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745 entries found
volley (v.)
1590s, "discharge in a volley," from volley (n.). Sporting sense (originally in tennis) of "to return the ball before it has hit the ground" is from 1819. Related: Volleyed; volleying.
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volley (n.)
1570s, "discharge of a number of guns at once," from Middle French volee "flight" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *volta, fem. noun from Latin volatum, past participle of volare "to fly" (see volant). Sporting sense of "a return of the ball before it hits the ground" (originally in tennis) is from 1851, from notion of hitting the ball in flight.
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volleyball (n.)
1896, from volley (n.) in the sporting sense + ball (n.1). So called because the ball must be returned before it hits the ground.
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Volstead 
in reference to Prohibition legislation in U.S., 1920, from U.S. Rep. Andrew J. Volstead (1860-1947), Republican of Minnesota, who introduced the bill in 1919 that prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of beverages containing more than 0.5 percent alcohol.
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volt (n.)
unit of electromotive force, 1873, back-formation from voltaic.
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Volta 
West African river, from 15c. Portuguese Rio da Volta, literally "river of return" (perhaps because it was where ships turned around and headed for home) or "river of bend," in reference to its course.
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voltage (n.)
"electromotive force reckoned in volts," 1882, from volt + -age.
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voltaic (adj.)
1813, designating electricity produced by chemical action, formed in recognition of Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), who perfected a chemical process used in electrical batteries, + -ic.
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Voltaire 

name taken from 1718 by French author François Marie Arouet after his imprisonment in the Bastille on suspicion of having written some satirical verses; originally de Voltaire. The signification is uncertain.

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volte-face 
a reversal of opinion, 1819, French (17c.), from Italian volta faccia, literally "turn face," from volta, imperative of voltare "to turn" (from Vulgar Latin *volvita, from Latin volvere "to roll," from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve") + faccia (see face).
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