Online Etymology Dictionary

-ville: suffix sporadically in vogue since c.1840 (cf. dullsville, palookaville), abstracted from the -ville in place names (Louisville, Greenville, etc.), from O.Fr. ville "town," from L. villa (see villa).
-vorous: comb form meaning "eating," from L. -vorous, from stem of vorare "to devour" (see voracious).
V: In M.E., -u- and -v- were used interchangeably, though with a preference for v- as the initial letter (vnder, vain, etc.) and -u- elsewhere (full, euer, etc.). The distinction into consonant and vowel identities was established in Eng. by 1630, under influence of continental printers, but into 19c. some dictionaries and other catalogues continued to list -u- and -v- words as a single series. No native Anglo-Saxon words begin in v- except those (vane, vat, vixen) altered by the southwestern England habit of replacing initial f- with v- (and initial s- with z-). Confusion of -v- and -w- was also a characteristic of 16c. Cockney accents. In Ger. rocket weapons systems of WWII, it stood for Vergeltungswaffe "reprisal weapon." V-eight as a type of motor engine is recorded from 1930 (V-engine is attested from 1924), so called for the arrangement. The V for "victory" hand sign was conceived Jan. 1941 by Belgian politician and resistance leader Victor de Laveleye, to signify Fr. victoire and Flem. vrijheid ("freedom"). It was broadcast into Europe by Radio België/Radio Belgique and popularized by the BBC by June 1941, from which time it became a universal allied gesture.
V.D.: 1920, short for venereal disease (see venereal).
V.I.P.: also VIP, 1933, acronym for very important person or personage.
vacancy: c.1600, "state of being vacant," from L.L. vacantia, from vacans (see vacant). Meaning "available room at a hotel" is recorded from 1953. Related: Vacancies.
vacant: late 13c., from O.Fr. vacant, from L. vacantem (nom. vacans), prp. of vacare "to be empty" (see vain).
vacate: 1643, "to make void, to annul," from L. vacatum, pp. of vacare "to be empty" (see vain). Meaning "to leave, give up, quit" (a place) is attested from 1791.
vacation: late 14c., "freedom or release" (from some activity or occupation), from O.Fr. vacation, from L. vacationem (nom. vacatio) "leisure, a being free from duty," from vacare "be empty, free, or at leisure" (see vain). Meaning "formal suspension of activity" (in ref. to schools, courts, etc.) is recorded from c.1456. As the U.S. equivalent of what in Britain is called a "holiday," it is attested from 1878.
vaccinate: 1803, from vaccination.
vaccination: 1803, used by British physician Edward Jenner for the technique he devised of preventing smallpox by injecting people with the cowpox virus (variolae vaccinae), from vaccine (adj.) "pertaining to cows, from cows" (1798), from L. vaccinus "from cows," from vacca "cow" (bos being originally "ox," "a loan word from a rural dialect" according to Buck, who cites Umbrian bue). "The use of the term for diseases other than smallpox is due to Pasteur (Trans. 7th Session Internat. Med. Congr. (1881) I.90)" [OED].
vaccine: "matter used in vaccination," 1846, from L. vaccina, fem. of vaccinus "pertaining to a cow" (see vaccination).
vacillate: 1590s, "to sway unsteadily," from L. vacillatum, from vacillare (see vacillation). Meaning "to waver between two opinions or courses" is recorded from 1620s. Related: Vacillated; vacillates; vacillating.
vacillation: c.1400, from L. vacillationem (nom. vacillatio) "a reeling, wavering," from pp. stem of vacillare "sway to and fro." Originally in reference to opinion or conduct; literal sense is recorded from 1630s.
vacuity: 1540s, "hollow space," from L. vacuitas "empty space, vacancy, freedom," from vacuus "empty" (see vacuum). Meaning "vacancy of mind or thought" is attested from 1590s.
vacuous: 1648, "empty," from L. vacuus "empty, void, free" (see vacuum). Figurative sense of "empty of ideas" is from 1848.
vacuum: 1550, "emptiness of space," from L. vacuum "an empty space, void," noun use of neuter of vacuus "empty," related to vacare "be empty" (see vain). Properly a loan-translation of Gk. xenon, lit. "that which is empty." Meaning "a place emptied of air" is attested from 1652. Vacuum tube is attested from 1859. Vacuum cleaner is from 1903; shortened form vacuum (n.) first recorded 1910. The verb meaning "to clean with a vacuum cleaner" is recorded from 1922.
vade mecum: "a manual," 1629, from L., lit. "go with me."
vae victis: L., lit. "woe to the vanquished," from Livy, "History" V.xlviii.9.
vagabond (adj.): early 15c. (earlier vacabond, c.1400), from M.Fr. vagabonde, from L.L. vagabundus "wandering, strolling about," from L. vagari "wander" (from vagus "wandering, undecided;" see vague) + gerundive suffix -bundus. The noun is first recorded late 15c.
vagary: 1577, "a wandering, a roaming journey," probably from L. vagari "to wander, roam, be unsettled, spread abroad" from vagus "roving, wandering" (see vague). Current meaning of "eccentric notion or conduct" (1629) is from notion of mental wandering.
vagina: 1682, from L. vagina "sheath, scabbard" (pl. vaginæ), from PIE *wag-ina- (cf. Lith. voziu "ro cover with a hollow thing"), from base *wag- "to break, split, bite." Probably the ancient notion is of a sheath made from a split piece of wood (see sheath). A modern medical word; the L. word was not used in an anatomical sense in classical times. Anthropological vagina dentata is attested from 1908.
vagrancy: "life of idle begging," 1706, from vagrant.
vagrant (n.): mid-15c., perhaps an alteration (by influence of L. vagari "wander") of Anglo-Fr. wacrant, prp. of O.Fr. wacrer "to walk or wander," from a Gmc. source (e.g. O.N. valka "wander"). The adj. is recorded from mid-15c.
vague: 1540s, from M.Fr. vague, from L. vagus "wandering, rambling, vacillating, vague," of unknown origin.
vaguely: 1781, from vague.
vain: c.1300, "devoid of real value, idle, unprofitable," from O.Fr. vein "worthless," from L. vanus "idle, empty," from PIE *wa-no-, from base *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (cf. O.E. wanian "to lessen," wan "deficient;" O.N. vanta "to lack;" L. vacare "to be empty," vastus "empty, waste;" Avestan va- "lack," Pers. vang "empty, poor;" Skt. una- "deficient"). Meaning "conceited" first recorded 1692, from earlier sense of "silly, idle, foolish" (1390). Phrase in vain "to no effect" (c.1300, after L. in vanum) preserves the original sense.
vainglory: c.1300, "worthless glory," waynglori, from O.Fr. vaine glorie, from M.L. vana gloria (see vain + glory). Related: Vainglorious.
valance: piece of drapery, 1463, from Anglo-Fr. *valance, from valer "go down," variant of O.Fr. avaler; or possibly from the pl. of O.Fr. avalant, from prp. of avaler "go down." The notion is of something "hanging down."
vale: river-land between two ranges of hills, c.1300, from O.Fr. val "valley," from L. vallem (nom. vallis, valles) "valley." Vale of years "old age" is from "Othello." Vale of tears "this world as a place of trouble" is attested from 1554.
valediction: 1610s, from pp. stem of L. valedicere "bid farewell," from vale, imperative of valere "be well" (see valiant) + dicere "to say" (see diction). Related: Valedictory.
valedictorian: 1759, from valediction.
valence: early 15c., "extract, preparation," from L. valentia "strength, capacity," from valentem (nom. valens), prp. of valere "be strong" (see valiant). Meaning "combining power of an element" is recorded from 1884, from Ger. Valenz (1868), from the L. word.
Valentine: mid-15c., "sweetheart chosen on St. Valentine's Day," from L.L. Valentinus, the name of two early It. saints (from L. valentia "strength, capacity;" see valence). Choosing a sweetheart on this day originated 14c. as a custom in English and French court circles. Meaning "letter or card sent to a sweetheart" first recorded 1824. The romantic association of the day is said to be from it being around the time when birds choose their mates.
"For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd cometh there to chese his make."
[Chaucer, "Parlement of Foules," c.1381]
Probably the date was the informal first day of spring in whatever Fr. region invented the custom (many surviving medieval calendars reckon the start of spring on the 7th or 22nd of February). No evidence connects it with the Roman Lupercalia (an 18c. theory) or to any romantic or avian quality in either of the saints. The custom of sending special cards or letters on this date flourished in England c.1840-1870, declined around the turn of the 20th century, and revived 1920s.
Valentino: "gigolo, good-looking romantic man," 1927, from It.-born U.S. movie actor Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), who was adored by female fans. His full name was Rodolfo Guglielmi di Valentino.
valerian: late 14c., from O.Fr. valeriane, apparently from fem. sing. of L. adj. Valerianus, from the personal name Valerius (see Valerie); but Weekley writes, "some of the Ger. and Scand. forms of the name point rather to connection with the saga-hero Wieland."
Valerie: fem. proper name, from Fr., from L., fem. of Valerius, name of a Roman gens, from valere "to be strong" (see valiant).
valet: "personal man-servant," 1567, from Fr. valet, from O.Fr. valet, variant of vaslet "man's servant," originally "squire, young man," from Gallo-Romance *vassellittus "young nobleman, squire, page," dim. of M.L. vassallus, from vassus "servant" (see vassal). Modern sense is usually short for valet de chambre; the general sense of "male household servant of the meaner sort" going with the variant form varlet. First recorded use of valet parking is from 1960.
valetudinarian: "one who is constantly concerned with his own ailments," 1703, from valetudinary (1581), from L. valetudinarius, from valetudo "state of health," from valere "be strong" (see valiant) + -tudo, abstract noun suffix. Valetudinary (adj.) "sickly" is recorded from 1581.
Valhalla: heavenly hall in which Odin receives the souls of heroes slain in battle, 1768, from O.N. Valhöll "hall of the battle-slain;" first element from valr "those slain in battle," from P.Gmc. *walaz (cf. O.E. wæl "slaughter, bodies of the slain," O.H.G. wal "battlefield, slaughter"), from PIE base *wele- "to strike, wound" (cf. Avestan vareta- "seized, prisoner," L. veles "ghosts of the dead," O.Ir. fuil "blood," Welsh gwel "wound"). Second element is from höll "hall," from PIE base *kel- "to conceal" (see cell). Reintroduced by 18c. antiquaries. Figurative sense is from 1845.
valiant: c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. valliant "stalwart, brave," from prp. of valoir "be worthy," originally "be strong," from L. valere "be strong, be well, be worth, have power, be able," from PIE base *wal- "be strong" (cf. O.E. wealdan "to rule," O.H.G. -walt, -wald "power" (in personal names), O.N. valdr "ruler," O.C.S. vlasti "to rule over," Lith. valdyti "to have power," Celt. *walos- "ruler," O.Ir. flaith "dominion," Welsh gallu "to be able").
valid: 1570s, "having force in law, legally binding," from M.Fr. valide, from L. validus "strong, effective," from valere "be strong" (see valiant). The meaning "supported by facts or authority" is first recorded 1640s.
validate (v.): 1640s, from L. validatus, from validus (see valid). Related: Validated.
validity: c.1550, from M.Fr. validité, from L. validitatem (nom. validitas) "strength," from validus (see valid).
valise: 1615, "suitcase, soldier's kit bag," from Fr. valise (1568), from It. valigia, of uncertain origin. Attested in M.L. forms valisia (1407), valixia (1298).
Valium: 1961, proprietary name (Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, N.J.) of diazepam (reg. U.S.), of unknown origin.
Valkyrie: 1768, one of 12 war-maidens who escorted the brave dead to Valhalla, from O.N. valkyrja, lit. "chooser of the slain," from valr "those slain in battle" (see Valhalla) + kyrja "chooser," from ablaut root of kjosa "to choose," from P.Gmc. *keusan, from PIE *geus- "to taste, choose" (see gusto). O.E. form was Wælcyrie, but they seem not to have figured as largely in Anglo-Saxon tales as in Scandinavian. Ger. Walküre (Wagner) is from O.N.
valley: late 13c., from Anglo-Norman valey, O.Fr. valee "a valley," from V.L. *vallata, from L. vallis "valley," of unknown origin. Valley Girl (in ref. to San Fernando Valley of California) was poularized 1982 in song by Frank Zappa and his daughter.
valor: c.1300, "value, worth," from O.Fr. valour "strength, value, valor," from L.L. valorem (nom. valor) "value, worth," from stem of L. valere "be worth, be strong" (see valiant). The meaning "courage" is first recorded 1581, from It. valore, from the same L.L. word. (The M.E. word also had a sense of "worth or worthiness in respect of manly qualities").
valour: British spelling of valor (q.v.); for suffix, see -or.