region in northern Italy, from Old Italian pie di monte "foot of the mountains," from pie "foot" (from Latin pes "foot," from PIE root *ped- "foot") + monte "mountain" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project"). Related: Piedmontese.

in sculpture, "a form of relief in which the figures project very slightly from the ground," 1660s, from French bas-relief, a loan-translation of Italian basso-rilievo "low relief, raised work." See bass (adj.) + relief.

from Latin mons (plural montes) "mountain" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project"); used in English in various anatomical senses, especially mons Veneris "mountains of Love," fleshy eminence atop the vaginal opening, 1690s; often mons for short.

"edge or border of a steep place," early 13c., from Middle Low German brink "edge," or from a Scandinavian source akin to Danish brink "steepness, shore, bank, grassy edge," from Proto-Germanic *brenkon, probably from PIE *bhreng-, variant of *bhren- "to project; edge" (source also of Lithuanian brinkti "to swell").

also preeminent, early 15c., "superior, distinguished beyond others, eminent above others," from Old French preeminent and directly from Medieval Latin preeminentem, from Latin praeeminentem (nominative praeeminens), present participle of praeeminare "to transcend, excel," literally "to project forward, rise above" (see pre-eminence). Related: Pre-eminently; preeminently.

1834, "hobby, pet project" (adjective faddy is from 1824), of uncertain origin. Perhaps shortened from fiddle-faddle. Or perhaps from French fadaise "trifle, nonsense," which is ultimately from Latin fatuus "stupid." From 1881 as "fashion, craze," or as Century Dictionary has it, "trivial fancy adopted and pursued for a time with irrational zeal."

1590s, from French ultramontain "beyond the mountains" (especially the Alps), from Old French (early 14c.), from Latin ultra "beyond" (from suffixed form of PIE root *al- (1) "beyond") + stem of mons "hill" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project"). Used especially of papal authority, though "connotation varies according to the position of the speaker or writer." [Weekley]

1706, of persons, also style or appearance, carriage, etc., "debauched, disreputable, having the manners or appearance of a libertine or idle and dissolute person," from rake (n.2) + -ish. Related: Rakishly; rakishness.

The meaning "smart, jaunty, dashing" (1824), at first of ships, is said to be a different word, from nautical rake "slant, slope" (1620s), used of the projection of the upper part of a ship's hull at stem and stern beyond the extremities of the keel, later especially in reference to any deviation from the vertical in a ship's masts. That word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (compare Old Swedish raka "project, reach;" Danish rage "protrude, project") related to Old English reccan "stretch." "The piratical craft of former times were distinguished for their rakish build" [Century Dictionary].

1871 in linguistics, "group of words forming a phrase;" 1890 in psychology, "object in the mind formed by sense-impressions" (C.L. Morgan); 1933 in the general sense of "anything constructed;" from construct (v.) or a derived adjective, with altered pronunciation to distinguish noun from verb (as with produce, detail, project, compress, etc.).

c. 1600, from Late Latin imminentia, from Latin imminentem (nominative imminens) "overhanging; impending," present participle of imminere "to overhang, lean towards," hence "be near to," also "threaten, menace, impend, be at hand, be about to happen," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + -minere "jut out," which is related to mons "hill" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project").