough, raw," German harst "a rake;" perhaps from PIE root *kars- "to scrape, scratch, rub, card" (source also of Lithuanian karsiu "to comb," Old Church Slavonic krasta, Russian korosta "to itch," Latin carduus "thistle," Sanskrit kasati "rubs, scratches"). Meaning "offensive to feelings" is from 1570s; that of "disagreeable, rude" from 1610s.
elm (n.): Old English elm, from Proto-Germanic *elmaz (source also of Danish elm, Old Norse almr, Old High German elme), perhaps from PIE root *el- (2) "red, brown" (see elk); cognate with Latin ulmus, Old Irish lem. German Ulme, Dutch olm are from or influenced by the Latin word. The toughest native European wood, used for ship-building, wheel-naves, etc. Middle English had adjective forms elmen, elmin, which survived longer in poetry. New Haven was informally the Elm City (1871).