"fourth-rate, worthless" (as in a jay town), 1888, American English, earlier as a noun, "hick, rube, dupe" (1884); apparently from some disparaging sense of jay (n.). Perhaps via a decaying or ironical use of jay in the old slang sense "flashy dresser." Century Dictionary (1890s) notes it as actors' slang for "an amateur or poor actor" and as an adjective a general term of contempt for audiences.
"A jay hasn't got any more principle than a Congressman. A jay will lie, a jay will steal, a jay will deceive, a jay will betray; and, four times out of five, a jay will go back on his solemnest promise. The sacredness of an obligation is a thing which you can't cram into no blue-jay's head." ["Mark Twain," "A Tramp Abroad"]
They were said to be disliked by hunters because their cries aroused deer. Barrère and Leland's "Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant" [1889] describes the noun as an American term of contempt for a person, "a sham 'swell;' a simpleton," and suspect it might be from jayhawker.
late 14c., scarmuch, "irregular fight, especially between small numbers of soldiers," from Old French escarmouche "skirmish," from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. This is held to be probably from a Germanic source, with a diminutive or depreciatory suffix (see -ish), from Proto-Germanic *skirmjanan (compare Middle Dutch schermen "protect," Old High German scirmen "to protect, defend," German Schirm "umbrella," originally "leather protection on a shield"), from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut."
It was influenced in Middle English by a different verb, skirmysshen, "to brandish a weapon," from Anglo-French eskirmiss-, stem of eskirmir "to fence," from Frankish *skirmjan, from the same Germanic source as the other word. An earlier verb in English was skirm (Middle English skirmen), c. 1200, "to fence, fight with a weapon, fight in small parties," from Anglo-French.
Compare scrimmage, which is a variant of it; for the form, compare rubbish. Other modern Germanic languages augment the diminutive with a second suffix: German scharmützel, Dutch schermutseling, Danish skjærmydsel. Skirmish-line "line of soldiers thrown out in advance of the main part of an army" is attested by 1864.
1580s, from Danish Eskimo or French Esquimaux (plural), both probably from an Algonquian word, such as Abenaki askimo (plural askimoak), Ojibwa ashkimeq, traditionally said to mean literally "eaters of raw meat," from Proto-Algonquian *ask- "raw" + *-imo "eat." Research from 1980s in linguistics of the region suggests this derivation, though widely credited there, might be inaccurate or incomplete, and the word might mean "snowshoe-netter," but there are phonological difficulties with this. See also Innuit.
Of language, from 1819. As an adjective by 1744. Eskimo pie "chocolate-coated ice cream bar" was introduced in 1922 and was at first a craze that drove up the price of cocoa beans on the New York market 50 percent in three months [F.L. Allen, "Only Yesterday," 1931].
It is said that the reason the "Eskimo Pie" campaign was not successful in Spanish-speaking countries is because in Spanish the word "pie" means "foot." South Americans do not care to eat Eskimos' feet. ["Pitfalls of Foreign Advertising," Business, December 1922]
mid-15c., creke "narrow inlet in a coastline," altered from kryk (early 13c.; in place names from 12c.), probably from Old Norse kriki "corner, nook," perhaps influenced by Anglo-French crique, itself from a Scandinavian source via Norman. Perhaps ultimately related to crook and with an original notion of "full of bends and turns" (compare dialectal Swedish krik "corner, bend; creek, cove").
Extended to "inlet or short arm of a river" by 1570s, which probably led to use for "small stream, brook" in American English (1620s). In U.S. commonly pronounced and formerly sometimes spelled crick. Also used there and in Canada, Australia, New Zealand for "branch of a main river," possibly from explorers moving up main rivers and seeing and noting mouths of tributaries without knowing they often were extensive rivers of their own.
Slang phrase up the creek "in trouble" (often especially "pregnant") is attested by 1941, perhaps originally armed forces slang for "lost while on patrol," or perhaps a cleaned-up version of the older up shit creek in the same sense.
1917, noun, verb, and adjective, from French camoufler, in Parisian slang, "to disguise," from Italian camuffare "to disguise," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps a contraction of capo muffare "to muffle the head." The word was probably altered in French by influence of French camouflet "puff of smoke, smoke puffed into a sleeper's face" (itself of unknown origin) on the notion of "blow smoke in someone's face." The British navy in World War I called it dazzle-painting.
Since the war started the POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has published photographs of big British and French field pieces covered with shrubbery, railway trains "painted out" of the landscape, and all kinds of devices to hide the guns, trains, and the roads from the eyes of enemy aircraft.
Until recently there was no one word in any language to explain this war trick. Sometimes a whole paragraph was required to explain this military practice. Hereafter one word, a French word, will save all this needless writing and reading. Camouflage is the new word, and it means "fooling the enemy." [Popular Science Monthly, August 1917]
"delivery of a child by cutting through the abdomen of the mother," 1923, shortening of Caesarian section (1610s); caesar as "baby delivered by caesarian section is from 1530s. Section (n.) here has the literal Latin sense of "act or action of cutting," which is attested from 1550s in English but is rare outside of medicine.
Supposedly from Caius Julius Caesar, who was said to have been delivered surgically. Thus also legend traces his cognomen to Latin caesus, past participle of caedere "to cut" (see -cide). But if this is the etymology of the name, it was likely an ancestor who was so born (Caesar's mother lived to see his triumphs and such operations would have been fatal to the woman in ancient times). Rather, caesar here may come directly from caesus.
The operation was prescribed in Rome for cases of dead mothers; the first recorded instance of it being performed on a living woman is c. 1500, but as late as the early 19c., before antiseptics and blood transfusions, it had a 50% mortality rate.
1866, "carousal, noisy drinking bout; any merrymaking," represented in England as a typical American English word, perhaps from jam (n.) on pattern of shivaree [Barnhart]. For the second element, Weekley suggests French bourree, a kind of rustic dance. Century Dictionary calls the whole thing "probably arbitrary." Klein thinks the word of Hindu origin (but he credits its introduction into English, mistakenly, to Kipling). Boy Scouts use is from 1920. It is noted earlier as a term in cribbage:
Jamboree signifies the combination of the five highest cards, as, for example, the two Bowers [jacks], Ace, King, and Queen of trumps in one hand, which entitles the holder to count sixteen points. The holder of such a hand, simply announces the fact, as no play is necessary; but should he play the hand as a Jambone, he can count only eight points, whereas he could count sixteen if he played it, or announced it as a Jamboree. ["The American Hoyle," New York, 1864]
Compare jambone "type of hand played by agreement in the card game of euchre."
Old English latin "in Latin," from Latin Latinus "Latin, Roman, in Latin," literally "belonging to Latium," the region of Italy around Rome, a name of uncertain origin. Possibly from PIE root *stela- "to spread, extend," with a sense of "flat country" (as opposed to the mountainous district of the Sabines), or from a prehistoric non-IE language. Old folk etymology connected it with Latin latere "to lie hidden," and a fable of Saturn.
The Latin word also is the source of Spanish and Italian ladino, Dutch latijn, German latein, Irish Gaelic laidionn (n.), Polish lacina, Russian latuinŭ. The more common form in Old English was læden (see Latin (n.)).
In reference to the Roman Catholic Church, 1550s. Used as a designation for "people whose languages descend from Latin" (1856), hence Latin America (1862). The Latin Quarter (French Quartier latin) of Paris, on the south (left) bank of the Seine, was the site of university buildings in the Middle Ages, hence it was the place where Latin was spoken. The surname Latimer means "interpreter," literally "a speaker of Latin."
Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor "more quickly; earlier, sooner," also "more readily or willingly," comparative of rathe (Old English hraþe, hræþe) "immediately, quickly, hastily, speedily; promptly, before long; readily," which is related to hræð "quick, nimble, prompt, ready," from Proto-Germanic *khratha- (source also of Old Norse hraðr, Old High German hrad), which is said to be from PIE *kret- "to shake."
The rather lambes bene starved with cold
[Spenser, "The Shepheardes Calender" (Februarie), 1579]
Meaning "on the contrary, in contrast to what just has been said" is from late 13c.; that of "more properly, more truly" is recorded from late 14c. Meaning "preferably" is from c. 1300. Sense of "to some extent, in a greater degree" is from 1590s, that of "somewhat, moderately" is by 1660s.
The adverb rathe was obsolete by 18c. except in poetry (Tennyson); the superlative rathest "earliest, soonest, first" fell from use by 17c. Middle English formed an alternative superlative ratherest (c. 1400) and also had rathely "quickly, swiftly; immediately" (early 14c.) and a noun rather "the former (persons)."
late 14c., "set (one's eyes or mind) on something" (a figurative use), probably from Old French verb *fixer, from fixe "fixed," from Latin fixus "fixed, fast, immovable; established, settled," past-participle adjective from figere "to fix, fasten, drive, thrust in; pierce through, transfix," also figurative, from PIE root *dheigw- "to pierce, stick in;" hence "to fix, fasten."
Sense of "fasten, attach" is c. 1400; that of "to make (colors, etc.) fast or permanent" is from 1660s. The meaning "settle, assign" evolved into "adjust, arrange" (1660s), then "to repair" (1737), but this sometimes was objected to (see below). Sense of "tamper with" (a fight, a jury, etc.) is from 1790. As euphemism for "castrate a pet" it dates from 1930. Related: Fixed; fixing.
To fix is to make fast, or permanent; to set immoveably, &c.: hence, to fix a watch, is to stop it, or prevent it from 'going;' which, it must be admitted, is a very unsatisfactory mode of repairing that article. [Seth T. Hurd, "A Grammatical Corrector; or, Vocabulary of the Common Errors of Speech," 1847]
