family cricetidae | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

352 entries found.

also house-warming, "celebration of the entry of a family into a new home," 1570s, from house (n.) + verbal noun from warm (v.).

carry-all (n.)

also carryall, 1714 as a type of light, four-wheeled family carriage; in the baggage sense from 1884; from carry (v.) + all (n.).

emir (n.)

among Arabic or Muslim peoples, "chief of a family or tribe; a ruling prince," 1590s, from Arabic amir "commander" (see admiral).

Guelph (n.)

also Guelf, one of the two great parties in medieval Italian politics, characterized by support of the popes against the emperors (opposed to the Ghibellines), 1570s, from Italian Guelfo, from Old High German Welf, name of a princely family that became the ducal house of Brunswick, literally "whelp," originally the name of the founder (Welf I). The family are the ancestors of the present dynasty of Great Britain. The name is said to have been used as a war-cry at the Battle of Weinsberg (1140) by partisans of Henry the Lion, duke of Bavaria, who was of the family, against Emperor Conrad III; hence it was adopted in Italy as the name of the anti-imperial party in the Middle Ages.

Bernoulli's principle

named for Dutch mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), who published it in 1738. The family produced several noted mathematicians.

genealogy (n.)

early 14c., "line of descent, pedigree, descent," from Old French genealogie (12c.), from Late Latin genealogia "tracing of a family," from Greek genealogia "the making of a pedigree," from genea "generation, descent" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups) + -logia (see -logy). An Old English word for it was folctalu, literally "folk tale." Meaning "study of family trees" is from 1768.

hosta (n.)

1828, plant genus of the lily family, coined 1812 in Modern Latin from name of Austrian physician and botanist Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761-1834).

limulus (n.)

horseshoe crab, king crab, representative genus of the biological family Limulidae, 1837, Modern Latin, from Latin limulus "somewhat askance," diminutive of limus "askance."

Ashanti (n.)

also Ashantee, 1705, Asiantines, one of the Akan people of central Ghana; a native name. The language, part of the Niger-Congo family, is so called by 1874.

tarpon (n.)

large fish (Megalops atlanticus) of the herring family, 1680s, of uncertain origin, probably from a Native American word. Also formerly called jew-fish.

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