late 14c.; see capital (adj.). So called because it is at the "head" of a sentence or word.

region and former province of southeast France, from French Provence, from Latin provincia "province" (see province); the southern part of ancient Gaul technically was the province of Gallia Narbonensis, but it came under Roman rule long before the rest of Gaul and as the Romans considered it the province par excellence they familiarly called it (nostra) provincia "our province."

literally "beyond the forest," from Medieval Latin, from trans "beyond" (see trans-) + sylva (see sylvan). So called in reference to the wooded mountains that surround it.

Old English oferseon "to look down upon, keep watch over, survey, observe;" see over- + see (v.). Meaning "to supervise to superintend" is attested from mid-15c. The verb lacks the double sense of similar overlook, but it sometimes had it and this survives in the noun form oversight.  Compare German übersehen, Dutch overzien. Related: Oversaw; overseen.

"that is, namely, to wit," late 14c., a Latin word used in English, "you may know, you may be sure, it is certain," used in sense "that is to say, namely," a contraction of scire licit "it is permitted to know," from scire "to know" (see science); for second element see licit. It was used as was Old English hit is to witanne, literally "it is to wit" (see wit (v.)). Often abbreviated sc. or scil.

Its function is to introduce : (a) a more intelligible or definite substitute, sometimes the English, for an expression already used ... (b) a word &c. that was omitted in the original as unnecessary, but is thought to require specifying for the present audience .... [Fowler]

any type of grass growing in sand and serving to bind it, 1766; see sand (n.) + grass (n.).

also PE, by 1956 as an abbreviation of physical education (see physical). Earlier it stood for Protestant Episcopal.

chemical substance named for the Latin word for "the whites of eggs," where it occurs naturally, 1869; see albumen.

Old English suðwesterne; see southwest + -ern. In reference to a section of the U.S., from 1806, when it meant "Mississippi and Alabama."

1847, "pertaining to the relation between mind and body; relating to both soul and body," from Greek psykhē "mind" (see psyche) + sōmatikos, from sōma (genitive sōmatos) "body" (see somato-). Applied from 1938 to physical disorders with psychological causes. Etymologically, it could as easily apply to emotional disorders with physical causes, but it is rarely so used.