late 14c., registre, "public record book, private account book, an official written account regularly kept," from Old French registre (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin registrum, regestrum, properly regestum, from Late Latin regesta "list, matters recorded," noun use of Latin regesta, neuter plural of regestus, past participle of regerere "to record; retort," literally "to carry back, bring back" from re- "back" (see re-) + gerere "carry, bear" (see gest).
With unetymological second -r- in Medieval Latin and Old French by influence of other Latin nouns in -istrum (French -istre). The word was also borrowed in Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish.
Some later senses seem to be influenced by association with unrelated Latin regere "to rule, to guide, to keep straight." Meaning in printing, "exact alignment of presswork" is from 1680s. Musical sense is from 1811, "compass or range of a voice or instrument," hence "series of tones of the same quality" (produced by a voice or instrument).
From mid-15c. as "a record-keeper, recorder;" sense of "device by which data is automatically recorded" is by 1830, from the verb.
Middle English sight, from Old English sihð, gesiht, gesihð "thing seen; power or faculty of sight; aspect; vision; apparition," from Proto-Germanic *sekh(w)- (source also of Danish sigte, Swedish sigt, Middle Dutch sicht, Dutch zicht, Old High German siht, German Sicht, Gesicht), stem that also yielded Old English seon (see see (v.)), with noun suffix -th (2), later -t (14c.).
The meaning "perception or apprehension by means of the eyes" is from early 13c. The meaning "device on a firearm to assist in aiming" is from 1580s. A "show" of something, hence, colloquially, "a great many; a lot," (late 14c.). As "something that calls forth glances of shock, amusement, etc., a shocking spectacle," by 1862.
Sight for sore eyes "welcome visitor" is attested from 1738; sight unseen (adv.) "without previous inspection" is from 1892. Sight gag is attested by 1944. To feel or know something at first sight is from c. 1300. From the firearm aiming sense come in (one's) sights; have (one's) sights set on something. To keep out of sight is from late 14c.; to be out of (someone's) sight is from c. 1400.
1708, "vaulted building; arched roof or ceiling," from Latin camera "a vault, vaulted room" (source also of Italian camera, Spanish camara, French chambre), from Greek kamara "vaulted chamber, anything with an arched cover," which is of uncertain origin. A doublet of chamber. Old Church Slavonic komora, Lithuanian kamara, Old Irish camra all are borrowings from Latin.
The word also was used from early 18c. as a short form of Modern Latin camera obscura "dark chamber" (a black box with a lens that could project images of external objects), contrasted with camera lucida (c. 1750, Latin for "light chamber"), which uses prisms to produce an image of a distant object on paper beneath the instrument which can be traced.
This sense was expanded to become the word for "picture-taking device used by photographers" (the thing a modification of the camera obscura) when modern photography began c. 1840. The word was extended to television filming devices from 1928. Camera-shy is attested from 1890. Camera-man is from 1908.
Middle English sheld, "frame or rounded plate of wood, metal, etc., carried by an warrior on the arm or in the hand as defense," from Old English scield, scild "shield; protector, defender," originally "board," from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (source also of Old Norse skjöldr, Old Saxon skild, Middle Dutch scilt, Dutch schild, German Schild, Gothic skildus), from *skel- "divide, split, separate," from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut."
The IE sense evolution of that proposal is uncertain; the ancient notion is perhaps a flat piece of wood made by splitting a log, but Boutkan writes, "it seems more probable to me that the word designated a means of protection, i.e. a separation between the fighter and the enemy."
Shield usually meant a larger defensive device, covering much of the body, as opposed to a buckler. Shield volcano (1911) translates German Schildvulkan (1910). The plate tectonics sense of shield as "large, stable mass of Achaean rock forming a continental nucleus" is by 1906, translating Suess (1888).
[self-propelling projectile] 1610s, "projectile consisting of a cylindrical tube of pasteboard filled with flammable or explosive matter," from Italian rocchetto "a rocket," literally "a bobbin," diminutive of rocca "a distaff," so called because of cylindrical shape. The Italian word probably is from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rocko "distaff," Middle Dutch rokke, Old Norse rokkr), from Proto-Germanic *rukkon- (from PIE root *rug- "fabric, spun yarn").
Originally of fireworks rockets, the meaning "device propelled by a rocket engine" is recorded by 1919 (Goddard); rocket-ship in the space-travel sense is attested from February 1927 ("Popular Science"); earlier as a type of naval warship firing projectiles. Rocket science in the figurative sense of "difficult, complex process or topic" is attested by 1985; rocket scientist is from 1952.
That such a feat is considered within the range of possibility is evidenced by the activities of scientists in Europe as well as in America. Two of them, Prof. Herman Oberth and Dr. Franz Hoeff, of Vienna, are constructing a five-ton rocket ship in which they hope to reach the moon in two days. [Popular Science, February 1927]
Middle English mille, "building fitted to grind grain," Old English mylen "a mill" (10c.), an early Germanic borrowing from Late Latin molina, molinum "mill" (source of French moulin, Spanish molino), originally fem. and neuter of molinus "pertaining to a mill," from Latin mola "mill, millstone," related to molere "to grind," from PIE root *mele- "to crush, grind." The -n- gradually was lost in English but survives in the surname Milner. Also from Late Latin molina, directly or indirectly, are German Mühle, Old Saxon mulin, Old Norse mylna, Danish mølle, Old Church Slavonic mulinu.
The meaning "mechanical device for grinding grain for food" is from 1550s. The broader sense of "machine for grinding or pulverizing any solid substance" is attested from 1670s. Other types of manufacturing machines driven by wind or water, that transform raw material by a process other than grinding began to be called mills by early 15c. Sense of "large building fitted with machinery for manufacturing" is from c. 1500. In old slang also "a typewriter" (1913); "a boxing match or other pugilistic bout" (1819).
Middle English mous, from Old English mus "small rodent," also "muscle of the arm" (compare muscle (n.)); from Proto-Germanic *mus (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Danish, Swedish mus, Dutch muis, German Maus "mouse"), from PIE *mus-, the old Indo-European name of the mouse, retained in several language families (source also of Sanskrit mus "mouse, rat," Old Persian mush "mouse," Old Church Slavonic mysu, Latin mus, Lithuanian muse "mouse," Greek mys "mouse, muscle").
Plural form mice (Old English mys) shows effects of i-mutation. As a type of something timid or weak, from late 14c. Contrasted with man (n.) from 1620s (nor man nor mouse). Meaning "black eye" (or other discolored lump on the body) is from 1842. Computer sense of "small device moved by the hand over a flat surface to maneuver a cursor or arrow on a display screen" is from 1965, though the word was applied to other things resembling a mouse in shape since 1750, mainly in nautical use.
Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus [Horace]
English monetary unit, Middle English shilling, from Old English scilling, scylling, a coin of account consisting of a varying number of pence (on the continent and in England after the Conquest, commonly 12 pennies to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound), from Proto-Germanic *skillingoz- (source also of Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Old Frisian, Old High German skilling, Old Norse skillingr, Dutch schelling, German Schilling, Gothic skilliggs).
Some etymologists trace this to the root *skell- "to resound, to ring," and others to the root *(s)kel- (1) "to cut" (perhaps via sense of "shield" from resemblance to one or as a device on coins (see shield (n.)) or from the cut or clipped segments of precious metal used as money).
The ending may represent the diminutive suffix -ling, or Germanic -ing "fractional part" (compare farthing). Old Church Slavonic skulezi, Polish szeląg, Spanish escalin, French schelling, Italian scellino are loan-words from Germanic. The modern English silver shilling dates to Henry VII.
Reckoning by the shilling is still not uncommon in some parts of the United States, especially in rural New England. [Century Dictionary, 1891]
early 15c., replacing forms from Old English fleogende "flying, winged;" present-participle adjective from fly (v.1). The meaning "attached so as to have freedom of movement" (1670s) is the source of the nautical use (flying jib, etc.). Meaning "designed for rapid movement" (especially in military terms, e.g. flying camp) is from 1660s; meaning "passing, hasty, temporary, rapidly constructed" is from 1763.
Flying fish is from 1510s; flying buttress "segment of an arch projecting from a solid mass and serving to stabilize a wall" is from 1660s. Flying Dutchman, ghost ship off the Cape of Good Hope, is attested since 1790 [John MacDonald "Travels in Various Parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa"]. Various accounts are given of how it came to be condemned to sail the sea, beating against head-winds, till the day of judgment. It is said that the ship sometimes hails vessels with the request that they will take letters home.
Flying colors (1706) probably is from the image of a naval vessel with the national flag bravely displayed. Flying machine is from 1736 as a theoretical device. Flying saucer first attested 1947, though the image of saucers for unidentified flying objects is from at least 1880s.
late Old English smoca, smocca (rare) "visible fumes and volatile material given off by burning or smoldering substances," related to smeocan "give off smoke," from Proto-Germanic *smuk- (source also of Middle Dutch smooc, Dutch smook, Middle High German smouch, German Schmauch), from PIE root *smeug- "to smoke; smoke" (source also of Armenian mux "smoke," Greek smykhein "to burn with smoldering flame," Old Irish much, Welsh mwg "smoke").
The more usual noun was Old English smec, which became dialectal smeech. From late 14c. as "a puff, cloud, or column of smoke." Figurative use, of something unsubstantial," is by 1540s; in reference to an obscuring medium, 1560s.
There is no fyre without some smoke [Heywood, 1562]
In other forms the proverb dates to mid-15c.
Abusive meaning "Black person" is attested from 1913, American English. Smoke-eater "firefighter" is by c. 1930. Figurative phrase go up in smoke "be destroyed" (as if by fire) is from 1933 (an earlier figurative image was come to smoke, "come to nothing," c. 1600, with a different image in mind). Smoke-alarm "device giving warning of smoke" is by 1936; smoke-detector from 1957.
