Online Etymology Dictionary

saint: early 12c., from O.Fr. seinte, altering O.E. sanct, both from L. sanctus "holy, consecrated" (used as a noun in L.L.), prop. pp. of sancire "consecrate" (see sacred). Adopted into most Gmc. languages (cf. O.Fris. sankt, Du. sint, Ger. Sanct). Originally an adj. prefixed to the name of a canonized person; by c.1300 it came to be regarded as a noun.
"Saint - A dead sinner revised and edited. The Duchess of Orleans relates that the irreverent old calumniator, Marshal Villeroi, who in his youth had known St. Francis de Sales, said, on hearing him called saint: 'I am delighted to hear that Monsieur de Sales is a saint. He was fond of saying indelicate things, and used to cheat at cards. In other respects he was a perfect gentleman, though a fool.' " [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]
Meaning "person of extraordinary holiness" is recorded from 1563. The verb meaning "to enroll (someone) among the saints" is attested from late 14c. Applied widely to living things, diseases, objects and phenomena, e.g. Saint Bernard, the breed of mastiff dogs (1839), so called because they were used by the monks of the hospice of the pass of St. Bernard (between Italy and Switzerland) to rescue snowbound travelers; St. Elmo's Fire "corposant" (1560s) is from It. fuoco di Sant'Elmo, named for the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors, a corruption of the name of St. Erasmus, an Italian bishop martyred in 303.
Santa Claus: 1773 (as St. A Claus, in "New York Gazette"), Amer.Eng., from dialectal Du. Sante Klaas, from M.Du. Sinter Niklaas "Saint Nicholas," bishop of Asia Minor who became a patron saint for children. Now a worldwide phenomenon (e.g. Japanese santakurosu).
Toussaint: from Fr., lit. "feast of All Saints" (Nov. 1), from tous, pl. of tout "all" + saint "saint."
sangrail: "the Holy Grail," c.1450, from O.Fr. Saint Graal, lit. "Holy Grail" (see saint + grail).
Nevin: surname and masc. proper name, from Ir./Gael. Naomhin "little saint."
Alan: masc. proper name, 1066, from O.Bret. Alan, name of a popular Welsh and Breton saint; brought to England by the large contingent of Bretons who fought alongside William the Conqueror.
Jacobin: early 14c., of the order of Dominican friars whose order built its first convent near the church of Saint-Jacques in Paris. The Revolutionary extremists took up quarters there 1789. Used generically of radicals and reformers since 1793.
Sanctus: late 14c., from L., initial word of the "angelic hymn" (Isa. vi:3), concluding the preface of the Eucharist, lit. "holy" (see saint). It renders Heb. qadhosh in the hymn.
Elmo: of St. Elmo's Fire, probably from Gk. elene "torch," via an apocryphal saint.
bedlam: "scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital 1330 and as a lunatic hospital 1402; converted to a state lunatic asylum on dissolution of the monasteries in 1547.
siddha: in Indian religion, "one who has attained perfection and bliss," 1846, from Skt. siddhah "accomplished, achieved, successful, possessing supernatural power, sorcerer, saint," related to sidhyati "reaches his goal, succeeds," sadhuh "right, skilled, excellent, a holy man."
Vitus: from Svanto-vit, name of a Slavic god worshipped with ecstatic dances on the Baltic island of Rügen, transferred by Christian missionaries to Saint Vitus. The It. form of the name is Guido.
Jain: 1805, from Hindi Jaina, from Skt. jinah "saint," lit. "overcomer," from base ji "to conquer," related to jayah "victory." The sect dates from 6c. B.C.E.
Isidore: masc. proper name, from Fr., from L. Isidorus, from Gk. Isidoros, lit. "gift of Isis," from doron "gift." St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville (600-636) wrote important historical and ecclesiastical works and in 2001 was named patron saint of computers, computer users, and the Internet.
birthday: O.E. byrddæg, "anniversary celebration of someone's birth" (usually a king or saint at first), from birth + day. Meaning "day on which one is born" is from 1570s. Birthnight is attested from 1620s.
sanctity: c.1394, from O.Fr. sanctité, from L. sanctitatem (nom. sanctitas) "holiness, sacredness," from sanctus "holy" (see saint).
Barbara: fem. proper name, from L., fem. of barbarus "strange, foreign, barbarous," from Gk. barbaros (see barbarian). For women, unlike men, the concept of "alien" presumably could be felt as "exotic" and thus make an appealing name. Popularized as a Christian name by the legend of Saint Barbara, early 4c. martyr, whose cult was popular from 7c. The common M.E. form was Barbary. A top 10 name in popularity for girls born in the U.S. between 1927 and 1958.
Agnes: fem. proper name, 1160, from O.Fr., from Gk. Hagne "pure, chaste," from fem. of hagnos "holy." St. Agnes, martyred 303 C.E., is patron saint of young girls, hence the folk connection of St. Agnes' Eve (Jan. 20-21) with love divinations. In M.E., frequently as Annis, Annys. In U.S., among the top 50 names for girls born between 1887 and 1919.
socialist: 1827, from Fr. socialiste, in reference to the teachings of Comte de Saint-Simon, founder of French socialism. The word begins to be used in French in the modern sense c.1835. Socialista, with a different sense, was applied 18c. to followers and pupils of Dutch jurist Grotius (1583-1645).
"Prison is a Socialist's Paradise, where equality prevails, everything is supplied and competition is eliminated." [Elbert Hubbard, "The Note Book," 1927]
socialism: 1832, from Fr. socialisme or from social + -ism. Cf. socialist. Apparently first in reference to Robert Owen's communes. "Pierre Leroux (1797-1871), idealistic social reformer and Saint-Simonian publicist, expressly claims to be the originator of the word socialisme" [Klein]. The word begins to be used in French in the modern sense c.1835.
Georgia: the U.S. state was named for King George II of Great Britain. The Caucasian nation is so-called for St. George, who is its patron saint (his cult there may continue that of a pre-Christian deity with whom he was later identified), but the name also is said to derive from Arabic or Pers. Kurj, or Gurz (the form in the earliest sources), said to be a name of the native people, of unknown origin. In modern Georgia, the name of the country is Sakartvelo and the people's name is Kartveli.
Catherine: fem. proper name, from M.L. Katerina, from Gk. Aikaterina. The -h- was introduced 16c., a folk etymology from Gk. katheros "pure." The initial Gk. vowel is preserved in Russian form Ekaterina. As the name of a type of pear, attested from 1641. Catherine wheel (early 13c.) is named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, legendary virgin martyr from the time of Maximinus. Her name day is Nov. 25. A popular saint in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the popularity of the given name.
Nicholas: masc. proper name, from Gk. Nikholaos, lit. "victory-people," from nike "victory" + laos "people." The saint (obit. 326 C.E.) was a bishop of Myra in Lycia, patron of scholars, especially schoolboys. A popular given name in England in Middle Ages, as was the fem. form Nicolaa, corresponding to Fr. Nicole. Colloquial Old Nick "the devil" is attested from 1643, evidently from the proper name, but for no certain reason.
Hilary: masc. proper name, from L.L. Hilarius, lit. "cheerful," from L. hilaris (see hilarity). The name was more popular in France than in England. The woman's name (M.E. Hillaria) seems to be merged from Eulalia, name of the patron saint of Barcelona, a Latinization of Gk. eulalos "sweetly speaking." The Hilary sessions of British High Court and universities (1577) are from St. Hilarius, Bishop of Poitiers, obit. C.E. 368, whose feast day is Jan. 13.
sanctimonious: c.1600 (in "Measure for Measure," with the disparaging sense), from sanctimony "holiness of life and character" (1530s), from M.Fr. sanctimonie, from L. sanctimonia "holiness, virtuousness," from sanctus "holy" (see saint). The un-ironic, literal sense was used occasionally in English from c.1600 to c.1800. Related: Sanctimoniously.
sepulcher: c.1200, "tomb, burial place," esp. the cave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem (Holy Sepulcher or Saint Sepulcher), from O.Fr. sepulcre (11c.), from L. sepulcrum "grave, tomb," from root of sepelire "to bury," originally "to perform rituals on a corpse" (cf. Skt. saparyati "honors"). No reason for the -ch- spelling. Sepulchral "gloomy" is from 1711.
Andrew: masc. proper name, from O.Fr. Andreu (Fr. André, from L. Andreas, from Gk. Andreas, from andreios "manly," from aner (gen. andros) "man" (see anthropo-). Andrew Millar (1590s) for some forgotten reason became Eng. naval slang for "government authority," and especially "the Royal Navy." St. Andrew (feast day Nov. 30) has long been regarded as patron saint of Scotland.
Tammany: synonymous with "Democratic Party in New York City," hence, late 19c., proverbial for "political and municipal corruption," from Tammany Hall, on 14th Street, headquarters of a social club incorporated 1789, named for Delaware Indian chief Tamanen, who sold land to William Penn in 1683 and '97. Around the time of the American Revolution he was popularly canonized as St. Tammany and taken as the "patron saint" of Pennsylvania and neighboring colonies, sometimes of the whole of America. He was assigned a feast day (May 1 Old Style, May 12 New Style) which was celebrated with festivities that raised money for charity, hence the easy transfer of the name to what was, at first, a benevolent association.
sanction (n.): 1563, "confirmation or enactment of a law," from L. sanctionem (nom. sanctio) "act of decreeing or ordaining," also "decree, ordinance," from sanctus, pp. of sancire "to decree, confirm, ratify, make sacred" (see saint). Originally especially of ecclesiastical decrees. The verb sense of "to permit authoritatively" is from 1797. Sanctions, in international diplomacy, first recorded 1919, from sanction (n.) in the sense of "part or clause of a law which spells out the penalty for breaking it" (1651).
sanctify: late 14c., seintefie "to consecrate," from O.Fr. saintifier (12c.), from L.L. sanctificare "to make holy," from sanctus "holy" (see saint) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Form altered to conform with Latin. Meaning "to render holy or legitimate by religious sanction" is from c.1400; transfered sense of "to render worthy of respect" is from c.1600.
pantaloons: 1661, "kind of tights" (originally a Fr. fashion and execrated as such by late 17c. Eng. writers), associated with Pantaloun (1590), silly old man character in It. comedy who wore tight trousers over his skinny legs, from It. Pantalone, originally San Pantaleone, Christian martyr, a popular saint in Venice (Pantaleone in the comedies represents the Venetian). The name is of Gk. origin and means "all-compassionate." Applied to tight long trousers (replacing knee-breeches) by 1798; pants is a shortened form first recorded 1840.
patron: "a lord-master, a protector," c.1300, from O.Fr. patrun (12c.), from M.L. patronus "patron saint, bestower of a benefice, lord, master, model, pattern," from L. patronus "defender, protector, advocate," from pater (gen. patris) "father." Meaning "one who advances the cause" (of an artist, institution, etc.), usually by the person's wealth and power, is attested from late 14c.; "commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery" [Johnson]. Commercial sense of "regular customer" first recorded c.1600.
Indian summer: "spell of warm weather after the first frost," first recorded 1778, Amer.Eng., perhaps so called because it was first noted in regions inhabited by Indians, or because the Indians first described it to the Europeans. No evidence connects it with the color of fall leaves or a season of Indian attacks on settlements. It is the Amer.Eng. version of British All-Hallows summer, Fr. été de la Saint-Martin (feast day Nov. 11), etc. Also colloquial was St. Luke's summer (or little summer), period of warm weather occurring about St. Luke's day (Oct. 18).
Anthony: masc. proper name, from L. Antonius, name of a Roman gens (with excrescent -h- probably suggested by many Gk. loan words beginning anth-, e.g. anthros "flower," anthropos "man"); St. Anthony (4c.), Egyptian hermit, patron saint of swineherds, to whom one of each litter was usually vowed, hence Anthony for "smallest pig of the litter (1660s; in condensed form tantony pig from 1590s). St. Anthony's Fire (1520s), popular name for erysipelas, is so called from the tradition that those who sought his intercession recovered from that distemper during a fatal epidemic in 1089.
sanctum: 1577, from L. sanctum "a holy place," as in L.L. sanctum sanctorum "holy of holies" (from Gk. to hagion ton hagion, from Heb. qodesh haqqodashim), from neut. of sanctus "holy" (see saint). In Eng., sanctum sanctorum attested from c.1400; sense of "a person's private retreat" is from 1706.
confessor: late O.E., "one who avows his religion," especially in the face of danger, but does not suffer martyrdom, from L. confessor, agent noun from confiteri (see confess). Meaning "one who hears confessions" is from 1340; this properly would be L. confessarius, but L. confessor was being used in this sense from the 9th century. Edward the Confessor (c.1003-1066, canonized 1161), last Anglo-Saxon king, was pious enough but does not seem to fit his title; perhaps so called to distinguish him from another Anglo-Saxon saint/king, Edward the Martyr, who does.
pray: late 13c., "ask earnestly, beg," also "pray to a god or saint," from O.Fr. preier (c.900), from L. precari "ask earnestly, beg," from *prex (plural preces, gen. precis) "prayer, request, entreaty," from PIE base *prek- "to ask, request, entreat" (cf. Skt. prasna-, Avestan frashna- "question;" O.C.S. prositi, Lith. prasyti "to ask, beg;" O.H.G. frahen, Ger. fragen, O.E. fricgan "to ask" a question).
grail: early 14c., from O.Fr. graal "cup," earlier "flat dish," from M.L. gradalis "a flat dish or shallow vessel," perhaps ult. from L. crater "bowl," from Gk. krater "bowl, especially for mixing wine with water." Holy Grail is M.E. Sangreal (Saint graal), grafted awkwardly onto the Celtic Arthurian legends 12c. by Church scribes in place of some pagan Otherworldly object. It was said to be the cup into which Joseph of Arimathea received the last drops of blood of Christ (according to the writers who picked up the thread of Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval") or the dish from which Christ ate the Last Supper (Robert de Boron), and was ultimately identified as both (e.g. "þe dische wiþ þe blode," 14c.).
sanctuary: c.1340, "building set apart for holy worship," from Anglo-Fr. sentuarie, from O.Fr. sainctuarie, from L.L. sanctuarium "a sacred place, shrine" (especially the Hebrew Holy of Holies; see sanctum), also "a private room," from L. sanctus "holy" (see saint). By medieval Church law, fugitives or debtors enjoyed immunity from arrest in churches, hence transf. sense of "immunity from punishment" (c.1380). General (non-ecclesiastical) sense of "place of refuge or protection" is attested from 1568; as "land set aside for wild plants or animals to breed and live" it is recorded from 1879. Under English law, one claiming the right of sanctuary had 40 days to confess and accept permanent banishment. This was abolished in Britain 1625 in criminal cases, 1696, 1722 in civil cases.
Monday: O.E. monandæg "day of the moon," from mona (gen. monan) + dæg (see day). Common Gmc. (cf. O.N. manandagr, O.Fris. monendei, Ger. Montag) loan-translation of L.L. Lunæ dies, source of the day name in Romance languages (cf. Fr. lundi, It. lunedi, Sp. lunes), itself a loan-translation of Gk. selenes hemera. The name for this day in Slavic tongues generally means "day after Sunday." Phrase Monday morning quarterback is attested from 1932, Monday being the first day back at work after the weekend, when school and college football games were played. Black Monday (1359) is the Monday after Easter day, though how it got its reputation for bad luck is a mystery. Saint Monday (1753) was "used with reference to the practice among workmen of being idle Monday, as a consequence of drunkenness on the Sunday" before [OED]. Clergymen, meanwhile, when indisposed complained of feeling Mondayish (1804) in ref. to effects of Sunday's labors.
Veronica: fem. proper name, a variant of Gk. Berenike (see Berenice). The popular "Saint Veronica" (not in the Roman Martyrology) traditionally was a pious woman who wiped the face of Christ when he fell carrying the cross to Calvary. The image of his face remained on the cloth, and the "veil of Veronica" has been preserved in Rome from the 8c. Her popularity rose with the propagation of the Stations of the Cross. Some also identified her with the woman with the issue of blood, cured by Christ, as in the East this woman was identified from an early date by the name Berenike.
"In sum, it seems likely that the story of Veronica is a delightful legend without any solid historical basis; that Veronica is a purely fictitious, not a historical character, and that the story was invented to explain the relic. It aroused great interest in the later Middle Ages in the general devotional context of increased concern with the humanity of Christ, especially the Holy Face, and the physical elements of his Passion." [David Hugh Farmer, "The Oxford Dictionary of Saints," 1978]
Hence vernicle (mid-14c.) "picture of the face of Christ," from O.Fr. veronicle, var. of veronique.
Peter: masc. proper name, from L. Petrus, from Gk. Petros, lit. "stone, rock," translation of Syriac kefa "stone" (Cephas), nickname Jesus gave to apostle Simon Bar-Jona (Matt. xvi:17), historically known as St. Peter, and consequently a popular name among Christians (e.g. It. Pietro, Sp. Pedro, O.Fr. Pierres, Fr. Pierre, etc.). The common form of this very common name in medieval England was Peres (Anglo-Fr. Piers), hence surnames Pierce, Pearson, etc. Among the dim. forms were Parkin and Perkin. Petronilla, fem. dim. of L. Petronius, "was the name of a saint much-invoked against fevers and regarded as a daughter of St. Peter. The name was accordingly regarded to be a derivative of Peter and became one of the most popular of girls' names, the vernacular Parnell being still used as a proper name as late as the 18th century in Cornwall" [Reaney]. Slang for "penis" is attested from 1902, probably from identity of first syllable. For Pete's sake is attested from 1924, probably a euphemistic use of the disciple's name in place of Christ; as an exclamation or quasi-oath, Peter! was in use 14c., but this likely is not connected to the modern use. To rob Peter to pay Paul (1515, also in early 17c. Fr. as descouvrir S. Pierre pour couvrir S. Pol) may be a ref. to the many churches dedicated to those two saints, and have sprung from the fairly common practice of building or enriching one church with the ruins or revenues of another.