"divination by means of crystals," 1610s; see crystal + -mancy.
The operator first muttered over the crystal (a beryl was preferred) certain formulas of prayer, and then gave it into the hands of a young man or a virgin, who thereupon, by oral communication from spirits in the crystal, or by written characters seen in it, was supposed to receive the information desired. [Century Dictionary]
1520s, "to impart (information, etc.); to give or transmit (a quality, feeling, etc.) to another," from Latin communicatus, past participle of communicare "to share, communicate, impart, inform," literally "to make common," related to communis "common, public, general" (see common (adj.)). Meaning "to share, transmit" (diseases, etc.) is from 1530s. Intransitive sense, of rooms, etc., "to open into each other" is from 1731. Related: Communicated; communicating.
1922, abbreviation of frequency modulation as a method of encoding information in radio waves by varying the frequency of the wave. As a method of broadcasting radio programs, it began in the late 1930s and was notable for superior noise reduction and the capability of broadcasting in stereo. As the chosen medium for broadcasting stereo rock music it became popular in the 1970s.
late 14c., scouten, "observe or explore as a scout, travel in search of information," from Middle English scout-watch "sentinel, guard" (compare scout (n.)) or else Old French escouter "to listen, to heed" (Modern French écouter), from Latin auscultare "to listen to, give heed to" (see auscultate). Related: Scouted; scouting.
library classification system that organizes information into 10 broad areas subdivided numerically into progressively smaller topics, by 1885, named for Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) who proposed it 1876 while acting librarian of Amherst College. He also crusaded for simplified spelling and the metric system.
"typical U.S. middle class community," 1929, from the title of a book published that year ("Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture") by New York sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd, based on information collected 1924-25 in Muncie, Indiana. The U.S. Geological Survey lists 40 towns by that name, not counting variant spellings; see middle (adj.) + town.
male proper name, from Welsh Llwyd, literally "gray," from PIE root *pel- (1) "pale." Lloyd's, meaning the London-based association of marine underwriters, is first recorded as such 1805, from Lloyd's Coffee House, London, opened in 1688 by Edward Lloyd, who supplied shipping information to his patrons; merchants and underwriters met there to do business.
c. 1300, conninge, "knowledge, understanding, information, learning," a sense now obsolete, verbal noun from connen, cunnen "to have ability or capacity," from Old English cunnan (see can v.1). By mid-14c. as "ability to understand, intelligence; wisdom, prudence;" sense of "cleverness, shrewdness, practical skill in a secret or crafty manner" is by late 14c.
