c. 1300, jus, juis, jouis, "liquid obtained by boiling herbs," from Old French jus "juice, sap, liquid" (13c.), from Latin ius "broth, sauce, juice, soup," from PIE root *yeue- "to blend, mix food" (cognates: Sanskrit yus- "broth," Greek zymē "a leaven," Old Church Slavonic jucha "broth, soup," Lithuanian jūšė "fish soup"). Meaning "the watery part of fruits or vegetables" is from early 14c. Meaning "liquor" is from 1828; that of "electricity" is first recorded 1896.
branch of chemistry which deals with wine-making and brewing, 1868, from Greek zymo-, combining form of zymē "a leaven" (from PIE root *yeue-; see juice) + -ourgia "a working," from ergon "work" (from PIE root *werg- "to do").
The last word in many standard English dictionaries (and this one); but Century Dictionary ends with Zyxomma ("A genus of Indian dragon-flies") and in the OED [2nd ed.] the last word is zyxt, an obsolete Kentish form of the second person singular of see (v.).
At the dictionary's letter A
Mr. Brandt is young and gay
But when at last he reaches zed
He's in his wheelchair, nearly dead
[Einar Haugen]
"inspissated juice of the poppy plant," especially as used in medicine from 17c. for relief of pain and production of sleep, late 14c., from Latin opium, from Greek opion "poppy juice, poppy," diminutive of opos "vegetable juice, plant juice, fig curd," from PIE *sokwo- "juice, resin" (source also of Old Church Slavonic soki "juice," Lithuanian sakaī (plural) "resin").
Die Religion ist der Seufzer der bedrängten Kreatur, das Gemüth einer herzlosen Welt, wie sie der Geist geistloser Zustände ist. Sie ist das Opium des Volks. [Karl Marx, "Zur Kritik der Hegel'schen Rechts-Philosophie," in "Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher," February, 1844]
The British Opium War against China lasted from 1839-42; the name is attested from 1841. Opium-eater, one who habitually uses opium in some form, is by 1821.
early 15c., "bodily fluid;" c. 1600 in specific sense of "mass of semi-liquid food in the stomach," from Late Latin chymus, from Greek khymos, nearly identical to khylos "juice" (see chyle) and meaning essentially the same thing; from PIE root *gheu- "to pour." Differentiated by Galen, who used khymos for "juice in its natural or raw state," and khylos for "juice produced by digestion," hence the modern distinction.
