1778, "confirm by sanction, make valid or binding;" by 1797 as "to permit authoritatively," also in a general sense, "give countenance or support to, approve;" from sanction (n.). Seemingly contradictory meaning "impose a penalty on" is from 1956 but is rooted in an old legalistic sense of the noun. Related: Sanctioned; sanctioning.
late 14c., "exorcism," from Late Latin adiurationem (nominative adiuratio) "a swearing to," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin adiurare "to put (someone) to an oath," from ad "to" (see ad-) + iurare "swear," from ius (genitive iuris) "law," from PIE root *yewes- "law" (see jurist). Originally a term in exorcism (with conjuration); the general sense "a solemn oath, a charging under the penalty of a curse" is from 17c.
late 14c., adjuren, "to bind by oath; to question under oath;" c. 1400 as "to charge with an oath or under penalty of a curse," from Latin adiurare "confirm by oath, add an oath, to swear to in addition; call to witness," in Late Latin "to put (someone) to an oath," from ad "to" (see ad-) + iurare "swear," from ius (genitive iuris) "law" (see jurist). Related: Adjured; adjuring.
early 13c., "a clasping, an embracing," verbal noun from clip (v.2). As a U.S. football penalty (not in OED), from 1920.
Clipping or Cutting Down from Behind. — This is to be ruled under unnecessary roughness, and penalized when it is practiced upon "a man obviously out of the play." This "clipping" is a tendency in the game that the committee is watching anxiously and with some fear. [Collier's, April 10, 1920]
"profit, use," Old English bot "help, relief, advantage; atonement," literally "a making better," from Proto-Germanic *boto (see better (adj.)). Compare Old Frisian bote "fine, penalty, penance, compensation," German Buße "penance, atonement," Gothic botha "advantage, usefulness, profit." Now mostly in phrase to boot (Old English to bote), indicating something thrown in by one of the parties to a bargain as an additional consideration.
early 15c., "to punish by a fine or forfeiture," from Latin mulctare, altered (Barnhart calls it "false archaism") from multare "punish, to sentence to pay a fine," from multa "penalty, fine," which is perhaps from Oscan or Samnite [Klein], or perhaps connected to multus "numerous, many," as "a fine is a 'quantity' one has to pay" [de Vaan]. Sense of "defraud" is first recorded 1748. Related: Mulcted; mulcting; mulctation (early 15c.).
c. 1200, "excused, exempt, free, clear" (of debt, obligation, penalty, etc.), from Old French quite, quitte "free, clear, entire, at liberty; discharged; unmarried," and directly from Medieval Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus "free" (in Medieval Latin "free from war, debts, etc."), also "calm, resting" (from PIE root *kweie- "to rest, be quiet").
From mid-13c. as "deprived of." From c. 1300 of real property, "exempt from taxes or other dues or claims."
early 15c., casuelte, caswelte, "chance, accident; incidental charge," from casual (adj.) on model of royalty, penalty, etc. From the earliest use especially of untoward events or misfortunes. Meaning "losses in numbers from a military or other troop" is from late 15c. Meaning "an individual killed, wounded, or lost in battle" is from 1844. Casuality had some currency 16c.-17c. in the sense "chance, a chance occurrence," especially an unfortunate one, but now is obsolete.
