early 15c., procusie, proccy, prokecye, "agency of one who acts instead of another, office or authority of a substitute; letter of power of attorney," contraction of Anglo-French procuracie (c. 1300), from Medieval Latin procuratia "administration," from Latin procuratio "a caring for, management," from procurare "manage" (see procure). Also compare proctor (n.).
Meaning "person who is deputed to represent or act for another" is from 1610s. Of things, "that which takes the place of something else," 1630s. Meaning "vote sent by a deputy" is from 1650s in a Rhode Island context. Proxy war, one started or stoked by, but not directly involving, a major power is by 1955.
city in Switzerland, from Latin Genava, perhaps from a PIE root meaning "estuary" or one meaning "bend;" in either case a reference to its situation. From 1920 sometimes in reference to the city as the site of the headquarters of the League of Nations. The original Geneva Convention among Great Britain and the major continental powers to introduce humanitarian conduct in modern warfare (neutrality of hospitals, etc.) dates from 1864; the most recent update was in 1949. The Geneva Protocol is a League of Nations document meant to settle international disputes; it dates from 1924. Earlier the city was associated with Calvinism. Related: Genevan (1841); Genevian (1570s); Genevese (by 1660s); Genevois (1550s).
"government by a protector," 1690s, in reference to the government by the Cromwells as Lords Protector (1653-59), from protector + -ate (1). Protectorship was used in 1456 in reference to the office of the Duke of York as protector during the mental incapacity of Henry VI.
From 1795 as "occupied territory of another nation;" by 1836 as "a relation assumed by a stronger nation (generally European) toward a weak one," "whereby the former protects the latter from hostile invasion or dictation, and interferes more or less in its domestic concerns" [Century Dictionary]. Extended by 1860 to "state or territory (usually tribal) placed under the protection of a major power."
late 14c., artik, "of or pertaining to the north pole of the heavens," from Old French artique and directly from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Greek arktikos "of the north," literally "of the (constellation) Bear," from arktos "bear;" also "Ursa Major; the region of the north," the Bear being the best-known northern circumpolar constellation.
This is from *rkto-, the usual Indo-European root for "bear" (source also of Avestan aresho, Armenian arj, Albanian ari, Latin ursus, Welsh arth). For speculation on why Germanic lost the word, see bear (n.). The -c- was restored from 1550s.
It is attested from early 15c. as "northern;" from 1660s as "cold, frigid." As a noun, with capital A-, "the northern polar regions," from 1560s.
1834, of persons, "arrogantly boisterous, careless of the comfort of others," earlier rumbunctious, 1824, probably altered (by influence of ram) from rumbustious. Compare rantankerous "contentious" (Bartlett), a mid-19c. U.S. colloquial variant of cantankerous.
In all this bisnes the gineral was cute as a rasor. It needed somethin more than a cods-hed tu manage, with sich leger-de-main and hocus pocus, an affair requirin so much dexterity, every scrimptius bit on't havin tu be worked with master skill, with a set of rambunctious fellers who, findin themselves comin out second best warn't never out of the tantrums tu the eend on't. ["Major Jack Downing," "Life of Andrew Jackson," Philadelphia: 1834]
late 14c., "the seven virtues personified;" early 15c., "the Pleiades" (see Pleiades), seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, placed among the stars by Zeus and popularly known as the Seven Stars (see seven).
In late 20c. applied to seven venerable and prestigious U.S. colleges for women only: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley. The phrase also was applied to seven similar cannon used by the Scots at Flodden. As a late-20c. name for the major multi-national petroleum companies, Seven Sisters is attested from 1962. They were listed in 1976 as Exxon, Mobil, Gulf, Standard Oil of California, Texaco, British Petroleum, and Royal Dutch Shell.
late 14c., capitayn, "a leader, chief, one who stands at the head of others," from Old French capitaine "captain, leader," from Late Latin capitaneus "chief," noun use of adjective capitaneus "prominent, chief," from Latin caput (genitive capitis) "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head").
The military sense of "officer who commands a company" (the rank between major and lieutenant) is from 1560s; the naval sense of "officer who commands a man-of-war" is from 1550s, extended to "master or commander of a vessel of any kind" by 1704. Sporting sense "leader of the players on a team" is recorded by 1823. The words inb other Germanic languages are also from French.
late 14c., "an arterial blood vessel," from Anglo-French arterie, Old French artaire (13c.; Modern French artère), and directly from Latin arteria, from Greek arteria "windpipe," also "an artery," as distinct from a vein; related to aeirein "to raise" (see aorta).
They were regarded by the ancients as air ducts because the arteries do not contain blood after death, and 14c.-16c. artery in English also could mean "trachea, windpipe." Medieval writers, based on Galen, generally took them as a separate blood system for the "vital spirits." The word is used in reference to artery-like systems of major rivers from 1805; of railways from 1844.
"smooth, lustrous silken cloth; silk fabric with a very glossy surface and the back less so," mid-14c., from Old French satin (14c.), perhaps from Arabic (atlas) zaytuni, literally "(satin) from Zaitun," name of a place in China, perhaps modern Quanzhou in Fukien province, a major port in the Middle Ages with a resident community of European traders.
On this theory the form of the word was influenced in French by Latin seta "silk." OED finds the Arabic connection etymologically untenable and takes the French word as being from Latin seta via a Late Latin or Vulgar Latin *pannus setinus "silken cloth."
As an adjective from mid-15c., "made of silk." By c. 1600 as "clothed in satin;" by 1826 as "resembling satin."
"harlot; bold, lascivious woman," early 14c., of uncertain origin. One theory connects it with Latin stuprata, fem. past participle of stuprare "have illicit sexual relations with," or Late Latin strupum "dishonor, violation." But evidence for this is wanting and others suggest Middle Dutch strompe "a stocking," or strompen "to stride, to stalk" (as a prostitute might a customer). The major sources don't seem to give much preference to any of these. Weekley notes "Gregory's Chronicle (c. 1450) has streppett in same sense." In 18c.-early 19c., often abbreviated as strum and also used as a verb, which led to some odd dictionary entries:
TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. [Capt. Francis Grose, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
