Online Etymology Dictionary

bank (1): "financial institution," late 15c., from either O.It. banca or M.Fr. banque (itself from the O.It. word), both meaning "table" (the notion is of the moneylender's exchange table), from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. bank "bench"); see bank (2). The verb meaning "to put confidence in" (U.S. colloquial) is attested from 1884. Bank holiday is from 1871, though the tradition is as old as the Bank of England. To cry all the way to the bank was coined 1956 by flamboyant pianist Liberace, after a Madison Square Garden concert that was packed with patrons but panned by critics.
banker: 1530s, formed from bank (1), possibly modeled on Fr. banquier (16c.).
bankroll (n.): 1887, from bank (1) + roll (n.). The verb is attested from 1928.
bank (2): "earthen incline, edge of a river," c.1200, probably in O.E. but not attested in surviving documents, from a Scandinavian source such as O.N. banki, O.Dan. banke "sandbank," from P.Gmc. *bangkon "slope," cognate with *bankiz "shelf."
bankrupt: 1530s, from It. banca rotta, lit. "a broken bench," from banca "moneylender's shop," lit. "bench" (see bank (1)) + rotta "broken, defeated, interrupted" from (and remodeled on) L. rupta, fem. pp. of rumpere "to break" (see rupture). "[S]o called from the habit of breaking the bench of bankrupts" [Klein]. The verb is first recorded 1550s.
riparian: "of or pertaining to river banks," 1849, from L. riparius "of a river bank," from riparia "shore," later used in ref. to the stream flowing between the banks, from ripa "(steep) bank of a river, shore," probably lit. "break" (and indicating the drop off from ground level to the stream bed), or else "that which is cut out by the river," from PIE base *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" (cf. Gk. ereipia "ruins," eripne "slope, precipice;" O.N. rifa "break, to tear apart;" Dan. rift "breach," M.H.G. rif "riverbank, seashore;" cf. riven, rift, rifle).
embankment: 1786, from embank "to enclose with a bank" (1576).
frozen: pp. of freeze (q.v.). Figurative use is from 1570s. Of assets, bank accounts, etc., from 1922.
Riviera: "Mediterranean seacoast around Genoa," 1632, from It., lit. "bank, shore" (see river). In extended use, the coast from Marseilles to La Spezia, which became popular 19c. as a winter resort.
Vauxhall: popular pleasure garden on south bank of Thames in London, c.1661-1859; the name is M.E. Faukeshale (1279), "Hall or manor of a man called Falkes," an O.Fr. personal name.
dogger: "two-masted fishing boat," used in North Sea fishery, 1356, of unknown origin. It is the source of the name Dogger Bank (1666) for the great banks of shoals in the North Sea.
greenback: "U.S. dollar bill," 1862, so called from the time of their introduction; bank paper money printed in green ink had been called this since 1778 (as opposed to redbacks, etc.).
teller: "bank clerk who pays or receives money," late 15c., "person who keeps accounts," from tell in its secondary sense of "count, enumerate," which is the primary sense of cognate words in many Germanic languages.
Bremen: city in Germany, from O.Saxon bremo "edge" (related to English brim), in reference to its site on a river bank.
berm: "narrow ledge," 1729, from Fr. berme (17c.), from O.Du. baerm "edge of a dike," related to brim (q.v.). In U.S., 19c., "the bank of a canal opposite the tow path."
withdrawal: 1820s, "act of taking back," also "retraction of a statement," from withdraw. Earlier was withdrawment (1630s). Meaning "removal of money from a bank, etc." is from 1861; psychological sense is from 1916; meaning "physical reaction to the cessation of an addictive substance" is from 1897, not common until 1920s.
pass-book: 1828, from pass (v.) + book; apparently the notion is of the document "passing" between bank and customer.
quai: 1870, from Fr. quai (see quay). Often short for Quai D'Orsay, street on the south bank of the Seine in Paris, site of the Fr. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sometimes used metonymically for it (1922).
overflow (v.): O.E. oferfleow "to flow across, flood, inundate," also "to flow over (a brim or bank)," from ofer "over" + fleow "flow." The noun is attested from 1589.
banquette: 1620s, "raised platform in a fortification," from Fr. banquette (15c.), from It. banchetta, dim. of banca "bench, shelf" (see bank (1)).
glacis: "sloping bank" (especially leading up to a fortification), 1672, from Fr. glacir "to freeze, make slippery," from O.Fr. glacier "to slip," from L. glaciare "to make or turn into ice," from glacies (see glacial).
Windsor: town in Berkshire, O.E. Windlesoran (c.1060), lit. "bank or slope with a windlass" (O.E. *windels). Site of a royal residence, hence Windsor chair (1724), Windsor tie (1895), Windsor knot in a necktie (1953).
key (2): "low island," 1697, from Sp. cayo "shoal, reef," from Taino cayo "small island;" spelling infl. by M.E. key "wharf" (1306), from O.Fr. kai "sand bank" (see quay).
dock (n.1): "ship's berth," late 15c., from M.Du. or M.L.G. docke, perhaps ultimately (via L.L. *ductia "aqueduct") from L. ducere "to lead" (see duke); or possibly from a Scand. word for "low ground" (cf. Norw. dokk "hollow, low ground"). Original sense was "furrow a grounded vessel makes in a mud bank." Related: Docked; docking.
draft: c.1500, spelling variant of draught (q.v.) to reflect change in pronunciation. Meaning "rough copy of a writing" (something "drawn") is attested from 14c.; that of "preliminary sketch from which a final copy is made" is from 1520s. The meaning "to draw off a group for special duty" is from 1703, in U.S. especially of military service; the v. in this sense first recorded 1714. Draftee is from 1866. Sense in bank draft is from 1745.
Stockholm Syndrome: 1978, a psychologists' term; the name derives from the Aug. 23, 1973, violent armed robbery of Sveriges Kreditbank in Stockholm, Sweden, after which four bank employees were held hostage in a vault for more than five days. The hostages developed a dramatic attachment to their abuser, and a fear of would-be rescuers, that they could not explain. The city arose mid-13c. from a fishing village; the second element in the name is holm "island;" the first is either stäk "bay" or stock "stake, pole."
counter (n.): mid-14c., "table where a money lender does business," from O.Fr. contouer "counting room, table of a bank," from M.L. computatorium "place of accounts," from L. computare (see compute). Generalized 19c. from banks to shops, then extended to display cases for goods. Countertop is attested from 1878. Phrase under the counter is from 1926.
curfew: early 14c., from Anglo-Fr. coeverfu (late 13c.), from O.Fr. covrefeu, lit. "cover fire," from couvre, imper. of couvrir "to cover" + feu "fire." The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s.
brink: early 13c., from M.L.G. brink "edge," or Dan. brink "steepness, shore, bank, grassy edge," from P.Gmc. *brenkon, prob. from PIE *bhreng-, variant of base *bhren- "project, edge" (cf. Lith. brinkti "to swell").
Alsace: region between France and Germany (disputed by them 18c.-19c.), M.L. Alsatia, from O.H.G. *Ali-sazzo "inhabitant of the other (bank of the Rhine)," from P.Gmc. *alja "other" + O.H.G. -sazzo "inhabitant," lit. "one who sits." Alsatian was adopted 1917 by the Kennel Club for "German Shepherd dog" to avoid the associations of German; the breed has no connection with Alsace.
quay: 1696, variant of M.E. key "wharf" (1306), from O.N.Fr. cai (O.Fr. chai) "sand bank," from Gaulish caium (5c.), from O.Celt. *kagio- "to encompass, enclose" (cf. Welsh cae "fence, hedge," Cornish ke "hedge"), cognate with O.E. haga "hedge" (see hedge). Spelling altered by infl. of Fr. quai, from the same Celtic source.
Dane: from Dan. Daner (replacing O.E. Dene (pl.)); used in O.E. of Northmen generally. Perhaps ult. from a source related to O.H.G. tanar "sand bank," in reference to their homeland. Applied 1774 to a breed of large dogs. Danegeld not known by that name in O.E., or until 1086, long after the end of the Viking depredations. Supposedly originally a tax to pay for protection from the Northmen (either to outfit defensive armies or to buy peace). Danelaw (c.1050) was the Danish law in force over that large part of England under Viking rule after c.878; the application to the land itself is modern (1837).
brae: "steep slope," in northern England esp. "the sides of a hill," early 14c., from Scot., "slope, river bank," from O.N. bra "eyelash," cognate with O.E. bræw "eyelid," Ger. Braue "eyebrow" (see brow). "The word must have passed through the sense of 'eye-brow' to 'brow of a hill', supercilium (cf. OE. eaghill 'eye-hill'=eyebrow)" [OED].
bar (1): late 12c., "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from O.Fr. barre (12c.) "beam, bar, gate, barrier," from V.L. *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end" [Gamillscheg], but OED regards this as "discredited" because it "in no way suits the sense." Of soap, by 1833; of candy, by 1906 (the process itself dates to the 1840s). Meaning "bank of sand across a harbor or river mouth" is from 1580s, probably so called because it was an obstruction to navigation. Bar graph is attested from 1925. Bar code first recorded 1963. Behind bars "in prison" is attested by 1934, U.S.
rood: O.E. rod "pole," varying from 6 to 8 yards, also "cross," especially that upon which Christ suffered, also "measure of land," prop. 40 square poles or perches, from P.Gmc. *rodo (cf. O.S. ruoda "stake, pile, cross," O.Fris. rode, M.Du. roede, O.H.G. ruota, Ger. Rute "rod"), probably connected with the root of rod. Klein suggests a connection between this group and L. ratis "raft," retae "trees standing on the bank of a stream;" O.C.S. ratiste "spear, staff," Lith. rekles "scaffolding."
run (n.): "spell of running," mid-15c. (earlier ren, late 14c.), from run (v.). Sense of "small stream" first recorded 1580s, mostly Northern English dialect and Amer.Eng. Meaning "series or rush of demands on a bank, etc." is first recorded 1690s. Baseball sense is from 1856. Meaning "single trip by a railroad train" is from 1857. Military aircraft sense is from 1916. Meaning "total number of copies printed" is from 1909. Meaning "tear in a knitted garment" is from 1922. Phrase a run for one's money is from 1874. Run-in "quarrel, confrontation" is from 1905.
sperm: late 14c., probably from O.Fr. esperme, from L.L. sperma "seed, semen," from Gk. sperma "seed," from speirein "to sow, scatter," from PIE *sper- "to strew" (see sprout). Spermatozoon "male sexual cell" is an 1836 formation from Gk. spermato-, combining form of sperma (gen. spermatos) + zoion "animal." Sperm bank is attested from 1963. Spermicide (n.) first recorded 1929.
wharf: late O.E. hwearf "shore, bank where ships can tie up," earlier "dam, embankment," from P.Gmc. *khwarfaz (cf. M.L.G. werf "mole, dam, wharf," Ger. Werft "shipyard, dockyard"); related to O.E. hwearfian "to turn," perhaps in a sense implying "busy activity," from PIE base *kwerp- "to turn, revolve" (cf. O.N. hverfa "to turn round," Ger. werben "to enlist, solicit, court, woo," Goth. hvairban "to wander," Gk. kartos "wrist," Skt. surpam "winnowing fan"). Wharf rat "person who hangs around docks" is recorded from 1836.
face (n.): late 13c., from O.Fr. face, from V.L. *facia, from L. facies "appearance, form, figure," and secondarily "visage, countenance;" probably related to facere "to make" (see factitious). Replaced O.E. andwlita. To face (v.) "confront" is first recorded mid-15c. Related: Faced. Facing “front or outer part of a wall, building, etc., is from 1823. To lose face (or save face), 1876, is said to be from Chinese tu lien; to face the music is theatrical. Face value was originally (1878) of bank notes, postage stamps, etc.
Greenwich: "town on the south bank of the Thames adjoining London," O.E. Grenewic (964), lit. "Green Harbor." The Royal Observatory there founded June 22, 1675, by King Charles II specifically to solve the problem of finding longitude while at sea. In October 1884, at the behest of the President of the U.S.A., 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C., for the International Meridian Conference. They decided to adopt a single world meridian, passing through the principal Transit Instrument at the observatory at Greenwich, as the basis of calculation for all longitude and a worldwide 24-hour clock. The Greenwich motion passed 22-1; San Domingo voted against it; France and Brazil abstained. Greenwich Village quarter of New York City has been symbolic of "American bohemia" since 1924.
check (n.): early 14c., from O.Fr. eschequier "a check at chess," from eschec, from V.L. *scaccus, from Arabic shah, from Pers. shah "king," the principal piece in a chess game (see shah). When the king is in check a player's choices are limited. Meaning widened from chess to general sense of "adverse event, sudden stoppage" and by c.1700 to "a token used to check against loss or theft" (surviving in hat check) and "a check against forgery or alteration," which gave the modern financial use of "bank check, money draft" (first recorded 1798), probably influenced by exchequeur. Checking account is attested from 1923, Amer.Eng.
save (v.): early 13c., "to deliver (one's soul) from sin and its consequences;" mid-13c., "to deliver or rescue from peril," from O.Fr. sauver, from L.L. salvare "make safe, secure," from L. salvus "safe" (see safe (adj.)). Meaning "store up, to keep instead of spending" is attested from mid-14c.; savings "money hoarded up" is from 1737; savings bank is 1817 (S & L for savings and loan attested from 1951). Save face (1898) first was used among the British community in China and is said to be from Chinese; it has not been found in Chinese, but tiu lien "to lose face" does occur. To not (do something) to save one's life is recorded from 1848. Phrase saved by the bell (1932) is from boxing.
nuts (adj.): "crazy," 1846, from earlier be nutts upon "be very fond of" (1785), which is possibly from nuts (n., pl.) "any source of pleasure" (1617), from nut (q.v.). Sense influenced probably by metaphoric application of nut to "head" (1846, e.g. to be off one's nut "be insane," 1860). Nut "crazy person, crank" is attested from 1903, (British form nutter first attested 1958). Connection with the slang "testicle" sense has tended to nudge it toward taboo. "On the N.B.C. network, it is forbidden to call any character a nut; you have to call him a screwball." ["New Yorker," Dec. 23, 1950] "Please eliminate the expression 'nuts to you' from Egbert's speech." [Request from the Hays Office regarding the script of "The Bank Dick," 1940] This desire for avoidance accounts for the euphemism nerts (c.1925). Nutty "crazy" is first attested 1898.
balk: O.E. balca "ridge, bank," from or influenced by O.N. balkr "ridge of land," especially between two plowed furrows, both from P.Gmc. *balkan-, *belkan- (cf. O.S. balko, Dan. bjelke, O.Fris. balka, O.H.G. balcho, Ger. Balken "beam, rafter"), from PIE *bhelg- "beam, plank" (cf. L. fulcire "to prop up, support," fulcrum "bedpost;" Lith. balziena "cross-bar;" and possibly Gk. phalanx "trunk, log, line of battle"). Modern senses are figurative, either representing the balk as a hindrance or obstruction (e.g., of horses, "to stop short before an obstacle," recorded from late 15c.), or from the verb sense of "to miss or omit intentionally" (attested by late 15c.) as a lazy or incompetent plowman would in making balks. Baseball sense is first attested 1845. Related: Balky (1847).
Latin: O.E. latin, from L. Latinus "belonging to Latium," the region of Italy around Rome, possibly from PIE base *stela- "to spread, extend," with a sense of "flat country" (as opposed to the mountainous district of the Sabines), or from a prehistoric non-IE language.
Centurion: What's this, then? ‘People called Romanes they go the house?’
Brian: It ... it says, ‘Romans, go home.’
Centurion [thrashing him like a schoolboy]: No, it doesn't. ‘Go home?' This is motion towards. Isn't it, boy?
Brian: Ah ... ah, dative, sir! Ahh! No, not dative! Not the dative, sir! No! Ah! Oh, the ... accusative! Domum, sir! Ah! Oooh! Ah!
Centurion [pulling him by the ear]: Except that domum takes the ...?
Brian: The locative, sir!
[Monty Python, "Life of Brian"]
Used as a designation for "people whose languages descend from Latin" (1856), hence Latin American (1893). The Latin Quarter (Fr. Quartier latin) of Paris, on the south (left) bank of the Seine, was the site of university buildings in the Middle Ages, hence the place where Latin was spoken. The surname Latimer, Lattimore, etc. is from V.L. latimarus, from L. latinarius "interpreter," lit. "a speaker of Latin."
left: c.1200, from Kentish form of O.E. lyft- "weak, foolish" (cf. lyft-adl "lameness, paralysis," E.Fris. luf, Du. dial. loof "weak, worthless"). It emerged 13c. as "opposite of right," a derived sense also found in M.Du., Low Ger. luchter, luft. Ger. link, Du. linker "left" are from O.H.G. slinc, M.Du. slink "left," related to O.E. slincan "crawl," Sw. linka "limp," slinka "dangle." Replaced O.E. winestra, lit. "friendlier," a euphemism used superstitiously to avoid invoking the unlucky forces connected with the left side (see sinister). The Kentish word itself may have been originally a taboo replacement, if instead it represents PIE root *laiwo-, meaning "considered conspicuous" (represented in Gk. laios, Latvian laevus, and Rus. levyi). Gk. also uses a euphemism for "left," aristeros "the better one" (cf. also Avestan vairyastara- "to the left," from vairya- "desirable"). But Lith. kairys "left" and Lettish kreilis "left hand" derive from a root that yields words for "twisted, crooked." Political sense arose from members of a legislative body assigned to the left side of a chamber, first attested in Eng. 1837 (by Carlyle, in ref. to the Fr. Revolution), probably a loan-translation of Fr. la gauche (1791), said to have originated during the seating of the Fr. National Assembly in 1789 in which the nobility took the seats on the President's right and left the Third Estate to sit on the left. Became general in U.S. and British political speech c.1900. Used since at least 1612 in various senses of "irregular, illicit," such as the phrase left-handed compliment (1881). Phrase out in left field "unorthodox, unexpected" is attested from 1959. Lefty "left-handed person" is 1886, Amer.Eng., baseball slang. The Left Bank of Paris has been associated with intellectual and artistic culture since at least 1893.