"military attendant who carries orders," 1781, short for orderly corporal, etc. Extended 1809 to an attendant at a hospital (originally a military hospital) charged with keeping things clean and in order, from orderly (adj.) in the military sense of "of or pertaining to communication or execution of orders" (1723).
1848, "practical and scientific methods of preservation of health and promotion of sanitary conditions," irregularly formed from sanitary. The somewhat euphemistic use in reference to garbage and domestic waste disposal is (as in sanitation engineer) is by 1916 (sanitation man).
"military helicopter for taking wounded soldiers to a hospital," 1966, U.S. military, formed from elements of medical evacuation.
"the executive branch of the public service," as distinguished from the military, naval, legislative, or judicial, 1765, originally in reference to non-military staff of the East India Company, from civil in the sense "not military." Civil servant is from 1792.
1900, in reference to five prizes (in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace) established in the will of Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), Swedish chemist and engineer, inventor of dynamite. A sixth prize, in economics, was added in 1969. Related: Nobelist.
alcoholic drink made with rum, lime juice, and sugar, 1920 (F. Scott Fitzgerald), from Daiquiri, name of a district or village in eastern Cuba. Said to have been invented by a U.S. mining engineer in Cuba in 1896.
one of the military class in Japanese feudalism, originally a military retainer of a daimio, 1727, from Japanese samurai "warrior, knight," variant of saburai, nominal form of sabura(h)u "to be in attendance, to serve."
1540s, "action of applying fire or setting on fire," verbal noun from fire (v.). From c. 1600 as "act of discharging firearms." Firing squad is attested from 1891 in reference to military executions; earlier as "those selected to fire over the grave of anyone interred with military honors" (1864); earlier in both senses is firing-party (1798 in reference to military executions; 1776 in reference to military funerals).
a seat of government, especially a place of military authority, hence, in U.S. Southwest, "a military post," 1808, American English, from Spanish presidio "fort, settlement," from Latin praesidium "defense, protection," from praesidere "to sit before, protect" (see preside). Related: Presidial; presidary.
