1915, "cheap, shoddy, or defective goods," from American Yiddish shlak, from German Schlacke "dregs, scum, dross" (see slag (n.)). Alternative etymology [OED] is from Yiddish shlogn "to strike" (cognate with German schlagen; see slay). Mostly commercial at first, by mid-20c. in reference to fiction, movies, television programming, etc. Derived form schlockmeister is by 1953; "purveyor of cheap products," though originally it had a more specific sense in show-biz.
Ever wonder how these washing machines, toasters, razors, clothes and 101 other items show up on national TV shows? The answer is schlockmeisters!
Nobody is certain where the word comes from but it's the new name applied to a few men in Hollywood and New York who make a Cadillac-style living by giving away their clients' products. The situation is well in hand and a going concern for Al Pretker, Walter Kline and Adolphe Wenland in Hollywood; in Manhattan, there's Waldo Mayo. [Eve Star, "Inside TV" syndicated column, Sept. 10, 1953]
Adjectival form schlocky is attested from 1968; schlock was used as an adjective from 1916.
early 14c., " act, crime, or sin of killing another human being," in battle or not, from man (n.) + slaughter (n.). It gradually displaced manslaught, the earlier word, from Old English manslæht (Anglian), manslieht (West Saxon), from slæht, slieht "act of killing" (see slay (v.)). Middle English also had man-quelling "murder, homicide" (late 14c.), and slaughter-man (late 14c.), "an executioner; a butcher."
Etymologically it is comparable to Latin homicide, but in legal use usually it is distinguished from murder and restricted to "simple homicide, unlawful killing of another without malice either express or implied."
Manslaughter differs from murder in not proceeding from malice prepense or deliberate, which is essential to constitute murder. It differs from excusable homicide, being done in consequence of some unlawful act, whereas excusable homicide happens in consequence of misadventure. Manslaughter has been distinguished as voluntary, where the killing was intentional in a sudden heat or passion without previous malice; and involuntary, where it was not intentional, but the slayer was at the time engaged in an unlawful act less than a felony, or doing a lawful act in an unlawful manner. [Century Dictionary]
late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjan, which is of uncertain origin. Meaning shifted in late Old English period to "strike, come into forcible contact" via the notion of "to reach with a blow or missile," and the word displaced Old English slean (modern slay) in this sense. Original sense survives in phrases such as hit it off (1780, earlier in same sense hit it, 1630s) and is revived in slang hit on (1970s).
To hit the bottle "drink alcohol" is from 1933 (hit the booze in the same sense is from 1889, and hit the pipe "smoke opium" is also late 19c.). To figuratively hit the nail on the head (1570s) is from archery. To hit the hay "go to bed" is from 1912. Hit the road "leave" is from 1873; hit the bricks is from 1909, originally trade union jargon meaning "go out on strike." To hit (someone) up "request something" is from 1917. To not know what hit (one) is from 1923. Related: Hitting.
1530s, "butcher an animal for market," from slaughter (n.). Meaning "slay wantonly, ruthlessly, or in great numbers" is from 1580s. Related: Slaughtered; slaughtering.
1590s, "act of killing one's mother;" 1630s, "one who kills his mother;" from French matricide, from Latin mātricida "mother-killer," and mātricidium "mother-killing," from combining form of māter "mother" (see mother (n.1)) + -cida "killer," and -cidium "a killing," from caedere "to slay" (from PIE root *kae-id- "to strike"). Related: Matricidal (adj.). Old English had moðorslaga "a matricide, a mother-slayer."
word-forming element meaning "killer," from French -cide, from Latin -cida "cutter, killer, slayer," from -cidere, combining form of caedere "to strike down, chop, beat, hew, fell, slay," from Proto-Italic *kaid-o-, from PIE root *kae-id- "to strike." For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. The element also can represent "killing," from French -cide, from Latin -cidium "a cutting, a killing."
early 15c., dejecten, "to throw or cast down," a sense now obsolete, from Latin deiectus "a throwing down, felling, fall," past participle of deicere "to cast down, destroy; drive out; kill, slay, defeat," from de- "down" (see de-) + -icere, combining form of iacere "to throw" (from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). The figurative sense of "depress in spirit, discourage, dispirit" is from c. 1500.
c. 1200 mortheren, "to kill, slay; kill criminally, kill with premeditated malice," from Old English myrðrian, from Proto-Germanic *murthjan (source also of Old High German murdran, German mördren, Gothic maurþjan, from Proto-Germanic *murthra- (see murder (n.)). But OED doubts the Old English verb survived into Middle English and thinks the modern word perhaps from the noun. Forms with -d- begin mid-14c. Meaning "spoil by bad execution" is from 1640s. Related: Murdered; murdering.
c. 1200, destruien, later destroien, "to overthrow, lay waste, ruin," from Old French destruire "destroy, ravage, lay waste" (12c., Modern French détruire), from Vulgar Latin *destrugere (source of Italian distruggere), refashioned (influenced by destructus), from Latin destruere "tear down, demolish," literally "un-build," from de "un-, down" (see de-) + struere "to pile, build" (from PIE *streu-, extended form of root *stere- "to spread").
From c. 1300 as "to kill, slay," also "to pull down, demolish" (what has been built); also "bring to naught, put an end to." Related: Destroyed; destroying.
