plant of Eurasia, cultivated for its medicinal root, late 14c., from Old French valeriane "wild valerian" (13c.), apparently from feminine singular of Latin adjective Valerianus, from the personal name Valerius (see Valerie); but Weekley writes, "some of the German and Scand. forms of the name point rather to connection with the saga-hero Wieland."
type of evergreen shrub, native to the northern Old World and somewhat nativized in North America, "much used for garden hedges" [OED], 1540s, a word of unknown origin. Early forms primet, primprint perhaps suggest some connection real or perceived with prime [Klein]. Also applied to similar species elsewhere.
mid-15c., "to foam, to froth," from cream (n.). From 1610s in figurative sense of "remove the best part of." Meaning "to beat, thrash, wreck" is 1929, U.S. slang; the exact sense connection is unclear. There was a slang cream (v.) in the 1920s that meant "cheat, deceive, especially by guile." Related: Creamed; creaming.
late 14c., of uncertain origin, probably a frequentative form with -el (3) (compare trample, wrestle), but the first element is of uncertain origin. Skeat suggests Old Norse strugr "ill will;" others suggest a connection to Dutch struikelen, German straucheln "to stumble." Related: Struggled; struggling.
early 14c., "to delay, retard" (transitive), of uncertain origin. Some suggest a connection to Latin tardare "to delay," or Old English tergan, tirgan "to vex, irritate, exasperate, provoke," which yielded a Middle English verb identical in form to this one. Intransitive meaning "to linger" is attested from late 14c. Related: Tarried; tarrying; tarrysome.
late 15c., originally a cloth woven from linen (perhaps directly from Middle English line "linen") and wool; the words apparently were altered for the sake of a jingling sound. Linsey by itself is attested from mid-15c., apparently meaning "coarse linen fabric." Some sources suggest a connection or influence from the place name Lindsey in Suffolk.
c. 1600 (transitive), from French submerger (14c.) or directly from Latin submergere "to plunge under, sink, overwhelm," from sub "under" (see sub-) + mergere "to plunge, immerse" (see merge). Intransitive meaning "sink under water, sink out of sight" is from 1650s, made common 20c. in connection with submarines. Related: Submerged; submerging.
1893, American English, in the figurative sense "fear or doubt that reverses an intention to do something;" the presumed Italian original (avegh minga frecc i pee) is a Lombard proverb meaning "to have no money," but some of the earliest English usages refer to gamblers, so a connection is possible.
1640s, "a continuous spread or extension, a connection of elements as intimate as that of the instants of time," from Latin continuum "a continuous thing," neuter of continuus "joining, connecting with something; following one after another," from continere (intransitive) "to be uninterrupted," literally "to hang together" (see contain). The plural is continua.
German name of Polish Gdańsk,city on the Baltic coast of Poland, perhaps from Gdania, an older name for the river that runs through it, or from Gothic Gutisk-anja "end of the (territory of the) Goths." The spelling (attested from 13c.) in the German form of the name perhaps suggests a connection with Dane.
