Online Etymology Dictionary

woof (2): dog bark noise, first recorded 1804, echoic. Woofer "loudspeaker for bass notes" first attested 1935.
minutes: "record of proceedings," c.1710, perhaps from L. minuta scriptura "rough notes," lit. "small writing;" see minute (adj.).
breve: mid-15c., musical notation indicating two whole notes, from L. breve (adj.) "short" in space or time (see brief). The grammatical curved line placed over a vowel to indicate "shortness" (1540s) is from the same source.
chord (1): "related notes in music," 1597, aphetic of accord, infl. by L. chorda (see cord). Spelling with an -h- first recorded 1608.
triplet: 1656, "three successive lines of poetry," from triple; perhaps patterned on doublet. Extended to a set of three of anything in 1733, and to three children at the same birth in 1787 (another word for this was trin, 1831, on the model of twin). Musical meaning "three notes played in the time of two" is from 1801.
Tironian: of or pertaining to Marcus Tullius Tiro, Cicero's scribe and namesake, 1828, esp. in ref. to the Tironian Notes (L. notæ Tironianæ), a system of shorthand said to have been invented by him (see ampersand).
commentator: mid-15c., "writer of commentaries," from comment or commentary (L. commentator meant "inventor, author." Meaning "writer of notes or expository comments" is from 1640s; "one who gives commentary" (originally in sports) is from 1928.
marginalize: 1832, "to make marginal notes," from marginal + -ize. The meaning "force into a position of powerlessness" attested by 1929. Related: Marginalization; marginalized.
variorum: 1728, from L., gen. pl. masc. of varius (see vary), in phrase editio cum notis variorum "an edition (especially of the complete works of a classical author) with notes of various commentators or editors." Use with ref. to an edition of an author's works containing variant readings (1955) is "deplored by some scholars" [OED].
camp (2): "tasteless," 1909, homosexual slang, perhaps from mid-17c. Fr. camper "to portray, pose" (as in se camper "put oneself in a bold, provocative pose"); popularized 1964 by Susan Sontag's essay "Notes on Camp." Campy is attested from 1959.
sol-fa: 1548, from It., from M.L. sol + fa, two notes of the musical scale. Related to solfeggio "use the sol-fa system" (1774), from It. solfeggiare (see gamut).
crotchet: late 14c., "crocket," later "small hook" (early 15c.), from Fr. crochet "hook" (see crochet). As a surgical instrument, from 1750. Fig. use in musical notation is from mid-15c., from the shape of the notes. Meaning "whimsical fancy" is from 1570s; perhaps from the same mechanical image in crank; but other authorities link this sense to the musical notation one.
scholiast: "one who writes explanatory notes upon a classical writer," 1583, from L.L. scholiasta, from Late Gk. skholiastes, from skholiazein, from skholion "explanatory note or comment," from skhole (see school (1)).
triad: 1546, "group or set of three," from L.L. trias (gen. triadis), from Gk. trias (gen. triados), from treis "three" (see three). Musical sense of "chord of three notes" is from 1801.
smelt (n.): O.E. smelt "small salmon-like sea fish," cognate with Du. smelt "sand eel," Dan. smelt (c.1600). OED notes that it has a peculiar odor (but doesn't suggest a connection with smell); Klein suggests a connection with the way the fish melts in one's mouth.
recession: "temporary decline in economic activity," 1929, from recess (q.v.):
"The material prosperity of the United States is too firmly based, in our opinion, for a revival in industrial activity -- even if we have to face an immediate recession of some magnitude -- to be long delayed." ["Economist," Nov. 2, 1929]
Ayto notes, "There was more than a hint of euphemism in the coining of this term." Recessive in genetics is 1900, from Ger. recessiv (Mendel, 1865).
prelude: 1561, from M.Fr. prélude "notes sung or played to test the voice or instrument" (1532), from M.L. preludium "prelude, preliminary," from L. præludere "to play beforehand for practice, preface," from præ- "before" + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Purely musical sense first attested in Eng. 1658.
cuff (n.): mid-14c., cuffe "hand covering," perhaps somehow from M.L. cuffia "head covering," of uncertain origin. Sense of "band around the sleeve" is first attested 1520s; sense of "hem of trousers" is 1911. Off the cuff "extemporaneously" is 1938 Amer.Eng. colloquial, suggesting an actor or speaker reading from notes jotted on his shirt sleeves rather than learned lines. Cuff links is from 1897.
liner: "ship belonging to a shipping line," 1838, from line (n.) on notion of a succession of ships plying between ports along regular "lines." Line in this sense first attested 1786 in ref. to stagecoaches. Meaning "cosmetic" first recorded 1926, short for eye-liner. The type of baseball hit was so called since 1874. Liner notes in a record album are attested from 1953.
truffle: "edible fungus," 1591, from M.Fr. trufle (1370), from O.Fr. truffe, probably from O.Prov. trufa, metathesized from L.L. tufera (pl.), cognate of L. tuber "edible root." Another theory notes It. tartuffo (Milanese tartuffel) "potato," supposedly from terræ tuber. Extended 1926 to powdered, round chocolates that look like truffles.
extempore: 1550s (adv.), 1630s (n.), from L. phrase ex tempore "offhand, in accordance with (the needs of) the moment," lit. "out of time," from ex- "out of" + tempore, abl. of tempus (gen. temporis) "time." Of speaking, strictly "without preparation, without time to prepare," but now often with a sense merely of "without notes or a teleprompter." Related: Extemporize (1717) "to speak ex tempore;" extemporizing.
compare: late 14c., from O.Fr. comperer (12c., Mod.Fr. comparer), from L.L. comparare "to liken, to compare" (see comparison). To compare notes is from 1708. Related: Comparing (late 14c.). Phrase without compare (attested from 1620s, but similar phrasing dates to 1530s) seems to be altered by folk etymology from compeer "rival."
annotation: mid-15c., from L. annotationem (nom. annotatio), from annotatus, pp. of annotare "to add notes to," from ad- "to" + notare "to note, mark" (see note (v.)).
telephone: 1835, "apparatus for signaling by musical notes" (devised by Sudré in 1828), from Fr. téléphone (c.1830), from télé- "far" (see tele-) + phone "sound" (see fame). Also used of other apparatus early 19c., including "instrument similar to a foghorn for signaling from ship to ship" (1844). The electrical communication tool was first described in modern form by P.Reis (1861); developed by Bell, and so called by him from 1876. The verb is attested from 1878.
counterpoint: 1423, of stitching, from O.Fr. cuilte contrepointe "quilt stitched through and through," altered from coute pointe, from M.L. culcita puncta "quilted mattress," from L. culcita "cushion" + puncta, fem. pp. of pungere "to prick, stab" (see pungent). Of music, 1530, from M.Fr. contrepoint, from M.L. contrapunctum, from L. contra + puncta, with reference to the indication of musical notes by "pricking" with a pointed pen over or under the original melody on a manuscript.
surrealism: 1927, from Fr. surréalisme (from sur- "beyond" + réalisme "realism"), coined c.1917 by Guillaume Apollinaire, taken over by Andre Breton as the name of the movement he launched in 1924 with "Manifeste de Surréalisme." Taken up in English at first in the French form; the Anglicized version is from 1931.
"De cette alliance nouvelle, car jusqu'ici les décors et les costumes d'une part, la chorégraphie d'autre part, n'avaient entre eux qu'un lien factice, il este résulté, dans 'Parade,' une sorte de surréalisme." [Apollinaire, "Notes to 'Parade' "]
belittle: 1781, "to make small," from be- + little; first recorded in writings of Thomas Jefferson (and probably coined by him), who was roundly execrated for it in England:
"Belittle! What an expression! It may be an elegant one in Virginia, and even perfectly intelligible; but for our part, all we can do is to guess at its meaning. For shame, Mr. Jefferson!" ["European Magazine and London Review," 1787, reporting on "Notes on the State of Virginia"; to guess was considered another barbarous Yankeeism.]
The figurative sense of "depreciate, scorn as worthless" (as the reviewers did to this word) is from 1797.
off: by c.1200 as an emphatic form of O.E. of (see of), employed in the adverbial use of that word. The prepositional meaning "away from" and the adj. sense of "farther" were not firmly fixed in this variant until 17c., but once they were they left the original of with the transf. and weakened senses of the word. Meaning "not working" is from 1861; verb sense of "to kill" first attested 1930. Off the cuff (1938) is from the notion of speaking from notes written in haste on one's shirt cuffs. Off the rack (adj.) is from 1963; off the record is from 1933; off the wall "crazy" is 1968, probably from the notion of a lunatic "bouncing off the walls" or else in ref. to carom shots in squash, handball, etc.
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.
tune (n.): late 14c., "a musical sound, a succession of musical notes," unexplained variant of tone. Meaning "state of being in proper pitch" is from mid-15c.; the verb in this sense is recorded from c.1500. Non-musical meaning "to adjust an organ or receiver" is recorded from 1887. Verbal phrase tune in in reference to radio (later also TV) is recorded from 1913; figurative sense of "become aware" is recorded from 1926. Tune out "to eliminate radio reception" is recorded from 1908; fig. sense of "disregard, stop heeding" is from 1928. Tunesmith is a U.S. colloquial coinage first recorded 1926.
skewbald: "horse with brown and white patches," 1654, from skued "skewbald" (c.1440), of unknown origin, + bald "having white patches" (see bald). First element apparently unconnected with skew (v.); O.E.D. suggests perhaps from O.Fr. escu "shield," but also notes a close resemblance in form and sense with Icel. skjottr, "the history of which is equally obscure."
"When the white is mixed with black it is called 'pie-bald,' with bay the name of 'skew-bald' is given to it." ["Youatt's 'The Horse,' " 1866]
strumpet: early 14c., of uncertain origin. One theory connects it with L. stuprata, fem. pp. of stuprare "have illicit sexual relations with," or L.L. strupum "dishonor, violation." Others suggest M.Du. strompe "a stocking," or strompen "to stride, to stalk" (as a prostitute might a customer). The major sources don't seem to give much preference to any of these. Weekley notes "Gregory's Chronicle (c.1450) has streppett in same sense." In 18c.-early 19c., often abbreviated as strum and also used as a verb, which led to some odd dictionary entries:
TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. [Capt. Francis Grose, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]
flat (adj.): early 14c., from O.N. flatr, from P.Gmc. *flataz (cf. O.H.G. flaz "flat, level," O.E. flet, O.H.G. flezzi "floor"), perhaps from PIE *pla- (cf. Gk. platys "broad, flat;" see place (n.)). Sense of "prosaic, dull" is from 1570s; used of drink from c.1600; of musical notes from 1590s, because the tone is "lowered." Flat-footed "unprepared" is 1912 U.S. baseball slang, on notion of "not on one's toes; earlier it meant "straightforwardly" (1828), from notion of "standing firmly." Flat-out (adv.) "openly, directly" is from 1932; earlier it was a noun meaning "total failure" (1870, U.S. colloquial). Flatware is distinguished from hollow ware.
pledge: mid-14c., "surety, bail," from O.Fr. plege (Fr. pleige) "hostage, security, bail," probably from Frank. *plegan "to guarantee," from a W.Gmc. root meaning "have responsibility for" (cf. O.Saxon plegan "vouch for," O.H.G. pflegan "to care for, be accustomed to," O.E. pleon "to risk, expose to danger"). Meaning "allegiance vow attested by drinking with another" is from 1630s. Sense of "solemn promise" first recorded 1814, though this meaning is from c.1400 in the verb. Weekley notes the "curious contradiction" in pledge "to toast with a drink" (1540s) and pledge "the vow to abstain from drinking" (1833). Noun meaning "student who has agreed to join a fraternity or sorority" dates from 1901.
ampersand: 1837, contraction of and per se and, meaning "(the character) '&' by itself is 'and' " (a hybrid phrase, partly in Latin, partly in English). The symbol is based on the L. word et "and," and comes from an old Roman system of shorthand signs (ligatures), attested in Pompeiian graffiti, but not (as sometimes stated) from the Tironian Notes, which was a different form of shorthand, probably invented by Cicero's companion Marcus Tullius Tiro, which used a different symbol, something like a reversed capital gamma, to indicate et. This Tironian symbol was maintained by some medieval scribes, including Anglo-Saxon chroniclers, who sprinkled their works with a symbol like a numeral 7 to indicate the word and. In old schoolbooks the ampersand was printed at the end of the alphabet and thus by 1880s had acquired a slang sense of "posterior, rear end, hindquarters."
bitch (n.): O.E. bicce, probably from O.N. bikkjuna "female of the dog" (also fox, wolf, and occasionally other beasts), of unknown origin. Grimm derives the O.N. word from Lapp pittja, but OED notes that "the converse is equally possible." As a term of contempt applied to women, it dates from c.1400; of a man, c.1500, playfully, in the sense of "dog." In modern (1990s, originally black English) slang, its use with reference to a man is sexually contemptuous, from the "woman" insult.
"BITCH. A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore." ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]
Used among male homosexuals from 1930s. Insult son of a bitch is O.N. bikkju-sonr. Bitch goddess coined 1906 by William James; the original one was success.
penal: "pertaining to punishment," 1439, from O.Fr. peinal (12c.), from M.L. penalis, from L. poenalis "pertaining to punishment," from poena "punishment," from Gk. poine "blood-money, fine, penalty, punishment," from PIE *kwoina, from base *kwei- "to pay, atone, compensate" (cf. Gk. time "price, worth, honor, esteem, respect," Skt. cinoti "observes, notes," Avestan kaena "punishment, vengeance," O.C.S. cena "honor, price," Lith. kaina "value, price"). Penalty is first attested 1512, from M.Fr. penalité, from M.L. poenalitatem (nom. poenalitas), from L. poenalis. The sporting sense is first recorded 1885. Penalize formed in Eng. 1868.
music: mid-13c., from O.Fr. musique (12c.), from L. musica, from Gk. mousike techne "art of the Muses," from fem. of mousikos "pertaining to the Muses," from Mousa "Muse." In classical Greece, any art in which the Muses presided, but especially music. The use of letters to denote music notes is probably at least from ancient Greece, as their numbering system was ill-suited to the job. Natural scales begin at C (not A) because in ancient times the minor mode was more often used than the major one. The natural minor scale begins at A. To face the music "accept the consequences" is from 1850; the exact image is uncertain, one theory ties it to stage performers, another to cavalry horses having to be taught to stay calm while the regimental band plays. To make (beautiful) music with someone "have sexual intercourse" is from 1967. Musicology "the study of the science of music" is from 1909.
hedge: O.E. hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial, from W.Gmc. *khagja (cf. M.Du. hegge, O.H.G. hegga, Ger. Hecke "hedge"), from PIE. *khagh- "to encompass, enclose" (cf. L. caulae "a sheepfold, enclosure," Gaul. caio "circumvallation," Welsh cae "fence, hedge"). Related to O.E. haga "enclosure, hedge" (see haw). Prefixed to any word, it "notes something mean, vile, of the lowest class" [Johnson], from contemptuous attributive sense of "plying one's trade under a hedge" (hedge-priest, hedge-lawyer, hedge-wench, etc.), a usage attested from c.1530. The verb sense of "dodge, evade" is first recorded 1598; that of "insure oneself against loss," as in a bet, is from 1672. Hedgehog is c.1450 (replacing O.E. igl), the second element an allusion to its pig-like snout. Hedgerow is O.E. heggeræw.
rune: O.E. run, rune "secret, mystery, dark mysterious statement," also "a runic letter," from P.Gmc. *runo (cf. O.N. run "a secret, magic sign, runic character," O.H.G. runa "a secret conversation, whisper," Goth. runa), from PIE *ru-no-, source of technical terms of magic in Gmc. and Celtic. The word entered M.E. as roun and by normal evolution would have become Mod.Eng. *rown, but it died out c.1450 when the use of runes did. The modern usage is from 1685, introduced by Ger. philologists from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. rune, from O.N. run). The runic alphabet is believed to have developed by 2c. C.E. from contact with Gk. writing, the alphabet modified to be more easily cut into wood or stone. Cf. also Runnymede. For some notes on the Germanic runes, see this page.
grace: late 12c., "God's favor or help," from O.Fr. grace "pleasing quality, favor, good will, thanks," from L. gratia "pleasing quality, good will, gratitude," from gratus "pleasing, agreeable," from PIE base *gwer- "to praise, welcome" (cf. Skt. grnati "sings, praises, announces," Lith. giriu "to praise, celebrate," Avestan gar- "to praise"). Sense of "virtue" is early 14c., that of "beauty of form or movement, pleasing quality" is mid-14c. In classical sense, "one of the three sister goddesses (L. Gratiæ, Gk. Kharites), bestowers of beauty and charm," it is first recorded in English 1579 in Spenser. The short prayer that is said before or after a meal (early 13c., until 16c. usually graces) is in the sense of "gratitude." Verb meaning "to show favor" (mid-15c.) led to that of "to lend or add grace to something" (1580s, e.g. grace us with your presence), which is the root of the musical sense in grace notes (1650s).
gay: 1178, "full of joy or mirth," from O.Fr. gai "gay, merry" (12c.); cf. O.Sp. gayo, Port. gaio, It. gajo. Ultimate origin disputed; perhaps from Frank. *gahi (cf. O.H.G. wahi "pretty"), though not all etymologists accept this. Meaning "brilliant, showy" is from c.1300. OED gives 1951 as earliest date for slang meaning "homosexual" (adj.), but this is certainly too late; gey cat "homosexual boy" is attested in N. Erskine's 1933 dictionary of "Underworld & Prison Slang;" the term gey cat (gey is a Scot. variant of gay) was used as far back as 1893 in Amer.Eng. for "young hobo," one who is new on the road and usually in the company of an older tramp, with catamite connotations. But Josiah Flynt ["Tramping With Tramps," 1905] defines gay cat as, "An amateur tramp who works when his begging courage fails him." Gey cats also were said to be tramps who offered sexual services to women. The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson ["Wicked Words"] notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto ["20th Century Words"] calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays. The word gay in the 1890s had an overall tinge of promiscuity -- a gay house was a brothel. The suggestion of immorality in the word can be traced back to 1637. Gay as a noun meaning "a (usually male) homosexual" is attested from 1971.
-or: suffix forming nouns of quality, state, or condition, from M.E. -our, from O.Fr. -our (Fr. -eur), from L. -orem (nom. -or), a suffix added to pp. verbal stems. Also in some cases from L. -atorem (nom. -ator). In U.S., via Noah Webster, -or is nearly universal (but not in glamour, curious, generous), while in Britain -our is used in most cases (but with many exceptions: author, error, senator, ancestor, horror etc.). The -our form predominated after c.1300, but Mencken reports that the first three folios of Shakespeare's plays used both spellings indiscriminately and with equal frequency; only in the Fourth Folio of 1685 does -our become consistent. A partial revival of -or on the L. model took place from 16c. (governour began to lose its -u- 16c. and it was gone by 19c.), and also among phonetic spellers in both England and America (John Wesley wrote that -or was "a fashionable impropriety" in England in 1791). In the U.S., Noah Webster criticized the habit of deleting -u- in -our words in his first speller ("A Grammatical Institute of the English Language," commonly called the Blue-Black Speller) in 1783. His own deletion of the -u- began with the revision of 1804, and was enshrined in the influential "Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language" (1806), which also established in the U.S. -ic for British -ick and -er for -re, along with many other attempts at reformed spelling which never caught on (e.g. masheen for machine). His attempt to justify them on the grounds of etymology and the custom of great writers does not hold up. Fowler notes the British drop the -u- when forming adjs. ending in -orous (humorous) and derivatives in -ation and -ize, in which cases the Latin origin is respected (e.g. vaporize). When the Americans began to consistently spell it one way, the British hardened their insistence on the other. "The American abolition of -our in such words as honour and favour has probably retarded rather than quickened English progress in the same direction." [Fowler]
witch: O.E. wicce "female magician, sorceress," in later use esp. "a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their cooperation to perform supernatural acts," fem. of O.E. wicca "sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic," from verb wiccian "to practice witchcraft" (cf. Low Ger. wikken, wicken "to use witchcraft," wikker, wicker "soothsayer"). OED says of uncertain origin. Klein suggests connection with O.E. wigle "divination," and wig, wih "idol." Watkins says the nouns represent a P.Gmc. *wikkjaz "necromancer" (one who wakes the dead), from PIE *weg-yo-, from *weg- "to be strong, be lively." That wicce once had a more specific sense than the later general one of "female magician, sorceress" perhaps is suggested by the presence of other words in O.E. describing more specific kinds of magical craft. In the Laws of Ælfred (c.890), witchcraft was specifically singled out as a woman's craft, whose practitioners were not to be suffered to live among the W. Saxons:
"Ða fæmnan þe gewuniað onfon gealdorcræftigan & scinlæcan & wiccan, ne læt þu ða libban."
The other two words combined with it here are gealdricge, a woman who practices "incantations," and scinlæce "female wizard, woman magician," from a root meaning "phantom, evil spirit." Another word that appears in the Anglo-Saxon laws is lyblæca "wizard, sorcerer," but with suggestions of skill in the use of drugs, since the root of the word is lybb "drug, poison, charm." Lybbestre was a fem. word meaning "sorceress," and lybcorn was the name of a certain medicinal seed (perhaps wild saffron). Weekly notes possible connection to Gothic weihs "holy" and Ger. weihan "consecrate," and writes, "the priests of a suppressed religion naturally become magicians to its successors or opponents." In Anglo-Saxon glossaries, wicca renders L. augur (c.1100), and wicce stands for "pythoness, divinatricem." In the "Three Kings of Cologne" (c.1400) wicca translates Magi:
"Þe paynyms ... cleped þe iij kyngis Magos, þat is to seye wicchis."
The glossary translates L. necromantia ("demonum invocatio") with galdre, wiccecræft. The Anglo-Saxon poem called "Men's Crafts" has wiccræft, which appears to be the same word, and by its context means "skill with horses." In a c.1250 translation of "Exodus," witches is used of the Egyptian midwives who save the newborn sons of the Hebrews: "Ðe wicches hidden hem for-ðan, Biforen pharaun nolden he ben." Witch in ref. to a man survived in dialect into 20c., but the fem. form was so dominant by 1601 that men-witches or he-witch began to be used. Extended sense of "young woman or girl of bewitching aspect or manners" is first recorded 1740. Witch doctor is from 1718; applied to African magicians from 1836.
"At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch,' or 'she is a wise woman.' " [Reginald Scot, "The Discoverie of Witchcraft," 1584]