Online Etymology Dictionary

-'s: suffix forming the possessive case of most Mod.Eng. nouns, was gradually extended in M.E. from O.E. -es, the most common genitive inflection of masc. and neut. nouns (cf. dæg "day," gen. dæges "day's"). But O.E. also had genitives in -e, -re, -an as well as "mutation-genitives" (cf. boc "book," plural bec), and the -es form was never used in plural (where -a, -ra, -na prevailed), thus avoiding the ambiguity of words like kings'. As a suffix forming some adverbs, it represents the gen. sing. ending of O.E. masc. and neuter nouns and some adjectives.
Alzheimer's disease: (senium præcox), 1912, title of article by S.C. Fuller published in "Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases;" named for Ger. neurologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915). Not common before 1970s; shortened form Alzheimer's first recorded 1954.
Asperger's Syndrome: 1981, in ref. to Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906-1980), who described it in 1944. A standard diagnosis since 1992.
bee's knees: 1923, a survivor of a fad around this year for slang terms denoting "excellence" and based on animal anatomy. Also existed in the more ribald form bee's nuts. Other versions that lasted through the century are cat's whiskers (1923), cat's pajamas, cat's meow. More obscure examples are canary's tusks, cat's nuts and flea's eyebrows. The fad still had a heartbeat in Britain at the end of the century, as attested by the appearance of dog's bollocks in 1989. Bee's knee was used as far back as 1797 for "something insignificant."
Bernoulli's principle: named for Du. mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), who published it in 1738.
Bowman's capsule: 1882, named for Eng. surgeon William Bowman (1816-1892).
Boyle's law: named for Irish-born chemist and physicist Robert Boyle (1627-1691), who first published it in 1662.
Bright's disease: "chronic nephritis," 1831, so called for Eng. physician Richard Bright (1789-1858), who in 1827 first described it.
Charles's Wain: O.E. Carles wægn, associated with Charlemagne, originally with the nearby bright star Arcturus (see also Arctic), which is linked by folk etymology to L. Arturus "Arthur." The crux of this is the legendary association of Arthur and Charlemagne. More recent names for it are the Plough (1590s) and the Big Dipper (19c.). Known as a bear across a wide range of cultures. Some old stories specify that the "bowl" of the dipper is the bear, while the three stars of the "handle" are either hunters or its cubs. To the ancients, it was both a bear (Gk. arktos) and a wagon (Gk. amaxa, L. plaustrum "two-wheeled cart"). Among the Teutonic peoples, however, there does not seem to have been a tradition to see this group as a bear, only a wagon. A 10c. Anglo-Saxon astronomy manual uses the Greek-derived Aretos, but mentions that the "unlearned" call it "Charles's Wain":
Arheton hatte an tungol on norð dæle, se haefð seofon steorran, & is for ði oþrum naman ge-hatan septemtrio, þone hatað læwede meon carles-wæn." ["Anglo-Saxon Manual of Astronomy"]
The unlearned of today are corrected that the seven stars are not the Great Bear, but only a part of that large constellation. But those who applied the name "Great Bear" apparently did so originally only to these seven stars, and from Homer's time down to Thales, "the Bear" meant just the seven stars. From Rome to Anglo-Saxon England to Arabia to India, ancient astronomy texts mention a supposed duplicate constellation to the northern bear in the Southern Hemisphere, never visible from the north. This perhaps is based on sailors' tales of the Southern Cross.
Cowper's gland: 1738, so called because discovered by anatomist William Cowper (1666-1709); see Cooper.
Crohn's disease: 1935, for U.S. pathologist B.B. Crohn (1884-1983), one of the team that wrote the article describing it in 1932.
dead man's hand: in poker, pair of aces and pair of eights, supposedly what Wild Bill Hickock held when Jack McCall shot him in 1876.
devil's advocate: 1760, translating L. advocatus diaboli, one whose job it is to urge against the canonization of a candidate for sainthood.
Down's Syndrome: 1961, from J.L.H. Down (1828-1896), English physician; chosen as a less racist name for the condition than earlier mongolism.
Hell's Angels: motorcycle club, first attested 1957. They were called Black Rebels in the 1954 film "The Wild One." Earlier the phrase had been used as the title of a film about World War I air combat (1930).
Hobson's choice: Eng. university slang, supposedly from Thomas Hobson (c.1544-1631), Cambridge stable manager who let horses and gave customers a choice of the horse next in line or none at all. Phrase popularized by Milton, c.1660.
Hodgkin's disease: 1877, named for Dr. Thomas Hodgkin (1798-1866) who first described it.
Huntington's chorea: 1889, named for U.S. neurologist George Huntington (1851-1916), who described it in 1872.
king's evil: "scrofula," late 14c., translates M.L. regius morbus; so called because the kings of England and France claimed to heal it by their touch. In England, the custom dates from Edward the Confessor and was continued through the Stuarts (Charles II touched 90,798 sufferers) but was ended by the Hanoverians (1714).
master's degree: late 14c., originally a degree giving one authority to teach in a university; from see master in its general sense of “man of learning” (early 13c.), “a teacher” (c.1200).
McGuffey's: children's reader, first published 1836, created by Ohio educator and linguist William Holmes McGuffey (1800-73).
Montezuma's revenge: "severe intestinal infection," such as often suffered by non-natives in Mexico, 1962, in reference to Montezuma II (1466-1520), Aztec ruler at the time of the Sp. conquest of Mexico.
Morton's Fork: 1889, in ref. to John Morton (c.1420-1500), archbishop of Canterbury, who levied forced loans under Henry VII by arguing the obviously rich could afford to pay and the obviously poor were obviously living frugally and thus had savings and could pay, too.
Murphy's law: 1958, used of various pessimistic aphorisms. If there ever was a real Murphy his identity is lost to history. Said to be military originally, and probably pre-dates the earliest printed example (the 1958 citation calls it "an old military maxim").
New Year's Eve: c.1300; "þer þay dronken & dalten ... on nwe gerez euen." The Julian calendar began on January 1, but the Christian Church frowned on pagan celebrations of this and chose the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) as its New Year's Day. The civic year in England continued to begin January 1 until late 12c., and even though legal documents then shifted to March 25, popular calendars and almanacs continued to begin on January 1. The calendar reform of 1751 restored the Julian New Year. New Year's was the main midwinter festival in Scotland from 17c., when Protestant authorities banned Christmas, and continued so after England reverted to Christmas, hence the Scottish flavor ("Auld Lang Syne," etc.). New Year's gathering in public places began 1878 in London, after new bells were installed in St. Paul's.
no-man's-land: "terrain between front lines of entrenched armies," 1908, popularized in WWI; in use from at least 1320 as Nonemanneslond, an unowned waste ground outside the north wall of London, site for executions. No man (O.E. nanne mon) was an old way of saying "nobody."
Occam's razor: when two competing hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler. Named for Eng. philosopher William of Ockham (c.1285-c.1349).
Parkinson's disease: 1877, from Fr. maladie de Parkinson (1876), named for Eng. physician James Parkinson (1755-1824), who described it (1817) under the names shaking palsy and paralysis agitans.
Parkinson's Law: 1955 (in the "Economist" of Nov. 19), named for its deviser, British historian and journalist Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993): "work expands to fill the time available for its completion."
Peck's bad boy: "unruly or mischievous child," 1883, from fictional character created by George Wilbur Peck (1840-1916).
Rubik's Cube: 1980, named for teacher Ernö Rubik, who patented it in Hungary in 1975.