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Results tagged with etymology
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user 18696
Questions about tracing out and describing the elements of an individual word, as well as the historical changes in form and sense which that word has experienced over its history. Please use the 'phrase-origin' tag for phrase/expression origins.
3
votes
First use of “learnings”?
OED has three citations for learning meaning lesson, but it notes it's obsolete.
†2. What is learnt or taught:
a. a lesson, instruction.
1362 Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 174 That nis no treuthe …
- 103k
6
votes
1
answer
711
views
How does one get raunchy?
and OED isn't a great deal more forthcoming
Etymology: Origin unknown. …
- 103k
3
votes
Accepted
2
votes
The drone as autonomous vehicle
OED has the first occurrence in 1946:
2. fig.
b. A pilotless aircraft or missile directed by remote control. Also attrib.
1946 in Amer. Speech (1947) 22 228/2 The Navy's drones will be..led—by r …
- 103k
2
votes
Searching for words with the same root as greedy
There is yearn for which OED has
yearn : Old English, Northumbrian giorna, Mercian geornan, West Saxon giernan, corresponding to Old Saxon girnean, gernean, Old Norse girna (see green v.2), Gothic …
- 103k
3
votes
Did Milton really invent cooking?
OED has this as the earliest citation:
1645 Milton Tetrachordon 8 : It is mans pervers cooking who hath turn'd this bounty of God into a Scorpion.
Note that this is cooking as a gerund/noun, …
- 103k
14
votes
Accepted
What's the origin of "qu" in the word "masquerade"?
The word is derived from Middle French masque (Middle French covers a period of around 1340–1610) which accounts for the -qu- spelling.
Etymonline has
masque (n.)
"masquerade, masked ball," …
- 103k
1
vote
what is the etymology of the word "none-so-pretty"?
The etymology of none-so-pretty is exactly what it seems:
Etymology: < none pron. + so adv. and conj. + pretty adj.
[OED]
It means that there is nothing as pretty. …
- 103k
1
vote
The origin of "It's just one of those things"?
“Just one of those things” was a song written by Cole Porter for the musical Jubilee in 1935. The lyrics are online, but although they include that particular phrase it doesn’t appear to have much to …
- 103k
2
votes
Accepted
Etymology of "heulandite"?
OED gives it as named after a mineralogist (presumably the chap who first identified it):
Pronunciation: /ˈhjuːləndaɪt/
Etymology: Named 1822 after H. …
- 103k
2
votes
What is the origin of the phrase "Life is too short to ..."?
Google Books has the phrase used by Jonathan Swift in 1711 (published in 1765):
Being convinced by certain ominous prognostics that my life is too short to permit me the honour of ever dining anot …
- 103k
8
votes
"Plot" in Victorian word usage
You need a dictionary with dated citations. OED is one such.
II. A map, a plan, a scheme.
6. The plan or scheme of a literary or dramatic work; the main events of a play, novel, film, opera, etc …
- 103k
14
votes
Why are "hard water" and "soft water" so called?
Hard water contains >160ppm of minerals (typically calcium compounds) and actually feels harder when drunk than soft water does (<160ppm). The earliest use in OED below would seem to support that orig …
- 103k
6
votes
Why is a smudge stick called a smudge stick?
Etymology: related to smudge, v.2
smudge, v.2
1. b. N. Amer. To make a smoky fire in (a tent, etc.); to fill with smoke from a smudge. … Etymology: obscure
So: no-one knows where the word comes from. As to why it should be offensive, offence is subjective: only those who are offended could explain why. …
- 103k
4
votes
origin of new meaning of whitewash
It's very tempting to say that the first appearance in a racial context was around 1834. OED has (among other citations under this sense):
2. fig a. trans.
To give a fair appearance to; to free …
- 103k