also Mr. Chad, simple graffiti drawing of a head peering over a fence or wall, with the caption, "Wot, no ______?" (the U.S. version usually had "Kilroy was here"), 1945, British, of unknown origin, a reaction to war-time shortages and rationing.
"piece of stone, wood, etc., projecting from the vertical face of a wall to support some object," mid-14c., from Old French corbel, diminutive of corb "raven," from Latin corvus (see corvine); so called from its beaked shape. Corbel-step is attested from 1819.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to stick, fix."
It forms all or part of: affix; crucifix; crucify; dig; dike; ditch; fibula; fiche; fichu; fix; fixate; fixation; fixity; fixture; infibulate; infibulation; microfiche; prefix; suffix; transfix.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dehi- "wall;" Old Persian dida "wall, stronghold, fortress," Persian diz; Latin figere "to fix, fasten, drive, thrust in; pierce through, transfix;" Lithuanian dygstu, dygti "germinate;" Old Irish dingid "presses, thrusts down;" Old English dic "trench, ditch," Dutch dijk "dam."
"wall separating two cavities," especially "the partition between the nostrils," 1690s, Modern Latin, from Latin saeptum "a fence, enclosure, partition," from neuter past participle of saepire "to hedge in," from saepes"a hedge, a fence," which de Vaan suggests is from a PIE *seh-i- "to tie." Related: Septal.
early 15c., "pertaining to the walls of a cavity in the body," from Late Latin parietalis "of walls," from Latin paries (genitive parietis) "wall" (of a building), a word of unknown origin. In U.S. also "pertaining to the residents and rules of a college or university" (1837; compare intramural). Combining form is parieto-.
"a pubic bone, bone structure that forms the anterior wall of the pelvis," 1590s, from Latin pubes (genitive pubis) "genital area, groin," via os pubis "pubic bone." Latin pubes (n.) is related to or identical with pubes (adj.) "adult, full-grown, manly," a word of uncertain origin.
