Old English -sprutan (in asprutan "to sprout"), from Proto-Germanic *sprut- (source also of Old Saxon sprutan, Old Frisian spruta, Middle Dutch spruten, Old High German spriozan, German sprießen "to sprout"), from PIE *spreud-, extended form of root *sper- "to strew" (perhaps also the source of Old English spreawlian "to sprawl," sprædan "to spread," spreot "pole;" Armenian sprem "scatter;" Old Lithuanian sprainas "staring, opening wide one's eyes;" Lettish spriežu "I span, I measure"). Related: Sprouted; sprouting.
"a metropolis; a very large, heavily populated urban complex," 1832, from Greek megas (genitive megalou) "great" (see mickle) + polis "city" (see polis). The word was used in classical times as an epithet of great cities (Athens, Syracuse, Alexandria), and it also was the name of a former city in Arcadia. Related: Megalopolitan.
"to cut or pinch off the burned part of a candle wick," mid-15c., snoffen, from noun snoffe "burned part of a candle wick" (late 14c.), a word of unknown origin, perhaps related to snuff (v.2).
The meaning "to die" is from 1865; that of "to kill" is from 1932; snuff-film, pornography involving the actual killing of a woman, originally an urban legend, is from 1975.
1580s as a command to get attention, in which use it belongs in the group with hello, hallo. From 1520s as a command to "stop, cease," from French holà (15c.), which "Century Dictionary" analyzes as ho! + la "there." As an urban slang form of holler (v.) "greet, shout out to," it was in use by 2003.
as an abbreviation in Roman history in reckoning of dates it represent either ab urbe condita (q.v.) "from the founding of the city" or Anno Urbis Conditae "in the year of the founded city," from ablative of annus "year" (see annual (adj.)) + genitive of urbs "city" (see urban) + genitive of condita, fem. of conditus, past participle of condere "to set up, put together" (see abscond)
1530s, "of or relating to cities or towns," from French urbain (14c.) and directly from Latin urbanus "belonging to a city," also "citified, elegant" (see urban). The meaning "having the manners of townspeople, courteous, refined" is from 1620s, from a secondary sense in classical Latin. Urbanity in this sense is recorded from 1530s. For sense connection and differentiation of form, compare human/humane; german/germane.
Urbane; literally city-like, expresses a sort of politeness which is not only sincere and kind, but peculiarly suave and agreeable. [Century Dictionary]
mid-14c., "having the same parents," a doublet of german (adj.) but directly from Latin germanus instead of via French (compare urbane/urban). Main modern sense of "closely connected, relevant" (c. 1600) derives from use in "Hamlet" Act V, Scene ii: "The phrase would bee more Germaine to the matter: If we could carry Cannon by our sides," which is a figurative use of the word in the now-obsolete loosened sense of "closely related, akin" (late 15c.) in reference to things, not persons.
early 15c., "one who squanders or wastes," agent noun from consume. In economics, "one who uses up goods or articles, one who destroys the exchangeable value of a commodity by using it" (opposite of producer), from 1745.
Consumer goods is attested from 1890. In U.S., consumer price index calculated since 1919, tracking "changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services" [Bureau of Labor Statistics]; abbreviation CPI is attested by 1971.
with year-dates, an occasional Roman method of identifying a given year by reference to the time passed since founding of the city, which in 1c. B.C.E. was calculated to have taken place in what we would call 753 B.C.E. Literally "from the city founded;" the elements are ab "from" (see ab-) + ablative of urbs "city" (see urban) + fem. past participle of condere "put together, store," from assimilated form of com- "together" (see com-) + -dere "put" (from PIE root *dhe- "to put, place").
