- dung
- O.E. dung "manure," from PIE *dhengh- "covering" (cf. Lith. dengti "to cover," O.Ir. dingim "I press"); the word recalls the ancient Gmc. custom (reported by Tacitus) of covering underground shelters with manure to keep in warmth in winter.
"The whole body of journeymen tailors is divided into two classes, denominated Flints and Dungs: the former work by the day and receive all equal wages; the latter work generally by the piece" [1824].
- scat (3)
- "filth, dung," 1950, from Gk. stem skat- "dung" (see scatology).
- merd
- "dung," 1477, from Fr. merde, from L. merda "dung," of unknown origin.
- midden
- "dung hill," mid-14c., of Scandinavian origin; cf. Dan. mødding, from møg "muck" + dynge "heap, dung." Modern archaeological sense of "kitchen midden" is from Danish excavations.
- gore (n.)
- O.E. gor "dirt, dung, shit," a Gmc. word (cf. M.Du. goor "filth, mud;" O.N. gor "cud;" O.H.G. gor "animal dung"), of uncertain origin. Sense of "clotted blood" (especially shed in battle) developed by 1563.
- guano
- 1604, from Sp. guano "dung," especially of sea-birds on islands off Peru, from Quechua huanu "dung." Guanine, named 1850, so called because first isolated from guano.
- copro-
- comb. form meaning "dung, filth, excrement," before vowels copr-, from Mod.L. copro-, from Gk. kopros "dung."
- slop
- c.1400, "mudhole," probably from O.E. -sloppe "dung" (in cusloppe "cow dung"), related to slyppe "slime" (see slip (v.)). Meaning "semiliquid food" first recorded 1657; that of "refuse liquid of any kind" (usually slops) is from 1815. Verb meaning "to spill carelessly" is from 1557.
- poppycock
- 1865, probably from Du. dialect pappekak, from M.Du. pappe "soft dung" (see pap) + kak "dung," from L. cacare "to excrete."
- coprophagy
- 1891, from Mod.L. coprophagus, from Gk. koprophagos "dung-eating," from kopros "dung" + -phagos (see -phagous).
- muck (n.)
- c.1250, "cow dung and vegetable matter spread as manure," from O.N. myki, mykr "cow dung," from P.Gmc. *muk-, *meuk- "soft." Meaning "unclean matter generally" is from c.1300. The verb meaning "to make dirty" is from 1832; in the fig. sense it is from 1886; to muck about "mess around" is from 1856. Muck-sweat first attested 1699.
- manure (v.)
- c.1400, "to cultivate land," also "to hold property," from Anglo-Fr. meynoverer, from O.Fr. manouvrer "to work with the hands," from M.L. manuoperare, from L. manu operari, from manu, abl. of manus "hand" (see manual) + operari "to work, operate" (see operation). Sense of "work the earth" led to "put dung on the soil" (1599) and to the current noun meaning "dung spread as fertilizer," which is first attested 1549. Until late 18c., however, the verb still was used in a fig. sense of "to cultivate the mind, train the mental powers."
"It is ... his own painfull study ... that manures and improves his ministeriall gifts." [Milton, 1641]
- stercoraceous
- 1731, "consisting of or pertaining to feces," from L. stercus "dung."
- dingy
- 1736, Kentish dialect, "dirty," of uncertain origin, but probably related to dung.
- coprolite
- fossil dung, 1829, from copro- + Gk. lithos "stone."
- coprolalia
- 1886, from Fr. coprolalie, coined by de la Tourette, 1885, from copro- "dung, filth" + Gk. lalia "talk, prattle." The obsessive use of onscene language, either through mental illness or perversion.
- fetid
- 1599, from L. fetidus, foetidus "stinking," from fetere "have a bad smell, stink." Perhaps connected with fimus "dung," or with fumus "smoke."
- scarab
- "black dung beetle," held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, 1579, from M.Fr. scarabeé, from L. scarabæus "a type of beetle," from Gk. karabos "beetle, crayfish," a foreign word, probably Macedonian (the suffix -bos is non-Greek).
- cockroach
- 1624, folk etymology of Sp. cucaracha "chafer, beetle," from cuca "kind of caterpillar." Folk etymology is from caca "excrement."
"A certaine India Bug, called by the Spaniards a Cacarootch, the which creeping into Chests they eat and defile with their ill-sented dung" [Capt. John Smith, "Virginia," 1624].
- cowslip
- O.E. cu-slyppe, apparently from cu "cow" + slyppe "slop, slobber, dung."
- dreck
- "filth, trash," 1922, from Yiddish drek (Ger. dreck), from M.H.G. drec, from P.Gmc. þrekka (cf. O.E. þreax "rubbish," O.Fris. threkk), probably connected to Gk. skatos "dung," L. stercus "excrement."
- bin
- O.E. binne "manger, crib," from Gaulish, from O.Celt. *benna, akin to Welsh benn "a cart," especially one with a woven wicker body. The same Celtic word seems to be preserved in It. benna "dung cart," Fr. benne "grape-gatherer's creel," Du. benne "large basket," from L.L. benna. Some linguists think there was a parallel Gmc. form to the Celtic one.
- weevil
- O.E. wifel "small beetle," from P.Gmc. *webilaz (cf. O.S. wibil, O.H.G. wibil, Ger. Wiebel "beetle, chafer," O.N. tordyfill "dung beetle"), cognate with Lith. vabalas "beetle," from PIE base *webh- "to weave," also "to move quickly" (see weave). The sense gradually narrowed to a particular kind of beetle that, in larval or adult stages, bores into plants, often destroying them.
- dirt
- 15c. metathesis of M.E. drit, drytt "mud, dirt, dung" (c.1300), from O.N. drit, cognate with O.E. dritan, from P.Gmc. *dritanan. Meaning "gossip" first attested 1926 (in Hemingway); dirt bike is 1960s. Dirty in the sense of "morally unclean" is attested from 1599. Dirty linen "personal or familial secrets" is first recorded 1860s. Dirt-cheap is from 1821.
- mash (n.)
- late O.E. masc-wyrt "mash-wort, infused malt," from P.Gmc. *maisk- (cf. Swed. mäsk "grains for pigs," Ger. Maisch "crushed grapes," O.E. meox "dung, filth), from PIE *meigh- "to sprinkle" (cf. O.E. miscian "to mix," Skt. mehati "urinates," Gk. omeikhein, L. meiere "to urinate," Pol. miazga "sap"). Originally a word in brewing; general sense of "anything reduced to a soft pulpy consistency" is recorded from 1598. Short for mashed potatoes it is attested from 1904. The verb is O.E. mæscan, from the noun.
- turd
- O.E. tord, from P.Gmc. *turdam (cf. M.Du. torde "piece of excrement," O.N. tord-yfill, Du. tort-wevel "dung beetle"), from PIE *drtom, pp. of base *d(e)r- "flay, tear," thus "that which is separated (or torn off) from the body" (cf. shit from root meaning "to split"). As a type of something worthless and vile, it is attested from c.1250; meaning "despicable person" is recorded from c.1450.
"A tord ne yeue ic for eu alle" ["The Owl and the Nightingale," c.1250]
"Alle thingis ... I deme as toordis, that I wynne Crist." [Wyclif, Phil. iii.8, 1382; KJV has "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord"] - chip (v.)
- O.E. forcippian "to pare away by cutting," v. form of cipp "small piece of wood," perhaps from PIE base *keipo- "sharp post" (cf. Du. kip "small strip of wood," L. cippus "post, stake, beam"). Sense of "break off fragments" is 18c. Noun is attested by early 14c.; meaning "counter used in a game of chance" is first recorded 1840; electronics sense is from 1962. Used for thin slices of foodstuffs (originally fruit) since 1769; specific ref. to potatoes is from 1859 (in "A Tale of Two Cities"); potato chip is attested by 1886. Meaning "piece of dried dung" first attested 1846. To chip in "contribute" (1861) may come from card-playing. Potato chip is 1859. Chip of the old block is used by Milton (1642); earlier form was chip of the same block (1621); more common modern phrase with off in place of of is early 20c. To have a chip on one's shoulder is from at least 1820s, U.S., from the custom of a boy determined to fight putting a chip on his shoulder and defying another to knock it off. Chip in "contribute" is 1861, Amer.Eng.