- Jacob
- masc. proper name, name of O.T. patriarch, son of Isaac and Rebecca and father of the founders of the twelve tribes, from L.L. Jacobus, from Gk. Iakobos, from Heb. Ya'aqobh, lit. "one that takes by the heel" (Gen. xxviii.12), a derivative of 'aqebh "heel." Most popular name form boys born in the U.S. from 1999 through 2008.
- Asher
- masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob (also the name of a tribe descended from him), from Heb., lit. "happy."
- Hutterite
- 1645, in ref. to Moravian Anabaptist sect established by Jacob Hutter (d.1536).
- Simeon
- masc. proper name, Biblical second son of Jacob and Leah; also a tribe of Israel; see Simon.
- lithium
- silver-white metallic element, 1818, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) from Gk. lithos "stone," from its mineral origin and to distinguish it from two previously known alkalis of vegetable origin.
- Levi
- masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob by Leah, from Heb. lewi, lit. "joining, pledging, attached," from stem of lawah "he joined."
- Judah
- masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob by Leah, also the name of a tribe of Israel, from Heb. Yehudah, from stem of y-d-h, lit. "praised."
- Amish
- 1844, Amer.Eng., from Jacob Amman, 17c. Swiss Mennonite preacher who founded the sect. Originally spelled Omish, which reflects the pronunciation in Pennsylvania German dialect.
- Issachar
- son of Jacob by Leah (O.T.), name of a biblical tribe of Israel, from Gk. issakhar, from Heb. Yissakhar, probably from yesh sakhar "there is a reward" (cf. Gen. xxx.18).
- Zebulon
- masc. proper name, Biblical son of Jacob by Leah, from Heb. Zebhulun, from zebhul "a dwelling" + dim. suffix -on (cf. Gen. xxx:20).
- Rachel
- fem. proper name, biblical daughter of Laban, wife of Jacob, from L.L., from Gk. Hrakhel, from Heb. Rahel, lit. "ewe" (cf. Arabic rahil, Aramaic rahla).
- Joseph
- masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob and Rachel, from L.L. Joseph, Josephus, from Gk. Ioseph, from Heb. Yoseph (also Yehoseph, cf. Ps. lxxxi.6) "adds, increases," causative of yasaph "he added."
- ablaut
- vowel gradation, 1849, from Ger. Ablaut, lit. "off-sound," coined by J.P. Zweigel in 1568 from ab "off" + Laut "sound, tone," from O.H.G. hlut (see listen). Popularized by Jacob Grimm.
- yenta
- "gossip, busybody," 1923, from Yente Telebende, comic strip gossip in 1920s-30s writing of Yiddish newspaper humorist B. Kovner (pen-name of Jacob Adler) in the "Jewish Daily Forward." It was a common Yiddish fem. proper name, alt. from Yentl and said to be ult. from It. gentile "kind, gentle," earlier "noble, high-born" (see gentle).
- Reuben
- masc. proper name, O.T. eldest son of Jacob and name of the tribe descended from him, from Gk. Rouben, from Heb. Reubhen, probably lit. "Behold a son," from reu, imper. of ra'ah "he saw" + ben "a son." The reuben sandwich (1956) is "not obviously connected" with the sense in rube [OED].
- dissent
- c.1425, Scottish, from L. dissentire "differ in sentiments," from dis- "differently" + sentire "to feel, think." Dissenter in the religious sense is from 1639; with a capital D- from 1679.
"Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime." [Jacob Bronowski]
- Jack
- masc. proper name, 1218, probably an Anglicization of O.Fr. Jacques (which was a dim. of L. Jacobus, see Jacob), but in Eng. the name always has been associated with Johan, Jan "John," and some have argued that it is a native formation. Alliterative coupling of Jack and Jill is from 15c. (Ienken and Iulyan). As a generic name addressed to an unknown stranger, it is attested from 1889 in Amer.Eng. Used especially of sailors (1659; Jack-tar is from 1781).
- Rebecca
- fem. proper name, biblical wife of Isaac, mother of Jacob and Esau, from L.L. Rebecca, from Gk. Rhebekka, from Heb. Ribhqeh, lit. "connection" (cf. ribhqah "team"), from Semitic base r-b-q "to tie, couple, join" (cf. Arabic rabaqa "he tied fast"). Rebekah, form of the name in Authorized Version, was taken as the name of a society of women (founded 1851 in Indiana, U.S.) as a complement to the Odd Fellows.
- James
- masc. proper name, name of two of Christ's disciples, late 12c. M.E. vernacular form of L.L. Jacomus (cf. O.Fr. James, Sp. Jaime, It. Giacomo), altered from L. Jacobus (see Jacob). The Welsh form was Iago, the Cornish Jago.
- Israel
- O.E., "the Jewish people," from L. Israel, from Gk., from Heb. yisra'el "he that striveth with God" (Gen. xxxii.28), symbolic proper name conferred on Jacob and extended to his descendants, from sara "he fought, contended" + El "God." As an independent Jewish state in the country formerly called Palestine, it is attested from 1948. Citizens of it are called Israelis; the ancient people are Israelites (1382).
- million
- mid-14c., from O.Fr. million (late 13c.), from It. millione (now milione), lit. "a great thousand," augmentative of mille "thousand," from L. mille. Used mainly by mathematicians until 16c. India, with its love of large numbers, had names before 3c. for numbers well beyond a billion. The ancient Greeks had no name for a number greater than ten thousand, the Romans for none higher than a hundred thousand. "A million" in L. would have been decies centena milia, lit. "ten hundred thousand." Millionaire first attested 1826, borrowed from Fr. millionnaire (1762). The first in America is said to have been John Jacob Astor (1763-1848). Million to one as a type of "long odds" is attested from 1761.