1540s, "mentally slow, lacking ordinary activity of mind, dull, inane," from French stupide (16c.) and directly from Latin stupidus "amazed, confounded; dull, foolish," literally "struck senseless," from stupere "be stunned, amazed, confounded," from PIE *stupe- "hit," from root *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)). Related: Stupidly; stupidness.
Native words for this idea include negative compounds with words for "wise" (Old English unwis, unsnotor, ungleaw), also dol (see dull (adj.)), and dysig (see dizzy (adj.)). Stupid retained its association with stupor and its overtones of "stunned by surprise, grief, etc." into mid-18c. The difference between stupid and the less opprobrious foolish roughly parallels that of German töricht vs. dumm but does not exist in most European languages.
"deliberate erotic self-stimulation," 1711 (earlier as mastupration, 1620s), from French masturbation and directly from Modern Latin masturbationem (nominative masturbatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin masturbari "to masturbate."
The long-standing speculation is that this Latin word is altered (probably by influence of turbare "to disturb, confuse") from *manstuprare, from manu, ablative of manus "hand" (see manual) + stuprare "defile" (oneself), from stuprum "defilement, dishonor," related to stupere "to be stunned, stupefied" (see stupid). Hence the earliest form of the word in English. But perhaps the first element represents an unattested *mazdo- "penis" [OED]. An earlier technical word for this was onanism. Related: Masturbational.
Farmer and Henley ["Slang and Its Analogues," 1898] lists among the slang terms for "to masturbate" or "masturbation" frig (which they trace to Latin fricare "to rub") to bob; to box the Jesuit; to chuff, to chuffer; to claw; to digitate (of women); to fight one's turkey (Texan); to handle; to indorse; to milk; to mount a corporal and four; to dash one's doodle; and they note that it was "sometimes known as KEEPING DOWN THE CENSUS."
late 14c., rapen, "seize prey; abduct, take and carry off by force," from rape (n.) and from Anglo-French raper (Old French rapir) "to seize, abduct," a legal term, probably from Latin rapere "seize, carry off by force, abduct" (see rapid). Also figuring in alliterative or rhyming phrases, such as rape and renne (late 14c.) "seize and plunder."
The older senses of the English word became obsolete. The surviving meaning "to abduct (a woman), ravish;" also "seduce (a man)" is clearly by early 15c. in English, but it might have been at least part of the sense in earlier uses.
Meaning "to rob, strip, plunder" (a place) is from 1721, a partial revival of the old sense. Uncertain connection to Low German and Dutch rapen in the same sense. In Middle English, and occasionally after, the verb was used in figurative senses of Latin rapere, such as "transport in ecstasy, carry off to heaven," usually in past-participle rapte, which tends to blend with rapt. Related: Raped; raping.
Classical Latin rapere was used for "sexually violate," but only rarely; the usual Latin word being stuprare "to defile, ravish, violate," which is related to stuprum (n.) "illicit sexual intercourse," literally "disgrace," stupere "to be stunned, stupefied" (see stupid). Latin raptus, past participle of rapere, used as a noun meant "a seizure, plundering, abduction," but in Medieval Latin also "forcible violation."
