fare | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

28 entries found.

expression at parting, late 14c., from Middle English faren wel, verbal phrase attested by c. 1200 (see fare (v.) + well (adv.)); usually said to the departing person, who replied with good-bye. As a noun, "a good-bye, a leave-taking," by early 15c. Expression to a fare-thee-well "to the last degree" is by 1884, American English.

chaffer (n.)

"a bargain," early 13c., cheffare "buying and selling," also (14c.) cheapfare, probably from Old English ceap "bargain, traffic, gain, sale" (see cheap) + faru "faring, going" (see fare (n.)). In later use, "haggling." The verb is recorded from mid-14c. as "to trade, buy and sell," from 1725 as "to haggle."

ferry (v.)

Old English ferian "to carry, convey, bring, transport" (in late Old English, especially over water), from Proto-Germanic *farjan "to ferry" (source also of Old Frisian feria "carry, transport," Old Norse ferja "to pass over, to ferry," Gothic farjan "travel by boat"), from PIE root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over." Related to fare (v.). Related: Ferried; ferries; ferrying.

welfare (n.)

c. 1300, from Old English wel faran "condition of being or doing well," from wel (see well (adv.)) + faran "get along" (see fare (v.)). Similar formation in Old Norse velferð. Meaning "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is first attested 1904; meaning "organized effort to provide for maintenance of members of a group" is from 1918. Welfare state is recorded from 1941.

army (n.)

late 14c., "armed expedition," from Old French armée "armed troop, armed expedition" (14c.), from Medieval Latin armata "armed force," from Latin armata, fem. of armatus "armed, equipped, in arms," as a noun, "armed men, soldiers," past participle of armare "to arm," literally "act of arming," related to arma "tools, arms" (see arm (n.2)).

Originally used of expeditions on sea or land; restriction to "land force" is by late 18c. Transferred meaning "host, multitude" is c. 1500. Meaning "body of men trained and equipped for war" is from 1550s.

The Old English words were here (still preserved in derivatives such as harrier; see harry (v.)), from Proto-Germanic *harjan, from PIE *korio- "people, crowd;" and fierd, with an original sense of "expedition," from Proto-Germanic *farthi-, related to faran "travel" (see fare (v.)). In spite of etymology, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle here generally meant "invading Vikings" and fierd was used for the local militias raised to fight them. Army-ant is from 1863.

ave

"hail," also "farewell," early 13c. (in reference to the Ave Maria), from Latin ave, second person singular imperative of avere "to be or fare well."

diet (v.)

late 14c., "to regulate one's diet for the sake of health," from Old French dieter, from diete "fare" (see diet (n.1)); meaning "to regulate oneself as to food" (especially against fatness) is from 1650s. Related: Dieted; dieting. An obsolete word for this is banting.

Michaelmas (n.)

early 12c., Sanct Micheles mæsse, the feast of the dedication of St. Michael the Archangel (Sept. 29), from Michael + mass (n.2). It was an English quarter day in the old business and university calendars. Goose is the day's traditional fare at least since 15c.

apple-sauce (n.)

also applesauce, by 1739, American English, from apple + sauce (n.). Slang meaning "nonsense" is attested from 1921 and was noted as a vogue word early 1920s. Mencken credits it to cartoonist T.A. ("Tad") Dorgan. DAS suggests the word was thus used because applesauce was cheap fare served in boardinghouses.

lickerish (adj.)

"fond of delicious fare," c. 1500, a corruption (as if from licker or liquor + -ish) of Middle English likerous "pleasing to the palate" (late 13c.), from Anglo-French *likerous, Old French licherous (see lecherous). Unlike the French word, it generally kept close to its literal sense. Related: Lickerishly; lickerishness.

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