city and state in Mexico, said to be from a lost native word that meant "dry place." The dog breed is attested by that name from 1854, though such dogs seem to have been bred there long before. Early American explorers in the west seem to have confused the somewhat with prairie dogs.

"confused conflict among many persons," 1640s, from French mêlée, from Old French meslee "brawl, confused fight; mixture, blend" (12c.), noun use of fem. past participle of mesler "to mix, mingle" (see meddle). See also medley. Borrowed in Middle English as melle but it was lost and then reborrowed 17c.

early 15c., from Old French vehement, veement "impetuous, ardent" (12c.), from Latin vehementem (nominative vehemens) "impetuous, eager, violent, furious, ardent, carried away," perhaps [Barnhart] from a lost present middle participle of vehere "to carry" (from PIE root *wegh- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle"). The other theory is that it represents vehe- "lacking, wanting" + mens "mind." Related: Vehemently.

mid-15c., "suitableness or appropriateness of one thing to another," from Latin congruentia "agreement, harmony, congruity," from congruen-, present-participle stem of congruere "agree, correspond with," literally "to come together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + a lost verb *gruere, *ruere "fall, rush" (see congruent). Meaning "fact or condition of according or agreeing" is from 1530s. Related: Congruency.

county in Virginia, the name (also used in other places in U.S.) is that of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony in what is now North Carolina; probably an Algonquian name, recorded by 1584. It might be the same word as rawranock "shells used for money, kind of wampum," which is attested in English by 1624.

"afternoon performance, an entertainment held in the daytime," 1848, from French matinée (musicale), from matinée "morning" (with a sense here of "daytime"), from matin "morning" (but here "afternoon" or "daytime"), from Old French matines (see matins). Originally as a French word in English; it lost its foreignness by late 19c. For the French suffix, compare journey.

"agreement between things, harmony," late 14c., from Old French congruité "relevance, appropriateness" or directly from Late Latin congruitatem (nominative congruens) "agreement," from congruus "suitable, agreeing," from congruere "to agree, correspond with," literally "to come together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + a lost verb *gruere, *ruere "fall, rush" (see congruent).