- define
- late 14c., "to specify; to end," from O.Fr. defenir "to end, terminate, determine," and directly from L. definire "to limit, determine, explain," from de- "completely" (see de-) + finire "to bound, limit," from finis "boundary, end" (see finish). Related: Defined; defining.
- undefined
- 1610s, from un- (1) "not" + pp. of define (v.).
- indefinable
- 1810, from in- "not" + definable (see define).
- aorist
- 1580s, the simple past tense of Greek verbs, from Gk. aoristos (khronos) "indefinite (tense)," from priv. prefix a- "not" + horistos "limited, defined," verbal adj. from horizein "to limit, define," from horos "boundary, limit, border."
- parameter
- 1650s, from Mod.L. parameter (1630s), from Gk. para- "beside, subsidiary" + metron "measure" (see meter (2)). A geometry term until 1920s when it yielded sense of "measurable factor which helps to define a particular system" (1927). Common modern meaning (influenced by perimeter) of "boundary, limit, characteristic factor" is from 1950s.
- definitive
- late 14c., from O.Fr. definitif (12c.), from L. definitivus "explanatory, definitive," from pp. stem of definire (see define). Related: Definitively.
- indefinite
- 1520s, from L. indefinitus, from in- "not" + definitus (see define).
- definition
- late 14c., "decision, setting of boundaries," from O.Fr. definicion, from L. definitionem (nom. definitio), noun of action from pp. stem of definire (see define). In logic, meaning "act of stating what something means" is from 1640s; meaning "a statement of the essential nature of something" is from late 14c.; the special focus on words developed after c.1550. Meaning "degree of distinctness of the details in a picture" is from 1889.
- definite
- 1550s, from L. definitus "defined, bounded, limited," pp. of definire (see define). Definite means "defined, clear, precise, unmistakable;" definitive means "having the character of finality."
- redefine
- 1872, from re- + define. Related: Redefined; redefining; redefinition.
- self
- O.E. self, seolf, sylf "one's own person, same," from P.Gmc. *selbaz (cf. O.N. sjalfr, O.Fris. self, Du. zelf, O.H.G. selb, Ger. selbst, Goth. silba), P.Gmc. *selbaz, from PIE *sel-bho-, from base *s(w)e- "separate, apart" (see idiom).
Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. [Alan Watts]
Self-made man first recorded 1832, Amer.Eng. - pornography
- 1857, "description of prostitutes," from Fr. pornographie, from Gk. pornographos "(one) writing of prostitutes," from porne "prostitute," originally "bought, purchased" (with an original notion, probably of "female slave sold for prostitution;" related to pernanai "to sell," from PIE root per- "to traffic in, to sell," cf. L. pretium "price") + graphein "to write" (see -graphy). Originally used of classical art and writing; application to modern examples began 1880s. Main modern meaning "salacious writing or pictures" represents a slight shift from the etymology, though classical depictions of prostitution usually had this quality.
I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [hard-core pornography]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. [U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion, "Jacobellis v. Ohio," 1964]
Pornographer is earliest form of the word, attested from 1850. Pornocracy (1860) is "the dominating influence of harlots," used specifically of the government of Rome during the first half of the 10th century by Theodora and her daughters.