Online Etymology Dictionary

lecture (n.): late 14c., "action of reading, that which is read," from M.L. lectura "a reading, lecture," from L. lectus, pp. of legere "to read," originally "to gather, collect, pick out, choose" (cf. election), from PIE *leg- "to pick together, gather, collect" (cf. Gk. legein "to say, tell, speak, declare," originally, in Homer, "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought, account;" L. lignum "wood, firewood," lit. “that which is gathered”). To read is to "pick out words." Meaning "action of reading (a lesson) aloud" is from 1520s. That of "a discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from 1530s. The verb is attested from 1580s. Related: Lecturer.
sacrilege: c.1300, "crime of stealing what is consecrated to God," from O.Fr. sacrilege (12c.), from L. sacrilegium "temple robbery," from sacrilegus "stealer of sacred things," from phrase sacrum legere "to steal sacred things," from sacrum "sacred object (from neuter sing. of sacer "sacred") + legere "take, pick up" (see lecture). Second element is related to lecture but is not from religion. Transferred sense of "profanation of anything held sacred" is attested from late 14c.
buzzword: 1946, from buzz + word. Noted as student slang for the key words in a lecture or reading.
ligneous: 1620s, from L. ligneus, from lignum "wood" (see lecture).
lignin: 1822, from L. lignum "wood" (see lecture) + -in.
lector: late 15c., from L. lector "reader," agent noun from legere "to read" (see lecture).
lignite: "imperfectly formed coal," 1808, from Fr., from L. lignum "wood" (see lecture). Brown coal that still shows traces of the wood it once was. Probably directly from Lithanthrax Lignius, name given to woody coal by Wallerius, 1775.
catalogue: 1460, from L.L. catalogus, from Gk. katalogos "a list, register," from kata "down, completely" + legein "to say, count" (see lecture). The verb is first attested 1598.
-logy: "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Gk. -logia (often via Fr. -logie or M.L. -logia), from root of legein "to speak;" thus, "the character or department of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" see lecture.
monologue: 1668, "long speech by one person," from Late Gk. monologos "speaking alone," from Gk. monos "single, alone" + logos "speech, word," from legein "to speak" (see lecture).
analogue: 1826, "an analogous thing," from Fr. analogue, from Gk. analogon (itself used in Eng. from c.1810), from ana "up to" + logos "account, ratio" (see lecture). Computing sense is recorded from 1946.
auditorium: 1727, from L. auditorium "lecture room," lit. "place where something is heard," neuter of auditorius (adj.) "of or for hearing," from auditus, pp. of audire "to hear" (see audience).
homologous: 1660, from Gk. homologos "agreeing, of one mind," from homos "same" (see same) + logos "relation, reasoning, computation," related to legein "reckon, select, speak" (see lecture).
analects: 1650s, "literary gleanings," from Gk. analekta, lit. "things chosen," neut. pl. of analektos "select, choice," verbal adj. of analegein "to gather up, collect," from ana- "up" + legein "to gather," also "to choose words," hence "to speak" (see lecture).
legume: "plant of the group of the pulse family," 1670s, from Fr. légume, from L. legumen, of unknown origin. One suggestion ties it to L. legere "to gather" (see lecture), because they can be scooped by the handful. Used in M.E. in the L. form legumen (late 14c.).
dialect: 1577, from M.Fr. dialecte, from L. dialectus "local language, way of speaking, conversation," from Gk. dialektos, from dialegesthai "converse with each other," from dia- "across, between" + legein "speak" (see lecture).
legible: late 14c., from L.L. legibilis "that can be read," from L. legere "to read" (see lecture). Related: Legibility.
talk (n.): late 15c., "speech, discourse, conversation," from talk (v.). Meaning "informal lecture or address" is from 1859. Talk of the town first recorded 1620s. Talk show first recorded 1965; talk radio is from 1985.
lectern: early 14c., lettorne, lettron, from O.Fr. leitrun, from M.L. lectrinum, L.L. lectrum "lectern," from root of L. legere "to read" (see lecture). Half-re-Latinized in 15c.
eclectic: 1680s, from Fr. eclectique, from Gk. eklektikos "selective," lit. "picking out," from eklektos "selected," from eklegein "pick out, select," from ek "out" + legein "gather, choose" (see lecture). Originally a group of ancient philosophers who selected doctrines from every system; broader sense is first recorded 1814.
lesson: early 13c., "a reading aloud from the Bible," also "something to be learned by a student," from O.Fr. leçon, from L. lectionem (nom. lectio) "a reading," from lectus, pp. of legere "to read" (see lecture). Transf. sense of "an occurrence from which something can be learned" is from 1580s.
election: late 13c., from Anglo-Fr. eleccioun, from L. electionem, from stem of eligere "pick out, select," from ex- "out" + -ligere, comb. form of legere "to choose, read" (see lecture). Electioneer first attested 1789 in writing of Thomas Jefferson (probably on model of auctioneer, as the verb engineer was not yet in use).
dyslexia: c.1887, from Ger. dyslex, from Gk. dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + lexis "word," from legein "speak" (see lecture). Dyslexic (n.) is first recorded 1961; dyslectic (adj.) from 1964.
neglect (v.): 1529, from L. neglectus, pp. of neglegere "to make light of, disregard," lit. "not to pick up," variant of neclegere, from Old L. nec "not" (see deny) + legere "pick up, select" (see lecture). The noun is first attested 1588.
josh: 1845, Amer.Eng., probably from the familiar version of the proper name Joshua, but just which Joshua, or why, is long forgotten. Perhaps it was taken as a typical name of an old farmer. The word was in use earlier than the career of U.S. humorist "John Billings," pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-85), who did not begin to write and lecture until 1860; but his popularity after 1869 may have influence that of the word.
About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. ["Josh Billings"]
legend: mid-14c., from O.Fr. legende (12c.), from M.L. legenda "legend, story," lit. "(things) to be read," on certain days in church, etc., from neuter plural gerundive of L. legere "to read, gather, select" (see lecture). Used originally of saints' lives; extended sense of "nonhistorical or mythical story" first recorded 1610s. Meaning "writing or inscription" (especially on a coin or medal) is from 1610s; on a map, illustration, etc., from 1903.
tautology: 1579, from L.L. tautologia "representation of the same thing" (c.350), from Gk. tautologia, from tautologos "repeating what has been said," from tauto "the same" + -logos "saying," related to legein "to say" (see lecture).
dialogue: early 13c., "literary work consisting of a conversation between two or more people," from O.Fr. dialoge, from L. dialogus, from Gk. dialogos, related to dialogesthai "converse," from dia- "across" + legein "speak" (see lecture). Sense broadened to "a conversation" c.1400. Mistaken belief that it can only mean "conversation between two persons" is from confusion of dia- and di-.
anthology: 1630s, from L. anthologia, from Gk. anthologia "flower-gathering," from anthos "a flower" (see anther) + logia "collection, collecting," from legein "gather" (see lecture). Modern sense (which emerged in Late Gk.) is metaphoric, "flowers" of verse, small poems by various writers gathered together.
prolegomenon: 1652, "learned preamble to a book," from Gk. prolegomenon, neuter passive prp. of prolegein "to say beforehand," from pro- "before" + legein "to speak" (see lecture) + suffix -menos (as in alumnus). The same sense is in preface.
lexicon: c.1600, "a dictionary," from Mod.L., from Gk. lexikon (biblion) "word (book)," from neut. of lexikos "pertaining to words," from lexis "word," from legein "say" (see lecture). Used originally of dictionaries of Gk., Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic, since these usually were in Latin and in Mod.L. lexicon, not dictionarius, was the preferred word. The modern sense of "vocabulary proper to some sphere of activity" (1640s) is a figurative extension.
eulogy: mid-15c., from Gk. eulogia "praise," from eu- "well" + -logia "speaking," from logos "discourse, word," from legein "speak" (see lecture). Eu legein meant "speak well of."
prologue: c.1300, from O.Fr. prologue (c.1215), from L. prologus, from Gk. prologos "prologue of a play, speaker of a prologue," lit. "a speech beforehand," from pro- "before" + logos "discourse, speech," from legein "to speak" (see lecture).
apologue: "moral fable," 1550s, from Fr. apologue, from L. apologus, from Gk. apologos, from apo- "off, away from" + logos "speech" (see lecture). Lit. "(that which comes) from a speech."
statistics: 1770, "science dealing with data about the condition of a state or community," from Ger. Statistik, popularized and perhaps coined by Ger. political scientist Gottfried Aschenwall (1719-72) in his "Vorbereitung zur Staatswissenschaft" (1748), from Mod.L. statisticum (collegium) "(lecture course on) state affairs," from It. statista "one skilled in statecraft," from L. status (see state (n.1)). Meaning "numerical data collected and classified" is from 1829. Abbreviated form stats first recorded 1961. Statistician is from 1825.
diligence: mid-14c., from O.Fr. diligence "attention, care," from L. diligentia "attentiveness, carefulness," from diligentem (nom. diligens) "attentive, assiduous, careful," originally prp. of diligere "value highly, love, choose," from dis- "apart" + legere "choose, gather" (see lecture). Sense evolved from "love" through "attentiveness" to "carefulness" to "steady effort."
class: c.1600, from Fr. classe, from L. classis, one of the six orders into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman people for the purposes of taxation, traditionally originally "the people of Rome under arms," and thus akin to calare "to call (to arms)" (see calendar). School and university sense (1650s) is from the notion of a form or lecture reserved to a certain level of scholars. Natural history sense is from 1753. Meaning "a division of society according to status" is from 1772. The verb is first recorded 1705. Class-consciousness (1903) is from Ger. klassenbewusst.
logos: 1580s, "second person of the Christian Trinity," from Gk. logos "word, speech, discourse," also "reason," from PIE base *leg- "to collect" (with derivatives meaning "to speak," on notion of "to pick out words;" see lecture); used by Neo-Platonists in various metaphysical and theological senses and picked up by N.T. writers. Other Eng. formations from logos include logolatry "worship of words, unreasonable regard for words or verbal truth" (1810 in Coleridge); logomachy "fighting about words" (1560s); logomania (1870); logophobia (1923).
legal: mid-15c. "of or pertaining to the law," from L. legalis "legal, pertaining to the law," from lex (gen. legis) "law," possibly related to legere "to gather," on notion of "a collection of rules" (see lecture). Sense of "permitted by law" is from 1640s. The O.Fr. form was leial, loial (see leal, loyal). Related: Legality. Legal tender is from 1740.
intelligence: late 14c., "faculty of understanding," from O.Fr. intelligence (12c.), from L. intelligentia "understanding," from intelligentem (nom. intelligens) "discerning," prp. of intelligere "to understand, comprehend," from inter- "between" + legere "choose, pick out, read" (see lecture). Meaning superior understanding, sagacity" is from early 15c. Sense of "information, news" first recorded mid-15c., especially "secret information from spies" (1580s). Intelligence quotient first recorded 1922 (see I.Q.).
select (adj.): 1565, from L. selectus, pp. of seligere "choose out, select," from se- "apart" (see secret) + legere "to gather, select" (see lecture). The verb is attested from 1567. The noun meaning "a selected person or thing" is recorded from 1610. Selection is attested from 1646; applied to actions of breeders (first attested 1837), hence use by Darwin (1857). Selective is first recorded 1625; selective service is from 1917, Amer.Eng. New England selectman first recorded 1646.
legion: c.1200, from O.Fr. legion "Roman legion" (3,000 to 6,000 men, under Marius usually with attached cavalry), from L. legionem (nom. legio) "body of soldiers," from legere "to choose, gather," also "to read" (see lecture). Generalized sense of "a large number" is due to (inaccurate) translations of allusive phrase in Mark v.9. American Legion, U.S. association of ex-servicemen, founded in 1919. Legion of Honor is Fr. légion d'honneur, an order of distinction founded by Napoleon in 1802. Foreign Legion is Fr. légion étrangère "body of foreign volunteers in a modern army," originally Polish, Belgian, etc. units in French army; they traditionally served in colonies or distant expeditions.
religion: c.1200, "state of life bound by monastic vows," also "conduct indicating a belief in a divine power," from Anglo-Fr. religiun (11c.), from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," in L.L. "monastic life" (5c.); according to Cicero, derived from relegare "go through again, read again," from re- "again" + legere "read" (see lecture). However, popular etymology among the later ancients (and many modern writers) connects it with religare "to bind fast" (see rely), via notion of "place an obligation on," or "bond between humans and gods." Another possible origin is religiens "careful," opposite of negligens. Meaning "particular system of faith" is recorded from c.1300.
"To hold, therefore, that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice. And this is the same thing as atheism, however it may differ from it in name." [Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei, 1885]
Modern sense of "recognition of, obedience to, and worship of a higher, unseen power" is from 1530s. Religious is first recorded early 13c. Transferred sense of "scrupulous, exact" is recorded from 1590s.
school (1): "place of instruction," O.E. scol, from L. schola, from Gk. skhole "school, lecture, discussion," also "leisure, spare time," originally "a holding back, a keeping clear," from skhein "to get" + -ole by analogy with bole "a throw," stole "outfit," etc. The original notion is "leisure," which passed to "otiose discussion," then "place for such." The PIE base is *segh- "to hold, hold in one's power, to have" (see scheme). The L. word was widely borrowed, cf. O.Fr. escole, Fr. école, Sp. escuela, It. scuola, O.H.G. scuola, Ger. Schule, Swed. skola, Gael. sgiol, Welsh ysgol, Rus. shkola. Replaced O.E. larhus "lore house." Meaning "students attending a school" is attested from c.1300; sense of "school building" is first recorded c.1590. Sense of "people united by a general similarity of principles and methods" is from 1612; hence school of thought (1864). The verb is attested from 1573. School of hard knocks "rough experience in life" is recorded from 1912 (in George Ade); to tell tales out of school "betray damaging secrets" is from 1546. Schoolmarm is attested from 1831, U.S. colloquial; used figuratively for "patronizingly and priggishly instructing" from 1887.