1926 in the U.S. geographical sense, from earlier Midwestern (1889) in reference to a group of states originally listed as West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas; it now generally refers to states somewhat north and west of these (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). Related: Midwesterner.
in reference to a group of related North American native languages, 1915, coined by U.S. anthropologist and linguist Edward Sapir from *-ne, a stem in the languages for "person, people," and Athabaskan Dene "person, people." "The compound term Na-dene thus designates by means of native stems the speakers of the three languages concerned, besides continuing the use of the old term Dene for the Athabaskan branch of the stock" [Sapir].
Meaning "political or military group in power" first recorded 1640s as junto (from confusion with Spanish nouns ending in -o), originally with reference to the Cabinet Council of Charles I. Modern spelling in this sense is from 1714; popularized 1808 in connection with private councils formed secretly across Spain to resist Napoleon. In English history, a group of leading Whigs in the reigns of William III and Queen Anne.
"of or pertaining to a century," c. 1600, from Latin centurialis, from centuria "group of one hundred" (see century).
