- plug
- 1627, originally a seamen's term, probably from Du. plug, from M.Du. plugge "bung, stopper," related to Norw. plugg, Dan. pløg, M.L.G. pluck, Ger. pflock, ultimate origin uncertain. Sense of "wad or stick of tobacco" is attested from 1728. Electrical sense is from 1883; meaning "sparking device in an internal combustion engine" is from 1886. The verb meaning "to close tightly (a hole), to fill" is first recorded 1630. Meaning "advertisement" first recorded 1902, perhaps from verb sense "work energetically at" (c.1865). The noun sense of "advertisement" is from 1902, Amer.Eng. The verb meaning "to popularize by repetition" is from 1906. Slang verb sense "to put a bullet into" is recorded from 1870. Plug-ugly "ruffian" is first attested 1856, originally in Baltimore, from plug, Amer.Eng. slang for the stovepipe hats then popular among young men.
- tampion
- 1430, "plug, bung," from M.Fr. tampon, nasalized variant of O.Fr. tapon "piece of cloth to stop a hole" (1382), a suffixed form of Frank. *tappo "stopper, plug," related to O.H.G. zapfo and O.E. tæppa "stopper" (see tap (2)). Meaning "wooden plug for the muzzle of a gun" (to keep out rain or seawater) is recorded from c.1625.
- spark
- O.E. spearca, from P.Gmc. *spark- (cf. M.L.G. sparke, M.Du. spranke, not found in other Gmc. languages). Electrical sense dates from 1748. Slang sense of "a gallant, a beau, a lover" (c.1600) is perhaps a fig. use, but also perhaps from cognate O.N. sparkr "lively." The verb is attested from c.1300; the slang meaning "stimulate, to trigger" first attested 1912. Spark plug first recorded 1903 (sparking plug is from 1902); fig. sense of "one who initiates or is a driving force in some activity" is from 1941.
- taco
- tortilla filled with spiced meat, etc., 1949, from Mexican Sp., "light lunch," lit. "plug, wadding."
- dowel
- early 14c., dule "rim or section of a wheel," perhaps akin to M.L.G. dovel "plug, tap" (of a cask). Modern meaning is first attested 1794.
- stifle
- late 14c., "to choke, suffocate, drown," of uncertain origin, possibly an alteration of O.Fr. estouffer "to stifle, smother," which may be from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. stopfon "to plug up, stuff"). Metaphoric sense is from 1570s.
- payola
- "graft" (especially to disc jockeys from record companies to play their music), 1938 [in a "Variety" headline, "Plug payolas perplexed"], from pay off "bribery" (underworld slang from 1930) + ending from Victrola, etc. (see pianola).
- estop
- 1531, from Anglo-Fr. estopper "to stop, bar, hinder" (esp. in a legal sense, by one's own prior act or declaration), from O.Fr. estoupe, from L. stuppa "tow" (used as a plug); see stop (v.).
- bouche
- Fr., lit. "mouth" (11c.), from L. bucca, lit. "cheek," which in L.L. replaced os (see oral) as the word for "mouth" (cf. It. bocca, Sp. boca). Borrowed in Eng. in various senses, e.g. "king's allowance of food for his retinue" (c.1440); "mouth" (1583); "metal plug for a cannon's vent" (1862; verb in this sense from 1781).
- embolism
- late 14c., "intercalation of days into a calendar," from O.Fr. embolisme, from L.L. embolismus "insertion of days in a calendar to correct errors," from Gk. embolimos, embolme "insertion," or embolos "a plug, wedge." Medical sense of "obstruction of a blood vessel" is first recorded in Eng. 1855.
- spigot
- 1383, "plug used to stop the hole of a cask," probably from O.Fr. *espigot (cf. Gascony dialect espigot "core of a fruit, small ear of grain"), dim. of O.Prov. espiga "ear of grain," from L. spica "ear of grain" (see spike (n.2)). Meaning "valve for controlling the flow of a liquid" is from 1530.
- pirouette
- 1706, from Fr. pirouette, from O.Fr. pirouet "spinning top" (15c.), from Gallo-Romance root *pir- "peg, plug" (cf. It. piruolo "peg top") + dim. suffix -ette.
- tampon
- 1848, from Fr. tampon, from M.Fr. tampon "plug" (see tampion). Tampax, proprietary name registered in U.S. 1932, is based on tampon.
- stuff (n.)
- early 14c., "quilted material worn under chain mail," from O.Fr. estoffe "quilted material, furniture, provisions" (Fr. étoffe), from estoffer "to equip or stock," probably from O.H.G. stopfon "to plug, stuff," or from a related Frankish word (see stop). Sense extended to material for working with in various trades (c.1400), then (1570s) "matter of an unspecified kind." Meaning "narcotic, dope, drug" is attested from 1929. To know (one's) stuff "have a grasp on a subject" is recorded from 1927. stuffy "poorly ventilated" is from 1831; sense of "pompous, smug" is from 1895.
- bite
- O.E. bitan (class I strong verb; past tense bat, pp. biten), from P.Gmc. *bitan (O.Fris. bita, M.Du. biten, Ger. beissen, Goth. beitan), from PIE base *bheid- "to split, crack" (see fissure). Frostbitten is attested from 1552. To bite the bullet is 1700s military slang, from old medical custom of having the patient bite a bullet during an operation to divert attention from pain and reduce screaming. To bite (one's) tongue "refrain from speaking" is 1593. To bite the dust "die" is 1750. To bite off more than one can chew (c.1880) is U.S. slang, from plug tobacco.
- stop (v.)
- O.E. -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), along with M.L.G. stoppen, O.H.G. stopfon (Ger. stopfen) a W.Gmc. borrowing from V.L. *stuppare "to stop or stuff with tow or oakum" (cf. It. stoppare, Fr. étouper "to stop with tow"), from L. stuppa "coarse part of flax, tow." Plugs made of tow were used from ancient times in Rhine valley. Sense of "bring or come to a halt" (1440) is from notion of preventing a flow by blocking a hole, and the word's development in this sense is unique to Eng., though it since has been widely adopted in other languages; perhaps infl. by L. stupere "be stunned, be stupefied." The noun is first recorded 1483. Stopper "glass plug for a bottle neck" is from 1667. Stopgap is from 1684. Stop-watch is from 1737. Stop-and-go (adj.) is from 1926.