1520s, "impose a task upon;" 1590s, "to burden, put a strain upon," from task (n.). Related: Tasked; tasking.

1550s, "headdress of the Persian kings" (also worn by men of rank), from Latin tiara, from Greek tiara, of unknown origin. Earlier in Englished form tiar (1510s). As a richly jeweled headband in Western wear, 1650s (tiar; 1718 as tiara). Related: Tiaraed.

"plant which grows upon another plant," 1827, from epi- "upon" + -phyte "plant." Related: Epiphytal; epiphytous (1816).

""to rub or wear away; rub or scrape off," 1670s, from Latin abradere "to scrape off, shave away," from ab "off" (see ab-) + radere "to scrape" (see raze (v.)). Abrase, from the stem of the Latin verb, is attested from 1590s. Related: Abraded; abrading.

c. 1400, corrosioun, from Old French corrosion and directly from Latin corrosionem (nominative corrosio), noun of action from past-participle stem of corrodere "to gnaw to bits, wear away," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + rodere "to gnaw" (see rodent).

"deficiency of blood in a living body," alternative (chiefly U.S.) spelling of anaemia (q.v.); also see æ (1). As a genus of plants, Modern Latin, from Greek aneimon "unclad," from an- "without" (see an- (1)) + eima "a dress, garment" (see wear (v.)).

"tending to wear or rub off by friction," 1805, from Latin abras-, past-participle stem of abradere "to scrape away, shave off" (see abrasion) + -ive. Figurative sense of "tending to provoke anger" is first recorded 1925. Related: Abrasively; abrasiveness.

1640s (transitive), "to brood upon, watch jealously" (figurative); 1721 in literal sense "to sit on (eggs) to hatch them," from Latin incubatus, past participle of incubare "to lie in or upon," also in the figurative sense "brood" (see incubation). Intransitive sense "to sit upon eggs" is from 1755. Related: Incubated; incubating.

"masquerade, masked ball, festive entertainment in which participants wear a disguising costume," 1510s, from French masque; see mask (n.). It developed a special sense of "amateur theatrical performance" (1560s) in Elizabethan times, when such entertainments (originally performed in masks) were popular among the nobility.