- brick
- early 15c., from O.Fr. briche "brick," probably from a Gmc. source akin to M.Du. bricke "a tile," lit. "a broken piece," from the verbal root of break. Meaning "a good fellow" is from 1840. The verb meaning "to wall up with bricks" is from 1640s. Brick wall in the figurative sense of "impenetrable barrier" is from 1886.
- brickbat
- mid-16c., piece of brick (half or less) used as a missile, from brick + bat (n.1). Figurative use, of comments, insults, etc., is from 1640s.
- adobe
- 1739, Amer.Eng., from Sp. adobe, from oral form of Arabic al-tob "the brick," from Coptic tube "brick," a word found in hieroglyphics.
- flint
- O.E. flint "flint, rock," common Gmc. (cf. M.Du. vlint, O.H.G. flins, Dan. flint), from PIE *splind- "to split, cleave," from base *(s)plei- "to splice, split" (cf. Gk. plinthos "brick, tile," O.Ir. slind "brick"). Transferred senses were in O.E.
- caliche
- sodium nitrate deposits in Chile and Peru, 1858, from Amer.Sp., from Sp. caliche "pebble in a brick," from L. calx "pebble."
- briquette
- 1884, originally blocks of compressed coal dust held together by pitch, from Fr. briquette (18c.), dim. of brique (see brick).
- clinker
- 1769, from klincard (1641), a type of paving brick made in Holland, from Du. klinkaerd, from klinken "to ring" (as it does when struck), from M.Du., of imitative origin. The meaning "stupid mistake" is first recorded 1950 in Amer.Eng.; originally (1942) "a wrong note in music."
- plinth
- 1611, from Fr. plinthe, from L. plinthus, from Gk. plinthos "brick, squared stone," cognate with O.E. flint (see flint).
- tile (n.)
- O.E. tigele "roofing shingle," from W.Gmc. *tegala (cf. O.H.G. ziagal, Ger. ziegel, Du. tegel, O.N. tigl), a borrowing from L. tegula "tile" (cf. It. tegola, Fr. tuile), from tegere "roof, to cover" (see stegosaurus). Also used in O.E. and early M.E. for "brick," before that word came into use. The verb meaning "to cover with tiles" is recorded from late 14c.
- hooker
- "prostitute," often traced to the disreputable morals of the Army of the Potomac (American Civil War) under the tenure of Gen. "Fighting Joe" Hooker (1863), and the word probably was popularized by this association at that time. But it is said to have been in use in North Carolina c.1845 ("If he comes by way of Norfolk he will find any number of pretty Hookers in the Brick row not far from French's hotel."). One theory traces it to Corlear's Hook, a disreputable section of New York City. Perhaps related to hooker "thief, pickpocket" (1567), but most likely an allusion to prostitutes hooking or snaring clients. Hook in the figurative sense of "that by which anyone is attracted or caught" is recorded from 1430; and hook (v.) in the figurative sense of "catch hold of and draw in" is attested from 1577; in reference to "fishing" for a husband or a wife, it was in common use from c.1800. All of which makes the modern sense seem a natural step. The family name Hooker (attested from c.975 C.E.) would mean "maker of hooks," or else refer to an agricultural laborer who used a hook (cf. O.E. weodhoc "weed-hook").