block out | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

44 entries found.

Latin, literally "from the (teacher's) chair," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + cathedra (see cathedral).

1714, as an adverb, "out of the ordinary," from French hors d'oeuvre, "outside the ordinary courses (of a meal)," literally "apart from the main work," from hors, variant of fors "outside" (from Latin foris; see foreign) + de "from" + oeuvre "work," from Latin opera (from PIE root *op- "to work, produce in abundance"). Meaning "extra dish set out before a meal or between courses" attested in English from 1742.

whole cloth (n.)

early 15c., "piece of cloth of full size," as opposed to a piece cut out for a garment; figurative sense first attested 1570s.

old hat (adj.)

"out of date," 1911, from old + hat. As a noun phrase, however, it had different sense previously. The "Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue" (1796) defines it as, "a woman's privities, because frequently felt."

ex parte

Latin legal term, "on the one side only," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + parte, ablative of pars "a part, piece, a division, a fraction, a side of the body" (from PIE root *pere- (2) "to grant, allot").

beat up (v.)

"thrash, strike repeatedly," c. 1900 (v.), from beat (v.) + up (adv.). Earlier it meant "summon (recruits, etc.) by the beating of a drum" (1690s). Beat-up as an adjectival phrase meaning "worn-out" dates to 1946.

go through (v.)

"to execute, carry to completion" (a plan, etc., often with with), 1560s; see go (v.) + through (adv.). Meaning "to examine" is 1660s; "to endure, suffer, undergo" is by 1712; "to wear out" (of clothes, etc.) by 1959.

fortune cookie (n.)

by 1955, said to have been invented in 1918 by David Jung, Chinese immigrant to America who established Hong Kong Noodle Co., who handed out cookies that contained uplifting messages as a promotional gimmick.

hapax legomenon (n.)

(plural legomena), "word occurring only once," Greek, literally "once said," from hapax "once only" + legomenon, neuter passive present participle of legein "to say," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')."

bug off (v.)

"leave quickly," by 1956, perhaps from bugger off (see bugger (v.)), which chiefly is British (by 1920s) but was picked up in U.S. Air Force slang in the Korean War. Also see bug (v.3). To bug out "leave quickly, scram" is from 1953.

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