early 15c., "allied, connected, paired; joined in an interest, object, employment or purpose," from Latin associatus, past participle of associare "join with," from assimilated form of ad "to" (see ad-) + sociare "unite with," from socius "companion, ally," from PIE *sokw-yo-, suffixed form of root *sekw- (1) "to follow."
late 14c., of persons, "confident, self-assured," past-participle adjective from assure. From early 15c. as "secure, made safe." Related: Assuredly; assuredness.
also gauntree, 1570s, "four-footed stand for a barrel," probably from Old North French gantier (Old French chantier, 13c., "store-room, stock-room"), from Latin cantherius "rafter, frame," also "a gelding," from Greek kanthelios "pack ass," which is related to kanthelion "rafter," of unknown origin. The connecting notion in all this seems to be framework for carrying things. Meaning "frame for a crane, etc." is from 1810. Railway signal sense attested by 1889. Derivation from tree (n.) + gawn "small bucket," an obsolete 16c. contraction of gallon, might be folk-etymology.
mid-15c., bottyne "plunder taken from an enemy in war," from Old French butin "booty" (14c.), from a Germanic source akin to Middle Low German bute "exchange." It has been influenced in form and sense (toward "profit, gain," whether taken by force or not) by boot (n.2) and in form by nouns ending in -y. The meaning "female body considered as a sex object" is 1920s, African-American vernacular. As with other male sexual terms for women, its sense can shift to copulation generally or to the eroticized body parts (compare nookie, ass, etc.).
Old English colt "a young horse," also "young ass," in Biblical translations also used for "young camel," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kultaz (source also of Swedish dialectal kult "young boar, piglet; boy," Danish kuld "offspring, brood") and akin to child. Commonly and distinctively applied to the male, the young female being a filly. Applied to young or inexperienced persons from early 13c.
COLT'S TOOTH An old fellow who marries, or keeps a young girl, is ſaid to have a colt's tooth in his head. ["Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]
The image is in Chaucer. Colts shed their first set of teeth beginning at about three years.
waterfowl, natatorial bird of the family Anatidae, Old English duce (found only in genitive ducan) "a duck," literally "a ducker," presumed to be from Old English *ducan "to duck, dive" (see duck (v.)). Replaced Old English ened as the name for the bird, this being from PIE *aneti-, the root of the "duck" noun in most Indo-European languages.
In the domestic state the females greatly exceed in number, hence duck serves at once as the name of the female and of the race, drake being a specific term of sex. [OED]
As a term of endearment, attested from 1580s (see ducky). duck-walk, a squatting waddle done by a person, in imitation of a duck, is by 1915; duck soup, slang for "anything easily done," is by 1899. Duck's ass haircut is from 1951. Ducks-and-drakes, skipping flat stones on water, is from 1580s; the figurative sense of "throwing something away recklessly" is c. 1600.
Old English up, uppe, from Proto-Germanic *upp- "up" (source also of Old Frisian, Old Saxon up "up, upward," Old Norse upp; Danish, Dutch op; Old High German uf, German auf "up"; Gothic iup "up, upward," uf "on, upon, under;" Old High German oba, German ob "over, above, on, upon"), from PIE root *upo "under," also "up from under," hence also "over."
As a preposition, "to a higher place" from c. 1500; also "along, through" (1510s), "toward" (1590s). Often used elliptically for go up, come up, rise up, etc. Up the river "in jail" first recorded 1891, originally in reference to Sing Sing, which is up the Hudson from New York City. To drive someone up the wall (1951) is from the notion of the behavior of lunatics or caged animals. Insulting retort up yours (scil. ass) is attested by late 19c.
