- cool (adj.)
- Old English col "not warm" (but usually not as severe as cold), also, of persons, "unperturbed, undemonstrative," from Proto-Germanic *koluz (source also of Middle Dutch coel, Dutch koel, Old High German kuoli, German kühl "cool," Old Norse kala "be cold"), from PIE root *gel- "cold, to freeze" (see cold (adj.)).
Applied since 1728 to large sums of money to give emphasis to amount. Meaning "calmly audacious" is from 1825. Slang use for "fashionable" is 1933, originally African-American vernacular; modern use as a general term of approval is from late 1940s, probably from bop talk and originally in reference to a style of jazz; said to have been popularized in jazz circles by tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Related: Coolly.
- cool (n.)
- c. 1400, "coldness, coolness," from cool (adj.). Meaning "one's self-control, composure" (the thing you either keep or lose) is from 1966.
- cool (v.)
- Old English colian, "to lose warmth," also figuratively, "to lose ardor," from the root of cool (adj.). Meaning "to cause to lose warmth" is from late 14c. Related: Cooled; cooling.
