1727, "temple dedicated to Athena," from Latinized form of Greek Athenaion "the temple of Athene," in ancient Athens, in which professors taught and actors or poets rehearsed; see Athena. The modern meaning "literary club-room or reading room" is from 1799; the sense of "literary or scientific club" is from 1807. These senses are based on the institutions founded by Hadrian at Rome and elsewhere dedicated to literary and scientific studies.
1736, "to dose on pills," from pill (n.). From 1882 as "to form into pills." In club slang, "to reject by vote, blackball" (1855). Related: Pilled; pilling.
"motorcycle rider" (especially with reference to club affiliation), 1968, American English, from bike (n.) in its slang sense of "motorcycle" (1939). An Australian equivalent was bikie.
"short, thick stick used as a weapon," Old English cycgel "club with rounded head;" perhaps from PIE *geu- "to curve, bend."
1970 as colloquial shortening for improvisation. The famous New York City comedy club, founded in 1963, was, in full, The Improvisation.
1660s, "round, approximately flat surface," from Latin discus "quoit, discus, disk," from Greek diskos "disk, quoit, platter," related to dikein "to throw" (see discus).
The American English preferred spelling; also see disc. From 1803 as "thin, circular plate;" sense of "phonograph disk" is by 1888; computing sense is from 1947. Disk jockey first recorded 1941; dee-jay is from 1955; DJ is by 1961; video version veejay is from 1982. Disk-drive is from 1952.
"heavy knife or cutlass," used as a weapon and tool by the Spanish in the Americas, 1590s (in pseudo-Spanish form macheto), from Spanish machete "a chopping knife," probably a diminutive of macho "sledge hammer," alteration of mazo "club," which is probably [Barnhart] a dialectal variant of maza "mallet," from Vulgar Latin *mattea "war club" (see mace (n.1)). An alternative explanation traces macho to Latin marculus "a small hammer," diminutive of marcus "hammer," from a base parallel to that of Latin malleus (see mallet).
also jock-strap, "supporter of the male genital organs, used in sports," 1887, with strap (n.) + jock slang for "penis" c. 1650-c. 1850, probably one of the many colloquial uses of Jock (the northern and Scottish form of Jack), which was used generically for "common man" from c. 1500. Jockey-strap in the same sense is from 1890, with also an example from 1870 but the sense is uncertain.
in golf, "to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club," by 1927, from shank (n.). Related: Shanked; shanking. Earlier as "to take to one's legs" (1774, Scottish); "to send off without ceremony" (1816, also Scottish).
"to convey on a truck," 1809, from truck (n.). Verbal meaning "dance, move in a cool way," first attested 1935, from popular dance of that name in U.S., supposedly introduced at Cotton Club, 1933. Related: Trucked; trucking.
