It figures in expressions in cookery, etc., which have crossed the Channel since 18c., such as au revoir; au contraire, literally "on the contrary;" au gratin, literally "with scrapings;" au jus, literally "with the juice." The corresponding fem. is a la.
mid-15c., "red or crystalline form of mercuric sulphide," also applied to other ores of mercury, originally with reference to its use as a pigment; from Old French cinabre (13c.), from Late Latin cinnabaris, from Greek kinnabari, a foreign word, probably of Oriental origin (compare Persian zanjifrah in the same sense). Also used 14c.-17c. of red resinous juice of a certain Eastern tree, which was believed to be a mixture of dragon's and elephant's blood. Related: Cinnabaric.
alcoholic drink made with carbonated water and lime juice, 1895, American English; in contemporary sources reputedly from the name of "Colonel" Joseph K. Rickey (1842-1903) of Callaway County, Missouri, Democratic lobbyist and wire-puller, who is said to have concocted it to entertain political friends.
And as long as there is thirst and limes, or lemons and gin, so long will the Honorable Joe Rickey be remembered in Missouri and his famous beverage tickle the palates of discriminating citizens. A hundred summers hence Joe Rickey will be called and Champ Clark and DeArmond forgotten. [The Conservative, Nebraska City, Neb., July 6, 1899.]
late 14c., gelee, gelle, gelly, "semisolid substance from animal or vegetable material, spiced and used in cooking; chopped meat or fish served in such a jelly," from Old French gelee "a jelly," also "a frost," noun use of fem. past participle of geler "to congeal, to freeze," from Latin gelare "to freeze, congeal, stiffen," related to gelu "frost," from PIE *gela-, suffixed form of root *gel- "cold; to freeze."
By early 15c. it was used of any jellied or coagulated substance; from 16c. as "thickened juice of a fruit prepared as food."
1888, Australian, New Zealand, and South African slang for "English immigrant," short for lime-juicer (1857), a nickname given in derisive reference to the British Navy's policy (begun 1795) of issuing lime (n.2) juice on ships to prevent scurvy among sailors. U.S. use is attested from 1918, originally "British sailor, British warship;" extended to "any Englishman" by 1924.
Midway Signs Limey Prof to Dope Yank Talk ["Chicago Tribune" headline, Oct. 18, 1924, in reference to the hiring of William A. Craigie by University of Chicago to begin editing what would become the "Dictionary of American English"]
evergreen shrub native to southern Europe and widely cultivated for its fragrance, late 14c., rose-marie, earlier rosmarine (c. 1300), from Latin rosmarinus, literally "dew of the sea" (compare French romarin), from ros "dew" + marinus "of the sea, maritime," from mare "sea, the sea, seawater" (from PIE root *mori- "body of water").
Perhaps it was so called because it grew near coasts. The form was altered in English by influence of unrelated rose and Mary.
Latin ros is from a PIE noun probably from *ers- "to be wet" (source also of Lithuanian rasa, Old Church Slavonic rosa "dew," Sanskrit rasah "sap, juice, fluid, essence," Hittite arszi "flows," and perhaps also Rha, Scythian name of the River Volga (see rhubarb)).
sauce made from egg yolks and salad oil, beaten together with vinegar or lemon juice to the consistency of thickened cream and seasoned, 1815, from French sauce mayonnaise (1806), said by French sources to be corrupted from mahonnaise and to have been named in recognition of Mahon, seaport capital of island of Minorca, captured by France in 1756 after the defeat of the British defending fleet in the Seven Years' War; the sauce having been introduced either in commemoration of the victory, which was led by Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu (1696–1788), or because it was brought to France from there by him. But unless there is a gap in the record, the late date of appearance of the word make this seem doubtful. An inferior sort of Miracle Whip.
type of mixed drink, 1630s; since 17c. traditionally said to derive from Hindi panch "five," in reference to the number of original ingredients (spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar, spice), from Sanskrit panchan-s, from pancha "five" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five"). But there are difficulties (see OED), and connection to puncheon (n.1) is not impossible. Dutch punch, German Punch, French punch, etc. are said to be from English.
The Hind. panch does not seem to occur alone in the sense of 'punch,' but it is much used in composition to denote various mixtures of five things, as, panchamrit, a mixture of milk, curds, sugar, glue, and honey, panch-bhadra, a sauce of five ingredients, panch-pallar, a medical preparation from the sprouts of five trees, etc. [Century Dictionary]
