Online Etymology Dictionary

quantity: early 14c., from O.Fr. quantite (Fr. quantité), from L. quantitatem (nom. quantitas, coined as a loan-translation of Gk. posotes) "relative greatness or extent," from quantus "how much," from quam "how, how much."
coulomb: 1881, named for Charles de Coulomb (1736-1806), who devised a method of measuring electrical quantity. It is the quantity of electricity conveyed in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere.
roll (n.): early 13c., "rolled-up piece of parchment or paper," from O.Fr. rolle, from M.L. rotulus "a roll of paper," from L. rotula "small wheel," dim. of rota "wheel." Meaning "dough which is rolled before baking" is first recorded 1580s. Meaning "quantity of paper money" is from 1846; sense of "quantity of (rolled) film" is from 1890. Meaning "act of sexual intercourse" is attested from 1942. The military roll-call is from 1775; rollback "reduction" is attested from 1942, Amer.Eng. Roll over "reinvest" is from 1957.
jag (n.): "period of unrestrained activity," 1887, Amer.Eng. from sense "load of hay or wood" (1597), of unknown origin, used in U.S. colloquial speech from 1834 to mean "a quantity, a lot."
mass (1): "lump, quantity, size," c.1400, from O.Fr. masse "lump" (11c.), from L. massa "kneaded dough, lump, that which adheres together like dough," from Gk. maza "barley cake, lump, mass, ball," related to massein "to knead," from PIE base *mag-/*meg- "to knead" (cf. Lith. minkyti "to knead," see macerate). Sense extended 1580s to "a large quantity, amount, or number." Strict sense in physics is from 1704. Mass meeting is first attested 1733 in Amer.Eng. mass culture is from 1939; mass hysteria is from 1934; mass media is from 1923; mass movement is from 1897; mass production is from 1920. Verb meaning "to gather in a mass" is attested from 1560s. Related: Massed.
nip (n.): "small measure of spirits," 1796, shortening of nipperkin (1671) "quantity of liquor of a half pint or less," possibly of Du. or Low Ger. origin and related to nip (v.).
-ery: suffix forming nouns meaning "place for, art of, condition of, quantity of," from M.E. -erie, from L. -arius.
beef (v.): "to complain," slang, 1888, Amer.Eng., from noun meaning "complaint" (1880s). The noun meaning "argument" is recorded from 1930s. The origin and signification are unclear; perhaps it traces to the common late 19c. complaint of U.S. soldiers about the quantity or quality of beef rations.
momentum: 1699, "quantity of motion of a moving body," from L. momentum "movement, moving power" (see moment). Fig. use dates from 1782.
makeweight: 1695, "small quantity of something added to make the total reach a certain weight," from make (v.) + weight.
mole (4): unit of molecular quantity, 1902, from Ger. Mol (1900), short for Molekül (see molecule).
consignment: 1560s, "sealing with a sign," from consign + -ment. Meaning "delivering over" is from 1660s; especially of goods, for the sake of sale or auction, from c.1700. Meaning "quantity of goods so assigned" is recorded from 1720s.
product: c.1430, "mathematical quantity obtained by multiplication," from M.L. productum, from L. "something produced," noun use of neuter pp. of producere "bring forth" (see produce). General sense of "anything produced" is attested in Eng. from 1575.
vector: "quantity having magnitude and direction," 1704, from L. vector "one who carries or conveys, carrier," from pp. stem of vehere "carry, convey" (see vehicle).
quantify: c.1840, as a term in logic, from M.L. quantificare, from L. quantus "how much" + facere "to make" (see factitious). Lit. sense of "determine the quantity of, measure" is from 1878.
quantitative: 1580s, from M.L. quantitativus, from L. quantitas (see quantity).
spate: early 15c., originally Scottish and northern English, "a sudden flood, especially one caused by heavy rains or a snowmelt," of unknown origin. Perhaps from O.Fr. espoit "flood," from Du. spuiten "to flow, spout;" related to spout. Figurative sense of "unusual quantity" is attested from 1610s.
modicum: "small quantity or portion," c.1470, from Scottish, from L. modicum "a little," neut. of modicus "moderate," from modus "measure, manner" (see mode (1)).
X-ray: 1896, translation of Ger. X-strahl, from X, algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity, + Strahl (pl. Strahlen) "beam, ray." Coined 1895 by Ger. scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), who discovered them.
peat: c.1200, in Scottish-L., probably from O.Celt. root *pett- (cf. Cornish peyth, Welsh peth "quantity, part, thing," O.Ir. pet, Breton pez "piece"). The earliest sense is not of the turf but of the cut piece of it.
variable (adj.): late 14c., of persons, from O.Fr. variable, from L. variabilis "changeable," from variare "to change" (see vary). Of weather, seasons, etc., attested from late 15c.; of stars, from 1788. The noun meaning "quantity that can vary in value" first recorded 1816, from the adj.
supply (n.): 1423, "assistance, relief," from supply (v.). Meaning "quantity or amount of something provided" is attested from 1607. In the political economy sense (corollary of demand) it dates from 1776. Supply-side in ref. to economic policy is attested from 1976. Supplies "provisions" is from c.1650.
sample: c.1300, "something which confirms a proposition or statement," from Anglo-Fr. saumple, aphetic of O.Fr. essample, from L. exemplum "a sample" (see example). Meaning "small quantity (of something) from which the general quality (of the whole) may be inferred" (usually in a commercial sense) is recorded from 1428; sense of "specimen for scientific sampling" is from 1878. The verb meaning "to test by taking a sample" is from 1767.
quantum: 1619, "one's share or portion," from L. quantum "how much," neut. sing. of quantus "how great" (see quantity). Introduced in physics by Max Planck, 1900; reinforced by Einstein, 1905. Quantum theory is from 1912; quantum mechanics, 1922; quantum jump is first recorded 1955; quantum leap, 1970.
scarce: c.1300, "restricted in quantity," from O.N.Fr. scars (O.Fr. eschars) from V.L. *escarpsus, from *excarpere "pluck out," from L. excerpere "pluck out" (see excerpt). Phrase to make oneself scarce "go away" first attested 1809 in "Gil Blas." Related: Scarcely.
bath: O.E. bæð "immersing in water, mud, etc.," also "quantity of water, etc., for bathing," from P.Gmc. *batham (cf. O.N. bað, M.Du. bat, Ger. bad), from PIE base *bhe- "to warm" (cf. L. fovere "to foment"). Original sense was of heating, not immersing in water. The city in Somerset, England (O.E. Baðun) was so called from its hot springs.
bushel: early 14c., measure of capacity containing four pecks or eight gallons, from O.Fr. boissel (13c., Mod.Fr. boisseau), probably from boisse, a grain measure based on Gallo-Romance *bostia "handful," from Gaulish *bosta "palm of the hand" (cf. Ir. bass, Bret. boz "the hollow of the hand"). The exact measure varied from place to place and according to commodity, and since late 14c. it has been used loosely to mean "a large quantity or number."
batch: O.E. *bæcce "something baked," from bacan "bake." Batch is to bake as watch is to wake and match ("one of a pair") is to make. Extended 1713 to "any quantity produced at one operation."
abstract (adj.): late 14c., from L. abstractus "drawn away," pp. of abstrahere, from ab(s)- "away" + trahere "draw" (see tract (1)). Meaning "withdrawn or separated from material objects or practical matters" is from 1550s; specifically in ref. to the fine arts, it dates from 1915; abstract expressionism from 1952. The general noun sense of "a smaller quantity containing the virtue or power of a greater" [Johnson] is recorded from 1560s; meaning "summary of a document" is from 1520s. The verb is first recorded 1540s.
engross: c.1300, from O.Fr. en gros "in bulk, in a large quantity, at wholesale," as opposed to en detail. Figurative sense of "absorb the whole attention" is first attested 1709. A parallel engross, meaning "to write (something) in large letters," is from Anglo-Fr. engrosser, from O.Fr. en gros "in large (letters)." Related: Engrossed; engrossing.
unit: 1570, "single number regarded as an undivided whole," alteration of unity on the basis of digit. Popularized in John Dee's Eng. translation of Euclid, to express Gk. monas (Dee says unity formerly was used in this sense). Meaning "single thing regarded as a member of a group" is attested from 1642. Extended sense of "a quantity adopted as a standard of measure" is from 1738. Sense of "group of wards in a hospital" is attested from 1893.
grocer: 1255, "one who buys and sells in gross," from Anglo-Fr. grosser, from M.L. grossarius "wholesaler," lit. "dealer in quantity," from L.L. grossus "coarse (of food), great, gross" (see gross). Sense of "a merchant selling individual items of food" is 16c. Grocery "a grocer's shop" is 1828, Amer.Eng. Self-service groceries were a novelty in 1913 when a Montana, U.S., firm copyrighted the word groceteria (with the ending from cafeteria used in an un-etymological sense) to name them. The term existed through the 1920s.
wee (adj.): "extremely small," c.1450, from earlier noun use in sense of "quantity, amount" (cf. a littel wei "a little thing or amount," c.1300), from O.E. wæge "weight" (see weigh). Adj. use wee bit apparently developed as parallel to such forms as a bit thing "a little thing." Wee hours is attested by 1891, from Scot. wee sma' hours (1787, Burns). Wee folk "faeries" is recorded from 1819. Weeny "tiny, small" is from 1790.
volume: late 14c., "roll of parchment containing writing, large book," from O.Fr. volume, from L. volumen (gen. voluminis) "roll (as of a manuscript), coil, wreath," from volvere "to turn around, roll" (see vulva). Meaning "book forming part of a set" (1520s) is from a sense in French. Generalized sense of "bulk, mass, quantity" (1620s) developed from that of "bulk or size of a book" (1520s), again following the sense evolution in the French version of the word.
smear (v.): O.E. smerian "to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.," from P.Gmc. *smerthan (cf. O.N. smyrva, Dan. smøre, Swed. smörja, Du. smeren, O.H.G. smirwen, Ger. schmieren "to smear"), from PIE *smeru- "grease" (cf. Gk. myron "unguent, balsam," O.Ir. smi(u)r "marrow," O.E. smeoru "fat, grease"). Sense of "assault a public reputation with unsubstantiated charges" is from 1879. Noun meaning "mark or stain left by smearing" is first recorded 1611; sense of "small quantity prepared for microscopic examination" is from 1903.
detail: 1603, from Fr. détail, from O.Fr. detail "small piece or quantity," from detaillier "cut in pieces," from de- "entirely" + taillier "to cut in pieces." Modern sense is from Fr. en détail "piece by piece, item by item" (as opposed to en gros), a commercial term used where we would today use retail. Military sense is 1708, from notion of "distribution in detail of the daily orders first given in general," including assignment of specific duties. The verb is from 1637.
deal (1): from O.E. dæl "part, share, quantity," and its verbal derivative dælan "to divide," from P.Gmc. *dailaz; also found in Balto-Slavic (cf. O.C.S. delu "part," Lith. dalis). Meaning "to distribute cards before a game" is from 1520s; business sense is 1837, originally slang. Meaning "an amount" is from 1560s. New Deal is from F.D. Roosevelt speech of July 1932. Big deal is 1928; ironic use first recorded 1951 in "Catcher in the Rye." To deal with "handle" is attested from mid-15c. Deal breaker is attested by 1975.
measure (v.): c.1300, from O.Fr. mesurer, from L.L. mensurare "to measure," from L. mensura "a measuring, a thing to measure by," from mensus, pp. of metiri "to measure," from PIE *ma-/*me- "measure" (see meter (2)). Replaced O.E. cognate mæð "measure." The noun also is attested from c.1300. Meaning "treatment 'meted out' to someone" is from 1590s; that of "plan or course of action intended to obtain some goal" is from 1690s; sense of "legislative enactment" is from 1759. To measure up "have the necessary abilities" is 1910, Amer.Eng. Phrase for good measure (late 14c.) is lit. "ample in quantity, in goods sold by measure." Related: Measuring.
round (n.): early 14c., "a spherical body," from round (adj.) (cf. Du. rond, Dan., Swed. rund, Ger. runde, all n. from adj.). Meaning "large round piece of beef" is recorded from 1650s. Theatrical sense (in phrase in the round) is recorded from 1944. Sense of "circuit performed by a sentinel" is from 1598; that of "recurring course of time" is from 1710. Meaning "song sung by two or more, beginning at different times" is from 1520s. Golfing sense attested from 1775. Meaning "quantity of liquor served to a company at one time" is from 1630s; that of "single bout in a fight or boxing match" is from 1812; "single discharge of a firearm" is from 1725. Sense of "recurring session of meetings or negotiations" is from 1964.
X: most Eng. words beginning in -x- are of Gk. origin or modern commercial coinages. E. Anglian in 14c. showed a tendency to use -x- for initial sh-, sch- (cf. xal for shall), which didn't catch on but seems an improvement over the current system. As a symbol of a kiss on a letter, etc., it is recorded from 1765. In malt liquor, XX denoted "double quality" and XXX "strongest quality" (1827). Algebraic meaning "unknown quantity" (1660 in Eng.), sometimes said to be from medieval use, originally a crossed -r-, probably from L. radix (see root). Other theories trace it to Arabic, but a more prosaic explanation says Descartes (1637) took x, y, z, the last three letters of the alphabet, for unknowns to correspond to a, b, c, used for known quantities. Used allusively for "unknown person" from 1797, "something unknown" since 1859. As a type of chromosome, attested from 1902. First used 1950 in Britain to designate "films deemed suitable for adults only;" adopted in U.S. Nov. 1, 1968.
sum: late 13c., "quantity or amount of money," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. summe (13c.), from L. summa "total number, whole, essence, gist," noun use of fem. of summus "highest," from PIE *sup-mos-, from base *uper "over" (see super-). The sense development from "highest" to "total number" is probably via the Roman custom of adding up a stack of figures from the bottom and writing the sum at the top, rather than at the bottom as we do now (cf. the bottom line). Meaning "total number of anything" is recorded from late 14c. Meaning "essence of a writing or speech" also is attested from late 14c. The verb is attested from c.1300; meaning "briefly state the substance of" (now usually with up) is first recorded 1621. Sum-total is attested from c.1395, from M.L. summa totalis.
number: c.1300, "sum, aggregate of a collection," from Anglo-Fr. noumbre, from O.Fr. nombre, from L. numerus "a number, quantity," from PIE base *nem- "to divide, distribute, allot" (related to Gk. nemein "to deal out;" see nemesis). Meaning "symbol or figure of arithmatic value" is from c.1391. The meaning "musical selection" is from vaudeville theater programs, where acts were marked by a number. The verb meaning "to count" is from c.1300. Number one "oneself" is from 1704 (mock-It. form numero uno attested from 1973); the biblical Book of Numbers (c.1400, L. Numeri, Gk. Arithmoi) so called because it begins with a census of the Israelites. No., "abbreviation for 'number,' " is from It. numero. Slang number one and number two for "urinate" and "defecate" attested from 1902. Number cruncher is 1966, of machines; 1971, of persons. To get or have (someone's) number "have someone figured out" is attested from 1853. The numbers "illegal lottery" is from 1897, Amer.Eng.