1520s, "refusal to grant what is requested or desired;" see deny + -al (2). Replaced earlier denyance (late 15c.). Sense of "act of asserting to the contrary, contradicting" is from 1570s; that of "refusal to accept or acknowledge" is from 1580s. In some 19c. uses, it really means "self-denial." Meaning "unconscious suppression of painful or embarrassing feelings" first attested 1914 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Psychopathology of Everyday Life"; hence the phrase in denial, popularized 1980s.
1690s, from French serge de Nîmes "serge from Nîmes," town in southern France. Originally a kind of serge; application to "coarse, colored, twilled cotton cloth" is by 1850 in American English. Denims "pants made of denim" is recorded from 1868; originally typically overalls. The place name is Roman Nemausus, said to be ultimately from Gaulish nemo "sanctuary."
1590s, "of or pertaining to teeth," from French dental "of teeth" or Medieval Latin dentalis, from Latin dens (genitive dentis) "tooth" (from PIE root *dent- "tooth"). As "connected with or used in dentistry," 1826. In grammar, "formed or pronounced at or near the front upper teeth, with the tip or front of the tongue," 1590s. As a noun, "sound formed by placing the end of the tongue against or near the upper teeth," 1794. Related: Dentally; dentality.
early 15c., denunciacioun, "act of declaring or stating something" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin denunciacionem / denuntiationem (nominative denuntiatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of denuntiare "to announce, proclaim; denounce, menace; command, order," from de "down" (see de-) + nuntiare "proclaim, announce," from nuntius "messenger" (from PIE root *neu- "to shout"). Meaning "a charge, a solemn or formal declaration accompanied by a menace" is mid-15c.
"toothed, having tooth-like projections, notched," 1770, from Latin dentatus "toothed, having teeth," from dens (genitive dentis) "tooth," from PIE root *dent- "tooth." Related: Dentation (1802).
"act of denying one's own wishes; refusal to satisfy one's own desires," 1640s, from self- + denial.
Self-denial is to be presumed wise, necessary, or benevolent, unless indication is given to the contrary ; it may be the denial of selfishness; it may be not only the refusal to take what one might have, but the voluntary surrender of what one has ; it may be an act, a habit, or a principle. [Century Dictionary]
Related: Self-denier; self-denying (adj.) is by 1630s as "involving self-denial," also "characterized by or involving denial of one's self."
"the solution of a mystery, the winding up of a plot, the outcome of a course of conduct," 1752, from French dénouement "an untying" (of plot), from dénouer "untie" (Old French desnouer) from des- "un-, out" (see dis-) + nouer "to tie, knot," from Latin nodus "a knot," from PIE root *ned- "to bind, tie."
early 14c., "announce, make known in a formal manner" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French denoncier (12c., Modern French dénoncer) and directly from Latin denuntiare "to announce, proclaim; denounce, menace; command, order," from de- "down" + nuntiare "proclaim, announce," from nuntius "messenger" (from PIE root *neu- "to shout").
The negative sense in English developed (probably encouraged by other words in de-) via the meanings "proclaim as cursed, excommunicated, removed from office" (early 14c.); "formally or publicly threaten to do" (1630s); "declare or proclaim to be cursed, wicked, or evil" (1660s). The meaning "make formal or public accusation against, inform against, accuse" (especially in turning on one's co-conspirators) is from late 15c. Related: Denounced; denouncing.
