Online Etymology Dictionary

spacy: 1885, "large, roomy, spacious," from space (n.). Meaning "felt as characteristic of outer space" (esp. with ref. to electronic music) is attested from 1971, probably infl. by spaced-out (1965, Amer.Eng. slang), an allusion to the behavior of people using hallucinogenic drugs (see space (v.)).
outer: late 14c., comparative of out (on analogy of inner), replacing by 18c. forms descended from O.E. uttera (comp. of O.E. ut "out") which developed into utter and was no longer felt as connected with out. Outer space first attested 1901 in writings of H.G. Wells.
space (v.): 1703, "to arrange at set intervals," from space (n.). Meaning "to be in a state of drug-induced euphoria" is recorded from 1968. Space cadet "eccentric person disconnected with reality" (often implying an intimacy with hallucinogenic drugs) is a 1960s phrase, probably traceable to 1950s U.S. sci-fi television program "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," which was watched by many children who dreamed of growing up to be one and succeeded.
aerospace: 1958, Amer.Eng., from aero- "atmosphere" + (outer) space.
spandrel: 1477, "triangular space between the outer curves of an arch," apparently a diminutive of Anglo-Fr. spaundre (1395), perhaps aphetic of espandre "to expand, extend," from L. expandre (see expand).
NASA: U.S. space agency, acronym of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, set up in 1958.
space (n.): c.1300, "an area, extent, expanse, lapse of time," aphetic of O.Fr. espace, from L. spatium "room, area, distance, stretch of time," of unknown origin. Astronomical sense of "stellar depths" is first recorded 1667 in "Paradise Lost."
"Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards." [Sir Fred Hoyle, "London Observer," 1979]
Typographical sense is attested from 1676 (typewriter space bar is from 1888). Space age is attested from 1946; spacewalk is from 1965. Many compounds first appeared in science fiction and speculative writing, e.g. spaceship (1894, "Journey in Other Worlds"); spacesuit (1920); spacecraft (1930, "Scientific American"); space travel (1931); space station (1936, "Rockets Through Space"); spaceman (1942, "Thrilling Wonder Stories;" earlier it meant "journalist paid by the length of his copy," 1892). Spacious is attested from 1382.
room: O.E. rum "space," from P.Gmc. *ruman (cf. O.N., O.S., O.H.G., Goth. rum, Ger. Raum "space," Du. ruim "hold of a ship, nave"), nouns formed from Gmc. adj. *ruma- "roomy, spacious," perhaps from a PIE base *rew- "wide, open" (cf. Avestan ravah- "space," L. rus "open country," O.Ir. roi, roe "plain field"). Original sense preserved in make room "clear space for oneself" (1375); meaning "chamber, cabin" first recorded 1312 as a nautical term, and first applied 1457 to chambers within houses. The O.E. word for this was cofa, ancestor of cove. The verb meaning "to occupy rooms" (especially with another) as a lodger" is first recorded 1828. Room-service is attested from 1930; room-temperature from 1924. Adj. roomy is attested from 1627. Roommate is first attested 1789, Amer.Eng. (short form roomie is from 1918). Roomth "sufficient space" (1540) now is obsolete.
hyperspace: "space of more than three dimensions," 1867, from hyper- + space (n.). A hybrid; correctly formed it would be superspace.
vacuity: 1541, "hollow space," from L. vacuitas "empty space, vacancy, freedom," from vacuus "empty" (see vacuum). Meaning "vacancy of mind or thought" is attested from 1594.
utter (adj.): "complete, total," O.E. utera, uterra, "outer," comparative adj. formed from ut (see out), from P.Gmc. *utizon (cf. O.N. utar, O.Fris. uttra, M.Du. utere, Du. uiter-, O.H.G. uzar, Ger. äußer "outer"), a comparative adj. from the base of out. Uttermost, attested from c.1300, is more recent than utmost; M.E. also had uttermore (late 14c.), now, alas, no loger with us. Utterly (early 13c.) originally meant "sincerely, outspokenly" (cf. utter (v.)).
plenum: 1678, "filled space" (opposite of vacuum), from L. plenum (spatium) "full (space)," neuter of plenus "complete, full" (see plenary). The meaning "of a full assembly of legislators" is first recorded 1772.
area: 1530s, "vacant piece of ground," from L. area "level ground, open space," of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to arere "to become dry," on notion of a burned clearing or dry, bare space. The generic sense of "amount of surface (whether open or not) contained within any set of limits" is from 1845. Area code in N.Amer. telephone systems is attested from 1961.
proscenium: 1606, "stage of an ancient theater," from L. proscaenium, from Gk. proskenion "the space in front of the scenery," also "entrance of a tent," from pro "in front" + skene "stage, tent, booth." Modern sense of "space between the curtain and the orchestra" is attested from 1807.
anchorite: mid-15c., "hermit (especially those of the Eastern deserts), recluse, one who withdraws from the world for religious reasons," from M.L. anchorita, from Gk. anakhoretes, lit. "one who has retired," agent noun from anakhorein "to retreat, go back, retire," from ana- "back" + khorein "withdraw, give place," from khoros "place, space, free space, room."
glade: "clear, open space in a woods," 1529, perhaps from M.E. glode (c.1300), from O.N. glaðr "bright" (see glad). Original meaning would be "bright (because open) space in a wood" (cf. Fr. clairière "glade," from clair "clear, bright;" Ger. Lichtung "clearing, glade," from Licht "light"). Amer.Eng. sense of "marshy grassland" (e.g. Everglades) first recorded c.1796.
place (n.): O.E. "open space in a city, market place, square," from O.Fr. place, from M.L. placea "place, spot," from L. platea "courtyard, open space, broad street," from Gk. plateia (hodos) "broad (way)," fem. of platys "broad," from PIE *plat- "to spread" (cf. Skt. prathati "spreads out;" Hitt. palhi "broad;" Lith. platus "broad;" Ger. Fladen "flat cake;" O.Ir. lethan "broad"); extended variant form of base *pele- (see plane (1)). Replaced O.E. stow and stede. Wide application in English, covering meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu, and endroit. Cognate It. piazza and Sp. plaza retain more of the etymological sense. Broad sense of "material space, dimension of defined or indefinite extent" is from mid-13c. Sense of "position on some social scale" is from early 14c. Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s. Place-kick is from 1845, originally in rugby. Placement is first attested 1844. All over the place "in disorder" is attested from 1923.
Skylab: U.S. space program, first attested 1970, launched 1973, fell to earth 1979.
margin: mid-14c., "space between a block of text and the edge of a page," from L. margo (gen. marginis) "edge," from PIE *mereg- "edge, boundary" (see mark (1)). General sense of "boundary space" is from late 14c. Meaning "comfort allowance, cushion" is from 1851; margin of safety first recorded 1888. Stock market sense of "sum deposited with a broker to cover risk of loss" is from 1848. Marginal (1570s) originally meant "written on the margin," from M.L. marginalis, from L. margo; sense of "of little effect or importance" first recorded 1887.
vacuum: 1550, "emptiness of space," from L. vacuum "an empty space, void," noun use of neuter of vacuus "empty," related to vacare "be empty" (see vain). Properly a loan-translation of Gk. xenon, lit. "that which is empty." Meaning "a place emptied of air" is attested from 1652. Vacuum tube is attested from 1859. Vacuum cleaner is from 1903; shortened form vacuum (n.) first recorded 1910. The verb meaning "to clean with a vacuum cleaner" is recorded from 1922.
rural: 1412, from O.Fr. rural (14c.), from L. ruralis "of the countryside," from rus (gen. ruris) "open land, country," from PIE *rur- "open space" (cf. O.C.S. ravinu "level," O.Ir. roi, roe "plain field," O.E. rum "space;" see room).
"In early examples, there is usually little or no difference between the meanings of rural and rustic, but in later use the tendency is to employ rural when the idea of locality (country scenes, etc.) is prominent, and rustic when there is a suggestion of the more primitive qualities or manners naturally attaching to country life." [OED]
meteoroid: "rock floating in space, which becomes a meteor when it enters Earth's atmosphere," formed in Eng. 1865.
barbican: "outer fortification of a city or castle," c.1300, from O.Fr. barbacane (12c.), a general Romanic word, perhaps ultimately from Arabic or Persian (cf. bab-khanah "gate-house").
Alhambra: palace of the Moorish kings in Granada, Sp., from Arabic (al kal'at) al hamra "the red (castle)," from fem. of ahmuru "red." So called for the sun-dried bricks of which its outer walls were built.
mace (2): "spice made from dry outer husk of nutmeg," late 14c., from O.Fr. macis (in Eng. taken as a plural), sometimes said to be a scribal error for L. macir, a red spicy bark from India, but OED finds this etymology unlikely.
Star Wars: name of a popular science fiction film released in 1977; also the informal name for a space-based missile defense system proposed in 1983 by U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
outskirt: "outer border," 1596, from out + skirt (q.v.). Now only in plural. Originally in Spenser.
mackintosh: "waterproof outer coat," 1836, named for Charles Macintosh (1766-1843), inventor of a waterproofing process (patent #4804, June 17, 1823). The surname is from Gael. Mac an toisich "Son of the chieftain."
calyx: 1686, from L., from Gk., "outer covering" (of a fruit, flower bud, etc.), from root of kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see cell). The proper plural is calyces.
while (n.): O.E. hwile, acc. of hwil "a space of time," from P.Gmc. *khwilo (cf. O.S. hwil, O.Fris. hwile, O.H.G. hwila, Ger. Weile, Goth. hveila "space of time, while"), originally "rest" (cf. O.N. hvila "bed," hvild "rest"), from PIE *qwi- "rest" (cf. Avestan shaitish "joy," O.Pers. šiyatish "joy," L. quies "rest, repose, quiet," O.C.S. po-koji "rest"). Notion of "period of rest" became in Gmc. "period of time." Now largely superseded by time except in formulaic constructions (e.g. all the while). M.E. sense of "time spent in doing something" now only preserved in worthwhile and phrases such as worth (one's) while. As a conjunction (late O.E.), it represents O.E. þa hwile þe; form whiles is recorded from c.1220; whilst is from c.1375, with excrescent -st as in amongst, amidst (see amid).
coat: c.1300, "outer garment," from O.Fr. cote, from Frank. *kotta "coarse cloth," of unknown origin. Transferred to animal's natural covering c.1390. Extended 1663 to a layer of any substance covering any surface.
exurb: 1955, Amer.Eng., from L. ex- + urb "city," on model of suburb. The outer, prosperous ring of the suburbs.
jumper: 1853, apparently from 17c. jump "short coat," also "woman's under bodice," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Fr. jupe "skirt," which is ult. from Ar. jubbah "loose outer garment." Meaning "sleeveless dress worn over a blouse" first recorded Amer.Eng. 1939.
chorion: "outer membrane of the fetus," 1540s, from Gk. khorion "membrane enclosing the fetus, afterbirth," perhaps from PIE *ghere- "gut, entrail."
fringe: 1354, from O.Fr. frenge (1316), from V.L. *frimbia, metathesis of L. fimbriæ (pl.) "fibers, threads, fringe," of uncertain origin. Figurative sense of "outer edge, margin," is first recorded 1894.
husk: 1392, huske "dry, outer skin of certain fruits and seeds," perhaps from M.Du. huuskyn "little house, core of fruit, case," dim. of huus "house."
counterpane: "outer covering of a bed," 1459, alteration of counterpoint (q.v.) on model of M.Fr. pan, L. pannus "cloth" (see pane).
clearance: 1560s, "action of clearing," from clear (q.v.). Meaning "approval, permission" (esp. to land or take off an aircraft) is from 1944, Amer.Eng.; national security sense recorded from 1948; meaning "a clear space" is from 1788.
quilt (n.): c.1300, "mattress with soft lining," from Anglo-Fr. quilte, O.Fr. cuilte "quilt, mattress" (12c.), from L. culcita "mattress," of unknown origin. Sense of "thick outer bed covering" is first recorded 1596. The verb is 1555, from the noun.
lebensraum: "territory needed for a nation's or people's natural development," 1905, from Ger. gen. of leben "life" + raum "space."
chifferobe: "article of furniture having both drawers and space for hanging clothes," c.1917, from merger of chiffonier + wardrobe.
robe (n.): late 13c., from O.Fr. robe "long, loose outer garment," originally "plunder, booty," from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. rouba "vestments," presumably those taken from the enemy as spoils), from W.Gmc. *rauba, the stem that also yielded rob (v.). The verb is recorded from late 14c. Metonymic sense of "the legal profession" is attested from 1640s.
dura mater: "tough outer membrane surrounding the brain," c.1400, from M.L. dura mater cerebri, lit. "hard mother of the brain," a loan-transl. of Ar. umm al-dimagh as-safiqa, lit. "thick mother of the brain." "In Arabic, the words 'father,' 'mother,' and 'son' are often used to denote relationships between things" [Klein].
fibula: 1706, from L. fibula "clasp, brooch," used in reference to the outer leg bone as a loan-translation of Gk. perone "bone in the lower leg," originally "clasp, brooch;" the bone was so called because it resembles a clasp like a modern safety pin.
shim: "a slip of wood," 1723, a Kentish word, of unknown origin. Originally a piece of iron fitted to a plow for scraping soil; meaning "thin slip to fill up a space or raise a level" is from 1860. The verb meaning "to wedge up a surface by means of a shim" is attested from 1937.
gabardine: "fine worsted cloth," 1904, earlier gaberdine "long, coarse outer garment" (1520), from Sp. gabardina, from M.Fr. galverdine, which is perhaps from M.H.G. wallevart "pilgrimage," in the sense of "pilgrim's cloak." The Sp. form perhaps infl. by gabán "overcoat" and tabardina "coarse coat."
opening: "action of open (v.)," late 12c. Meaning "vacant space, hole" is attested from early 13c. Sense of "action of beginning (something)" is from 1712; meaning "first performance of a play" is 1855; "start of an art exhibit" is from 1905. Sense of "opportunity, chance" is from 1793.
outside: 1505 (n.), "outer side," from out + side (q.v.). The adj. is attested from 1634; the prep. from 1826; the adv. from 1813. Outsider is first attested 1800; fig. sense of "a person isolated from conventional society" is first recorded 1907. The sense of race horses "outside" the favorites is from 1836; hence outside chance (1909).
bail (n.2): "horizontal piece of wood in a cricket wicket," c.1742, originally "any cross bar" (1570s), probably identical with M.Fr. bail "horizontal piece of wood affixed on two stakes," and with English bail "palisade wall, outer wall of a castle" (see bailey).
single (n.): 1486, "the middle or outer claw on the foot of a hawk or falcon," from single (adj.). Given various technical meanings from 16c. Sports sense is attested from 1851 (cricket), 1858 (baseball). Meaning "phonograph record with one song on each side" is from 1949. Meaning "unmarried person" is from 1964; singles bar attested from 1969. An earlier word for "unmarried or unattached person" is singleton (1937).